History unfolds in CBL marathon
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-16 06:47

China Baseball League history was made at Fengtai Stadium on Sunday - but not the kind the Beijing Tigers wanted to be part of.

With both teams fighting for the right to face the league-leading Tianjin Lions in the CBL Finals starting July 2, the Tigers and visiting Guangdong Leopards scratched and clawed each other for just over three hours only to wind up tied 4-4 at the end of a nine-inning marathon.

That prompted league officials to invoke a little-used international rule that is baseball's answer to the soccer shootout. Never before used in the CBL, the rule automatically puts a "designated runner" at second base at the start of each extra inning in order to trigger offense. It's quirky, but exciting.

Both teams advanced their DR to third base in the 10th but couldn't push the winning run home. In the 11th, however, Guandong's Wang stole third, then raced for home when Feng Yi squibbed a dribbler up the line. Caught by surprise, the Beijing infielder could only watch in stunned disappointment as his throw nailed Wang in the back as the Leopards' speedster crossed the plate with the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the 11th, with the game now nearly four hours old, Beijing had one last chance. Designated runner Lei Li was immediately bunted to third, bringing power hitter Chen Zhe to the plate. But incredibly, with the infield drawn way in, Chen opted for a suicide squeeze.

He bunted the ball back to Guangdong pitcher Edwin Manaya, who fielded it like he was wearing boxing gloves. With Lei racing for home, Manaya underhanded a throw to the catcher. For a moment it appeared Beijing had again pulled even - but Lei missed the plate with his foot! With the Dominican Manaya screaming in his native Spanish, the Leopards' catcher got the message and quickly tagged Lei to cement Guangdong's 5-4 victory.

The loss was a heartbreaker for the defending CBL champion Tigers, who pummelled Guangdong 10-0 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday to temporarily pull into a tie for second place.

Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the Leopards (17-13) now have an easier route to the Finals against Tianjin (20-10). Guangdong will face the cellar-dwelling Shanghai Eagles (7-23) in their last six games, while Beijing (16-14) must take at least four of six from Tianjin.