In the "Strongest Baseball" showdown where Lee Taek-geun was struck out, Kim Seo-hyun's high school classmate Shin Young-woo subdued the Samsung Lions' core lineup of Koo Ja-wook, Choi Hyung-woo, and Lewin Diaz with a 156 km/h fastball.

*This content was translated by AI.

NC Dinos' "elite right-handed prospect" Shin Young-woo (22) completely silenced the Samsung Lions' core lineup, leading his team to a precious first victory against Samsung.

On the 3rd, NC defeated Samsung 6-4 in a thrilling extra-inning game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the "2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League" away match. The team showed its ability to overturn a 1-4 deficit. With this win, NC broke its eight-game losing streak against Samsung that had continued since last season and secured a valuable first victory.

The unsung hero of the game was Shin Young-woo, who entered as the third reliever for NC. Taking the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning with his team trailing 3-4, Shin Young-woo allowed no hits over 3 innings and recorded 5 strikeouts, pitching a scoreless inning. Thanks to Shin Young-woo's tight defense against additional runs, NC was able to tie the game 4-4 in the top of the 8th inning and push the match into extra innings.

Especially, the highlight of the day came in the bottom of the 8th. Shin Young-woo faced Samsung's top core lineup of Koo Ja-wook, Choi Hyung-woo, and Lewin Diaz, recording a clean three-up, three-down with 2 strikeouts. Shin Young-woo's fastest pitch of the day reached 156 km/h, neutralizing the bats of the Samsung batters.

In a post-game interview, Shin Young-woo said, "If I were to rate today's pitching, I think I pitched close to 100 points this season," expressing his cheerful satisfaction.

Continuing, regarding the matchup against Samsung's core lineup, he added, "I actually had a desire to pitch better against the core batters. Thanks to the manager and coaches trusting me and sending me out, I was able to achieve good results."

Regarding the scene where he struck out Diaz with a slider after taking a home-run-like foul ball in the 8th inning, Shin Young-woo laughed, "I thought he would be looking for a slider in a full count, so I judged that throwing a slider would elicit a reaction. Throwing it hard and close to the body with confidence led to a good result. I don't think it was a mistake."

A graduate of Gyeongnam High School, Shin Young-woo joined NC with the 4th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2023 draft. During his amateur days in 2022, he left a strong impression on baseball fans on the baseball variety show "Strongest Baseball" by striking out Lee Taek-geun with a sharp fastball. His draft classmates include Hanwha Eagles' Kim Seo-hyun, KIA Tigers' Yoon Young-cheol, and Doosan Bears' Kim Min-seok. He is also a high school classmate of LG Twins' Kim Beom-seok, who is currently serving in the military. Shin Young-woo, who was once hailed as a player capable of shaking up the league alongside them, also went through growing pains up to this year, his 4th professional season.

However, he has recently continued scoreless pitching for three consecutive games, finally unleashing his potential. Shin Young-woo's stats this season are 8 games, 1 win, 1 loss, and an ERA of 3.75. His batting average against is an incredibly low 0.108.

Shin Young-woo said, "I felt frustrated with myself for a while, but going through the process of failing many times and regaining control seems to have improved my composure and breathing on the mound. Trying to pitch simply and aggressively seems to be leading to good results," pointing out what has changed this season.

Regarding the secret to his improved velocity and control, he stated, "The data we have been discussing with the coaches and finding direction for seems to be resulting from accumulating first-team game experience. Lately, I try to have confidence in my pitches even before stepping on the mound. Having experienced the first-team stage, my composure and breathing seem to have improved a lot. I think I have been regaining control through failures. I believe that trusting my pitches and pitching aggressively is leading to good results," he emphasized.

Ultimately, Shin Young-woo is a player who must provide starting resources for NC. To this end, he revealed that he is training to master various pitches such as curveballs and split-finger fastballs, adding, "I don't care much about velocity. Above all, thanks to the team trainers taking such good care of me, I think I have been pitching without any major issues so far," expressing his gratitude.

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*This content was translated by AI.