South Korea defeated Thailand 17-0 to grab a ticket to the next stage in the Asian Games baseball tournament Tuesday.
The game at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing, southeast of the main host city, Hangzhou, ended after the fifth inning on a mercy rule.
South Korea finished the preliminary stage at 2-1, with a win over Hong Kong and a loss to Chinese Taipei preceding Tuesday's win.
South Korea finished second in Group B behind Chinese Taipei, which defeated Hong Kong earlier Tuesday to cap a 3-0 start to the tournament. The top two teams from Group B progressed to the Super Round, where they will meet the top two nations from Group A, likely Japan and China.
In the Super Round, teams will play opponents from the other group, and the preliminary results between the teams that advance will be carried over. This means Chinese Taipei starts the Super Round at 1-0, and South Korea begins at 0-1.
The two best teams in the Super Round will meet in the gold medal game Saturday.
Against Thailand, South Korea scored 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to open up a 17-0 lead, and the game was called after the fifth inning on a mercy rule.
Choi Ji-hoon, Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Ju-won each hit home runs. Starter Na Gyun-an threw four innings and struck out nine.
Source: Yonhap News Agency