Team USA defeated Chinese Taipei 6-5 in the third and final July 15 game of the 2024 Honkbalweek Haarlem event.
The United States was the home team in this game, so Chinese Taipei batted first and got off to a hot start. After not scoring in their earlier game against Japan, Chinese Taipei got on the board first with a Yu-Ching Tseng double that brought in Jun-Wei Zheng. Chih-Yu Chen added later in that inning with a single to give Chinese Taipei 2 runs in the top of the first.
USA got one back on a Blaydon Plain fielder’s choice to center field. In the second, Zheng stayed hot with an RBI double down the left field line, and the Chinese Taipei would be up 3-1 after three innings.
Both starters pitched 3.2 innings, with Noah Scott of the US team giving up three earned runs and Kuan-Ying Chen giving up four for Chinese Taipei.
In the 4th inning, Chinese Taipei scored again, but the U.S. responded even more this time. Down 4-1, Adam Singer hit an RBi single to bring the US within two. Then, Brayden Smith hit a nice double to bring in Singer. To tie the game, Jake Munroe hit one right back up in the middle, and suddenly, it was 4-4.
In the 6th inning, there was a bit of a spat between the home plate umpire and USA manager Marty Smith over a strikeout by Gehrig Goldbeck that Smith believed was outside. Goldbeck struck out with one out while the bases were loaded. Adam Singer struck out swinging immediately after the dispute to end the inning for the USA in a golden lead-taking opportunity. This left the game tied 4-4 going into the 7th as a possible rain delay loomed over the game. The rain never really came to dismantle the game, and Jake Monroe drew a bases-loaded walk to give the United States a 5-4 lead.
Both bullpens were okay down the stretch, and the USA’s Brynner Waiolama pitched in the 8th and 9th for his squad. However, the Chinese Taipei hitters jumped on him in the ninth. Zheng led the inning off with a single, Cheng-Chun Yang walked, and Yu-Ching Tseng singled to load the bases before a single out was recorded. Bo-Rui Huang then delivered a sacrifice fly to the right fielder and tied the game for his team late in the game. Waiolama rolled a double play to get out of the inning, but the damage was done, and extras were imminent.
At the top of the tenth, Chinese Taipei stayed hot. Extra inning rules were in effect, and two runners were placed on first and second. In the first at-bat of the inning, Chun Chiu hit a grounder to second that Gehrig Goldbeck couldn’t execute, committing an error that loaded the bases.
Then, in one of the weirdest baseball plays you could imagine, Yu-Chuan fan hit a liner to center field to Robbie Bolin. The ball looked to hit the ground, causing the Chinese Taipei runners to leave, but the third base umpire ruled it a catch. It was ruled that the Chinese Taipei runners left the bases too early, and the U.S. team turned an inning-ending triple play.
This caused multiple ejections after the Taipei team and coaches were infuriated with the call. Immediately after, Jake Munroe hit a ball to left that was dropped by the left fielder, and Team USA walked it off in one of the craziest last innings you will ever see in baseball. The Umpires final decision on the triple play was one out via the catch in center field, the runner at third out for leaving the bag too early, and the runner on second out for leaving too early.
This game will surely be marred in controversy for the rest of Haarlem Honkbalweek history. Nonetheless, the USA will move to 2-2 after an extra-inning win and will face winless Spain on July 17. Tomorrow, there will be two Honkbalweek games, with Japan taking on Italy and Spain battling the Netherlands. What a way to finish the day, and there is more excitement to come in this tournament.
WALK OFF WIN FOR TEAM USA! 🇺🇸
Team USA hangs on for a 6-5 win over Chinese Taipei! Team USA and #NJCAABaseball take on Spain Wednesday at 9:30 AM ET / 3:30 PM CEST. ⚾️
Schedule & Results | https://t.co/iXkudqvd1U…Livestream | https://t.co/aGkGNHHe2w pic.twitter.com/QY9YFmnffP
— NJCAA Baseball (@NJCAABaseball) July 15, 2024
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Photo Credit: Honkbalweek Haarlem (David Mulder)
