Any doubts on the semi-final lineup for the 2008 Olympic Baseball tournament were put to rest today, as the United States and Japan booked their places alongside Korea and Cuba.  The four pre-tournament favourites have all made it through the preliminary round with a day of action to spare, but that certainly doesn’t mean the event has been predictable. 

Japan and the U.S. both entered the day with 3 and 2 records, looking for one more win to guarantee that their quest for the gold medal would continue.  Japan literally made short work of China, defeating the host nation 10-0 in seven innings. China were never really in the game.  When Japan put a six spot up in the bottom of the sixth inning, they were left trailing 10-0 and needing some runs to avoid the ‘mercy killing’ rule coming into effect at the earliest possible point.  A lead-off single by Lingfeng Sun in the top of the seventh inning gave them hope, but after the next batter grounded into a double play, Japan’s starter Hideaki Wakui struck out Fei Feng to end the game.

Chinese Taipei put up more of a fight against the United States, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning.  The U.S. levelled the game immediately in the bottom of the inning before scoring twice in the sixth to take a decisive lead.  Chih-Sheung Lin’s solo home run in the seventh brought Chinese Taipei back to within one run, but the Americans tacked an insurance run on in the eighth and won the game by a score of 4-2. 

The victories by Japan and the U.S. meant that Canada would miss out regardless of their result. They didn’t know that when they took to the ballfield in the morning though and they did all that could be asked of them in their game against the Netherlands.  With their offense struggling to make an impact in the tournament so far, it was imperative that the Dutch pitching staff kept the game close for them to have any chance of emerging victorious.  Unfortunately for Shairon Martis and his team-mates, even giving up just one run would have been one run too many.  The Netherlands were shutout for the fourth time in six games, as Canada defeated the European representatives by a score of 4-0. 

Martis rose to the challenge initially by striking out the side in the first inning; however, Canada were able to chip away at him and plated one run in the third inning and two in the fourth.  Meanwhile, their starting pitcher Brooks McNiven was reducing the Dutch to simply poking groundballs to either the second baseman Stubby Clapp or the shortstop Emmanuel Garcia.  In the final two frames, the Netherlands got the lead-off runner aboard, yet they were unable to build on such promising starts.  Brian Engelhardt’s lead off walk in the eighth inning was followed by a strikeout and an inning ending double play.  Percy Isenia stroked a single to start the bottom of the ninth, only for Tim Burton to strike out the next three batters to end the game on an emphatic note.

While Japan and the U.S. were battling for their semi-final spots in the Beijing evening, the morning was dominated by a clash between the two unbeaten teams: Korea and Cuba.  Something had to give and, perhaps surprisingly, it was Cuba’s streak that came to an end.  Cuba jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but a five-run fourth inning set Korea on their way to a 7-4 victory and a 6 and 0 record. 

Korea have achieved their success without doing anything spectacular.  Their team ERA (3.21) is only the fifth best out of the eight teams and only eleven of their fifty-three hits have gone for extra bases.  Four of their six victories have been by a margin of a single run and their three-run victory over Cuba was the largest margin they have won by.  They are not winning in dominating fashion, but they are winning all the same and no one in Korea will care how they win the gold medal so long as they end up with the big prize. 

Day eight preview

The final day of the preliminary round sees teams battling for positions in the final table, either to earn a slightly more favourable semi-final draw or simply to avoid the wooden spoon.  Cuba take on China and the Netherlands face Korea in the two morning games, with the Dutch surely eager to claim a moral victory by ending Korea’s unbeaten run.  In the Beijing evening, it’s Canada versus Chinese Taipei and Japan versus the U.S.