Championship: New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei 4 VS. Monterrey, MX 1A championship matchup for the ages between Monterrey, MX and New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei ended in a 4-1 score in favor of New Taipei City.
The first three innings were quiet to say the least as only two runners, one from each team, got into scoring position. Both pitchers in Miguel Hernandez for Monterrey and Lu Gaun-Wei for New Taipei City held their own, allowing only six hits in those innings.
New Taipei City changed the quietness in the top of the fourth. A Lee Cheng-Yen double got things going and the following batter, Shih Cheng-Yu, was hit by a pitch. Cheng-Yen stole third and was safe which set him up to score on a fielder’s choice. A second run was brought in on another fielder’s choice and an error brought in the third run to make it 3-0 in favor of New Taipei City.
Another run crossed the plate for New Taipei City in the top of the fifth. Hong Wen-Wei started off the inning with a single and advanced to third after a Lin Xin-Hong double. A groundout sent home Wen-Wei to make it 4-0.
Monterrey was right on the ball the entire game but unluckily for them, every ball seemed to go right to the New Taipei City defense. That statement held true until the bottom of the fifth when Monterrey finally got a break. Roy Kim started the rally with a walk and was followed by a Diego Alvarado single. The bases were loaded when Isai Garza walked and the big hitter in Yosiro Eguia came to the plate. He delivered with an infield single to bring in a run and make it 4-1.
The last chance for Monterrey in the bottom of the seventh started with a ground ball that should’ve been an out, but an overthrow allowed the runner to be safe. A strikeout followed that but a walk of Luis Guajardo brought the tying run to the plate. Monterrey was unable to deliver, however, as the final score of 4-1 held up.
Gaun-Lei threw three and two-thirds for New Taipei City, allowing no runs on five hits. He struck out three. Cheng-Yen closed out the game.
Hernandez also went three and two-thirds, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits. He didn’t walk a batter. Isai Garza came in for relief and went the final two and a third, allowing one run on two hits.
Two batters had a multi-hit game for Monterrey. Those players were Alvarado and Eguia each with two hits.
By a score of 4-1, the 2022 Printscape PONY League World Series Championship belongs to New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei. They finished their tournament 5-1 as they recorded their fifth World Series victory in the last eight years. This will be their 11th title of all time and eighth this century.
New Taipei City’s tournament run started with an impressive showing as they defeated Guaynabo, PR 6-1. They lost the second game to Johnstown, PA 4-2 and had to fight their way through the loser’s bracket. Their next game against Bay County, MI ended in a run rule score of 12-0 and they advanced to the semi-finals to take on Johnstown yet again. After defeating them in the first game 7-3, they forced the if-necessary game and took them down again 6-1 to advance to the championship.
Monterrey, Mexico finishes their tournament an impressive 3-1 as they are the 2022 Runner-Up. They took the easiest route to the finals as they won out to stay in the winner’s bracket. They took the victory in their first game over San Jose, CA by a score of 6-2 and followed that up by a victory over Palmview, TX, 10-4. In the semi-finals, they took down Washington County in a firework display of a game by a score of 14-2 to advance to the championship game.
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