Mitsubishi Fuso Kawasaki catcher Tsutomu Takanezawa homered for the third straight game Tuesday to help Japan to a 12-0 rout of winless Colombia for its third victory in the preliminary round of the baseball World Cup.
Japan went up 1-0 on a leadoff homer by Nippon Oil outfielder Keiji Ikebe in the bottom of the first inning before Takanezawa's shot helped stretch the lead to four runs after three innings.
Nippon Life Insurance right-hander Yoshikazu Doi pitched seven shutout innings in a game called after seven innings under the tournament's mercy rule. Japan, made up entirely of amateur corporate and collegiate league players, improved its record to 3-1 in Group B.