"You can't lose twice" baseball, finals today against Taiwan

Kang Baek-ho hits 3 HRs, Won Tae-in pitches 6 shutout innings

8-1 win over Bokbyeong in the second game of the Super R.

Three straight losses to Taiwan, including the group stage.

'Like this in the final' South Korea's baseball team manager Ryu Jung-il, right, bumps fists with Kang Baek-ho, third from right, after South Korea's 8-1 win over China in the second game of the Super Round at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday. Kang Baek-ho had three hits, including a home run, in the win.

South Korea's baseball team punched its ticket to the final of the Hangzhou Asian Games by beating "dark horse" China. South Korea will try to win its fourth consecutive Asian Games title on Sunday at 7 p.m. against Chinese Taipei, the only team it has lost to in the tournament. "We will prepare well so that we don't lose to Chinese Taipei twice, and we will definitely win the gold medal," said head coach Ryu Jung-il.

South Korea defeated China 8-1 in the second game of the Super Round on Saturday at the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Center in Zhejiang, China. After starting the Super Round with a loss to Chinese Taipei in the group stage, Korea defeated Japan and China to finish with a 2-1 record and second place in the round-robin.

This is the fourth time Korea and Chinese Taipei have met in the Asian Games final. In 2002 in Busan (4-3), 2010 in Guangzhou (9-3), and 2014 in Incheon (6-3), Korea won the gold medal. Since 1998, when South Korea began sending professional athletes to international competitions, the Koreans lead the all-time series 19-12 (61.3% win rate).

However, South Korea has lost the last three meetings. They fell to a 1-2 defeat in the first round of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in August 2018 and were swept 0-7 in the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 Super Round. They also went 0-4 in the second round of the tournament.

Kang Baek-ho, 24, who had three hits, including a home run, against China, said after the game, "The Taiwanese pitchers have good pitches, but our players' game sense has improved a lot. "In the final, it's expected to be a tight game rather than a high-scoring game, so I think an early lead will have an impact on the victory," he said.

Won Tae-in, 23, who struck out six and shut out the Chinese bats in six innings on the mound, also said, "There was a lot of talk among the players, 'Let's go to the final and get revenge on Taiwan.' I'm grateful to be given another chance. I will definitely win the gold medal."

Host China, once considered a "baseball backwater," exceeded expectations at the tournament. They defeated Japan, a team made up of unemployed players, 1-0 in the group stage. However, it was not enough to overcome South Korea, who had professional players. The Koreans pounded out 16 hits on the day. "Most importantly, it was encouraging to see Kang Baek-ho's hitting come back to life," said Ryu. Another encouraging factor for the Koreans was the return of pitcher Kwak Bin (24), who had been sidelined with a sore throat and was fit enough to play in the final. 19가이드03