Israel's baseball team was handed an 11–1 defeat by South Korea Monday morning at the Tokyo Olympics.
This comes as a major blow to the national team following on the heels of a historic 12–5 Olympic victory over Mexico which prevented early elimination.
2 View gallery
Israeli baseball team players disappointed after suffering a defeat at the hands of South Kora at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
(Photo: AFP)
From the first inning, it was clear that the Koreans learned from the previous meeting between the teams in their opener in Japan where the Israelis managed to throw them off balance and almost score an upset win. The South Koreans ultimately managed to get back to their feet and win the game 6-5 in the tenth inning.
Israeli batters were struck out one by one, with South Korea already leading 3–0 in the second inning.
The Blue and Whites managed to get on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, to which their opponents responded with a seven-point hot streak to seal the deal.
The match came to an end once South Korea bagged a double-digit lead, which spells game over according to the Olympic tournament's rules.
Following the loss, Israel (1–3) will play an elimination match against the Dominican Republic (1–2) on Tuesday. A win would keep the Israelis' medal hopes alive.