China reached the top four for the first time in the U23 Baseball World Cup while Japan defended its championship successfully.

SHAOXING, China, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Japan had a dominating 5-0 win over Puerto Rico in the gold medal match to win back-to-back U23 Baseball World Cup title here on Sunday.

China lost 3-1 to Nicaragua in the bronze medal match, but the fourth place finish was already the best for the host country in a baseball World Cup.

Despite losing 6-1 to Puerto Rico in the group phase, world No. 1 Japan had a dream opening with two runs and expanded their lead to 4-0 in the sixth inning before wrapping up the 5-0 victory over the Central American side that did not manage to score despite an equalling six hits with the eventual champion.

"We learned a lot from the opening round defeat against Puerto Rico," Japan manager Tomoyasu Kawaguchi said. "We understood how to approach these strong hitters, and that was the foundation for our victory."

The silver medal was the best result at U23 Baseball World Cup for Puerto Rico, who last won a baseball World Cup in 1951.

"We did our best," commented outfielder Edgardo Villegas. "We hit the ball hard and I believe we were not lucky. You need to credit Japan, they played very sound baseball."

In the bronze medal match, China lost 3-1 to Nicaragua, but a fourth place finish was worth celebrating for the tournament debutante who kept making histories.

China had never reached top six at a baseball World Cup before, but the world No. 24 managed to progress into the super round with three wins and two losses on home soil and secured a berth in the bronze medal match after shutting out world No. 5 Nicaragua 4-0 on Saturday night.

Facing the same opponent in 24 hours, China suffered an early blow in the first inning as Emanuel Trujillo hit a 2-RBI triple. The two sides each scored one in the third inning as Godwin Bennett and Zhou Yi made an RBI single, but neither was able to change the scoreline thereafter.

"It's a pity we did not finish with a medal, but we have already made history in our first appearance in the event. It is the persistence and confidence of our players and the wisdom of our coaching team that made this historic run possible," said Chen Xu, president of the Chinese Baseball Association.

这份命令全文如下：“第16集团军司令罗科索夫斯基立即把第16集团军防守地段连同部队转隶第20集团军司令叶尔沙科夫。令你率领集团军指挥机构及必要之通信工具至迟不得晚于晨6点10分以强行军到达维亚济马。在第16集团军编成内将包括维亚济马地区的步兵第50、73、112、38、229师，坦克第147旅，1个人箭炮营，1个反坦克团和1个统帅部预备队炮兵团。集团军的任务是阻击从南面斯帕斯杰缅斯克地域向维亚济马进攻之敌，不让其越过普梯科沃、克鲁德耶、德罗日诺一线北进，即准备建立一个随后在尤赫诺夫方向转入进攻的集团。收到命令后立即报告。”

而从尤太忠往后的岁月里，广州军区的司令员开始慢慢的成为了一些后起之秀了，毕竟当时的时间线已经往后移了很多，开国将军们也渐渐退居二弦了，而新接任的广州军区司令员一样不容小觑，今天要介绍的这位老革命家、老党员便是我们的张万年将军。他参加过一系列的战役，像抗日、解放战争，对越自卫反击战等等。

"Next we will build on this experience and work hard towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games," he added.

Baseball and softball will return to the Olympics at LA 2028 after an absence from Paris 2024.  ■香港六合彩网站最新资讯

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