South Korea Dominates Czech Republic in Second Evaluation Match
South Korea’s national baseball team delivered a commanding 11-1 victory over the Czech Republic in their second evaluation match on the 9th at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. This win marked the second consecutive success for the team, following a 3-0 win against the Czech Republic in the first game the previous day. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun, who took charge of the national team in January, successfully completed his first official series with this performance.
These evaluation games are part of the preparations for the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) main tournament, scheduled to be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan next March. South Korea, along with the Czech Republic, is grouped with Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. The team is set to travel to Tokyo on the 12th and will play a two-game away series against the Japanese national team on the 15th and 16th.
Strong Offensive Performance
The South Korean batting lineup showcased a dynamic offensive performance in the second game against the Czech Republic, recording 17 hits, including 9 bases on balls. This was a significant improvement from the previous day’s offensive slump, where they managed only three runs (5 hits, 5 walks).
South Korea scored their first run in the top of the third inning with one out and runners on second and third when No. 4 batter Moon Bo-kyung grounded out to the infield. They added another run in the fourth inning with two outs and runners on first and third when leadoff batter Shin Min-jae hit an RBI single. The team sealed the big win by scoring four runs in the sixth inning and five runs in the ninth.
Lee Jae-won (Sangmu) hit a two-run homer over the center field fence at Gocheok Dome in the top of the ninth inning with the score 6-1, no outs, and a runner on first base, off Czech Republic’s Marek Minarik. Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha) went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Pitching Stability
The South Korean pitching staff demonstrated stability in both games. In the first game, seven pitchers, starting with Kwak Bin and ending with closer Jo Byeong-hyun, combined for a shutout, allowing only three hits (four walks) and recording a total of 17 strikeouts.
In the second game, seven pitchers also took the mound, maintaining a strong performance with one run allowed (four hits, three walks). Debutants in the national team game, Jeong Woo-joo (Hanwha), Bae Chan-seung (Samsung), Sung Young-tak (KIA), and Kim Young-woo (LG), combined for a scoreless relay from the second out in the fifth inning through the ninth.
The only run allowed that day was charged to Kim Seo-hyun (Hanwha). As the third South Korean pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning, he allowed one hit and two walks while recording two outs, giving up one run. He threw 21 pitches, all fastballs. The catcher who worked with Kim Seo-hyun was Jo Hyung-woo (SSG). Among the national team catchers, Choi Jae-hoon (Hanwha), who started the previous day’s game, came on as a defensive substitute in the ninth inning of the second game, while Park Dong-won (LG), who has been struggling with a wrist injury, did not play in either game.
Czech Republic Struggles
The Czech Republic managed only one run across both the first and second games. In the second game, Milan Prokop recorded the only RBI. Despite their efforts, the team was unable to keep up with the strong performance of the South Korean squad.