Did coach Lee Byeong-gyu’s exit become a catalyst? Geelong Korea won the game after extra time.
On the 8th (Korean time), Geelong Korea won an 8-5 come-from-behind victory with Kim Tae-yeon (Hanwha Eagles)’s outstanding performance in the 2022-2023 Australian Professional Baseball (ABL) Perth Heat game.
Geelong Korea, who suffered a complete defeat in the preceding three matches against Perth, including the double header the previous day. Director Lee Byeong-gyu’s heart was also different.
Coincidentally, Perth’s starting pitcher on this day was Warwick Saupold, who played for Hanwha in 2019-2020. There is also a possibility that Saupold will pitch against Korea in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.
Geelong Korea took the lead in the second inning with Seo Ho-cheol (NC Dinos)’s timely hit. At the end of the 2nd inning, starter Lee Tae-gyu 토토사이트 (KIA Tigers) made a run, but Kwon Kwang-min (Hanwha) hit a timely hit again in the top of the 6th inning and took a 2-1 lead.
However, the atmosphere changed when Geelong Korea’s ‘trustworthy man’ Choi Ji-min (KIA) took the mound at the end of the 7th inning. Choi Ji-min faced a crisis when his strike against Josh Reddick was ruled a ball. When a balk was declared, Choi Ji-min could not hide his excitement. He was ejected after vehemently protesting with coach Lee Byeong-gyu. In the end, Choi Ji-min allowed Ulrich Bozarski to score two RBIs in a timely manner. He reached the second balk, but no extra run was conceded.
Geelong Korea turned the game around in the beginning of the 8th inning with Kim Tae-yeon’s solo catcher. Then, in the top of the 10th inning, Kim Tae-yeon’s 2 RBIs, Kwang-min Kwon’s 1 RBI double, and Seo Ho-cheol’s two-run four continued to make it 8-3. Yoo Ji-seong (KIA) gave up two runs at the end of the 10th inning, but kept the victory.
The winning pitcher was Kim Tae-hyun (NC), who was responsible for scoring no runs in the 8th and 9th innings. Kim Tae-yeon went 5 at-bats with 3 hits (1 home run) and 2 RBIs, Seo Ho-cheol went 5 at-bats with 3 hits (1 home run) and 3 RBIs, and Kwon Kwang-min went 5 at-bats with 2 hits and 2 RBIs.
With this victory, Geelong Korea recorded 12 wins and 19 losses this season, recording the most wins in three seasons participating in the ABL. Geelong Korea previously recorded 7 wins and 33 losses in the 2018-2019 season, which was the first season to participate, and 11 wins and 29 losses in the 2019-2020 season. Since then, he has not participated in two seasons in the aftermath of Corona 19, and the third season is in progress this winter.
It will be interesting to see if Geelong, who finished fourth out of the Division 4 teams in both seasons before, will record its highest ranking ever. Geelong Korea, which belongs to the Southwestern Division, tied for third place with the Melbourne Aces (12-19) with the victory that day. 2nd place Perth is 18-14.