Are you a rookie on "3 Hit Explosion + Crazy Lake Show"... "Oh Jae-won's Flying" Hanwha and Melbourne in a 4-4 practice match

*This content was translated by AI.

He is already showing a unique cotyledon. Oh Jae-won (19, Hanwha Eagles) has emerged as Hanwha's new center fielder hope.

Hanwha tied Melbourne Aces 4-4 in a practice match at Melbourne Ballpark in Melbourne, Australia on the 15th (Korea Standard Time).

Hanwha set up a starting lineup with Oh Jae-won (center fielder), Kwon Kwang-min (right wing), Lee Jin-young (designated hitter), Han Ji-yoon (left wing), Kim Tae-yeon (first baseman), Jung Min-gyu (third baseman), Lee Do-yoon (striker), Jang Kyu-hyun (catcher), and Hwang Young-mook (second baseman). Wang Yancheng took the mound in the Asian quarter as the starting pitcher.

The most outstanding was rookie Oh Jae-won. Oh Jae-won, who Hanwha selected third overall in the first round over pitchers in the 2026 rookie draft, was evaluated as the team's main center fielder candidate this season.

To him, who won the Star Award in baseball at the 2025 Futures Star Awards hosted by Star News in November last year, the winner selection committee said, "It is the best among amateur outfielders. It is an immediate sense of power with a weak physique and excellent center line resources for offense and defense," he said, adding, "It can be used as a pinch runner and logistical cost even at the professional level. He has good eye contact and ability. He also has excellent batting judgment skills."

In particular, there was a clear strength in defense. A KBO club official said that it is difficult to find such a center fielder resource in the KBO league because of its strong shoulders and excellent batting judgment and wide range of defense. Both Moon Hyun-bin and Jonathan Ferraza were former infielders, so they needed a center fielder with a clear defense, and Oh Jae-won received attention even though he was a rookie.

He was clearly aware of his role. Oh Jae-won also met with reporters before the spring camp and said about his strengths, "I think it's defense ability and speed. "There are a lot of strong seniors in Hanwha, and I think we need to set the concept well toward fast and good contact and defense like (Lee) Won-seok," he said.

Oh Jae-won took the lead as a leadoff batter in the top of the first inning and hit a heavy hit with a simple hit even in the ball count, which was 1-2 against opposing starter Gunner Keynes. Afterwards, Kwon Kwang-min's walk to second base and then third base when Lee Jin-young hit a grounder, Oh Jae-won dug home when Kim Tae-won had a heavy hit with two outs.

Wang Yancheng, who started the game, allowed a walk in the full count after starting with a ball that hit his body with a somewhat shaky control in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run lead. Then, in the process of checking the second base, even bad pitches came out, causing a crisis on the second and third bases with no outs.

However, in the later situation, he exchanged one point and outcount by inducing an infield ground ball with a low-course ball outside, and added an infield foul fly. Afterwards, he was hit by a big hit to center field, but Oh Jae-won calmly chased him and caught him colliding with the fence on the warning track to end the inning as it is.

Oh Jae-won, who also took the batter's box in the second inning, hit a double that fell superbly on the left-field line. The failure of the subsequent batters did not lead to additional points.

Wang Yancheng also settled down at the end of the second inning. The first batter was an infield fly ball, followed by first baseman Kim Tae-yeon's good defense, and quickly covered the first base to collaborate on the out count.

Later, Wang Yancheng, who threw an exquisite ball at the end of a full count, headed to the dugout after being sure of striking out, but the referee's declaration of the ball swallowed the disappointment. Nevertheless, he did not falter. He continued to spray a sharp ball, and the broadcasting team said, "It was a 148km ball."

Again, Oh Jae-won showed off his tremendous presence. A well-hit line drive hit to center field came out and a hit was expected, but Oh Jae-won threw himself after a quick dash and ended the inning once again with a diving catch. There was a lot of admiration among the fans who visited the scene.

From the third inning, the fighting spirit was activated. Oh Jae-won, who took the batter's box following Jang Kyu-hyun and Hwang Young-mook in the top of the fourth inning after Yoon San-heum handled one inning neatly, took a bold hit from the first pitch. Luck followed again this time. The ball bounced after hitting the second base, and in the meantime, second baseman Jang Kyu-hyun turned around the third base and dug home. Hanwha took a 4-1 lead with Kwon Kwang-min added to the first and second bases with one out.

Yoon San-heum, who also took the mound in the fourth inning but gave up a run, handed the ball over to Hwang Joon-seo with one out and a runner on the first base, but dropped his head after a two-run home run. a 4-4 tie. After that, the batters handled it well and finished the inning.

Hwang Jun-seo, who took the mound again in the fifth inning, got a hit again with one out and one on the first base, but right fielder Lim Jong-chan caught the runner heading to third base with a perfect throw.

In the top of the sixth inning, Oh Jae-won went back to the batter's box. Again, he hit an exquisite ball to the left, but the left fielder rushed quickly and caught it and turned to the bench.

Heo Min, former owner of the Goyang Wonders, stepped up to the plate in the top of the sixth inning when the two teams were 4-4. Wemakeff's largest shareholder, he had expressed greed as a pitcher in the past, but joined Melbourne through a tryout this year.

He sent the first batter to first base with a straight walk and allowed him to steal right away. He caught a first-pitch strike to Yoo-min, who came to the plate, but once again walked. Afterwards, wild pitches came out and the runners headed to the second and third bases, and Han Ji-yoon's ball count was 1-2, and after the referees gathered to discuss it, it was corrected as a strikeout. The first-pitch strike became a mistake on the ball, and the third pitch, which was somewhat high, was also ruled a strike. Even Hanwha coaches came out to check the situation, accepted it, and returned to the bench.

Hwang took the mound again in the sixth inning. It was completely different from the previous innings. Hwang Jun-seo, who struck out with sharp curves and fork balls in a row, once again sprayed a fork ball to delete the bottom of the sixth inning with KKK.

At the bottom of the seventh inning, Park Jae-kyu took the mound and blocked it neatly, and Oh Jae-won, who took the batter's box for the fifth time with two outs, also withdrew due to a grounder hit by the pitcher.

Kim Seo-hyun took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kim Seo-hyun, who made an advantageous count with an aggressive pitch, made his first out count with a sinking breaking ball, and this time struck out again with a slider leaving the zone with a large trajectory. Kim Seo-hyun, who has been somewhat shaken by consecutive hits since then, saved the team from the brink of reversal with KKK with a completely controlled two-seam fastball this time.

Kwon Min-gyu, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, played with a perfect strikeout following a fly ball to right field and a fly ball to third base. Hanwha finished with a 4-4 draw.

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*This content was translated by AI.