"Tokyo Dome tie-breaking shot → Another final three-run" National University shortstop! ML Gold Glove's 'Only Replacement' burden was overcome [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

National shortstop Kim Joo-won (24, NC Dinos) will be excited whenever he comes to Japan. Ryu Ji-hyun (55), the coach of the South Korean national baseball team, laughed with another decisive home run three months after launching a dramatic equalizer at Tokyo Dome.

Kim Joo-won started as the ninth batter and shortstop in a practice game against the Hanwha Eagles compared to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Kochinda Baseball Stadium in Yase, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 21st, and led the national team to a 5-2 come-from-behind victory with three hits (one home run) and three RBIs and two runs in three at-bats.

With the national team's batting lineup struggling with a total of seven hits, Kim Joo-won was responsible for three hits, nearly half of them. Kim Joo-won was at every moment of the national team scoring. Kim Joo-won, who reported a right-handed hit in his first at-bat, came out as a leadoff hitter in the sixth inning when the national team was losing 0-2, and hit a strong right-field hit to Kang Jae-min. Jonathan Ferraza failed to catch the ball, and Kim Joo-won headed to third base, and a triple was given. Ahn Hyun-min's grounder toward second base later homered, and the following three consecutive hitters tied the score at 2-2.

The highlight was the last at-bat. Hwang Jun-seo, who came up in the top of the seventh inning, gave up a series of walks, and the first and second bases with no outs were set in front of Kim Joo-won. Kim Joo-won strongly hit Hwang Jun-seo's low 143km/h fastball and crossed the left fence. It was a three-run final that made it 5-2.

After the game, coach Ryu Ji-hyun said, "Overall, Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Joo-won looked very good." They are players who should be in the starting lineup, but the way they look for their senses made me look forward to the next one."

As Kim Joo-won's batting sense revived, the national team also took a breather. Ryu Ji-hyun suffered a bad news that seven players left due to injuries ahead of the final list. In particular, it was crucial that the main shortstop Kim Ha-sung (31, Atlanta Braves) fell on the icy road and received five months of rehabilitation. Kim Ha-sung entered the Major League in 2021 after overcoming the KBO League and was recognized as the first Asian infielder to win the Golden Glove (utility category) in three years. Expectations were high as the main shortstop and clean-up hitter as he showed high-quality performance with 17 home runs and 38 steals in 2023.

However, as Kim Ha-sung left due to injury, there is only Kim Joo-won left on the national team roster. Kim Hye-sung (27, LA Dodgers) and Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) can play, but they are anxious to entrust all nine innings due to throwing anxiety and issues of not playing for a long time, respectively. As a result, Kim Joo-won was under considerable pressure to take charge of the shortstop alone.

It helped the unexpected player get rid of the burden. The main character was NC colleague and former major leaguer Matt Davidson (35).

Davison is a veteran who has 54 home runs in six seasons through six major league teams. He joined NC in 2024, hitting more than 36 home runs for two consecutive years, and was a reliable teammate behind Kim Joo-won.

After the game, Kim Joo-won said, "(Kim) Ha-sung's brother couldn't come due to injury, so the possibility of me going out (as a shortstop) increased a little bit. So I felt pressured for a while, and our team Davidson said, "What's the pressure to feel, have fun." Thanks to you, I prepared well for the competition," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.