*This content was translated by AI.
South Korea's U-18 national baseball team defeated Taiwan thanks to outstanding pitching by starter Ha Hyun-seung and the dual dominance of Eom Jun-sang in both pitching and hitting. With many promising faces set to participate in the KBO rookie draft on the 21st, expectations are rising even higher.
On the 7th at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan, Ha Hyun-seung started in the first group-stage match against Taiwan at the 14th Asian Youth Baseball Championship, delivering a stellar performance with 5⅔ innings, two hits allowed, twelve strikeouts, and no runs scored, securing the win as the starting pitcher.
Both teams fielded left-handed ace starters wearing jersey number 1 on this day. Taiwan's starter Liu Lun-yu held the Korean lineup to five scoreless innings with two walks and six strikeouts but was pulled from the mound faster than Ha Hyun-seung and took a decision loss.
The game proceeded as an intense pitching duel until the middle innings.
Liu Lun-yu started in the top of the first inning, throwing fastballs clocked at 156 km/h to the second batter, Jo Hee-sung, engaging in a battle with speed, and retired all three batters in order to end the inning.
Ha Hyun-seung also took control early by throwing a 152 km/h fastball on the first pitch to leadoff runner Hou Tian-lu in the bottom of the first. However, after two outs, a 150 km/h fastball thrown to the third batter, Zhang Yi-an, cleared the right-field fence for a triple, creating a major crisis. With two outs and runners on third base, the opposing batter was Huang Si-yao. After a full-count battle, a ground ball appeared to split the infield. Although Taiwanese home fans erupted in cheers, shortstop Eom Jun-sang made a spectacular defensive play, snatching the ball and making an accurate running throw to first base.
Ha Hyun-seung retired all three batters in both the second and third innings. In the bottom of the fourth, he hit leadoff batter Liu Huan-wu with a pitch, allowing the first baserunner of the game. This was the first baserunner allowed after eight batters. However, with one out and a runner on first base, catcher Won Ji-woo made an accurate throw to second base to prevent Liu Huan-wu's stolen base, recording an out. Ha Hyun-seung then struck out the final batter to end the inning.
The tense "0" tie was broken immediately after Taiwan's starter Liu Lun-yu left the mound. In the top of the sixth, leadoff batter Nam Hyun-woo hit a ground-rule double off the reliever Wu Hao-shiang. This was South Korea's first hit of the day, coming in their 18th at-bat. With a sacrifice bunt by subsequent batter Park Bo-song creating a one-out, second-base opportunity, Jo Hee-sung stepped up to the plate. Jo then hit a double toward center field. South Korea now faced a one-out, second-and-third base situation. Eom Jun-sang came to bat.
Taiwan made a pitching change at this point. Eom Jun-sang hit a ground ball that dropped in front of the shortstop against the new pitcher Chen Wei-hsien. The Taiwanese shortstop threw home, but third-base runner Nam Hyun-woo reached home plate faster than the throw, scoring the first run. Eom Jun-sang's hit became the game-winning hit of the day.
With a one-out, first-and-third base opportunity continuing, Lee Ho-min came to bat and lofted a ball toward right field. At that moment, third-base runner Jo Hee-sung safely reached home plate, making it 2-0. Then, with two outs and a runner on first, Hwang Sung-hyun was hit by a pitch and reached base, but no additional runs scored, and the top of the sixth inning ended as is.
Ha Hyun-seung also pitched in the sixth inning. After reaching his 90-pitch limit, he left the mound with two outs and a runner on first base in a 2-ball, 2-strike count. Ha Hyun-seung is very likely to be selected first overall by Kiwoom Heroes in this year's rookie draft, as they hold the number one pick.
Eom Jun-sang, who had been active throughout both offense and defense on this day, took over the mound. Eom climbed onto the mound and induced a ground ball to the second baseman with just one pitch to end the sixth inning.
With South Korea leading 2-0, Eom Jun-sang took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a single up the middle to leadoff batter Zhang Yi-an. The cheers from Taiwanese home fans hoping for a late comeback did not last long. Eom threw a pickoff throw to first base to record the first out, then struck out the next two batters to finish the game.
Meanwhile, South Korea was placed in Group B along with Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand. In this tournament, head-to-head records from the group stage are carried over into the Super Round. This means if South Korea enters the Super Round with one more win than Taiwan across the three group-stage games, there is a high possibility of reaching the championship match. South Korea will play against Singapore on the 8th and Thailand on the 9th to complete their remaining group-stage matches.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
