China eliminated after loss to Korea

Game ends after seven innings due to 10-run mercy rule

By Wayne Graczyk / Special to MLB.com

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TOKYO -- Team China had hoped to sustain its momentum following a 4-1 victory over Chinese Taipei on Saturday, but the Chinese were outplayed by a determined Korean team and must accept elimination from the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Korea bounced back from a 14-2 loss to Japan with a convincing 14-0 shutout over China in Game 5 of the Classic Pool A, Asia Round, on Sunday night before 12,571 fans at Tokyo Dome.

Korea will now face Japan again on Monday night to determine the winner of Pool A. The still-developing Chinese players, despite the one-sided defeat, have nothing to be ashamed of, as they go home with a 1-2 record.

The game was called after the top of seventh inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Korea scored twice in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Hyun Soo Kim and an infield out, and added two more in the bottom of the fourth on Bum Ho Lee's home run into the left-field bleachers.

The Chinese players seemed to lose their concentration in the bottom of the fifth, as Korea sent 10 men to the plate and scored five times on three hits, two walks, a hit batsman and two errors.

Korea scored five more times in the bottom of the sixth, making it 14-0.

China managed just two hits -- a single by Ray Chang in the first inning and a double by Fei Feng in the fourth.

Wayne Graczyk is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.