Chinese Taipei players celebrate their 14-0 victory over Czechia in their Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Saturday. Reuters-Yonhap

With his team fresh off a resounding first victory at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Chinese Taipei manager Tseng Hao-Jiu said Sunday he will count on his squad to build on that momentum in a must-win showdown against Korea.

Chinese Taipei lost its first two games in Pool C without scoring a run against Australia and Japan, before hammering Czechia 14-0 on Saturday. Korea beat Czechia 11-4 to start things off on Thursday but lost to Japan 8-6 on Saturday.

With the top two teams out of five in the group advancing to the quarterfinals, a loss will eliminate Chinese Taipei from knockout contention. On the other hand, a win could create a tiebreaking situation for the second spot depending on how Korea and Australia fare the rest of the way.

"I think my players were really decisive in yesterday's win, and I hope we can sustain our great form in today's game," Tseng said at his pregame press conference at Tokyo Dome. "We obviously have to be wary of Korea. They are a great team and I am sure they're prepared for this game. And we will try to create scoring chances and execute our own game plans."

Tseng's team will be up against veteran starter Ryu Hyun-jin. Tseng said he wasn't surprised that the former major league All-Star is getting the ball ahead of younger Korean pitchers.

"He has a ton of experience and has pitched well against us in the past. We have done our homework on him," Tseng said. "It's now up to the players on the field to execute our plans. No matter who is on the mound, we have to pounce on mistakes. The team morale is running high and I am expecting a good result."

Infielder Cheng Tsung-Che said he was impressed with the way Korea competed against Japan the previous night but added his team will also be ready to battle.

"Korea is a quality opponent and it will be tough to play against that team," Cheng said. "But our strategy is simple. We're going to play hard to get a victory. There will be some things that we won't be able to control, but we will keep things simple and do our best. Then time will take care of the rest."

Cheng said he will also try to avoid making errors on the field and allow pitchers to be efficient with their pitch count.

Source: Korea Times News