New Taipei Youth Baseball Team Wins with Help from Go-Playing Catcher

In the loser's bracket of the Hwa Nan Financial Cup, New Taipei faced Hualien County. New Taipei secured a 7-1 victory, keeping their tournament hopes alive, thanks to a strong performance by pitcher Liu Chen-hsi, who allowed only one run over 5.2 innings. His battery mate, catcher Chen Yi-hua, is a 6-dan Go player who believes his board game skills help him with on-field decision-making. Despite trailing early due to errors, New Taipei rallied with timely hitting, scoring three runs in the second inning and two more in the fifth. Liu threw 82 pitches, allowing three hits and striking out seven. Manager Tai Han-chao praised Liu's control. Liu, who has been playing baseball since kindergarten, considers pitching his favorite role. Catcher Chen Yi-hua, who once took a break from baseball to focus on Go certification, is now fully committed to the sport. He noted, 'Baseball relies on intuition, while Go requires deep strategic thinking. Both help me adapt to game situations,' and he aspires to become a professional baseball player in the future.