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Chinese Taipei uses grand slam to spark offense against Cuba

By HENRY HUBER 4 min read

A closer look at the Chinese Taipei's 6-2 comeback win over Cuba on Monday at Volunteer Stadium.

PLAY OF THE GAME --Chiu Wei-Che's grand slam: Cuba's defense had already started to give a bit heading into the fifth inning, but the team still held a 2-1 lead. With Chinese Taipei at the bottom of its order, it seemed like a great chance for Cuba to get some of its momentum back.

Instead, Chinese Taipei first baseman Hu Yen-Chun kicked off the innings with a single and Yu Teng-Hao and Chen Bo-Wei fought for walks, leaving leadoff batter Chiu Wei-Che with the bases loaded and no outs on the board. It was an excellent opportunity to turn the game around, and he took full advantage, nailing a fly ball to left center that just scraped over the wall for a coveted grand slam. It was essentially game sealing, as Cuba failed to muster up a semblance of momentum following that bomb.

CHINESE TAIPEI PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Chiu Wei-Che: Of course, a player that hits a grand slam and accounts for four RBIs is going to be a candidate for Player of the Game. But starting pitcher Chiu Wei-Che also had a decent day from the mound. Though he gave up two unearned runs to start things off, that wasn't something that fazed him, as he kept the Cuba offense in check until late in the third. With that being that time where Cuba had the most momentum, it was pivotal Chinese Taipei keep it from capitalizing further.

CUBA PLAYER OF THE GAME --Fans Espinosa: Despite not pitching a single strikeout on the day, Cuba starting pitcher Fans Espinosa did a great job pitching for outs, posting three scoreless innings to start and playing a key role in his team maintaining a lead until the fifth inning. The only run he surrendered was unearned too.

BIG INNING ­-- Chinese Taipei's sixth: With Cuba waning after the grand slam, Chinese Taipei went above and beyond to ensure its victory. In the sixth, eight of its players fought to get on base and three logged hits, an effort which culminated in five runs and a 10-2 lead heading into the final half. Chinese Taipei allowed two Cuba runners on base in the sixth, but effectively finished things off from there.

BEST EFFORT--After Espinosa kept his pitch at around an average of 15 pitches per inning, Chinese Taipei was able to work it up in the fourth, forcing him to pitch the ball 24 times and getting him to the limit. Even with Espinosa setting his bullpen up well heading into the fifth, they struggled once he was forced off the mound.

FLASHING LEATHER--After posting a no-hitter and a one-hit shutout in its first two games, Chinese Taipei kicked its game off against Cuba on its heels, surrendering two runs in just the first inning. But instead of letting that early momentum hit affect them, they went right back to seeing the success they had last Wednesday and Friday. Through the next four innings, they didn't see more than four batters, retiring the side in the fifth and allowing just two hits.

HOME RUNS: In the fifth inning, Chiu Wei-Che logged the first grand slam of his Little League career, giving his team a 5-2 lead after it had been trailing the entire game.

WHAT THE ADULTS SAY-- "We were able to get hits; we just weren't able to score with seven men on base," said Chinese Taipei Lee Cheng-Ta on the team's early struggles. "That really made him think about how to go on to the second half of the innings. So luckily, Chiu Wei-Che was able to hit a grand slam and fill everybody's confidence.

WHAT THE KIDS SAY-- "My batting coach told me to just do as usual because my coach believes I can do it," said Chiu Wei-Che on his mindset heading into the grand slam. "So, I just treated it as normal, like daily batting practice and I finally saw one go beyond the fence and was very happy."

WHAT IT MEANS-- With the win, Chinese Taipei is set to take on Japan at 1 p.m. on Wednesday for a shot to play in the international final. Cuba gets sent down to an elimination game against Mexico on Tuesday.

Starting at /week.