'Ryu Ji-hyun Ho' Korean Baseball, Asian Games Gold Medal After Many Twists and Turns... 'Social Team' Japan Held Off 3-1 in a Gritty Victory for '5th Consecutive Title' [Toyohashi On-the-Ground Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national baseball team has claimed the Asian Games baseball title at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) tournament. Although there was no decisive revenge against Japan, a team composed of amateur players from social leagues, they ultimately secured victory in the final Korea-Japan showdown to achieve the feat of five consecutive gold medals.

Led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 in the tournament's baseball final held at Toyohashi Stadium, Aichi Prefecture, on the 27th. With this win, South Korea has achieved five consecutive Asian Games titles following victories at the 2010 Guangzhou (China) tournament, the 2014 Incheon tournament, the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (Indonesia) tournament, and the 2022 Hangzhou (China) tournament.

However, South Korea suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat in the Super Round against Japan, a team made up of players from social leagues rather than professional ranks. They faced a desperate situation where they had to rely on "what-if" scenarios starting from the Super Round. Fortunately, after many twists and turns, the final Korea-Japan match was held again, allowing them to stand atop the podium, but they could not secure a satisfying victory that would erase the memory of the 0-5 loss in the Super Round.

South Korea lined up with Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (first baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kim Ji-chan (center fielder), and Jo Hyung-woo (catcher). The starting pitcher was Kwak Bin.

Japan lined up with Kuma Daigo (designated hitter), Soida Manami (second baseman), Mukoyama Motoki (left fielder), Aizawa Ryosuke (center fielder), Yano Yukiya (shortstop), Mizutani Shohei (right fielder), Sato Yuki (third baseman), Maruyama Masashi (first baseman), and Tsujimoto Yuki (catcher). Higuchi Shin, who had shut out the Korean lineup scorelessly in the Super Round, started again after a two-day break.

South Korea broke the tie in the second inning. Yoon Dong-hee smashed a double off Higuchi's first pitch that struck the fence. Then, Moon Bo-kyung's two-run single to center field gave South Korea an early lead.

Opportunities continued to follow. Kim Ji-chan's bunt headed toward the pitcher, and the ball thrown to second base was ruled safe. Next, Jo Hyung-woo's sacrifice bunt brought runners to second and third with one out, and a walk to Kim Ju-won loaded the bases.

However, the following batters failed to deliver. Park Jun-soon struck out swinging, and Kim Do-young flew out to left field, failing to add more runs.

Kwak Bin continued his strong pitching on the mound. In particular, he retired all three batters in the second inning via strikeouts, shutting down the Japanese lineup without allowing a hit through the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Japan brought in Gyo Shuichi to replace Higuchi on the mound. South Korea struggled to attack the new pitcher. After retiring three consecutive batters in the fourth, Moon Bo-kyung was the only one to reach first base with a ground ball single to left field in the fifth, while Kim Do-young, Noh Si-hwan, and Yoon Dong-hee all struck out.

In the bottom of the fifth, South Korea faced its first crisis of the day. Mizutani's hit off Kwak Bin's first pitch fell as a double down the left-field line.

However, with no outs and a runner on second, Kwak Bin struck out Sato and caught Maruyama in a foul fly, respectively. Tsujimoto also flew out to center field, allowing South Korea to escape the scoring threat.

Japan replaced Gyo with Fuchigami Yoshiki on the mound. In the sixth inning, leadoff hitter Moon Hyun-bin reached base with a single, but Kim Ji-chan and Jo Hyung-woo were caught in foul flies, and Kim Ju-won flew out to center field, failing to capitalize on the opportunity.

While Kwak Bin retired three consecutive batters in the sixth, South Korea created a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the top of the seventh after Park Jun-soon's single to left field, followed by a walk from Moon Bo-kyung and a hit-by-pitch from Yoon Dong-hee. However, Moon Hyun-bin flew out to left field when he came to bat, failing to add another run.

Kwak Bin, who remained on the mound in the seventh, showed some signs of instability. He allowed a single to center field to leadoff hitter Aizawa. He retired Yano with a strikeout, and even after pitcher coach Choi Won-ho came onto the mound, he continued to hold the mound, but allowed another hit from Mizutani, creating a crisis with one out and runners on first and second.

This time, they could not overcome the crisis. Sato's single to left field struck again, and Aizawa, who was on second base, circled third and scored at home. Eventually, Kwak Bin came off the mound, and Jo Byung-hyun took over the ball. Fortunately, Jo Byung-hyun retired Maruyama and Tsujimoto with consecutive strikeouts, cutting off the momentum.

South Korea immediately changed the momentum. In the top of the eighth, leadoff hitter Kim Ji-chan hit a single against new pitcher Kondo Gouki and advanced to second base. Jo Hyung-woo's sacrifice bunt and a walk from Kim Ju-won created a situation with one out and runners on first and third.

However, when Jung Jun-jae, who had been inserted as a pinch runner, hit a ground ball to third base, the runner at third, Kim Ji-chan, was caught in a rundown and called out. The Korean bench's protest regarding interference with the base path was not accepted.

Instead, they finally added another run during the continued opportunity with two outs and runners on first and third. Kim Do-young hit a hard shot to third base that the third baseman dropped, allowing Kim Ju-won to score. It was the moment South Korea regained the lead.

With momentum on their side, South Korea extended the gap when Jung Jun-jae scored from second base on Moon Do-young's two-run single to center field. It was a pity that Noh Si-hwan's powerful hit was caught by the shortstop, cutting off the flow.

Japan was also no pushover. In the bottom of the eighth, when Soida hit a single to center field, Kim Ji-chan committed an error by letting the ball roll behind him. Park Young-hyun, who replaced Jo Byung-hyun on the mound, allowed a single to left field to leadoff hitter Mukoyama.

With one out and runners on first and third, Park Young-hyun retired Aizawa with a strikeout and then caught Yano in a fly out to left field, overcoming the crisis.

South Korea created a situation with two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth through singles from Moon Hyun-bin and Jo Hyung-woo, but failed to add another run. Only one defensive inning remained to secure five consecutive gold medals.

Park Young-hyun continued to hold the mound for South Korea. He struck out leadoff hitter Mizutani and caught Sato in a fly out to shortstop. Later, Park Young-hyun walked Fukui Shogo and allowed a single from Tsujimoto, creating a crisis with two outs and runners on first and second.

However, Park Young-hyun retired Shibasaki Masato with a strikeout, securing the final out. It was the moment South Korean baseball climbed to the top of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games baseball tournament.

Ace Kwak Bin pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out nine batters. Jo Byung-hyun shut down the inning perfectly with three strikeouts in one inning, and Park Young-hyun also held off the remaining innings by allowing two hits and recording three strikeouts to secure the team victory.

At the plate, Moon Hyun-bin went 3-for-5 with one RBI, Kim Do-young went 2-for-5 with one RBI, and Moon Bo-kyung went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two walks, all recording multi-hit games.

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*This content was translated by AI.