Baseball: Japan seals WBC quarterfinal berth as S. Korea beats Czechs

Japan clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday as South Korea’s 7-3 win over the Czech Republic guaranteed a top-two finish in Pool B for Hideki Kuriyama’s men.

Japan has won three games in a row and will wrap up its pool play against Australia (2-0) later Sunday at Tokyo Dome. South Korea and the Czech Republic are tied at 1-2, while China remains winless after three games.

Samurai Japan will play its quarterfinal game Thursday at Tokyo Dome against the winner or runner-up of Pool A, which is based in Taichung, Taiwan.

For South Korea, St. Louis Cardinals s...