Israel's baseball team recorded its third loss of the Olympics this morning, going down 11-1 against South Korea, and saw its chances of winning a medal further reduced.
After the dramatic 6-5 loss to the Koreans in the opening game of the tournament, team Israel failed to put up a fight in today's lopsided affair.
South Korea's Ji-hwan Oh hit a two-run homer in the second inning, putting his team ahead for good. Korea's starter Min-woo Kim allowed just two hits in 4 1/3 innings, with Israel finally getting on the board in the fifth when Danny Valencia got a bases-loaded walk, only to see Ryan Lavarnway fly out on an inning-ending play.
South Korea broke open the game against Cubs' minor leaguer Alex Katz, who was charged with six runs in one-third inning of play.
Soo hit his second double of the game with two outs in the seventh off 42-year-old right-hander Shlomo Lipetz, owner of a New York City winery. The contest became the first game of the tournament to be cut short under the Olympic's rout rule.
South Korea will face either the U.S. or Japan on Wednesday for a berth in the gold medal game.
According to the rules of the Olympic tournament, just six baseball teams qualified for the Olympics, and while the event's complex rules allow teams that lose in the knockout stage a chance to medal, another loss for Israel (the game will be broadcast at 1 p.m. Israel time) against the Dominican Republic will see it eliminated for good.