00:01Team Taiwan is analyzing all of its plays with scrutiny.
00:05The squad just wrapped up its exchange game
00:08against Japan's Fukuoka Softbang Hawks
00:10at the Taipei Dome Thursday night.
00:12A key warm-up match ahead of March's
00:15World Baseball Classic Tournament, or WBC.
00:17Today's match is to do a match.
00:21The situation in the middle is to do a match.
00:25The match is to do a match.
00:27The match is to do a match.
00:32Despite these moves, Taiwan's offense struggled.
00:35The lineup was limited to just two hits.
00:38The Japanese team took control,
00:40and won with a 4-0 shutout.
00:43Among the players, the spotlight fell on
00:45Taiwanese pitcher Xu Ruoxi,
00:47who traveled home to play with his current
00:49Japanese squad, the Softbang Hawks.
00:52He delivered three strong innings on the mound,
00:55with his fastballs consistently clocking in
00:58at over 150 kilometers per hour.
01:01After this match, he will switch uniforms
01:03to represent Taiwan at the WBC.
01:07Adding historic weight to the evening
01:09was baseball icon Sadaharu Oh,
01:12the world home-run king and current Hawks chairman.
01:15He offered some words of advice for the athletes
01:18of both teams.
01:23Relying on practicing alone isn't enough to improve
01:25one's skills.
01:26Players need to gain experience through real-game
01:29matches in order to grow and develop their techniques.
01:31I believe such international exchange games
01:33are a very positive impact on the athletes.
01:37Earlier in the week, Oh said Taiwan's team was one to watch,
01:41after their WBSC Premier 12 triumph in 2024.
01:47They've become really promising.
01:49They beat Japan the year before last,
01:51so I'm really looking forward to this WBC.
01:53I'm not sure if Japan will pull it off or not,
01:55but we're going with the intention of winning.
01:57Since we're going with that intention,
01:59Taiwan should fight through the four matches
02:01with the same intention along with us.
02:05Thousands of baseball fans filled the stadium
02:07to support Team Taiwan,
02:09which will compete under the name Chinese Taipei
02:11at the WBC.
02:13The huge crowds reflect the growing excitement
02:16and expectations for Taiwan's players next month.
02:20Taiwan will play its next friendly match
02:22against the Hokkaido and Nippon Ham fighters
02:24on Friday afternoon.
02:25This will be their last match at home
02:27before they head off to Japan
02:28for the World Baseball Classic.
02:30Leon Lin and Tanichi in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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