The super round got underway this past weekend at the 2019 WBSC Premier12, with the series now shifting to Japan. The teams that remain undefeated with perfect records of two wins and zero losses are Japan, South Korea and Mexico. Only the games played among the teams that advanced from group play counted during the standings in the super round.
Japan came through with a win at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba City, Japan. However not many would have expected Japan to have had as much trouble with their opponent as they did. Japan only defeated Australia 3-2 and needed to come from behind for the win, as they were once down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth. Seiya Suzuki hit a home run for Japan in the fourth inning to get them on the board, and then with the game tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, Hideto Asamura walked with the bases loaded and Kensuke Kondo scored the game-winning run.
In other action, Mexico beat Chinese Taipei 2-0. It was a brilliant pitching performance by the Mexican pitching staff that included starter Arturo Reyes and relievers Jesus Cruz, Humberto Castellanos, Brennan Bernardino, Felipe Gonzalez and Carlos Bustamante. The six pitchers combined to only give up three hits in the two-run win. Mexico got their runs on a fifth-inning home run by Roman Solis and a sixth-inning sacrifice fly by Esteban Quiroz which scored Jonathan Jones.
The United States meanwhile lost their second game of the tournament, as they were beaten 5-1 to South Korea at the Tokyo Dome on Monday. The Americans lost despite recording 13 hits. Ha Seong Kim and Jung-Hoo Lee led South Korea with three hits each. Jaehwan Kim hit a three-run home run for South Korea in the first inning. The blast gave South Korea a 3-0 lead and a lead they would not relinquish.
