The Dominican remain perfect in this tournament so far, going 5-0 heading into the semi-finals as their bats continue to stay red-hot. It is now the first time they have advanced to the semi-finals round since the 2013 World Baseball Classic - the same year they won the entire thing.
Junior Caminero led the Dominicans at the plate, going 2-for-2. Meanwhile, Cristopher Sanchez gave up 0 runs on 2 hits through 5 innings with 8 strikeouts.
Recap and highlights
After a scoreless first inning, the Dominican broke the deadlock at the bottom of the second. After Vladimir Guerrero Jr walked, he would be the one to get to home plate thanks to a Caminero double. That was not the only score for them, as Caminero scored shortly thereafter through a Julio Rodriguez ground out.
A few batters later, and it was 3-0. Fernando Tatis Jr managed a single, allowing for Augustin Ramirez to score. It resulted in an early pitching change for South Korea, with Kyung-Eun Noh replacing Hyun Jin Ryu.
The onslaught continued in the third inning, where Guerrero Jr doubled on a line drive, bringing home left fielder Juan Soto. Another change in pitching occurred after the latest score, with Yeong Hyun Park coming in.
That did little to stop the Dominican bats, with Guerrero Jr scoring on the next play after Caminero singled on a ground ball. It became 7-0 after consecutive walks while the bases were loaded. Manny Machado and Caminero both benefitted, as they were able to walk home.
Fortunately for the Koreans, they were able to slow down their opponents for the next few innings. They even managed two hits, but could not convert them into scores.
However, Dominican Republic made it 10-0 in the seventh as Austin Wells hit a fly ball to right field to score three runs. That also ended the contest, with the mercy rule gonig into effect.