U18 Asian Youth Baseball Tournament Japan defeated Hong Kong 18:0 in the first game 4 games ahead of schedule

Rintora Yamada. (Provided by the Baseball Association)

[Reporter Lin Youchen/Report from Taipei] The U18 Asian Youth Baseball Championship kicked off today. The Japanese team in Group A faced the Hong Kong team in the first game. Starting pitcher Sue Kiraragi gave a small try and retired in 2 innings. The most eye-catching hitter was Rintora Yamada, who carried the fourth bat. He had a double hit and 4 RBIs in a single game. The Japanese team defeated Hong Kong 18:0 in the first game in advance in 4 innings.

Ryusei Okada, the head coach of the Japanese team, said that before the game, the players were reminded to actively steal bases if there was an opening. The players also actively pushed forward, and Yamada performed very well in this game. "I told the players to try to hit center field and form long hits, and the players all followed the instructions given by the coach before the game."

Supervisor Okada said that Sueyoshi Sueyoshi was originally scheduled to pitch three games, but due to the widening point difference and considering that he had enough experience to adjust the game, he was asked to retire after two games.

Rintora Yamada comes from this summer's Koshien championship team Tomoe Wakayama, and showed his momentum as a catcher for the Koshien championship team in the first game. Yamada said: "Yesterday I only used the outfield for practice. Today I found that the clay soil is hard, but it is not that difficult to adapt to. I used aluminum bats until the Koshien match. For this match, I used wooden bats. I can adapt to it better than expected, and the feel is getting better and better."

Yamada said that he has never played against the Taiwanese team and does not have much idea about it. "But now that I am here, I hope to learn more and show my strength to win the championship. We will respect each other and hope to learn from each other."

Suo Ji Liangcheng. (Provided by the Baseball Association)

Rintora Yamada. (Provided by the Baseball Association)