'12K' Ha Hyun-seung and 'Samdoryu' Eom Jun-sang lead Taiwan defeat, U-18 coach Jung Yun-jin: "I am proud of the Korean juniors"

*This content was translated by AI.

It was also a nerve-wracking stage for Jung Yun-jin (55), who took charge of the national team again for the first time in 13 years. The young stars of Korean baseball secured a pleasant victory against the tense Taiwan team.

Jung Yun-jin, head coach of Deoksu High School and leader of the U-18 national baseball team, expressed his joy over the win against Taiwan in the first group stage match of the Asian Youth Baseball Championship, saying, "I tried not to show my nerves to the players, but I was quite nervous alone before the game. I gave all my energy during the match, and winning on enemy soil made me feel really good."

In the tournament's opening match held in Taipei, Taiwan, on the 7th, South Korea faced its rival Taiwan. The team that has virtually secured the first overall pick in the upcoming KBO rookie draft, Ha Hyun-seung (Busan High), and Eom Jun-sang (Deoksu High), who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), led the way to a pleasant victory.

Ha Hyun-seung delivered an outstanding performance over 5⅔ innings, allowing only two hits and recording 12 strikeouts in a scoreless outing, earning the win as the starting pitcher. His slider, which kept the Taiwanese batters completely helpless, worked perfectly. Coach Jung praised him, saying, "Our ace Hyun-seung from South Korea really pitched so well that we were able to seize the momentum."

Eom Jun-sang's performance also shone brightly. Playing as a shortstop, Eom made an impressive defensive play in the first inning with two outs and runners on third base to erase a run. As a batter, he hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning and also took the mound. When Ha Hyun-seung was replaced due to reaching his 90-pitch limit with two outs and a runner on first base in the sixth inning, Eom came in to pitch, perfectly holding the line for 1⅓ innings and securing the save.

Coach Jung said, "During our pre-game meeting, we decided that if Ha Hyun-seung was pulled out with more than two innings remaining, Park Geun-seo would come in, but if less than two innings remained and he was leading, Eom Jun-sang would be brought in. We are also keeping the possibility open for Jun-sang to take the mound at any time in the future."

The opposing starter, Liu Lun-yu's pitching was also impressive. Coach Jung judged that the turning point of the game would come after Liu Lun-yu left the mound, and his plan worked perfectly.

Coach Jung explained, "Liu Lun-yu's pitches were too good. So I thought it would be difficult to score early on, and once he threw over 50-60 pitches and started to tire, that would be when the game would be decided. When the sixth inning began, the pitcher was changed. There were still more than 10 pitches left in his limit of 90, so I thought maybe we had an opportunity because they changed him a bit early."

Relief pitcher Wu Hao-shang, who entered the game in the sixth inning against the national team batters who had been held off by Liu Lun-yu, was much easier to attack. Leadoff batter Nam Hyun-woo recorded the first hit for An Ta-ro (CEO) with a ground ball to right field. Coach Jung said, "When Hyun-woo got a hit, I thought it was really an opportunity, so we just pushed forward with a straightforward approach." Nam Hyun-woo's hit was just the beginning. Jo Hee-seong followed with a double, Eom Jun-sang hit the go-ahead home run, and Lee Ho-min added another run with a sacrifice fly, securing the victory.

Having overcome the difficult opponent Taiwan, the national team now looks ahead to Japan. After playing Singapore on the 8th and Thailand on the 9th, if they pass through the group stage, there is a high probability they will face Japan in the Super Round on the 11th and 12th.

Coach Jung said, "In the remaining group stage games, we need to prepare humbly and calmly so our momentum doesn't drop. That way, we can play well against Japan too. The players did a great job in difficult matches. They must be tired and exhausted, but they performed as prepared, and I am grateful. I am proud of the Korean juniors."

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*This content was translated by AI.