Australia wins 2nd straight game; Korean qualification picture becomes murkier

• Published date: 11 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Australia routed China 12-2 to improve to 2-0 at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Saturday, as Korea's path to the next round became even murkier.

The game ended on a mercy rule, as Australia built a 10-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Japan and Australia are now tied atop the Pool B standings at 2-0. China is bringing up the rear at 0-3, while South Korea sits just ahead of China at 0-2. The Czech Republic is 1-0.

Japan and the Czechs will square off at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Despite two straight losses, Korea still has a chance to reach the quarterfinals as one of the top two teams from Pool B, as difficult as it may be.

And Australia's win eliminated one qualification scenario for Korea.

In that one remaining scenario, Korea must win its remaining two games, and hope that Australia will lose its final two and the Czech Republic wins one of its final three games.

Assuming Japan wins out as expected, the final standings would then be as follows: Japan (4-0), Korea (2-2), Australia (2-2), the Czech Republic (2-2) and China (0-4).

The three tied countries will be ranked using the following criteria until the tie is broken:

1. Lowest quotient of runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games...