The Lao baseball team, led by Korean coaches including former head coach Lee Man-soo, lost their first game of the preliminary round against Thailand. Their dreams of winning their first Asian Games will have to wait until the next game against Singapore, but they managed to get a point against Thailand. And it wasn’t a cold game loss.
Laos lost 1-4 to Thailand in the first game of the Baseball First Stage of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Xiaoxing Baseball and Softball Center in Zhejiang, China on Saturday. The mound held up well. In their last meeting, Laos gave up 15 runs to Thailand. This time, the pitchers struggled to get their fastballs over 120 kilometers per hour, but they managed to limit the runs by 11. Offensively, we had to be happy with the runs.
They got off to a good start. In the first inning, Vy Sengsolin led off with a single to right. After a fake bunt by the second baseman, the throw to first got caught by the fielding third baseman. This was followed by a single to end the inning. It was a very clean play by Thailand.
Laos, on the other hand, was in trouble in the bottom of the first inning when their defense failed to capitalize on a double play opportunity. A grounder to shortstop with one out put runners on first and third. Still, no runs were scored. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, but Sakai Prachai struck out swinging to end the threat.
Laos didn’t score a lot of runs in an inning, but they were steady from the second to the fourth.
Still, it paid off. Trailing 0-4 in the seventh inning, Laos scored its first run of the Asian Games. With one out, Yayuya Wah’s grounder to the third baseman brought home the runner from third. A subsequent opportunity to score was nullified when Phayia Wah struck out standing up.
Two batters later in the top of the ninth, Laos had one last chance to rally with an error, a stolen base and a walk, but Thothavatha struck out standing to end the game. Laos had to settle for a point against Thailand at the Asian Games
Laos made its international baseball debut at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, but the difference in quality was evident. They finished the preliminary round with two losses in two games. They lost 0-15 to Thailand in a six-inning cold game. Against Sri Lanka, they lost 10-15 in a hard-fought match.스포츠토토
Before the game, Lee Man-soo, the former head coach of the Hulk Foundation, and Kim Hyun-min, the head coach of Laos, shouted for the team to get their first win. Although the win against Thailand fell short, they still have a chance to fulfill their dream. Laos will play Singapore on the 27th for their second match of the first stage. Having not conceded too many goals against Thailand, a win here could see them qualify for the knockout stages.