Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Home team Taiwan opened the 37th Baseball World Cup, which started Wednesday after an one-day rain delay, with a seven-inning, 16-1 win over South Africa Thursday in the central Taiwan city of Taichung.
The home team got off to a good start when Chen Chin-feng blasted a three-run homer and Hsieh Chia-hsien added a two-run shot in the top of the first inning to open with a 5-0 lead. Taiwan took an 8-1 lead into the seventh, then added another eight runs to seize an insurmountable 16-1 lead.
Starting pitcher Lin Ying-chieh had 10 strikeouts in six innings before being relieved by Lin En-yu, while Taiwan's batters had 17 hits with Chang Tai-shan going four-for-four.
Tournament favorite Cuba, which has won 25 of 36 titles in the World Cup, and is looking for its tenth straight gold, beat Germany 7-3 after Wednesday's shaky start -- a 3-2 win over Australia. Both Cuba and the U.S., which beat Panama 7-0, are now 2-0 and leading the Group A and B standings.
Sixteen teams were 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 elimination format.
In other games Thursday, South Korea shut out Venezuela 4-0 and Japan defeated Mexico 14-3. Australia beat the Netherlands 4-3. Italy routed Spain 11-1, while Canada pounded Thailand 18-0.
Taiwan previously hosted the tournament in 2001 in Taipei. Its best finish came in 1984 when it won silver. Taiwan also won bronze three times in 1986, 1988 and 2001.
The tournament was launched in 1938 by the International Baseball Federation (IBF) . Starting in 1996, U.S. Major League and Minor League players have been allowed to participate in the tournament which was previously reserved for amateur players.