S. Korea falls to Japan for 2nd straight loss at regional baseball tournament

South Korea dropped to Japan 9-5 for its second straight loss at an ongoing regional baseball tournament in Tokyo on Friday, as it failed to hold on to an early lead and got undone by long balls. South Korea surrendered four home runs in the teams' second game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) at Tokyo Dome, none more devastating than the go-ahead three-run bomb by Rui Muneyama in the bottom of the eighth inning. South Korea, made up of Korea Baseball Organization stars, opened the competition with an 8-7 loss to Australia on Thursday. Managed by Choi Won-ho, South Korea will next face Taiwan at 7 p.m. Saturday, while Japan will take on Australia at noon Saturday. After the completion of round-robin play, the bottom two teams will meet in the third-place match at 11 a.m. Sunday, while the top two nations will square off in the championship final at 7 p.m. Sunday. This is the third edition of the APBC. South Korea finished as the runner-up to Japan at each of the two earlier tournaments. In order to reach its third straight final, South Korea must beat Taiwan and have J