Finally, a miracle!' South Korea Goes to Miami in the quarterfinals → Australia 7-2 rout, Ahn Hyun-min's sacrifice hit in the 9th inning + Munbogyeong's four RBIs [Tokyo Field Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Finally, a miracle happened. Ryu Ji-hyun, who was on the edge of the cliff, defeated Australia at Tokyo Dome and won a ticket to Miami, USA, where the quarterfinals tournament will be held. It was a perfect scenario that met all the conditions for advancement, which was like a "needle hole" beyond a simple victory.

The Korean baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55), beat Australia 7-2 in the fourth Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan, at 7 p.m. on the 9th.

With this, South Korea tied Australia and Taiwan with two wins and two losses, but ranked second in the group ahead of the team's loss rate. After overcoming the desperate crisis of the group stage, he dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals and headed to Miami, where the quarterfinals will be held.

Korea is Kim Do-young (third baseman, KIA Tigers)-The lineup was formed in the order of Germay Jones (left fielder, Detroit Tigers) and Lee Jung-hoo (center fielder, San Francisco Giants), Ahn Hyun-min (right wing, KT Wiz), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter, LG Twins), Noh Si-hwan (first baseman, Hanwha Eagles), Kim Joo-won (striker, NC Dinos), Park Dong-won (catcher, LG Twins) and Shin Min-jae (second baseman, LG Twins). The starting pitcher was left-hander Son Joo-young of the LG Twins.

Against this, Australia battled Travis Bazana (second baseman), Curtis Mead (third baseman), Aaron Whitefield (middle fielder), Alex Hall (designated hitter), Jarryd Dale (striker), Robbie Glendinning (left fielder), Rixon Wingrove (first baseman), Robbie Perkins (catcher) and Tim Kennelly (right fielder). LG Twins left-hander Lachlan Wells came forward as the starting pitcher.

Ahead of the game, the number of cases in which South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals was harsh. In addition to having to catch Australia, he had to meet the tricky conditions of "less than two runs" and "winning by more than five points" at the same time after complex gains and losses calculations.

However, Korea opened the gap step by step, bringing the first point. In the top of the second inning, leadoff hitter Ahn Hyun-min made a single hit against the left fence, and Moon Bo-kyung hit Wells' two pitches (77.8 miles, about 125 kilometers slider) with a ball count of one strike to hit the wall in the middle of the right. It was Moon Bo-kyung's second home run in the WBC. 2-0 South Korea's lead.

In the top of the third inning, Korea also scored an extra point. Leading hitter Jones' double and Lee Jung-hoo's timely double came out, and Moon Bo-kyung's timely double was added to make it 4-0 run. With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Ahn Hyun-min walked to save the spark and then stole second base. Here, Moon Bo-kyung made it 5-0 with a timely hit that hit the left fence.

Australia also fought back. In the bottom of the fifth inning, leadoff hitter Robbie Glendinning drew a solo arch over the middle fence against Soh Hyung-joon. The score difference was again four points apart. South Korea also ran away by five points again in the top of the sixth inning. After one out, Park Dong-won hit the left fence with a double to get in the scoring position, and Kim Do-young hit a timely hit. South Korea's 6-1 lead.

In the eighth inning, Australia followed up with a run. The leadoff hitter Perkins walked and went to second base with one out on a sacrifice bunt. Here, Bajana hit a timely hit to left field against Kim Taek-yeon to make a four-point difference again.

In the top of the ninth inning, Korea wrote a dramatic drama. Leading hitter Kim Do-young walked, but Jones stepped down with a fly ball to right field. The next hit by Lee Jung-hoo made it to first and third base with one out, and Ahn Hyun-min's sacrifice fly made it 7-2, five-run difference. Following the eighth inning, Cho Byung-hyun, who came to the mound in the ninth inning, did not lose a point and ended the game.

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*This content was translated by AI.