The 26th BFA Baseball Championship concluded with a tournament title for Japan winning all five games they played.
Six teams competed in the 2012 Asian Baseball Championship including baseball powers Korea, Japan, and Taiwan along with China, Philippines, and Pakistan.
Champion Japan was challenged twice in the tournament including the opening match against Taiwan. The two teams matched up with one another on the opening day of the tournament with Japan winning 2-1 scoring an unearned run that in the end was the difference. Both teams pitched well, but in the end the defensive miscue cost Taiwan.
Japan was challenged once more on Day 3 against the Philippines. It took a run in the 6th inning for Japan to pull out the close game 1-0. The Japan pitching was outstanding as three pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout. Tabata Yuichi drove in the winning run going 2-for-3.
Japan also dominated the awards winning five of the nine given out including MVP and leading hitter.
Final Standings
1. Japan 5 – 0
2. Taiwan 4 – 1
3. Korea 3 – 2
4. China 2 – 3
5. Philippines 1 – 4
6. Pakistan 0 – 5
Awards:
MVP Junichi Katayama (JPN)
Leading hitter Tsutomu Horikoshi (JPN .455)
Most RBI Takumi Horikoshi (JPN 7)
Most runs scored Chang, Cheng-Wei (TPE 6)
Most home runs Cho, Pyung Ho (KOR 1)
Most stolen bases Cui Xiao (CHN 4)
Pitcher with best won-loss average Toru Akiyoshi (JPN 3-0)
Pitcher with best earned run average Jun In Wook (KOR 9.2 innings 0)
Outstanding defensive player Kosuke Tanaka (JPN)
Photo Courtesy Baseball Federation of Japan
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This post was written by
Eric Bynum is Managing Editor here at Baseball de World and an ESL teacher in South Korea. He has played and/or written about baseball for the past 30 years and is an avid Atlanta Braves fan. Eric also writes for Braves Baseball World and for Call to the Pen.
