Asian Games 2023 baseball: Republic of Korea win fourth straight gold with 2–0 shutout victory over Chinese Taipei
The South Korean team overcame an earlier second stage group loss against Chinese Taipei, winning in the rainy Shaoxing night.
Baseball Softball
The Republic of Korea made it four gold medals in a row in Asiad baseball after their pitching staff held Chinese Taipei to a four-hit shutout in the final on Saturday night (7 October) at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, winning 2–0.
Starter Moon Dong-ju fired six strong innings of shutout ball at the Shaoxing Baseball Stadium, striking out seven Chinese Taipei hitters and not allowing a walk, while the bullpen completed the deal – albeit with a ninth-inning scare.
Moon Bo-gyeong got things going for the South Korean team in the second inning with a right-field double, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly; Kim Hyung-jun would also score in that frame on a wild pitch by Chinese Taipei starter Lin Yu-Min.
Chinese Taipei threatened in the bottom of the ninth, getting two runners on against closer Go Woo-suk. However, Wu Nien-Ting – who could have been the winning run – grounded into a double play to end the game.
No further scoring was to be had by either team, with Republic of Korea successfully overcoming an earlier group-stage defeat by their opponents to clinch their fourth consecutive Asian Games title.
Earlier in the day, Japan beat hosts People's Republic of China 3–2 in the bronze medal game, ensuring that the same three teams – the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan – finished on the podium once more, as they have at every edition of the baseball tournament at the Asian Games.