---Taiwan v Australia---

Taiwan and Australia head for 'do-or-die' Olympic Qualifier
Taiwan and Australia face a 'do-or-die' game at 6.30pm in Douliou on day five of the IBAF Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament today
The winner will be on track for a berth in the Olympics, while the loser will be left hoping for a miracle
Taiwan will probably send Yang Chien-fu to the mound (a righthanded pitcher)
Yang, who plays for the Sinon Bulls, pitched well against Mexico on Saturday, giving up one run and five hits over five innings for the win
He only threw sixty-nine pitches, so three days' rest should be enough
Australia will most likely call on eighteen-year-old phenomenon Steve Kent, a pitcher in the Atlanta Braves farm system
Taiwan and Australia are both vying for a top three finish, which would give them a place in the Beijing Olympics
Taiwan are tied with Canada for second place with three wins and one loss, but must still face powerhouse South Korea
Australia are tied with Germany for fourth place with two wins and two losses
Taiwan are their last remaining opponent among the tournament's "big five"
If Taiwan does lose today, their best hope of advancing would be to win their remaining matches against South Africa and South Korea and for Canada to beat South Korea
Then, barring major upsets, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia would all be tied for second at five wins and three losses
In that case Australia would be eliminated, because after head-to-head matches, the second tiebreaker is runs allowed, and the Aussies are still hurting from their 16-2 drubbing at the hands of the Koreans on Saturday

GOING, GOING...ALMOST GONE - Australia shut-out by Taiwan - Beijing in serious doubt
Australia’s chances to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games are almost non-existent following a disappointing 5-0 loss to hosts Chinese Taipei on the fifth day of competition at the 2008 Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taichung
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, the Aussies ran into nine innings of brilliant pitching from Chinese Taipei starting pitcher Chien-Fu Yang, whose complete game gem had the estimated 35,000 fans in an all out frenzy from the first pitch of the game to the last
The win now assures Taiwan a place in the 2008 Olympic Games, as they join Korea in filling two of the top three places in the tournament
For Australia however, while they remain a mathematical chance to qualify, it places them in a dire situation, having to win both of their remaining games and then rely on Canada to drop their final two contests against Korea and rank outsiders Germany
The Aussie squad was understandably dejected after the game as the reality that they will most likely be watching the Olympics on television this August set in
Head Coach Jon Deeble said the most disappointing thing was the fact that as reigning Silver Medallists Australia would not get the opportunity to defend their medals in Beijing
“Of course I am disappointed, but we really didn’t play all the bad tonight” Deeble said
“Their guy threw a pretty impressive game, and aside from a coupe of mistakes on defence, there wasn’t a lot more we could have done tonight
But the real shame of it all is that we were put in this situation in the first place
As Silver Medallists we should have been given a shot at direct qualification” he said
While the loss was incredibly difficult to stomach, their remained several noteworthy performance by the Australians, including 19-year-old Liam Hendriks’ impressive work in relief
Hendriks, who came to the mound after starter Paul Mildren exited in the sixth inning, showed poise well beyond his years, allowing just one hit as he proceeded to strike out five of the eleven batters he faced over the final three frames
What made the debutante’s performance even more special was that it came in the coliseum-like atmosphere at Taiwan’s Dou-Liou Stadium
“At one point there it was so loud you couldn’t even hear the guy next to you in the dugout” utility Andy Utting said after the game
“Outside maybe Game 7 of the World Series, I doubt there would be too many places in the world that would witness a crowd like that tonight” he said
In addition to Hendriks’ heroics on the mound, fellow West Australian Luke Hughes continued to shine at the plate and in the field
Hughes hit safely in his first two plate appearances on the night, which ran his streak to five straight at-bats in which he had recorded a safe hit, and he made a highlight reel play late in the game that for a fleeting moment looked to spark the Aussies into action
Australia will now turn their attention toward what they can control, by winning their final two games against Spain and South Africa, while keeping every finger and toe crossed that their Beijing dreams stay alive

Chinese Taipei 5 – Australia 0
After a loss to Mexico on day four, Australia was looking at a must-win situation against host country Chinese Taipei on Wednesday night
Win, and it’s tied for third - lose, and it’s in fourth and two back of third place
In the end though, one big inning and another huge crowd helped win it for Chinese Taipei, 5-0
In falling to 2-3, the Australians are left with only a remote chance of finishing in the top three in the standings, and thus qualifying for Beijing
Chien-Fu Yang pitched a four-hit, nine-inning shutout for Chinese Taipei, and Chen-Min Peng went 2-3 from the plate with a stolen base
Aussie Luke Hughes also went 2-3 in the loss

Chinese Taipei smells Olympic berth after beating Australia
Chinese Taipei made a big step towards a berth at the Olympics in Beijing
They defeated Australia 5-0 and are now in third place right behind Canada, which has the tiebreaker on their side
The Taiwanese offense needed one inning to get going
They scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding lead
Chun-Chang Yeh hit a RBI-single for the first run
Chih-Sheng Lin reached home on a botched double play
Chieh-Ming Chang and Che-Hsuan Lin followed with RBI-doubles
They added an insurance run in the seventh, when Chen-Min Peng scored through a wild pitch
Combined with a strong effort by starting pitcher Chien-Fu Yang, the host of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament was unstoppable on Wednesday
Yang threw a complete game shutout
He only gave up four singles and struck out six, while walking none
The Aussies had sent Paul Mildren out to start the match
He was charged with six hits, four runs and two base on balls in five innings
Liam Hendricks struck out five in the remaining three frames
Australia are now 2-3, with games against Spain and South Africa left
They have the tiebreaker against Canada and Germany on their side
The two Asian teams would be placed in front of them, if they are tied in the standings

