Real Match Begins with South Korea-Japan Showdown... So Hyeongjun Set as Starting Pitcher

[Anchor]

After crushing weaker opponents in the first two group-stage matches, the national baseball team will face host country Japan tomorrow in their first Super Round game. Pitcher So Hyeongjun is determined to lead the team to the finals in his very first Asian Games appearance.

[Reporter] reporting from the site.

[Reporter]

Back in 2019 at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, So Hyeongjun served as the team's ace and started against Japan, squaring off against Roki Sasaki—who currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers—and pitching brilliantly with two runs allowed through two outs in the seventh inning to become the hero of the victory.

Seven years since that encounter, he will take the mound in a South Korea-Japan clash once again.

He is determined to showcase the same unflinching grit that earned him the nickname "big-game pitcher" after posting a postseason ERA in the 1s for his club team KT.

So Hyeongjun participated in voluntary training today, thoroughly checking the mound at the Toyohashi Stadium battleground and wrapping up his preparations for the start.

[So Hyeongjun / National Baseball Team Pitcher : My body and arms feel light. I think if I can just get through the early innings well, I will be able to pitch well.]

The Japanese national team is mainly comprised of players from the Toyota Motor Corporation baseball club based in Nagoya, the strongest team in Japan's corporate leagues, raising expectations for fierce support from home fans.

[Ryu Ji-hyun / National Baseball Team Manager : Toyota is the team with the most solid roster in Japanese corporate baseball. In particular, they are a team with exceptionally high proficiency in their pitchers' breaking balls.]

Preparations are complete.

The national team is determined to defeat Japan and virtually secure their advancement to the finals.

The national football team will clash with Vietnam in the quarterfinals tomorrow, with Vietnam missing manager Kim Sang-sik and key players who are out for A-match duties.

(Camera reporting: JINHO, Video editing: Park Sun-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.