LG, which held on with four double plays, crumbled in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs: Long Beach's walk-off two-run homer in U.S. independent league → 11-game winless streak ends, advances to championship [KBO Fall League Semifinal On-Site Review]

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It was a dramatic walk-off two-run homer that erupted with one final out remaining in the bottom of the 9th inning. Long Beach Coast, a joint team from the U.S. independent leagues, advanced to the championship of the 2026 Ulsan-KBO Fall League, extending their winless streak to 11 games, led by a dramatic home run from Benjamin Rosengard (27).

Long Beach defeated the LG Twins Futures team 4-2 in the 2026 Ulsan-KBO Fall League semifinal held at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium on the 30th.

With this, Long Beach, which extended its winless record to 11 games, advanced to the championship game to be held at the same venue at 2 p.m. on the 31st. Their opponent in the final will be the winner of the semifinal between Ulsan Whales and KIA Tigers, scheduled for 6 p.m. that day.

Long Beach pressured the LG pitching staff with 11 hits, both long and short. Jeter Ibarra went 3-for-4, and Trimeane Cobb Jr. went 2-for-4, delivering powerful performances at the plate. Benjamin Rosengard became a hero by capping his first hit of the day with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs and a runner on first base. Starting pitcher Luke Short avoided the loss despite allowing 7 hits, 3 walks, striking out 1, and giving up 2 runs over 4⅓ innings. Jack Volker, who took the mound in the 9th, earned the win with a scoreless inning, allowing 1 walk.

For LG, Son Yong-jun went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored, Ham Chang-geon went 2-for-3, and Kang Min-gi went 2-for-3, but their efforts were overshadowed by the team's defeat. Starter Park Seong-jin delivered a stable performance, pitching 5 innings while allowing 6 hits (1 home run), no walks or hit batters, striking out 2, and giving up 1 run. The LG infield combined for four double plays, keeping the game tight.

This match was a rematch between Long Beach Coast, who finished first in the Fall League preliminaries, and LG, who placed fourth. Long Beach, led by manager Don Wakamatsu (63), is a U.S. independent league team participating for the first time this year. As part of the Pioneer Baseball League, a partner league to Major League Baseball (MLB) in the U.S., players from various U.S. independent league clubs, including Long Beach and Oakland Ballers, formed a joint team to compete in this tournament.

Their preliminary record was overwhelming. Long Beach finished first among all 12 teams with an 8-win, 2-draw record in 10 games, boasting a winning percentage of 1.000. In particular, their pitching staff stood out with a team ERA of 1.50. They defeated KIA 5-0 on the 19th, beat Samsung 10-1 on the 22nd, and won against LG 7-1 on the 23rd. Long Beach was the only overseas participating team to advance to the semifinals.

LG also advanced to the top four with a formidable momentum. After engaging in a fierce battle for ranking until the end of the preliminaries, LG recorded a decisive 13-2 victory over the Domestic Independent League All-Stars on the 21st and defeated NC Dinos 6-3 on the 27th. They secured the final ticket to the semifinals by winning their final preliminary game on the 28th, finishing in fourth place.

On this day, LG lined up its batting order as follows: Son Yong-jun (shortstop), Kim Dae-won (center fielder), Kang Min-gyun (second baseman), Ham Chang-geon (left fielder), Lee Ji-baek (first baseman), Gwak Min-ho (third baseman), Kwon Dong-hyeok (designated hitter), Kang Min-gi (catcher), and Park Hyun-woo (right fielder). Park Seong-jin was the starting pitcher.

In response, Long Beach countered with Logan Johnston (left fielder), Trimeane Cobb Jr. (shortstop), Jeter Ibarra (first baseman), Cuba Beth (designated hitter), Max Ortega (catcher), Benjamin Rosengard (third baseman), Jacob Zabranski (second baseman), Cooper West (right fielder), and Esai Santos (center fielder). Luke Short was the starting pitcher.

LG scored first. In the top of the 1st inning, leadoff batter Son Yong-jun opened the scoring with a double that sliced through left-center field. Following him, Kim Dae-won lifted a low-breaking ball into the middle of the infield for a one-run RBI single to center field, making it 1-0.

Despite consistent on-base performance, Long Beach struggled to score due to LG's strong defense. In the bottom of the 1st inning with no outs and a runner on first base, right fielder Park Hyun-woo chased down and caught Cobb Jr.'s ball that went all the way to the outfield wall. Although Ibarra reached on a hit, Kang Min-gyun fielded Beth's grounder well and combined with shortstop Son Yong-jun to turn a 4-6-3 double play.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, leadoff batter Ortega reached on a single to center field, but once again, Kang Min-gyun and Son Yong-jun combined for a 4-6-3 double play to erase the threat. Park Seong-jin, aided by the defense, ended the inning by inducing a swing-and-miss strikeout from Zabranski with a fast pitch on the inside part of the plate.

Long Beach continued to struggle to reach home despite consistent on-base performance. In the bottom of the 4th inning, leadoff batter Cobb Jr. reached on a large single to right field, but Ibarra once again grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with a grounder to second base, clearing the bases again. Subsequently, Beth hit a double off the left-field wall, making the previous double-play hit even more regrettable. Park Seong-jin continued his scoreless pitching by retiring Ortega with a flyout to center field.

In the top of the 5th inning, leadoff batter Son Yong-jun once again broke through with a double slicing through left-center field. Son Yong-jun advanced to third base on Kim Dae-won's grounder to second and scored home on Kang Min-gyun's grounder to third. LG took a 2-0 lead.

Long Beach also launched a counterattack. Trailing 0-2 in the bottom of the 5th inning with two outs, West attacked Park Seong-jin's third pitch and hit a solo home run over the right-field fence. In the bottom of the 6th inning, against reliever Kwon Woo-jun, Cobb Jr. hit a single to center field and Ibarra hit a double down the left-field line, setting up runners on second and third bases. Following them, pinch hitter Robert Pitt Jr. delivered a one-run sacrifice fly to center field, tying the game at 2-2.

LG did not allow a comeback thanks to solid defense. Jo Doo-hee, who took the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning, allowed a single to right field to leadoff batter Santos. However, he placed a low curveball on the inside part of the plate right at the edge of the ABS zone to strike out Johnston, and then turned Cobb Jr. into another 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The game was decided by a single home run. In the bottom of the 9th inning with the score tied at 2-2, Long Beach leadoff batter Ibarra reached on a single to center field. Beth retired on a foul fly to third base, and Ortega struck out swinging. However, Rosengard attacked Jo Doo-hee's first pitch and sent it over the left-center field wall, ending the long battle that lasted approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original