Taiwan’s baseball team has advanced to the next round of the PONY Bronco World Series, after defeating the host team in Laredo, Texas and emerging at the top of the winners’ bracket.

The Taiwanese players — 11- and 12-year-old boys mainly from Kaohsiung’s Jhong-Jheng Elementary School — crushed the Laredo Texas team 18-0 on Sunday, securing their second victory of the tournament, after a 7-5 win over the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Chiang Chin-yao (???) scored four hits, while several other Taiwanese players racked up runs, which helped propel the team to its 18-0 victory over the Laredo players, who made many defensive errors.

The Taiwan team had strong crowd support from Taiwanese expats, who had traveled from Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and other parts of the United States to join their compatriots in Laredo in cheering for the Kaohsiung players.

In a post-game interview, Chiang said the cheering of the crowd gave him a big boost, and he also was very careful facing the pitchers.

On Sunday, Jhong-Jheng Elementary School Principal Wu Hsuan-min (???) told CNA that the team had struggled in their first game against the Dominican Republic on Friday, due to the heat in Laredo, where temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius that day.

After several days of acclimation, however, the Taiwan team was in full form on Sunday and scored an overwhelming victory, Wu said.

The Taiwan players on Monday will face the team that emerges at the top of the losers’ bracket and will advance to the championship game if they win.

The PONY Bronco World Series, for players 12 years old and under, is being held at the M.E. Benavides Complex in Laredo, featuring teams from the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the U.S.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel