Israel's offensive attack looks legit after 2nd straight upset in WBC
When Israel claimed the last spot in the World Baseball Classic this past September, it appeared the squad consisting of relatively unknowns would be an easy out in the first round of the event, but that hasn't been the case thus far.
After shocking Korea in the opening game of the event, Israel dominated Chinese Taipei 15-7 late Monday.
With the victory, the Israeli squad appears to have a very good chance of advancing to the second round of the event at the legendary Tokyo Dome in Japan from Mar. 12-16 and it's thanks to a balanced attack headlined by Ike Davis, Ryan Lavarnway, and Nate Freiman.
| PLAYER | AB | H | R | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ike Davis | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ryan Lavarnway | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Nate Freiman | 10 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Israel managed to secure at least one run off of every pitcher Chinese Taipei put on the hill, with the exception of Chen-Hua Lin, including two earned off former Detroit Tigers reliever Fu-Te Ni, who was once an effective big-league arm in 2009 when he posted a 2.61 ERA.
The Israelis have one game left in the event's first round when they met the Netherlands on Wednesday, in what is expected to be the best game in Seoul. The Dutch shut out Korea 5-0 on Tuesday, and feature a roster consisting of big-leaguers Andrelton Simmons, Jurickson Profar, Xander Bogaerts, and Jonathan Schoop.