match report
October 16, 2022
On October 16th, the third game of the opening round of the “4th WBSC U-23 World Cup” (held in Taiwan) was held at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. The Samurai Japan U-23 National Team came in with two straight wins at the start of the season, but they were beaten 1-3 by the host nation, Chinese Taipei, and suffered their first defeat.
Rakusei Katayama (NTT East Japan), a second-year high school graduate who is a candidate for the draft next fall, started the match with the 203cm tall right-hander Lin Shinwei.
As Katayama regretted, “I’ve been overwhelmed by the unprecedented cheering and cheering, but I can’t make excuses.” In addition, No. 4 Seong-un hit a double that broke the right middle, and he lost 2 points this time.
Hayashi, the opponent’s starting pitcher, fired fastballs in rapid succession from the first inning. It seemed that the batting lineup would struggle to respond, such as throwing down the fastest 159 km, but in the first time, No. 2 Kaito Saita (TDK) and No. 4 Takumi Fujii (Shikoku Bank) hit. Although he was unable to score in this inning, in the second inning, Ren Onishi (JR East Tohoku), a second-year high school graduate like Katayama, hit a double with a 152-kilometer fastball and scored one run in the second inning due to Hayashi’s blunder. returned.
Katayama collapsed from self-destruction in the early stages, but after that, he corrected it, and kept the 2nd and 3rd innings to a three-way retreat and did not allow additional points. In addition, Yuki Tani (Hakuwa Victories) in the 4th inning and Takuto Yanagihashi (JR Tokai) in the 5th inning waited for a counterattack from the batters without allowing a single runner.
However, in the 3rd inning, Saida hit a double, but he couldn’t follow up. From the 4th inning, the batting line was silent before the combination of a straight ball and a breaking ball by 昕贺, who belongs to the CPBL Rakuten Monkeys. Then, in the 6th inning, Ryota Kudo (Shinetsu Baseball Club) got hit 3 times in a row and lost the 3rd point.
The batting lineup, which wants to catch up with a 2-point difference, pitched from the 6th inning, belongs to MLB Athletics, and pitches a straight ball in the mid-150km range. and escaped.
The next match will be against Colombia, who also have 2 wins and 1 loss, from 15:30 on the 17th Japan time. Since the match results against the same group in the opening round will be carried over to the super round, it will be a match that cannot be lost.
Coach/Player Comments
Directed by Akio Ishii
“The pitchers didn’t run away, and the hitters also stepped in to face the fast-balling pitchers. I’m looking forward to seeing how they will fix and adjust the situation.I will continue to fight each and every battle aggressively.”
Rakusei Katayama (NTT East Japan)
“I managed to throw up to three innings, but I lost a point in the first inning and it wasn’t a good one. I dropped two and threw with emphasis on control.It’s a short-term decisive battle, so I can’t drag it down.I want to fight Chinese Taipei again and get back.”
Large Shiren (JR East Tohoku)
“I had heard that the opponent pitcher had a fast straight shot, so I stood at bat consciously not to fall behind in my swing. I would like to contribute with a single blow (toward the future battle).”
Saida Kaito (TDK)
“(2 hits, 1 walk on this day) I knew that he was a pitcher over 150 kilograms, so I was only conscious of swinging through. I hit the ball with my (right knee) as if to stop the ball. It was great to be able to experience the unique atmosphere.
4th WBSC U-23 World Cup
Tournament overview Participating players broadcast schedule
Tournament period
October 13 to October 23, 2022
opening round
Friday, October 14 18:00 Germany 0-6 Japan
Saturday, October 15 15:30 Venezuela 2-5 Japan
Sunday, October 16 20:00 Japan 1-3 Chinese Taipei
October 17 (Mon) 15:30 Japan – Colombia
Tuesday, October 18, 15:30 South Africa – Japan
super round
October 20th (Thursday) to 22nd (Saturday)
3rd place play-off/final
Sunday, October 23rd
*Start time is Japan time (Taipei: time difference -1 hour)
venue
Taipei, Taiwan)
Participating countries and regions
Group A
Japan, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Germany, South Africa, Venezuela
Group B
Australia, Cuba, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea
