Taipei, Taiwan - South Korea's baseball team suffered a disappointing 3-6 loss to Taiwan in their opening match of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament on Wednesday.

Placed in Group B alongside Taiwan, Cuba, Japan, and the Dominican Republic, South Korea needed to finish in the top two to advance to the Super Round. A victory over Taiwan in the first game was crucial, and manager Ryu Chung-il had emphasized the importance of a strong start.

However, South Korea's recent history in international tournaments has been marked by poor performances in their opening matches. In the 2003 Sapporo Asian Championships, they lost to Taiwan 4-5, missing out on a spot in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Similarly, they suffered a 2-4 defeat to Taiwan in the first game of the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

In the World Baseball Classic (WBC), South Korea has failed to win their opening match in the last three tournaments, leading to early eliminations. In 2013, they lost 0-5 to the Netherlands, followed by a 1-2 defeat to Israel in their home tournament four years later. In the 2023 WBC, they started with a 7-8 loss to Australia.

With the importance of a strong start in mind, manager Ryu chose Go Young-pyo as the starting pitcher. Go, who had also started for South Korea in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 WBC, was expected to be the team's ace.

However, Go struggled against Taiwan's powerful offense, giving up two home runs in the second inning. After a scoreless first inning, Go allowed a leadoff single in the second but retired the next two batters. However, he then gave up a single and a walk to load the bases. Chen Chen-wei capitalized on the opportunity, hitting a grand slam to give Taiwan a 4-0 lead. Go then allowed a double and another two-run home run, before being replaced after two innings.

South Korea's offense was unable to match Taiwan's early onslaught until the fourth inning. They managed to score two runs, but Taiwan held on to win the game.

South Korea's bullpen pitched effectively, allowing no runs after Go left the game, but the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

The loss in the opening game is a setback for South Korea's hopes of advancing to the Super Round.

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]