Taoyuan Lions Club Donates Baseball Equipment to Support Matsu High School Team

(Central News Agency reporter Pan Xintong, Lienchiang County, June 3rd) To support grassroots baseball, the Taoyuan First Lions Club donated nearly NT$200,000 worth of baseball supplies to the Matsu High School baseball team today. Coach Zheng Linzai said that there are currently eight students studying from Taoyuan, and seven more will join next school year.

National Matsu High School issued a press release today stating that the Taoyuan First Lions Club, led by former president Wang Jianye, donated nearly NT$200,000 worth of baseball supplies at noon today in the Matsu High School conference room. The supplies included baseball gear, batting gloves, windbreakers, baseball pants, practice tights, and blankets, aimed at solving the difficulty of obtaining baseball equipment on the outlying island and allowing students to focus on practice.

Matsu High School Principal Xie Chongyao expressed gratitude through the press release. The main purpose of the Taoyuan First Lions Club's visit was to visit the baseball team players who came from Taoyuan to study on the island, hoping that the students can achieve new successes for the team in Matsu's simple environment.

Matsu High School baseball team coach Zheng Linzai told Central News Agency today that the team has achieved significant results over the past year. After failing to win any games in national competitions during the 113th academic year, the addition of eight 'immediate contributors' from Dayuan Junior High School in Taoyuan in the 114th academic year led to a victory in the Black Panther Flag tournament, advancing to the top 28 in the high school baseball soft group league, and winning 5th place with a 3-2 record in the Kunshan Cup.

Zheng said that in the new semester starting in September, seven more junior high graduates with baseball skills will enroll at Matsu High School.

However, Zheng admitted that Matsu's grassroots baseball cannot always rely on young players from Taiwan proper. It should be strengthened from the ground up by holding training camps and other methods to find potential local players and improve Matsu's baseball culture. Currently, several students from Beigan Township take a self-funded ferry every Saturday to Nangan's Fu'ao Port to practice with the Matsu High School baseball team, which is a good start. (Editor: Li Hengshan) 115-06-03