Top 1st (Australia At Bat)
Paul WEICHARD - Grounds out to 1B, unassisted, (1 out)
Daniel BERG - Flys out to RF in foul ground, (2 out)
Ben RISINGER - Lines out to CF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 1st (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Chieh-Ming CHANG - Stikes out swinging, (1 out)
Che-Hsuan LIN - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Chen-Min PENG - Singles on a line drive to CF, (2 out)
Tai-Shan CHANG - Grounds out to 2B, 4-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Top 2nd (Australia At Bat)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Lines out to CF, (1 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Tom BRICE - Lines out softly to 2B, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 2nd (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Kuo-Hui LO - Singles on a ground ball to LF, (0 out)
Chih-Sheng LIN - Singles on a line drive to LF, LO advances to 2B, (0 out)
Yi-Chuan LIN - Out on a sacrifice bunt, 1-3, LO advances to 3B, LIN advances to 2B, (1 out)
Chun-Chang YEH - Singles on a ground ball to SS, LO scores, CHINESE TAIPEI 1-0, (1 out)
Yen-Wen KUO - Reaches on a fielders choice, 3-6, YEH out at 2B, Throwing error by SS on attempted double play, LIN scores, CHINESE TAIPEI 2-0, (2 out)
Chieh-Ming CHANG - Doubles on a line drive to CF, KUO scores, CHINESE TAIPEI 3-0, (2 out)
Che-Hsuan LIN - Doubles on a ground ball down 3B line, CHANG scores, CHINESE TAIPEI 4-0, (2 out)
Chen-Min PENG - Hit by Pitch, (2 out)
Tai-Shan CHANG - Grounds out to SS, 6-3, (3 out)
(4 Runs, 5 Hits, 1 Error)

Top 3rd (Australia At Bat)
Luke HUGHES - Singles on a ground ball to LF, (0 out)
Joel NAUGHTON - Grounds into double play, 3-6-3, (2 out)
Brad DUTTON - Pops out to 1B, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 3rd (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Kuo-Hui LO - Pops out to 2B in foul ground, (1 out)
Chih-Sheng LIN - Grounds out to SS, (2 out)
Yi-Chuan LIN - Walks, (2 out)
with YEH batting LIN advances to 2B on a wild pitch
Chun-Chang YEH - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 4th (Australia At Bat)
Paul WEICHARD - Singles on a ground ball to CF, (0 out)
Daniel BERG - Strikes out swinging, (1 out), WEICHARD caught stealing onthe play, (2 out)
Ben RISINGER - Grounds out to SS, 6-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Bot 4th (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Yen-Wen KUO - Grounds out to 2B, (1 out)
Chieh-Ming CHANG - Walks, (1 out)
Che-Hsuan LIN - Pops out to 2B, (2 out)
Chen-Min PENG - Grounds into fielders choice, 6-4, CHANG out at 2B, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 5th (Australia At Bat)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Singles on a ground ball to CF, (0 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Grounds into double play, 6-4-3, (2 out)
Tom BRICE - Reaches on a fielding error by 2B, (2 out)
Luke HUGHES - Singles on a line drive to CF, BRICE advances to 2B, (2 out)
Joel NAUGHTON - Gounds out to 3B, 5-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 5th (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Tai-Shan CHANG - Lines out to CF, (1 out)
Kuo-Hui LO - Flys out to LF, (2 out)
Chih-Sheng LIN - Flys out to CF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 6th (Australia At Bat)
Brad DUTTON - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Paul WEICHARD - Grounds out to 3B, 5-3, (2 out)
Daniel BERG - Flys out to CF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 6th (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Pitching Change #4 Liam HENDRIKS replaces Paul MILDREN
Yi-Chuan LIN - Grounds out to 2B, (1 out)
Chun-Chang YEH - Lines out to P, (2 out)
Yen-Wen KUO - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 7th (Australia At Bat)
Ben RISINGER - Grounds out to 3B, 5-3, (1 out)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Flys out to RF, (2 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Grounds out to 2B, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 7th (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Chieh-Ming CHANG - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Che-Hsuan LIN - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Chen-Min PENG - Singles on a line drive to CF, (2 out)
With CHANG batting PENG steals 2B and advances to 3B on a throwing error by C
Tai-Shan CHANG - Walks, (2 out)
With LO batting WILD PITCH CM CHANG scores, TS CHANG advances to 2B, CHINESE TAIPEI 5-0, (2 out)
Kuo-Hui LO - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error)

Top 8th (Australia At Bat)
Tom BRICE - Flys out to deep LF, (1 out)
Luke HUGHES - Flys out to CF, (2 out)
Joel NAUGHTON - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 8th (Chinese Taipei At Bat)
Defensive substitution #19 James LINGER replaces Brad DUTTON at SS
Chih-Sheng LIN - Grounds out to 3B, 5-3, (1 out)
Yi-Chuan LIN - Grounds out to 2B, 4-3, (2 out)
Chun-Chang YEH - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 9th (Australia At Bat)
James LINGER - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Paul WEICHARD - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Daniel BERG - Grounds out to SS, 6-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
GAME OVER CHINESE TAIPEI WINS 5-0

Refer to game against Spain - CLICK HERE