Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) Thanks to outstanding pitching performance, Taiwan overcame a sluggish offensive game and beat Spain 8-4 Saturday and stayed atop the Group A standing with a 3-0 record in the 37th Baseball World Cup.
Chen Chin-feng had three hits in five at-bats, incuding his three-run homer in the top of the first inning to help the home team seize the momentum. But Taiwan hitters were outplayed by their Spanish counterparts, who outhitted Taiwan 12-8 in the game.
National team newcomer Liao Yu-cheng, who relieved starter Huang Chih-lung in the second inning, had five strikeouts as Taiwan took a 7-2 lead into the seventh inning. Spain, the third-place team in the European Championship, refused to give up, adding two runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the game interesting again.
Reliever Shen Yu-chieh had five strikeouts in 2.1 innings and Chang Tai-shan's single homerun in the top of the eighth to ice the game for Taiwan, which entered the game with less than 24 hours rest after beating Japan Friday night.
Spain, which dropped to one win and three losses after the loss, was hurt by nine walks from its pitching unit.
In other day games Saturday, Mexico defeated South Africa 13-3 for its first win in the tournament. Canada blanked Germany 10-0 and the Netherlands beat Venezuela 7-4. Four night games will be played later in the day.
Right-hander Hsu Ming-chieh, who plays for Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball, is schedule to start Taiwan's Sunday game versus Mexico.
The sixteen teams participating in the tournament are divided into two preliminary groups in the biennial tournament, which runs through to Nov. 18, with games being played in four baseball stadiums in Taipei and Taichung. The top four teams in Group A and Group B will advance to the quarterfinal round, which adopts the single loss elimination format.