Chinese Taipei power past New Zealand in U-18 Women’s World Cup opener
Chinese Taipei exhibited their offensive strength at the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A opener, securing an 8-4 victory over New Zealand at Estádio Municipal de Beisebol Mie Nishi. Despite both teams struggling defensively, with a combined seven errors, Chinese Taipei's consistent scoring sealed the win on Tuesday.
Yi-Ting Chou delivered an impressive performance, pitching4.1 innings of one-hit ball, recording three strikeouts, and allowing just onewalk. The top four hitters in Chinese Taipei’s lineup each contributed with twohits, while Yu-Ling Wu scored three times and Jia-Jhen Cheng drove in two runs.
New Zealand’s McKenzie Bailey-McDowell took the loss, conceding eight hits, six runs, and two walks, while striking out two.
Chinese Taipei struck first in the opening inning with a Yu-Ling Wu single followed by a Yu-Lan Wang RBI double. They added another run in the second with Chen-Hsuan Chang’s triple and Wei-Chi Lin’s RBI single. A three-run rally in the third, bolstered by singles from Cheng and Yen-Ting Chiu, extended their lead to 5-0.
New Zealand finally got on the board in the fourth withKaiyah Ratu’s hit, but their momentum was halted by a double play. ChineseTaipei capitalised on a defensive error in the fourth to make it 6-0. NewZealand rallied in the sixth, scoring four runs, but Chinese Taipei answeredback with two more in their half, sealing the 8-4 victory.