Yahoo Finance Team USA Baseball Will Play for Gold Medal After Defeating South Korea in Olympic Semifinal
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Another gold medal is on the line for Team USA.
The U.S. defeated South Korea in the baseball semifinals at the Tokyo Summer Olympics on Thursday, winning 7-2. This marked Team USA's second victory over the reigning gold medalists in Tokyo, after besting them earlier in the tournament.
Thanks to a series of well hit balls, Team USA got off to an early lead — striking first in the second inning followed by a home run off of Jamie Westbrook's bat in the fourth, bringing the score to 2-0.
Things started to tighten up in the fifth, as South Korea got on the board with their first run of the evening, but the U.S. added on five insurance runs in the sixth to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
Tyler Austin is LOCKED IN at the dish. ⚾️@USABaseball extend their lead to 7-1. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/LzD3jt2zMm
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
This marks Team USA's fourth Olympic appearance and first in eight years, as baseball was not an Olympic event in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Games.
The U.S. won bronze back in 1996 and 2008 and went all the way at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, securing a shutout win over Cuba.
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Despite Team USA's big win on Thursday, a formidable opponent stands between them and a gold medal: Japan.
The U.S. lost a close game to Japan on Monday, after the host country's team — which is undefeated — fought back and won the game in overtime 7-6.
The gold medal game will take place on Saturday, while South Korea and the Dominican Republic will play for bronze on Friday.
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
