Dominican Republic beats South Korea 10-0 to advance to World Baseball Classic semis

MIAMI — Austin Wells smashed the game-winning home run and unbeaten Dominican Republic advanced to the World Baseball Classic semi-finals with a 10-0 romp over South Korea on Friday.

Wells blasted the only pitch he saw from South Korea's So Hyeong-jun over the right-field wall for a three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to give the Dominicans the victory under the blowout rule -- which ends a game early if a team leads by 10 runs after seven innings.

The Dominicans, who boast the Classic's most powerful scoring attack, will face the United States in Sunday's semifinal at Miami.

The Americans and Canadians met in a later quarterfinal at Houston, extending a rivalry that saw U.S. men's and women's ice hockey teams beat Canada in last month's Winter Olympic finals.

Dominican Republic boasts a Major League Baseball lineup of sluggers and pitchers that surged ahead early against a squad of young talent from the South Korean league.

The Dominicans grabbed a 3-0 in the second inning. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked and scored on a double by Junior Caminero, who later scored on a Julio Rodriguez ground out. Agustin Ramirez walked, took second on Geraldo Perdomo's single and scored on a Fernando Tatis single.

In the third, Juan Soto singled and scored on Guerrero's double to centerfield, evading a tag attempt at the plate. Guerrero took third and scored on a Manny Machado single.

After a Caminero single, walks to Perdomo, Tatis and Ketel Marte forced in two more Dominican runs for a 7-0 edge, setting the stage for the deciding blast by Wells.

Saturday's quarterfinal games find unbeaten Italy facing Puerto Rico at Houston and Venezuela playing undefeated Japan in Miami.

Those winners will meet in Monday's semifinal at Miami, where the championship game is scheduled for Tuesday night.

© 2026 AFP