“Players who met for the first time on a plane win an undefeated championship in 12 games!” The might of the U.S. independent league alliance team: Defeats Ulsan to claim top spot in their debut [KBO Fall League On-Site Review]

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A U.S. independent league alliance team that had not even had the chance to train together before boarding their flight to Korea produced the astonishing result of an undefeated championship. The Long Beach Coast, led by manager Don Wakamatsu (63), defeated the Ulsan Whales, who had caused a sensation in their inaugural season, to claim the title on their first appearance.

Long Beach defeated the Ulsan Whales 6-2 in the final of the 2026 Ulsan-KBO Fall League held at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium on the 31st. With this victory, Long Beach secured the championship with an undefeated record of 12 games (10 wins, 2 draws), having recorded eight wins and two draws in the preliminary round and added two more victories in the semifinals and final.

Long Beach’s power hitting turned the tide. Cooper Best hit a tying triple in the bottom of the fourth inning and followed up with another tying solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, while Cuba Vess delivered a go-ahead RBI double with two outs to serve as the game-winner. Every time Ulsan missed an opportunity to pull away, Long Beach responded with a powerful hit. Best, who had also performed well in this year’s U.S. Pioneer League with a .300 batting average and 14 home runs, was named the game’s MVP after recording two hits (one home run) and three RBIs in four at-bats, including tying hits at crucial moments.

Long Beach is a U.S. independent league alliance team visiting Ulsan for the first time this year. They secured a late entry opportunity due to the withdrawal of a Mexican team that had originally been scheduled to participate. The team was formed by players from various independent league clubs, including the Long Beach Coast and the Oakland Ballers, with Wakamatsu, who was the first Asian American manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, taking the helm.

Dramatic games continued starting from the semifinals. On the 30th, Long Beach trailed the LG Twins 0-2 but closed the gap by one run each in the fifth and sixth innings before securing a 4-2 comeback victory with Benjamin Rosengard’s walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The challenge by Ulsan, which finished as runner-up, also carried significance. Founded this year, Ulsan participated in the KBO Futures League for the first time and claimed first place in the Southern League, followed by a runner-up finish in the championship series and an advancement to the Fall League final. In the semifinal against the KIA Tigers the previous day, they even secured a 2-1 comeback victory with Park Je-beom’s tying RBI hit and Kim Seong-gyun’s walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was a valuable achievement for players who had been released from professional teams or went undrafted to come together and finish as runners-up in two tournaments in their inaugural year.

On this day, Ulsan lined up its batting order with Park Moon-soon (second baseman), Noh Kang-min (third baseman), Kim Seo-won (right fielder), Ha Jae-hoon (designated hitter), Ye Jin-won (left fielder), Kim Seong-gyun (first baseman), Park Je-beom (catcher), Kim Si-wan (center fielder), and Shin Jun-woo (shortstop). Park Seong-ung was the starting pitcher.

Long Beach countered with Johnston (left fielder), Cobb Jr. (shortstop), Ibarra (first baseman), Vess (designated hitter), Ortega (catcher), Rosengard (third baseman), Zablanski (second baseman), Best (right fielder), and Santos (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Japanese right-hander Ren Abe-Arias (24).

Ulsan took the early lead. In the top of the first inning, leadoff hitter Park Moon-soon hit a single to center field against Abe-Arias, and Noh Kang-min’s sacrifice bunt set up a runner on second with one out. Following this, Kim Seo-won did not miss a pitch thrown down the middle, connecting for an RBI single to right field to take a 1-0 lead. Ulsan loaded the bases with consecutive singles to center field by Ha Jae-hoon and Ye Jin-won, but failed to score additional runs as Kim Seong-gyun flied out to first base and Park Je-beom grounded into third base.

Long Beach immediately launched a counterattack. In the bottom of the third inning, starting with Santos’ single down the right field line, they combined Cobb Jr.’s infield hit and Ibarra’s walk to create a bases-loaded opportunity with one out. However, when Vess grounded into first base, Kim Seong-gyun made an accurate throw home to prevent the run, and Park Seong-ung got Ortega to strike out swinging to escape the jam.

Long Beach’s first run came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Leadoff hitter Rosengard reached on a single to center field and successfully stole second base, while Best hit a massive triple that struck the center field fence directly, tying the game at 1-1. Park Seong-ung finished the inning without allowing further runs, fielding Santos’ ground ball himself to throw out first base and getting Johnston to strike out swinging.

The balance held for a while before being broken again in the seventh inning. In the top of the seventh, Ulsan created a runner on first and second with no outs via Shin Jun-woo’s single to left field and Park Moon-soon’s surprise bunt hit. Although Noh Kang-min struck out, Kim Seo-won drew a walk to load the bases. Despite Long Beach replacing their pitcher with Collier, Ha Jae-hoon drew a bases-loaded walk, giving Ulsan a 2-1 lead again. However, after the pitcher was changed to Burd, Ye Jin-won popped up to third base and Kim Seong-gyun struck out swinging, failing to score additional runs with the bases loaded and one out.

Having weathered the crisis, Long Beach immediately turned the game around. In the bottom of the seventh, leadoff hitter Best lifted a pitch from Cho Je-yeong over the right field fence for a tying solo home run. Best, who had previously hit a tying triple, once again served as the game-winner with a powerful hit.

Ulsan brought Shim Jae-min to the pitcher's mound and successfully retired the first two batters. However, they found themselves in a bases-loaded situation with one out after Cobb Jr.’s deep infield hit was followed by Ibarra’s hit toward second base also being ruled an infield single.

Vess, who came to the plate, decided the outcome. Despite an unfavorable count of 0 balls and 2 strikes, Vess hit a massive RBI double that struck the right field fence directly. With the runner on second reaching home, Long Beach took a 3-2 lead. Ulsan inserted Yuto to get Ortega to strike out swinging, preventing further runs.

Long Beach drove in the nail in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Zablanski drew a walk against Yuto, and Santos hit a single to right field against the replacement pitcher Jo Jun-hyuk, creating a runner on first and third with two outs. Santos stole second base while the catcher dropped the ball, and Johnston hit an RBI double to center field off the new pitcher Kim Do-gyu with a count of 3 balls and 0 strikes. Following this, Ibarra hit an RBI double to left field, extending the lead to 6-2. Ulsan started the bottom of the ninth inning with their top of the order but failed to recover any runs, settling for runner-up in a narrow defeat.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original