'Kang Baek-ho bypassed, former home run champion' Noh Si-hwan had a plan all along; Hanwha returns to 5th place in '10 days'

*This content was translated by AI.

With two outs and bases loaded, the Doosan Bears chose to face Noh Si-hwan (26) instead of Kang Baek-ho. The result was a walk-off hit. The Hanwha Eagles have returned to 5th place.

Noh Si-hwan started at third base and batted fifth in the home game against Doosan at the Daejeon Hanwha Life Park on the 23rd for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League. He hit a tying home run in the 2nd inning and a walk-off hit, going 2-for-3 with 2 walks, 2 RBIs, and 1 run scored.

It started well. With the team trailing 0-1, Noh Si-hwan appeared as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 2nd inning and pulled Takada's changeup for a solo home run to left field to tie the game. It was his 11th home run of the season.

Noh Si-hwan reached base on walks in the 4th and 8th innings. In the 9th, he seized a crucial opportunity. With one out, Yonatan Peraza hit a double to second base, and Moon Hyun-bin struck out. With the count unfavorable for fourth hitter Kang Baek-ho, Doosan pitcher Lee Young-ha elected to issue an automatic intentional walk.

Noh Si-hwan watched the first two pitches go for balls. He saw the third pitch, a slider, hit the zone, and swung and missed at the fourth pitch, a slider that drifted away. However, the same pitch came in again, and Noh Si-hwan swung without hesitation. The ball headed toward left-center field, and Peraza was called home. It was Noh Si-hwan's first walk-off hit of the season.

In an interview on the club's YouTube channel, Eagles TV, Noh Si-hwan said, "It feels so good. It's my first walk-off hit, but after watching others hit them, I finally hit one myself, and an indescribable sense of happiness and a surge of dopamine exploded." He added, "It felt like I was flying while everyone was watching only me," expressing his satisfaction.

It was an opportunity he had already prepared for. Noh Si-hwan said, "The moment Peraza reached second base, and when Hyun-bin stepped into the batter's box, I thought, 'This is definitely for me; they'll challenge me.' I knew if Hyun-bin hit it, the game would end, and if he got out, they would definitely bypass Baek-ho. So I wasn't particularly stimulated; I felt like the plan I drew had come to fruition. I thought I would either end it or force extra innings, and I had mapped out the opposing pitcher's trajectory. I swung and missed at a pitch that drifted outside in a 2-1 count, and that gave me even more confidence. I thought, 'Even if I strike out at this height, I absolutely cannot let them get a hit; I must aim for the inside part.'"

He is also making slight adjustments to his batting stance. "I try to hit as quietly as possible in the batter's box, and to keep my head from moving too much, I've been in constant discussion with coaches Kim Min-ho and Jung Hyun-seok recently. I'm working hard to keep my eyes and hands as close as possible, not letting them drift apart. Since a larger swing separates the eyes and hands, I continue practicing to keep them close and hit toward center field," he said.

Scouting analysis also proved effective. Noh Si-hwan stated, "The senior players who handle scouting have been continuously watching videos and analyzing, looking for how I've changed compared to my past strong performances. I want to convey my deep gratitude to them."

His batting average, which had been struggling in the .100s through April, has now climbed to .262. Despite being a former home run champion, the opposing team chose to face Noh Si-hwan instead of Kang Baek-ho. However, Noh Si-hwan made it clear that this was a wrong choice while lifting the team back to 5th place for the first time in 10 days since the 13th.

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*This content was translated by AI.