Israel stuns South Korea in Classic opener
Print Edition
Israel stunned co-hosts South Korea 2-1 in an extra-innings nailbiter as the World Baseball Classic got under way in thrilling fashion last night.
Scott Burcham’s infield single in the top of the 10th broke South Korean hearts and delivered a huge upset at the start of the 16-team tournament, spread across four countries.
Qualifier Israel, stacked with United States-born professional players, held its nerve at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome after the teams were all square at one after nine innings.
Pitcher Chang Won-jun had walked Tyler Krieger in the second to put Israel ahead, before Seo Geon-chang drove to left field to take South Korea level in the fifth.
As tensions mounted in the 10th, Burcham singled on a ground ball to second baseman Seo, allowing Israel to go 2-1 in front and leave South Korea staring at defeat.
Josh Zeid, Israel’s sixth pitcher, then threw his third shutout inning to complete an embarrassing loss for the 2009 finalist in front of a home crowd of more than 15,000.
The surprise win for Israel, 38 spots below third-placed South Korea in the world rankings, boosts its chances of surviving a group which also includes Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands.
Japan, which is a two-time winner, and Mexico are also hosting pools of four teams, along with the US.
Japan plays its first game against Cuba today, opening a pool which also brackets China and Australia.
Two of four teams advance from first-round pools in Seoul, Tokyo, Miami and Guadalajara, Mexico, into second-round play in Tokyo and San Diego that will determine the four semifinalists who play on March 20-21 in Los Angeles.
Sixty-three former Major League Baseball all-stars, including 25 from last season, are involved, although many MLB players are missing.
Baseball’s birthplace, the US, has never won the Classic, hurt by the unwillingness of many clubs to part with top players during preseason.
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