Japan Eliminated from the World Cup
Japan ended its run in the 2009 Baseball World Cup finishing 2-5 in the second round. The United States remained the only undefeated team in the second round.
- vs. Mexico: 9-2, Win
- vs. USA: 4-2, Loss
- vs. Chinese Taipei: 3-1, Loss
- vs. Canada: 3-2, Loss
- vs. Italy: 6-4, Loss
- vs. Australia, 5-0, Loss
- vs. Netherlands Antilles: 10-1, Win
The offensive leader of the second round  was OF Sho Aranami (Toyota) hitting .429 (6-14) with two doubles, five walks, and four runs scored playing in six games with four starts. He ranked 2nd in the second round with a .579 on-base-percentage. OF Ikuhiro Kiyota started in all seven games averaging .414 (12-29) with two doubles, HR, 5RBI, 3BB and 5R. He finished with the second most hits in the entire round.
The pitching remained consistent for Japan in the second round posting a 2.98ERA in seven games. The pitching staff of Japan struck out the most in the second round with 80. They held the opponents to .191 batting average. The defense showed their discipline with only three errors, the least in the round in seven games. RHP Tomohisa Ohtani (Toyota) was impressive with a 0.71ERA throwing 12.2 innings and allowing eight hits, a run and a walk with 12 strikeouts. LHP Atsushi Tanaka (Panasonic) ranked 2nd with 16 strikeouts posting a 2.38ERA in 11.1 innings pitched.
The tournament will continue with eight teams remaining and the schedule can be seen here.
Comments are closed.