2007 Baseball World Cup: Highlights from Day 4 to Day 6

November 12, 2007 Australia and Cuba have qualified for the Quarter Final of the 2007 Baseball World Cup. There was only one game taking place today between Chinese Taipei and Italy in Tianmu Baseball Stadium. After six days of play, the competition will most certainly heat up in next 48 hours with every team fiercely vying to qualify for the Quarter Final which takes place Friday, November 15.

Day 4: Australia set records in single game
It was a merciless massacre as Australia mercy-ruled Thailand with a shellacking of 26-1, echoing the Rangers' 30-3 rout of the Orioles' this August. In addition to the remarkable disparity in runs, Australia also singlehandedly set four BWC records:
 * Most runs in a game: 26
 * Largest run differential in a game: 25
 * Most runs in an inning: 12 in the top of 3rd.
 * Most hits in a game: 30

Yet this rout only featured one home run, a 2-run shot by the Australian infielder Glenn Williams.

Group A

 * South Africa 3-13A Mexico
 * Chinese Taipei 8-4 Spain
 * Panama 6-0 Italy
 * Japan 1-5 USA

Group B

 * Netherlands 7-4 Venezuela
 * Germany 0-10A Canada
 * South Korea 2-7 Cuba

Cuba vs Venezuela
If Cuba can defeat Venezuela, they can not only keep their winning streak intact but also qualify for the Quarter Final of the 2007 BWC. And they did it in style as starter Yadel Marti almost had a perfect game if it were not for Lino Connell's (Venezuela) single in the bottom of 7th. Cuba eventually ended the game early with a score of 10-0.

Australia wins thriller against S Korea
This game developed into a pitching duel as both sides only managed to score one run going into the 9th. Yet the Aussies took care of business in the bottom half when infielder Ben Risinger belted a walk-off hit as Australia beat S Korea, 2-1.

Group A

 * Italy 8-0 South Africa
 * Mexico 9-5 Chinese Taipei
 * USA 12A-2 Spain
 * Panama 2-6 Japan

Group B

 * Canada 7-1 Netherlands
 * Thailand 0-2 Germany

Day 6: Host edges Italy in controversy
This pitching duel took place between James Anthony Fiore, formerly of the La New Bears, and En-yu Lin, an ex-Macoto Cobra. They completely shut down their opponent's offense as two teams were held scoreless for the first 8 innings.

Two disputed calls came in the 9th. In the top of the inning, the Italian baserunner appeared to beat the throw at the 3rd base by the Chinese Taipei right fielder, but the umpire from S Korea stll called him out. The other came in the bottom half. With 2 outs, Chih-sheng Lin seemed to have swung the bat, yet the 1st base umpire from Japan called no swing. This controversial call eventually determined the outcome of the game as Lin won the game, 1-0, with a walk-off hit. Even though Chinese Taipei won this game, many spectators and internet users from Taiwan heavily criticized Chinese Taipei and left harsh comments on the official websites such as "What a SHAME Taiwanese!", casting a shadow of mistrust upon this questionably called game.

Group A

 * South Africa vs USA
 * Japan vs Italy
 * Spain vs Mexico
 * Chinese Taipei vs Panama

Group B

 * Cuba vs Thailand
 * Germany vs Australia
 * Venezuela vs Canada
 * Netherlands vs South Korea