【China Baseball League “Final Matchup of the Season” 】
Leopards and Lions Face Off

The 2007 China Baseball League Finals enters its first week, with the Guangdong Leopards and the Tianjin Lions facing off in the opening two games. The two games this week will be played in the Guangdong Leopard’s home park in Huangcun Baseball Center. This year’s finals host the same two teams from last year, as the they fight for the CBL crown. In last year’s finish, the Lions stomped the Leopards, winning three straight. This year, however, the Leopards are showing much more strength, and might have a chance to over take the Lions.

Saturday’s game brought many new faces to the stands, after Lions backstop Zhang Zhenwang and Leopards pitcher Liu Kai signed major league contracts with the New York Yankees. In this game, both teams featured their ace pitchers, with Chen Junyi starting for the Leopards, and Lu Jiangang for the Lions. The first three innings were a draw, with both teams scoring a run. In the first half of the game, the Guangdong team had many opportunities to go up, having runners in scoring position in almost every inning, however both team’s pitchers and defense were flawless, and the score was held at one until the sixth. In the top of the sixth, the Lions offense began to catch on fire, and in the seventh, Liu Zhicheng blasted a homerun off Guangdong starter Chen, increasing Tianjin’s lead to 3-1. In the eighth, the Lions pounced on Chen for three more, and he was replaced by Wan Pei in the eighth, and Liu Kai in the ninth. Despite their efforts to hold the Lions, the Guangdong offense never came alive, and the night ended 6-1 in favor of the Lions.

The second game was played on the 24th in the morning, and the muggy air seemed to be a test for both teams, especially the northern oriented Tianjin team. In the fifth and sixth innings, the game was opened up by the Leopards, who scored a combined eleven runs, and made the score 11-2. Yesterday’s closer for the Leopards, Liu Kai, was today’s starter, and easily became the focus of the game. With all eyes on him, Liu Kai delivered a smooth outing, giving up only two runs in the second after a pair of errors. Tianjin only managed two hits off him, compared to Guangdong’s 11. In the ninth, Tianjin sent their sixth pitcher to the mound, but it was too late, as they split the series 1- 1 with Guangdong.

In the 2007 CBL Finals, the series is tied 1-1 between the Guangdong Leopards and the Tianjin Lions. Next week’s games will be in Tianjin, as they try to use their home field to their advantage, and win the 2007 CBL Finals!

	CG	W	L	PCT	Tianjin	Shang hai	HOME	ROAD
Tianjin　Lions	2	1	1	500		1-1	0-0	1-1
Guangdong　Leopards	2	1	1	500	1-1		1-1	0-0

June 23
June 23 18:00 　　Guangzhou Baseball Field

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tianjin　Lions	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	3	0	6	7	1
Guangdong　Leopards	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	2

June 24
June 24 09:30 Guangzhou Baseball Field

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tianjin　Lions	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	1
Guangdong　Leopards	0	1	0	1	5	3	0	1	x	11	10	4

【(Post season ２nｄ stage)ＭＶＰ Commendation
ceremonyWeek-10 （June 24）】