Baseball: Japan eliminates Cuba, qualifies for Premier12 Super Round

Defending champion Japan defeated Cuba 7-6 in the Premier12 tournament on Sunday, securing their place in the four-team Super Round. The victory at Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, played in rainy conditions, improved Japan's opening-round record to 4-0 in Group B and eliminated Cuba, who fell to 1-3 with one game remaining for each team.

Japan's Ryoya Kurihara broke a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly off Cuban pitcher Livan Moinelo, who is also Kurihara's teammate with the SoftBank Hawks. Moinelo was Cuba's sixth pitcher of the game and worked three innings.

The young Japanese team (average age 25.7) held a 5-1 lead after five innings. However, Cuba rallied with three runs in the sixth inning to pull within one run and then tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh inning.

Cuba threatened in the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out. Japanese reliever Shoma Fujihira ended the threat by striking out Yoan Moncada and Andi Cosme consecutively to seal the win.

Venezuela and the United States have also advanced to the Super Round by finishing first and second respectively in Group A in Mexico. The Super Round begins Thursday at Tokyo Dome, with the final and third-place game scheduled for November 24th at the same venue.