[NEWS] Elephants force Game Seven with Record-Breaking 5-4 Win

[tyu123 (藍)]

Elephants force Game Seven with Record-Breaking 5-4 Win in 17-Inning Affair

The Brother Elephants edged the Uni-President Lions 5-4 in extra-innings to
tie up the Taiwan Series and force Game Seven showdown tomorrow.

With prolonged play going into 17 innings tied at 4-4, it was up to Elephants
shortstop Wang Seng-Wei to end this record-breaking affair. Wang smashed a
fastball offering from Lions reliever Kao Chien-San for for a solo homer.
That was the go-ahead run for the visiting Elephants, and the Lions went down
meekly in defeat in the bottom-half of the 17th frame.

Now the series is all level at three wins each. The two teams will face off
for the decisive Game Seven tomorrow (Sun, Oct. 25) to determine the 2009
championship crown at the Lions' home ballpark of Tainan Stadium in Tainan
City.

For this Game Six, it was a historic night and most memorable for all those
in attendance at the ballpark, as it became the longest post-season game in
Taiwan's pro ball league at 17 innings (previous high was 14 innings in the
1991 finals between the Weichuan Dragons and the Uni-President Lions).

The duration of play at 6 hours and 14 minutes was also the longest game in
CPBL history (for a no rain delay-interrupted game), breaking the previous
record of 5 hours and 13 minutes (in a regular season contest in 2007).

This "longest game" 17-inning affair between the Lions and the Elephants was
a record-breaker on several other accounts. For the Lions, they used six
pitchers and 16 position players (including pinch-runners and pinch-hitters)
for a total of 22 men in the game, breaking the high for one team in the
championship finals. Both teams used a total of 40 players, equalling the old
record.

The contest featured a total of nine errors (five by Lions and four by
Elephants). This also set a new finals record (eight by both sides set in
Game Five two days before). Through six games in this finals, both teams have
committed a total of 25 errors thus far, which is a new record (previous high
of 17 errors between the Lions and the Sinon Bulls in 2004).

There were also a total of 18 double-plays in this series, breaking the old
record of 17 in the 2008 Taiwan Series. Three players had nine at-bats in
this game, which was also highest for a game in the finals.

Winning pitcher was Lee Hao-Ren, the fourth man in relief for the Elephants,
as he pitched the final two innings without giving up a hit, allowing no
runs, and striking out five. The losing pitcher was Lions Kao Chien-San,
giving up the winning homer by Wang in the 17th inning.

The game was also noted for the many chances squandered by both sides. It was
especially glaring in the extra-innings when just one run could have ended
the game, but neither team had a clutch performer (until Wang's winning homer
in the 17th frame). In this contest, the Elephants stranded a total of 19 men
left on base, while the Lions left 13.

Through the extra-innings, from the tenth to 17th inning, numerous scoring
opportunities were lost by both sides. The Elephants stranded ten men on base
in that stretch, while the Lions fared no better, leaving nine men on base
during extra-innings.

The Lions had two bases-loaded situations (13th and 16th innings), and the
Elephants had one of their own (15th inning). The failures to bring the
go-ahead run home to grab the victory made this prolonged game a tense and
nerve-racking affair, but also disappointed many supporting fans at the
lackluster performance on the field.

After the game, the Lions manager Lu Wen-Seng said, "It's rare to go through
such a long game. You don't see this kind of game very often. It became like
an endurance test. It is quite an experience for the players and the fans....
For tomorrow's game, our team will give our best effort for a good game. We
have the strong team spirit and the determination to win this championship."

The Elephants mananger Nakagomi Shin said, "Wang Seng-Wei is the leadoff
batter in our line-up. He has speed, and can get on the base. I knew what he
can do, so I left him in the ballgame. Tonight, he came through for us."

About the prolonged game, he said, "This is very usual game for going into 17
innings. Maybe it occurs only once a year. I asked the players to fight on
and persist to the last second. The pitchers and the defense all did an
outstanding job tonight for this victory."

As in the previous two games, the teams started out quickly in the beginning.
The Elephants had two men on, through an opposition fielding error and a
single. Outfielder Chen Kuan-Jen ("known as "The Little Airplane") lifted a
line-drive single up the middle to drive in two runs. DH Wang Chin-Yong
brought Chen home with another single, for the Elephants to take a 3-0 lead
in their top-half of first inning.

The home-side Lions replied right away, as outfielder Pan Wu-Hsiung ("Ta-Ke")
and DH Chen Lien-Hong ("The Tall Guy") hit RBI-singles to knock in two runs
for them to trail 3-2 at the end of the opening frame.

In the third inning, Lions outfielder Liu Fu-Hao ("Little Pot") was walked,
and he stole second base, and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Elephants
starter Mike Smith. Liu came home on a double to deep rightfield by lefty
hitter Hsu Fong-Bing (known as "Taiwan's Ichiro Suzuki" for the similar
batting stance and speed on the basepath). Hsu's timely hit evened the score
at 3-3 after the third frame.

It remained tied until the fifth inning, when Elephants first baseman Peng
Cheng-Min ("Cha Cha") went deep on an off-speed pitch by Lions starter Kenny
Rayborn into the bleachers over at rightfield for a solo homer. That pivotal
home run blast allowed the Elephants to go ahead at 4-3 in the fifth inning.

Needing to stop the opposition, the Lions brought in Nerio Rodriguez, coming
from the Dominican Republic, to pitch the ninth inning. Rodriguez, a former
MLB player who last was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002, did his job for
a 1-2-3 inning.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Elephants still had American lefty
Matt Perisho in relief on the mound. First batter in the ninth was Lions DH
Chen Lien-Hong ("The Tall Guy") who slapped a weak grounder to the right
side, but Elephants second baseman Liu Keng-Shin ("The Old Stalk") booted the
ball and allowed Chen to get on first base.

Next up was pinch-hitter Cheng Nai-Wen, and he stroked a single and pushed
Chen to second base. Then hero of Game One, Liu Fu-Hao ("Little Pot") came
through with a clutch hit to the right side, to knock Chen from second base
for the all-important tying run, making it 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth
inning.

With score tied at 4-4 after nine innings, it was a tense affair through
extended play, as both sides just could not push a run across. Many chances
were squandered by both sides and the score remained tied from the ninth
through to the 16th inning, until shortstop Wang Seng-Wei

won it for the Elephants with his solo homer in the top of the 17th.

http://tinyurl.com/yl2qtds


這篇是IBAF的新聞

感謝原PO  carhow 同意借轉 po

給各位象迷參考

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
→ tyu123:裡面有些關鍵字Liu Keng-Shin ("The Old Stalk")
→ tyu123: Chen Kuan-Jen ("known as "The Little Airplane")
推 kidman59:The Old Stalk!!    The Little Airplane!!   XDDDDDDD
推 yutsao:Many chances were squandered by both sides，說的沒錯..
推 jcneko:The Little Airplane XDDD 我笑了
※ 編輯: tyu123          來自: 122.126.161.211      (10/25 10:50)
推 b97302320:Wang Seng-Wei(King Victory Great)
推 lovinfaintly:只有我覺得Little Pot很好笑嗎XDDDD
→ jcneko:我也覺得little pot很好笑XDDDDD
推 mike0226:真的還滿好笑的XD "The Old Stalk"應該也可換 "Keyman"XD