Korea blanks Japan 2-0 to reclaim Asian U-18 baseball crown

Korea has reclaimed the top spot in Asian youth baseball, led by Ha Hyun-seung, a senior at Busan High School who is regarded as one of the top aces among Korean high school players.

Korea defeated Japan 2-0 in the final of the 14th U-18 Asian Baseball Championship at Taipei Dome in Taiwan on Sunday. Starting pitcher Ha threw a seven-inning complete-game shutout, allowing just one hit while striking out eight.

Korea finished the tournament undefeated, winning all six of its games. The country also claimed its sixth Asian championship, following titles in 1996, 2003, 2009, 2014 and 2018. Korea surpassed Japan, which had also won five titles, to become the tournament’s most successful country.

Duksoo High School manager Jung Youn-jin, who previously managed Korea at the 26th U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2013, returned to the helm and guided the team to the Asian title. Jung, who led Duksoo High School to consecutive titles at the Shinsegae E-Mart Cup and the Presidential Cup this year, demonstrated his leadership by beating Japan twice during the tournament.

In the seven-inning game, Korea scored first in the bottom of the second. With one out, Jang Min-je drove a ball past the right fielder and reached third base. Nam Hyeon-u was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and third. Woo Ju-ro attempted a bunt, but Japan anticipated the play and called for a pitchout. Catcher Ritora Yamata, however, made an errant throw to third, allowing Jang to score.

Korea added an insurance run in the fifth. Nam and Woo hit back-to-back singles with one out to put runners on first and third. Cho Hui-seong then drove a single through the infield into left-center field, extending Korea’s lead to 2-0.

Ha firmly held down the mound as Korea protected its lead. He kept Japan’s lineup in check with a fastball in the upper 140-kilometer-per-hour range (87-miles-per-hour), a sharp slider and a splitter. He did not allow a single hit through five innings.

Ha finally surrendered Japan’s first hit with two outs in the sixth, when Hinata Fukushima singled to right. He responded by then striking out Eita Iguchi swinging to end the inning without allowing a run.