Tokyo Olympics: Israel narrowly beaten by defending champions South Korea on baseball debut
- Published
Baseball debutants Israel threaten upset against defending champions South Korea
Tokyo Olympic Games on the BBC |
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Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. |
Israel suffered heartbreak on their Olympic baseball debut as defending champions South Korea secured a 6-5 walk-off win, external in extra innings.
The score was tied at 5-5 after the regulation nine innings in a dramatic game at the Yokohama Baseball Stadium.
But South Korea, champions the last time baseball was staged at the Olympics in 2008, avoided an upset after back-to-back hit-by-pitches., external
Israel relief pitcher Jeremy Bleich struck the final two South Korea batters with errant throws to enable the favourites to score the winning run.
South Korea are ranked world number three in baseball and are among the favourites for another medal in Tokyo.
It is the first time since their men's football side played at the 1976 Games that Israel are competing in an Olympic team sport.
Before the Games, Israel's fairytale journey to Tokyo had seen them likened, external to Jamaica's 1988 Winter Olympic bobsleigh team.
They reached their first Olympics by winning the WBSC Olympic Baseball Qualifier, beating the Netherlands, hosts Italy, Spain and South Africa to claim the Europe/Africa spot at the Games.
Ian Kinsler, who played in Major League Baseball from 2006-19, hit the Israelis' first-ever Olympic home run in the third innings.
Oh Ji-hwan levelled things up for the defending champions, before Ryan Lavarnway restored Israel's lead against the side ranked 21 places above them.
Back-to-back home runs from Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Hyun-soo and a run batted in from Oh at the bottom of the seventh put South Korea in the driving seat.
But Lavarnway hit a huge home run in the ninth to force the extra innings.
Both teams play the United States in their final Group B game later this week. All six teams from the two groups advance to the knockout stage, with this opening round effectively determining seeding.