THUNDER BAY – The biggest surprise of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Women’s Baseball World Cup has been the showing for Chinese Taipei.
Having won a silver medal at the last championship in 2018, the squad arrived in Thunder Bay as the second-ranked team in the world.
Instead, they have a 0-4 record and are guaranteed to finish at the bottom of the six-team field no matter the outcome of Thursday’s 7 p.m. matchup against Canada at Port Arthur Stadium.
According to Chinese Taipei head coach Juin-Nan Cheng, it’s been a period of transition for the program.
“We’re facing the problem of changing the old players of the team with the new players that we have brought in,” Cheng said through an interpreter.
“The team has definitely been working hard to try and win the games, but we’ve just been a bit unlucky.”
Chinese Taipei’s tournament began on Sunday with a 9-4 loss to Japan in a rematch of the 2018 final, though the game was much closer than the score would indicate.
They were then shut out 3-0 by Venezuela on Monday, were upset 9-3 on Tuesday by a Mexico side that’s in the tournament for the first time, and were eliminated from the medal hunt with a 9-0 loss to the United States on Wednesday afternoon.
“As you know, we are playing with all the top six women’s baseball teams in the world, so every game will be tough,” Cheng said.
Although the results haven’t shown it, there have been some good performances by the team at the plate.
Yi-Hsuan Chiu is third in batting average with a .583 mark and is tied with Japan’s for the most hits at the event with seven.
With one game to go before they head back home, Cheng and the rest of the team look to leave Thunder Bay on a high note against the tournament hosts.
“It’s been an awesome experience here and we’re just going to try to enjoy the moment against Canada,” Cheng added.
A full schedule for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup can be found on the event’s website.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at Port Arthur Stadium or online.