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Aiming for its fifth consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games, the South Korean national baseball team suffered a shocking shutout defeat to a Japanese team composed solely of amateur players. To reach the final, South Korea must defeat China today (September 26).
Reporter Yu Byeongmin has the details from the field.
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South Korea handed over the initiative to Japan in the third inning.
Starting pitcher So Hyung-jun allowed two hits and a walk, which, compounded by an error from Kim Joo-won, resulted in three runs conceded in the third inning alone.
In the sixth inning, Cho Byeong-hyun gave up another run, and even Park Young-hyun, who was brought in early, surrendered an RBI single, pulling South Korea behind to 5-0.
The South Korean batting lineup was completely stifled until the seventh inning by Japan's left-hander Higuchi, who took the mound after just three days of rest following an 89-pitch outing as a starter on September 21.
It was especially painful that all three hits managed by the team turned into double plays.
Ultimately, the national team fell to Japan 5-0, failing to secure an early berth in the final. With the preliminary round win against Taiwan included, South Korea holds a record of 1 win and 1 loss in the Super Round.
[Ryu Ji-hyun / National Baseball Team Manager: The game did not go as planned, and it is deeply regrettable and frustrating. We will regroup and do our best to win tomorrow's game.]
The scenarios are simple.
If South Korea beats China today, it will advance to the final on its own merit. Choi Min-seok, who pitched brilliantly in the preliminary match against Hong Kong, will take the mound as the starting pitcher.
Having defeated Taiwan 5-0 in the preliminary round, the national team fortunately limited Japan to five runs. Having played 17 innings each in offense and defense, South Korea recorded a Team Quality Balance (TQB) difference of zero.
Consequently, the match result between Japan and Taiwan will not affect South Korea's advancement to the final; it will only determine the opponent in the final match.
South Korea has brought this thorny path upon itself.
To navigate through the scenarios equation once again, the top priority is to recover the sluggish batting performance.
(Video Reporter: Kim Se-kyung | Video Editing: Lee Jae-sung)
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