Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Taiwan's offense looked just fine Friday night in the national baseball team's Olympic qualifying tournament opener after a string of injuries to core hitters prior to the tourney had cast doubt on whether it would be able to score runs.
Taking advanage of Spain's lackluster pitching staff, Taiwan thumped the Spaniards 13-3 in a game called after seven innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Without injured power hitters Chen Chin-feng and Hsieh Chia-hsien, Taiwan managed to erase the doubts -- at least for one night -- with a 12-hit barrage that included two home runs to overcome starting pitcher Chiang Chien-ming's shaky start.
The game ended acrimoniously as Spanish players and coaches engaged in a heated exchange with Taiwanese players in the dugout in the bottom of the seventh and after the game, apparently resentful that the home team, up 12-3, pushed hard for a run that would end the game two innings early.
Spain's pitchers showed their displeasure by firing pitches that barely missed hitting Taiwan's batters.
The victory over Spain, one of the three weaker teams in the eight-team field, drew sighs of relief, but Taiwan faces the much tougher Mexicans Saturday at noon on less than 24 hours rest, in a game many believe Taiwan must win if it wants to finish in the top three in the tournament and punch its ticket to Beijing.
The tournament is being played in Taichung and Yunlin County's Douliou from March 7-14, with the top three finishers heading to Beijing.
South Korea, Australia, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan are considered the teams with the best chances of advancing to the Beijing Games, while South Africa, Germany, and Spain are given no chance.
The tournament is of particular significance, especially in baseball-mad Taiwan, because the sport will not be an Olympic event starting in 2012. It is one of the few events in which Taiwan has a chance to be competitive.
But a string of bad results and injuries had most local fans questioning the prospects of the national team in this tournament, and many must have thought they were about to live a nightmare when in the top of the first, Spain erupted for two runs on three hits off Chiang, who pitches for Japan's Yomiuri Giants.
The advantage was short-lived, however. as Peng Cheng-min's tied the score at 2-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Lin Chih-sheng's double Chiang Chih-hsien's single sparked another rally in the bottom of the second to put the home team up 5-2 and allow its jittery fans to finally breathe easier.
Taiwan put the game away in the fourth with a six-run spurt, keyed by a three-run homer off the bat of Lo Kuo-hui, a prospect in the Seattle Mariners' minor league system.
Chiang settled down after his first-inning struggles, striking out four while giving up a total of four hits and two runs in five innings.
Leadoff man Chang Chien-ming was one home run short of a hitting for a cycle and led Taiwan with three hits.
In other games Friday, South Korea beat South Africa 5-0 and Canada beat Mexico 15-10, with both teams pounding out 18 hits. Australia defeated Germany 4-1.
-- Standings:
Taiwan 1-0; Australia 1-0; South Korea 1-0; Canada 1-0; Mexico 0-1; Spain 0-1; Germany 0-1; South Africa 0-1