The South Korea U-18 National Baseball Team recorded its first win of the tournament after two games.
The Korean National Team, coached by 먹튀검증 Lee Young-bok, defeated the Czech Republic 14-1 in the second game of Group A of the 2023 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Qualifying Round on Wednesday at the Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan.
Korea had a different lineup from the previous day, with Lee Chung-heon (center fielder-Chungam-Go), Jung Ahn-seok (first baseman-Hwimungo), Yeo Dong-gun (second baseman-Seoul-Go), Park Ji-hwan (shortstop), Lee Seung-min (left fielder-Hwimungo), Cho Hyun-min (third baseman-Chungam-Go), Lee Sang-joon (designated hitter-Gyeonggi-Go), Lee Yul-ye (catcher-Gangrul-Go), and Yeon Jun-won (right fielder-Busan-Go). The starting pitcher was Park Ki-ho (Cheongju).
South Korea took control of the game early on. In the top of the first inning, Jung Ahn-seok walked and Yeo Dong-gun and Park Ji-hwan singled to load the bases, but when Lee Seung-min grounded out to second base, Czech shortstop Martin Soboka made a throwing error. In the meantime, Jung Ahn-seok came home from third and Yeo Dong-gun from second, making the score 2-0.
With the lead in hand, South Korea added another run in the top of the third. The leadoff batter, Yeo Dong-gun, put pressure on the opposition with a walk and a stolen base, and came home on a single by Cho Hyun-min from second base to give her team the lead.
The game tilted further in the top of the fourth inning. After a leadoff double by Lee Yul-ye and a bunt single and stolen base by Yeon Jun-won put runners on second and third, Korea scored three runs on a sacrifice fly by Lee Chung-heon and RBI singles by Jung Ahn-seok and Park Ji-hwan to make it 6-0.
South Korea added two runs in the top of the fifth on a Yeon Jun-won RBI double and a Park Ji-hwan RBI groundout, and then celebrated with six runs in the top of the seventh. The Czechs, meanwhile, were held scoreless through six innings and had to settle for an RBI single by Pavel Jozek in the bottom of the seventh to avoid a shutout.
Park Ki-ho (Chungam High School) started the game and pitched three scoreless innings with no hits and no walks, while Park Gun-woo (Chungam High School) followed with two scoreless innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts. Clinical Heon (Daegu Sangwon High) and Cho Dae-hyun (Gangneung High) pitched 1⅓ innings of one-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts, and ⅔ innings of two-hit ball with one strikeout, respectively.
At the plate, Park Ji-hwan, Lee Yul-ye, and Yeon Jun-won pounded out three hits to lead the team to victory, while Yeo Dong-gun went 4-for-4 with two hits and a walk.
Korea will look to make it two wins in a row against Australia on Thursday.