【Chinese Baseball League Week-8 Digest】

Regular Season Finale
Lions and Leopards Clinch Pennant
Hopestars and Dragons Miss Out on the Dance

Chinese　Japanese

The 2007 CBL regular season has entered its eighth and final weekend. After this round, the top two teams from each division will move on to the quarterfinals next week. As long as the Tianjin team does not give up two games and the Beijing team does not sweep the Wuxi squad, Tianjin will win the Northern division and face off against Shanghai next week, and Beijing will take second and play the winners of the South, the Guangdong Leopards, at home next week. With Tianjin hosting the Eagles this week, it almost seems like a warm-up for next week’s action.

【At the Tianjin Dodgers・stadium】	【At the Wuxi stadium】	【At the Guangdong stadium】

【Tianjin area’s game scene】

【Guangzhou area’s game scene】

【Wuxi area’s game scene】

Tianjin faced the Eagles at home this week, and easily swept the young Shanghai team behind the stellar pitching of Lv Jiangang and Zhang Yunfeng, who are ranked 1 and 3 in pitching stats this year. In addition, Tianjin stalwarts Wang Chao and Meng Zhaopeng, who also rank among the highest in the CBL offensive leaderboard, provided reliable offense, helping the Lions claim three straight: 3-1, 11-10, and 14-8.

Though the Leopards had the division comfortably locked up, their three-game set against the Sichuan Dragons game them an opportunity to sharpen their tools for the post-season. However, in the Saturday game, the Sichuan team came alive behind the pitching of Chen Kun and Zhu Wanyun to produce 20 hits and give them a 14-4 victory. In the Friday and Sunday games, though, the Guangdong team displayed their power, and bested the Sichuan team both offensively and defensively, with scores of 8-1 and 11-1.

Though the Hopestars had no hope of making the postseason, they sent their best to the field in an effort to reach their fourth victory, a milestone they set before the season. Their efforts fell short, however, and they lost all three, with scores of 1-4, 3-6, and 2-5.

With that, the 2007 CBL regular season came to an end. In the north, the Tianjin team accumulated a total of 26 points to claim first, with the Tigers coming in second, and the Sichuan team in third with 14 points. In the Southern division, Guangdong took first by a longshot with 24 points, with the Eagles trailing with 14 points, and the bottom-dwelling Hopestars finishing last with 6 points and three victories.

In next week’s games, the best of the north will take on the second of the south in a best of five series, and the best of the south will take on the second best of the north. June 9th is the start – with the Tigers hosting the Leopards for two games in Beijing, and the Eagles will have two at home against the Lions. The first to three victories wins the series, and each team will put their best on the field, with their eyes on the prize of becoming 2007 CBL champs.

【MVP Commendation ceremony（June １）】

【Beijing areaMVP Week-7： Tianjin Wang Chao】	【Shanghai area MVP Week-7： Sichuan Feng Fei】
【Guangzhou area MVP Week-7 ：Guangdong Chen Junyi】