"There may be a risk of injury, but thank you so much," Lee Dae-ho pointed out, going to the quarterfinals of the WBC led by the fighting spirit of the '42-year-old veteran.'

*This content was translated by AI.

Starting Son Joo-young (LG) was suddenly injured and asked for voluntary replacement. A situation in which there is no prepared pitcher. Ryu Ji-hyun, head coach of the national baseball team, chose Noh Kyung-eun (42, SSG), who set the record for the oldest participation in the Korean national baseball team. Then, with a perfect pitch, it became a stepping stone to Korea's victory.

The national baseball team won 7-2 against Australia in the fourth Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 9th.

It tied with Australia and Taiwan with two wins and two losses, but dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals by ranking second in the group. Even before the game, he played under pressure with a tricky number of cases of winning by more than five points and two runs or less, but he was even more pleased to make the difficult probability a reality.

One scene, one scene from the game over three hours, was the highlight. Viewers had to watch each and every step of Korea's process of making points and minimizing runs. After the dramatic victory, not only the players but also many commentators and fans shed tears.

Lee Dae-ho, "Joseon's No. 4 hitter," who served as an SBS baseball commentator, was even more thrilled. Lee Dae-ho, who was disappointed about the result of the game the day before, said on his YouTube channel "Lee Dae-ho [RE:DAEHO]," "It is a loss that there was no clear pitcher to prevent the 7, 8, and 9 innings," stressing that "bees baseball" should be played to win the match against Australia.

After the dramatic victory, Lee Dae-ho reviewed the game through his YouTube channel and said, "Thank you to the junior players of the national team for fighting hard until the end. Finally, I'm going to Miami," he said. "I think a baseball player would have cried. I cried a little bit earlier, too. After the game, I went down and hugged everyone once and said, "I had a hard time."

"There are some players who did well and some who did not, but we all achieved the quarterfinals together," he said. "Until yesterday, the atmosphere was not good. I think we only said 200 times that we can do it after yesterday's review. I said, "I wanted to do just 7 to 2, but I didn't know I would really get it right, so I got goosebumps."

It was a difficult game for anyone to pick a player. Nevertheless, he praised the "oldest brother" Noh Kyung-eun for setting the center of the national team, which could have collapsed at the beginning of the game. Lee Dae-ho said, "If you watch today's game, you did a great job. However, Moon Bo-kyung's home run was also needed to produce this result, but Noh Kyung-eun suddenly took the mound for a really short time due to Son Joo-young's injury, and there could be a risk of injury," he said. "It was really difficult for a pitcher to play after preparing for such a short time and there could be a risk of injury. I want to say thank you so much," he said.

Noh Kyung-eun, who had a bitter taste in the WBC in 2013, has not been selected for the national team since then. After moving to SSG, he was in his second heyday by becoming the oldest hold king for two consecutive years, and he also joined Saipan's first camp with Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha), raising expectations that he would fill his lack of experience on the mound.

Noh Kyung-eun, which had two hits and no runs in one inning against the Czech Republic earlier, also scored no runs against Taiwan. Then, starter Son Joo-young suddenly had to replace him after one inning complaining of elbow pain, and Noh Kyung-eun suddenly took the mound without time to warm up properly, but pitched scoreless. In the third inning, he also blocked two innings with one hit, one strikeout, and no run, and roared.

He was the oldest pitcher, but he warmed up faster than anyone else. Noh Kyung-eun, who met with reporters after the game, said, "Coach Kim Kwang-sam was well aware that my arms were loosened quickly, and I also volunteered to go out," adding, "I wanted to prove why I was selected for the national team rather than feeling pressured. I think I proved why I'm here, so I was able to ease the burden on my mind," he laughed.

Now the national team is heading to the U.S., which it has been dreaming of so desperately. It is the first feat in 17 years since the 2009 WBC. At the center of it was Noh Kyung-eun, who silently played his role even though he was the oldest.

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*This content was translated by AI.