S. Korea beats Japan 1-0, grabs 1st spot in WBC elimination round

TOKYO, March 9 (Yonhap) -- Olympic champion South Korea beat defending champion
Japan 1-0 Monday to clinch the top spot in the first round of the 2009 World
Baseball Classic.

South Korea met Japan in a rematch after being defeated by its archrival by a
humiliating 14-2. The two countries gained a berth to the second round, while
China and Taiwan, also in Pool A, were eliminated with two losses in the Tokyo
round.
"As we achieved a victory today, I'm confident we'll make a success out of the
second round," South Korean manager Kim In-shik said. "I'm so happy after we were
slammed by Japan" two nights ago, he added.
Kim Tae-kyun scored a fourth-inning single off Japan's Hisashi Iwakuma, giving
his team the only run at the Tokyo Dome.
South Korean manager Kim In-shik fielded former Atlanta Braves left-hander Bong
Jung-keun and three relievers, helping the team finish first in the pool.
Bong held the Japanese bats to three hits over 5-1/3 innings.
After conceding South Korean pitchers pulled off a feat, Japanese manager
Tatsunori Hara said, "I hope both of the teams will survive to the end (of the
second round) so they can show off Asian baseball around the globe."
The top two teams from each of four pools advance to the second round in the
16-nation tournament. The second round of the WBC competition is scheduled to
open in San Diego on Saturday.
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