The South Korean national baseball team, aiming for its fifth consecutive Asian Games title, received a stern wake-up call in its final real-game test.

Managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, the national team secured a 7-6 victory over Sangmu in a warm-up match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul today (September 17), thanks to a walk-off hit by Kim Gun-hee (Kiwoom Heroes).

The match was played over eight innings, with a tiebreaker rule applied in the final inning to prepare for extra innings.

Out of the 11 pitchers on the roster, 8 took the mound in turn—excluding Kwak Bin and Choi Min-seok (both of Doosan Bears) and So Hyung-jun (kt wiz)—to check their pitching form under a 30-pitch limit.

The results fluctuated.

Oh Won-seok (kt) struggled by allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in 1 inning, while Bae Chan-seung (Samsung Lions) allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in one-third of an inning.

Six pitchers—Kim Young-woo (LG Twins), Sung Young-tak (KIA Tigers), Cho Byung-hyun (SSG Landers), Choi Jun-yong and Kim Jin-wook (Lotte Giants), and Park Young-hyun (kt)—kept the opponent scoreless.

Trailing 3-6, the national team staged a comeback in the 8th-inning tiebreaker, which started with runners on first and second base, scoring 4 runs powered by timely hits from Kim Joo-won and Kim Gun-hee to claim a come-from-behind victory.

Having gathered on September 14 and ramped up their condition from September 15 to 17, the national team will depart for Nagoya, Japan, tomorrow (September 18).

After two days of training to adapt to Japanese ballparks, they will play their opening group-stage match against Taiwan—which will determine their path toward a fifth consecutive championship—at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, at 6:30 PM on September 21.

(Photo: Yonhap News)