Indonesia thrashes Malaysia 45-1 in one-sided game

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia walloped Malaysia 45-1 in a one-sided game on the third day of the fourth Asian Cup Baseball Championship at Bung Karno Baseball Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Indonesia scored its first two runs of the first inning when cleanup hitter Amri Syaiful spanked a double, sending home Lukmanul Hakim from second and Ijang Lukman from first. Amri was thrown out when he tried to stretch it into a triple.

The number seven batter, Adi Susanto, continued the onslaught by driving in Anhar Rahman from third and Gunawan Pramono from first.

With the bases loaded, Lukmanul worked the Malaysian pitcher for a walk, sending Adi strolling home from third and giving Indonesia a 5-0 lead.

Ijang followed by driving in Indra Gunawan from third and Ferdian Surjaatmadja from second, making it 7-0.

With the bases juiced, Amri lumbered up to the plate and drove the ball into the outfield for a double. The hit scored Lukmanul from third, Ijang from second and Anhar from first, giving Indonesia a 10-0 lead.

With a big lead, Amri stole third with Gunawan at the plate, and then scored on a single by Gunawan. Adi followed by delivering Indonesia's first four-bagger of the day, a two-run blast that made it 13-0 and capped the scoring in the first.

Ijang scored Indonesia's first run of the second, coming home on Gunawan's bases-loaded walk. With the bases still full, Adi blasted a grand slam, sending Anhar, Amri and Gunawan home and making it 18-0.

At 24-0 and with the bases loaded again, Yadi jacked one out of the park for the second grand slam of the inning and a 28-0 lead.

Malaysia scored its only run of the game and its first run of the championship thanks to Syayrizal Zainal Rashid, who stole home with Zakaria Hamzah at the plate. That made the score 28-1 and brought a cheer from the crowd.

In the third inning, Jericho Gaffar drove in Ijang and Anhar to make it 31-1. Adi plated Anhar for the final run of the inning, making it 39-1.

Indonesia scored another six runs in the fourth, the last two coming when Ijang drove in Heri Haeruman and Gunawan, making it 45-1.

Malaysia's Saravanan Subramaniam and Ahmad Ramzi Ahmad Zaini struck out to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Syayrizal followed with a single but was thrown out when he tried to steal second with Ahmad Hafeez Hamdan at the plate.

Both teams agreed to end the game after the fourth inning, even though the 15-run rule does not come into effect until after the fifth inning.

"I am disappointed with the result but there was nothing we could do. It was a tough game because Indonesia already has a good foundation for baseball, while we don't," Malaysia's Japanese head coach, Hirofumi Sakamoto, said after the game.

Indonesian head coach Rahmad Nasir said he did not expect the game to be such a laugher.

"Malaysia is two levels below us. Their infielders made too many errors on easy chances," he said.

Earlier, Hong Kong beat Uzbekistan 23-12 in the first game of the championship to go the full nine innings.

Favorites Pakistan and Thailand then played a close game, with Pakistan pulling out a 4-3 win.

Pakistan manager Khawar Shah told The Jakarta Post that it was a hard-earned win. "Every team should pay attention to Thailand for its good skills. Luckily, we could exploit their slow pitchers by playing fast."

Thailand's manager Thanakij Heinghom said he was satisfied with the result, saying his team played well.

Uzbekistan will play Malaysia, Hong Kong will challenge Pakistan and Indonesia will meet Thailand on Wednesday. (nvn)