Baseball: Diamondblacks lose opener

The New Zealand baseball team's debut at the World Baseball Classic in Taiwan ended in defeat when they went down to Chinese Taipei 10-0 in a qualifier overnight (NZT).

The Diamondblacks were always expected to struggle against the world's eighth-ranked nation but trailed only 2-0 after four innings before Chinese Taipei scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to blow the game open.

A lack of pitching depth failed to stem the flow and the game was ended on the mercy-rule after New Zealand's seventh innings - games are normally nine innings.

New Zealand will face Thailand, who were beaten 8-2 by the Philippines in their opening match, in an elimination game tonight.