South Korea's U-15 Women's So Peu-teu-bol (CEO) Team Concludes Group Stage with 3 Wins and 4 Losses After Defeat to Taiwan... Faces Singapore in 5th-6th Place Match Tomorrow (the 17th)

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The South Korea U-15 Women's So Peu-teu-bol (CEO) Team failed to overcome the strong defense of powerhouse Taiwan, finishing its Asian Cup group stage schedule with a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. The team now aims for a dignified finish in its final tournament match against Singapore, which it defeated once during the group stage.

On the 16th, at the fifth day of the 2026 3rd U-15 Softball Asian Cup held in Weihai, China, South Korea suffered an 11-0 run-ahead loss to Taiwan in the final seventh match of the group stage.

True to its status as the champion of the first edition of the tournament, Taiwan led with strong offensive power from the early stages of the game. In the bottom of the first inning, South Korea's defense was overwhelmed by Taiwan's fierce batting line-up, compounded by defensive errors, resulting in three runs conceded and a loss of momentum. However, the team did not collapse immediately. In the bottom of the second inning, the defense stabilized to hold the Taiwan lineup scoreless, leaving room for a counterattack.

The most disappointing moment for South Korea came in the top of the third inning. Leadoff hitter Hwang Ji-won broke the deadlock with a single to center field, and Kang Su-min added a ball that slipped down the left field line, creating a scoring opportunity with runners on first and second base and no outs.

However, the subsequent batters struggled to find a breakthrough. On consecutive infield grounders by An Hye-young and Kwon Min-song, Taiwan's defense made fielder's choices, resulting in the lead runners being put out one after another. Cho Yu-ju calmly drew a walk to extend the opportunity to bases loaded with two outs, but Choi Min-joo's hit again resulted in a fielder's choice by the infielders, and the inning ended without scoring any runs.

After missing the decisive opportunity, the momentum shifted rapidly in favor of Taiwan. In the bottom of the third inning, South Korea's pitching staff wavered. Taiwan unleashed long hits, including consecutive doubles and a triple, and also drew walks, widening the score gap instantly.

Following starting pitcher Choi Min-joo, South Korea brought Cho Yu-ju onto the mound to try to shift the atmosphere, but failed to stop Taiwan's offense. As a result, they conceded 8 runs in that single inning, extending the deficit to 11-0. In its final offensive chance in the top of the fourth inning, South Korea also failed to score, and the run-ahead loss was confirmed.

With this, South Korea concluded its seven group stage matches at the tournament with a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. Although it failed to advance to the upper bracket, it will challenge for its final victory in the 5th-6th place classification match held on the 17th.

The opponent is Singapore. South Korea has already secured an 11-4 decisive victory against Singapore during this tournament's group stage. Having shown clear superiority in their previous head-to-head encounter, the team aims for another win in the final game.

Lee Sang-hyun, head coach of the South Korea U-15 national team, stated, "Although the group stage schedule is over, we will do our best until the very end to achieve a dignified finish in the remaining 5th-6th place classification match."

The 5th-6th place classification match between South Korea and Singapore will be held at 10:00 AM on the 17th.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original