Japan defeat Chinese Taipei to win Asian Baseball Championship, both qualify with Korea for WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup

TAIPEI, Taiwan | Japan defeated Chinese Taipei in the championship final game of the XXX BFA Asian Baseball Championship in Taipei Dome with the score 1-0, clinching their 20^th title in the history of the tournament, and the seventh in the past nine editions.

Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Korea will represent Asia, in addition to the hosts China, in the V WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup next year in Shaoxing.

Japan advanced to the championship finalundefeated, defeating Chinese Taipei, 1-0, in extra innings in the Super Round.
Mizuki Kato started for Japan in the championship game and pitched fourscoreless innings, while the Chinese Taipei manager handed the ball to their aceJo-Hsi Hsu, who won the opening game of the Championship against Korea.

Kato pitched six scoreless innings whilegiving up five hits and struck out four, and Hsu countered with eightstrikeouts in five innings while giving up just four hits. A throwing errorfrom Chinese Taipei in the third proved costly as Japan utilized the opportunityto drive in the first run of the night to take a 1-0 lead.

Japan’s bullpen successfully shut downthe offense of Chinese Taipei to maintain the one-run lead, and only scatteredtwo hits over three innings. Chinese Taipei had a chance in the top of the ninth,but a double play executed by Japan set the tone of the game before closerShuichiro Kayo struck out Sheng-Ping Chen to end the game.

Bronze medal game: Korea defeat the Philippines

During the bronze medal game, Korea starting pitcher Donghyeok Kim no-hit the Philippines and fanned four in five innings before handing the game to the bullpen for another four scoreless innings.

The Philippines' starting pitcher Romeo Jasmin Jr. only gave up two runs in the first six innings and kept his team in the game.

In the seventh inning, Korea broke away by scoring five runs on five hits and three walks en route to winning the bronze medal, 7-0, for the ninth time in the history of the Asian Baseball Championship. The Philippines ranked fourth in the Championship, for the first time since 2017.

Final Standing

1. Japan
2. Chinese Taipei
3. Korea
4. Philippines
5. Pakistan
6. Hong Kong, China
7. Palestine
8. Thailand

Individual Awards

• Best Hitter: Tsz Yin Wen (Hong Kong, China)
• Best ERA: Steven Mufareh (Palestine)
• Best Won-Loss Average: Steven Mufareh (Palestine)
• Most RBI: Motoki Mukoyama (Japan)
• Most HR: Joseph Matthew Daru (Thailand)
• Most Stolen Bases: Junjae Jeong (Korea)
• Most Runs Scored: Yukiya Yano (Japan)
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Ching-Kai Lin (Chinese Taipei)
• MVP: Motoki Mukoyama (Japan)

All-Star Team

• Best Starting Pitcher: Shuichiro Kayo (Japan)
• Best Relief Pitcher: Byeonghyeon Jo (Korea)
• Catcher: Mark Steven Manaig (Philippines)
• First Baseman: Namoh Iyang (Chinese Taipei)
• Second Baseman: Yukiya Yano (Japan)
• Third Baseman: Ji-Hong Liu (Chinese Taipei)
• Shortstop: Chen-Fei Lin (Chinese Taipei)
• Outfielders: Hsiao-Yun Chen (Chinese Taipei), Erwin Bosito (Philippines), Motoki Mukoyama (Japan)
• Designated Hitter: Beomseok Kim (Korea)

V WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup Qualified Teams

Africa (1): Africa qualifier is scheduled for 21-27 February 2024
Asia (3): No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Korea, No. 5 Chinese Taipei
Americas (4): No. 6 Venezuela, No. 12 Puerto Rico, No. 13 Colombia, No. 20 Nicaragua
Europe (2): No. 7 Netherlands and No. 18 Great Britain
Oceania (1): No. 11 Australia
Wild Card (1): No. 24 China

World No. 1 Japan arethe defending U-23 World Champions.