Miracle Hanwha's 0-for-10 hitless '40.7 billion duo' caused an accident, Roh Si-hwan tied the game in the 11th inning → Kang Baek-ho's end... We lost three games in a row in the opening game against Kiwoom. [Daejeon site review]

*This content was translated by AI.

At the end of the eighth inning, when the loss was heavy, the voice cheering shouting "The strongest Hanwha" rang out at Hanwha Life Ball Park. Then a miracle happened. Shim Woo-joon, who suffered the worst slump last year, hit a dramatic three-run home run, and Noh Si-hwan and Kang Baek-ho, who were silent with no hits in 10 at-bats, hit a tiebreaking hit and a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead the team's victory.

Hanwha won the 10-9 walk-off victory after a bloody battle in the 11th inning of extra time in the opening game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 28th.

Hanwha, which was held back by Kiwoom in both 2015 and 2018 and 2023 opening games, strengthened its will to win the opening game at home for the first time in 18 years and was on the verge of defeat, but finally achieved a come-from-behind victory.

Both teams have had changes in their squads. Hanwha set up the starting lineup with Oh Jae-won (center fielder), Jonathan Ferraza (right wing), Moon Hyun-bin (left wing), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Ha Joo-seok (second baseman), Choi Jae-hoon (captor), and Shim Woo-jun (striker). The starting pitcher is Wilkel Hernandez.

The Kiwoom faced off with Lee Ju-hyung (center fielder), An Chi-hong (designated hitter), Trenton Brooks (first baseman), Choi Joo-hwan (third baseman), Eo Jun-seo (striker), Kim Gun-hee (catcher), Lim Ji-yeol (left fielder), Park Han-gyeol (second baseman), and Lee Hyung-jong (right fielder). The starting pitcher was Raul Alcantara.

What they have in common is that the rookie fielders, who were selected in the first round, took the main position from the opening game. There was a difference in new faces. Kang Baek-ho, who was hired as a free agent (FA) for up to 10 billion won for four years, was placed in the lineup, while Kiwoom was not included in the 35-member protection list in the second draft, and An Chi-hong, who was brought from Hanwha, was listed in the lineup for a transfer fee of 400 million won.

An Chi-hong cheered up from the beginning of the game. He hit a large double against Hanwha starter Hernandez in the top of the first inning to hit the left-center fence. The subsequent batter failed to lead to a score.

Hanwha laughed first. In the bottom of the first inning, Peraza's heavy hit and Moon Hyun-bin's double to the right gave him a chance to hit first and third bases with one out, and Noh Si-hwan, who signed a multi-year non-FA contract for 11 years and 30.7 billion won, struck out, and Kang Baek-ho turned to a ground ball to the second base, but took advantage of Alcantara's wild pitch to score the first run.

Hernandez seemed to be ahead in the starting fight. He overwhelmed Kiwoom hitters with a two-seam fastball that wriggled up to 154 kilometers per hour. In the second inning, he sent out runners in the third and fourth innings, but later hitters.

On the other hand, the batters gained strength. Starting with Oh Jae-won's first hit with one out in the third inning, Peraza's consecutive hits and Moon Hyun-bin's grounder to second base scored additional points. In the fourth inning, captain Chae Eun-sung hit a solo shot over the left fence to take a 3-0 lead.

However, Hernandez also failed to overcome the crisis in the fifth inning. After receiving a heavy hit by leadoff hitter Kim Gun-hee, he gave up a walk to Lim Ji-yeol and Lee Hyung-jong, causing a one-out bases-loaded crisis, and he increased the out count by catching Lee Ju-hyung's pitcher ground ball, but he gave up a walk to An Chi-hong again and was hit by a double by Brooks. In the process, Oh Jae-won's catch error overlapped, and Ahn Chi-hong, the first baseman, scored. Hanwha eventually allowed the game to turn around 3-4 and was substituted.

In the top of the seventh inning, Kiwoom's batters made Ahn Chi-hong's big double once again, following Lee Hyung-jong, who got on base with a walk, and Brooks' timely hit made another run.

Hanwha chased one point in the bottom of the seventh inning with Shim Woo-joon's walk and hits by Peraza and Moon Hyun-bin, but once again with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Noh Si-hwan stepped down with a grounder to shortstop and failed to tie the score. Noh Si-hwan entered the scoring position in all four at-bats, but was silent with no hits in four at-bats and two strikeouts.

Both teams, who failed to score in the ninth inning, eventually headed for their first overtime of the season. In the top of the 10th inning, both teams turned scoreless, and Kiwoom went on offense in the top of the last 11th inning.

An Chi-hong, who went on fourth base, including two doubles, took the leadoff batter, calmly picked out the ball and walked to first base. Brooks, who had three hits and three RBIs on the day, also walked after a full count match with Kang Jae-min to get on base. After Choi Joo-hwan stepped down with an infield fly ball at the first and second bases with no outs, Eo Jun-seo's walk filled the base. An exquisite slider was declared a strike in the full count of the bases loaded with one out, and strikeouts were added, but the next batter Park Chan-hyuk hit a two-run timely hit that flowed along the left-field line with the first pitch.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, Asian quarter pitcher Yuto Kanakubo took the mound and gave up a hit to Shim Woo-joon, then returned Oh Jae-won to right field fly ball. Peraza hit a big hit to left field, but Park Chan-hyuk completely snatched the ball with a diving catch. However, Moon Hyun-bin hit a double to left-center to bring Shim Woo-joon home, followed by Roh Si-hwan, who was silent, hitting a left-handed hit. Second baseman Moon Hyun-bin sprinted all the way and tied it with a perfect head first sliding.

Kang Baek-ho then hit a walk-off hit heading in front of center field, and Hanwha became the winner of the blood fight for more than four hours.

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*This content was translated by AI.