Nammoku ignites Japanese rally in win over South Africa

Hisaya Nammoku drove in the first run to ignite the offence of Japan against South Africa, closing the game with 9-0 win in the IV WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.

The Japanese team completed their Opening Round games with a 4-1 record in Group A.

After a couple of scoreless innings against Alex Levkov, they were able to get through Mohamed Alaoui scoring five runs in the third. They added a couple in the fourth inning and never looked back.

Catcher Nammoku went 3-for-5 for two RBIs, while four other Japanese players had two game hits from the 13 of the team's total output.

Starter Ryota Kudo went three innings, allowing four hits and striking out three. Four relievers took care of the rest of the outs, allowing only one walk.

Japan finished the opening round with a 4-1 record and qualified for the Super Round as second in Group A behind Chinese Taipei. They will start with a 1-1 record, while South Africa will stay in Taichung for the Placement Round.