Canada drops another close game in Olympic baseball

Canada suffered its fifth one-run loss in the past six games, dropping a 6-5 decision to Chinese Taipei in their final game of the men's Olympic baseball tournament on Wednesday.

Chinese Taipei scored the winning run in the 12th inning to hand reliever Chris Reitsma, the sixth Canadian hurler of the game, his second loss in Beijing.

"We played a good game and we battled back," said Canadian centre-fielder Adam Stern, who was 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. "It was awesome to see [second baseman] Stubby [Clapp] hit a bomb, and in the end we played good baseball to win."

Canada finished fifth at these Summer Games with a 2-5 record after placing fourth in Athens four years ago.

And it won't have a chance at the medal podium until at least 2016, since baseball has been lifted from the Olympic program for the 2012 Summer Games in London. The sport is eligible for readmission four years later.

"This was the deepest Olympic tournament, talent wise, ever," Clapp said in a Baseball Canada news release. "These guys know that they can compete with the best in the world and win. When you really look back at it, we were one hit away from going to the medal round, literally. It speaks volumes of this program and of these guys on this team."

Hitting, the downfall for the Canadians for most of the Beijing tourney, wasn't an issue Wednesday  at Wukesong Baseball Field as they scored five times on 10 hits.

But in the bottom of the 12th Wednesday, Fu-Te Ni and Chih-Chia Chang struck out the side with Scott Thorman on first base and Matt Rogelstad standing at second to start the inning.

"Well, it certainly isn't what we baseball people are trained to compete in, but it is what it is," Canadian manager Terry Puhl said of the new extra-inning format. "Do I like it? No. Nor would I like it even if we win."

Canada and Taiwan combined for eight runs in the first two innings, with the latter jumping on Canadian starter Mike Johnson.

The right-hander allowed a run in the first inning and four more in the second before exiting the game with one out in the fourth frame.

HRs kill Canada

Johnson gave up back-to-back home runs to Chih-Hsien Chiang and Chih-Sheng Lin in the second.

Canada chipped away at a 5-3 deficit, forcing extra innings with single runs in the fourth and seventh.

Down 5-2 in the second inning, Stern led off the frame with a single and later scored on a pair of throwing errors on a sacrifice bunt by Emmanuel Garcia.

Stern and Garcia would pair up again in the fourth when Stern hit a triple and scored on a Garcia groundout to make it 5-4.

Clapp, batting in the leadoff spot for the Canadians, tied the game with a solo home run off relief pitcher Wei-Lun Pan.

"The whole at-bat I was trying to hit the ball hard, maybe get a double, but I just got lucky and got on top of it and away she went," said Clapp of his homer.

From there, Fu-Te one-hit the Canadians over five shutout innings (six strikeouts) before Chih-Chia came on for the save.

Wei-Yin Chen took the loss after yielding four runs (three earned) and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings of work.

Wednesday's contest featured five errors (three by Canada) and 22 men were left on base.

S. Korea finishes baseball prelims perfect

South Korea kept its perfect record intact with a 10-0 whipping of the Netherlands.

The South Koreans finished as the surprise top seed heading into the semifinal with a 7-0 record.

Right-fielder Lee Yongkyu went 4-for-4, including two runs scored. Left-fielder Kim Hyunsoo and designated hitter Daeho Lee added three RBIs.

Starter Jang Wonsam was terrific in the one-sided win, allowing only four hits in eight innings while striking out seven in the mercy-rule win. 

South Korea, Cuba, Japan and United States all qualified for the next round.

U.S. halts Japan's 2-game win streak

The United States broke open a scoreless tie in the 11th inning Wednesday with four runs for a 4-2 win over Japan in the final preliminary-round game for both teams.

Brian Barden, Nate Schierholtz, Matt Brown and John Gall drove in runs for the U.S., which carries a 5-2 record into Friday's semifinals.

Centre-fielder Dexter Fowler went 2-for-3 with a run for the Americans, while Jeff Stevens earned his first win of the tourney in relief with two shutout innings (two strikeouts).

Hiroyuki Nakajima had two hits in five at-bats for the playoff-bound Japanese (4-3), who suffered their first defeat in three games after leaving eight runners on base.

Hitoki Iwase lost his second game in Beijing, giving up all four runs (three earned) in two relief innings.

Cuba secures 2nd place

Defending Olympic champion Cuba secured second place after hammering host China 17-1.

Third baseman Michel Enriquez led the Cubans with a 4-for-4 performance, including a two-run shot in the second. Catcher Ariel Pestano added a grand slam for Cuba, who finished the preliminary round with a 6-1 record.

Cuba highlighted the onslaught with nine-run second inning and the game was called in the seventh with the mercy rule in effect.