The reason why the national competition final in 9 years was more special despite the 'only 3 pitchers + poor alumni support' was the runner-up at Yatap High School

*This content was translated by AI.

Yatap High School, which caused a stir in the first high school national competition in 2026, left a meaningful result of being the runner-up in the national competition in nine years despite poor conditions.

Yatapo is known as a substantial school that established the baseball team in 1997 and quickly produced several KBO league players, including Yoon Seok-min (40), Oh Jae-il (40), and Kim Ha-sung (31). However, despite consistently producing professional players, the national competition performance was not good. In about 30 years, only five times have reached the final of the national competition, including the 2004 Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Tournament, the 2011 presidential cup, the 2013 Cheongryonggi, and the 2017 Bonghwanggi. Among them, the only winner was Bonghwanggi in 2017, led by Shin Min-hyuk (27).

The goal of this year's event was to advance to the quarterfinals. This is because there were only three pitchers, right-hander Park Si-hoo (18), Lee Won-young (18), and left-hander Cho Yeon-hoo (18), who could actually use second-year pitchers due to surgery and transfer penalties. However, Choi Kyung-hoon (48) produced a miracle by thoroughly managing the number of pitches and meticulous analysis of the opposing team. Even among KBO scouting officials, the more the players went round, the better the growth was.

Yatap High School defeated Semyung Computer High School (6:0), Shinil High School (5:0), Seoul Design High School (6:4), Gyeonggi Commercial High School (3:0), and Daejeon High School (3:2) in order to advance to the finals following the semifinals of the first national competition in nine years. In the process, Park Si-hoo couldn't make it to the final due to the limit on the number of pitches.

The final opponent who advanced to the final after a long struggle was not easy. It was Deoksu, the most winning team at E-Mart and the strongest team with 11 consecutive unbeaten finals. Deoksu High School also reached the final with difficulty due to a series of injuries. However, Um Joon-sang (18), the No. 1 candidate in the 2027 KBO Rookie Draft and a combined pitching and batting business, is in good shape.

Basically, he couldn't ignore the different players. In addition, pitchers' shoulders cooled even before the start, as 18 minutes were delayed due to an error in the automatic pitching decision system (ABS) before the game.

Despite many unfavorable factors, Yatago worked hard. From the first inning, he got off to a difficult start by hitting a home run by Um Joon-sang with the bases loaded with no outs. However, in the top of the third inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Captain Park Min-joon ran a long distance and snatched the ball over his head, saving the momentum.

On the mound, Lee Won-young, who was left alone, cheered up. While starting pitcher Cho Yeon-hoo went down the mound early with five runs (four earned runs) in one ⅓ inning, he was responsible for the remaining six innings with nine hits, three walks, three strikeouts and five runs (two earned runs).

Thanks to Yatapo's momentum, Deoksu also had to put ace Um Joon-sang, who started as a shortstop, on the mound in the seventh inning earlier than expected. In the end, third-year first baseman Jung Joon-ho (18), who had all his pitching experience in middle school, took the mound in the eighth inning, revealing his limitations in both pitching and hitting, and Yatago finished the final in second place in nine years.

Lee Won-young, who won the Gamgum Award, said, "Honestly, I haven't been of much help to the team to come this far. (Cho) Yeon-hoo and (Park) Si-hoo threw well, so I came this far, but I wonder if I can win the prize," he said.

He said, "I transferred to Yatago in July last year. I didn't know any players, but I helped the kids adapt well. I learned a lot about the atmosphere that put the most importance on the team becoming one. I'm proud of all my friends," he said with a big smile.

The confrontation with Deoksu High School is meaningful in that it was a game that confirmed both the potential and direction for Yatapo to become a prestigious baseball player. With a relatively short school history (opened in 1986), Yatago did not receive enough attention and support from alumni compared to other prestigious baseball schools. The alumni association for sponsoring the baseball team was also launched only two years ago under the leadership of Principal Kim Hyung-jung, who took office in 2024.

As a result, the supply and demand of players was not smooth for middle school prospects to nearby schools with abundant scholarships. It was compared in that the opponent of the finals was Deoksu, who had solid support from the alumni association and seniors. However, after Choi Kyung-hoon, who served as a pitching coach for 11 years in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu), took office in 2022, the school foundation's interest naturally increased again as the Yatapo was reborn as a solid team through many training. In this year's final, he did not give up until the end, giving hope that he could grow further if sufficient support from his seniors and alumni follows.

Right-hander Lee Won-young and catcher Choi Min-young (18) who achieved a battery in the final are also among the players who attracted the attention of KBO scouts through this tournament. Lee Won-young said, "I will not be satisfied with the runner-up in this competition. I will try to perform well in the next national competition," he said, expressing his strong ambition.

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*This content was translated by AI.