Israel win first two matches at World Baseball Classic

Despite being tournament underdogs, Israel looks almost certain to qualify for the quarter finals in Tokyo next week as a top two finisher, regardless of the result of their final group match on Thursday against the Netherlands.

Israel scored a dramatic 2-1 victory over Korea in their opening match, with Scott Burcham hitting the winning run in the 10th innings.

Against Taipei, Israel wrapped up the game earlier, racing into a 6-0 lead by the end of the third innings thanks to big hitting Ryan Lavarnway and the pitching of Corey Baker. Israel went on to win 15-7.

Astonishingly, Korea and Taipei are ranked third and fourth in the world while Israeli is 41^st.