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| SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. In the top of the eighth inning, Ponce achieved 18K, the most strikeouts in a game. A celebratory video is being displayed on the electronic display. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/ |
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This is crazy. It is the appearance of a major leaguer-class monster pitcher. Hanwha Eagles' Cody Ponce set a new record for the most strikeouts in a single KBO game.
Ponce took the mound as a starting pitcher in Game 1 of a doubleheader against SSG Landers at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. With Hanwha losing three straight games, Ponce showed artistic pitching as if he were cooking SSG hitters from the beginning.
After striking out No. 1 hitter Jihoon Choi in the top of the first inning, No. 2 hitter Park Sung-han struck out standing with a 157-kilometer fastball. Then even Choi Jung swung a 157-kilometer fastball and struck out the 'KBO League's new home run record holder.
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| SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Ponce, who had a no-hit march until the seventh inning, is coming down with a smile. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/ |
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Ponce, who started the first inning with K-K-K, had a great strikeout pace. In the top of the second inning, he walked to leadoff hitter Han Yoo-som, but no single batter has been able to step on first base since then.
After handling McBroom's fly to right field, Choi Joon-woo and Ahn Sang-hyun struck out consecutive swings and misses, turning the bat around. He struck out five through the second inning. In the top of the third inning, Shin Bum-soo and Kim Jihoon Choi turned to consecutive swings and misses after dealing with Jung Joon-jae with a ground ball to the first base.
The strikeout pace got faster and faster. He struck out Park Sung-han and Han Yu-som in the top of the fourth inning, and struck out McBroom and Choi Jun-woo in the top of the fifth inning.
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| SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Starting pitcher Ponce is making high fives with all players, including Moon Hyun-bin, before taking the mound. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/ |
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Ponce, who had no hits and 11 strikeouts with 74 pitches until the fifth inning, struck out hitters leading to Jung Joon-jae, Shin Bum-soo and Kim Jihoon Choi with 10 pitches in the top of the sixth inning. By the top of the sixth inning, he had 14 strikeouts, setting the record for the most strikeouts in a single game by a foreign player in KBO history. It is the eighth record ever.
And in the top of the seventh inning, when Hanwha led 1-0, Ponce took the mound. He struck out Park Sung-han, the leadoff batter of the inning, for the 15th time. This is the moment when Ponce achieved a new KBO league record. Since then, he has been outspoken. Even Choi Jung, who has hit home runs in the last three consecutive games, struck out again, striking out for the 15th time. And in the absence of a runner with two outs, he faced Han Yu-sum and this time ended the inning with a ground ball to the second base, not a strikeout.
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| SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Coach Yang Sang-moon is smiling as Ponce, who had a no-hit march until the seventh inning, also expressed his intention to take the mound in the eighth inning. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/ |
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We could expect a no-hitter, but the number of pitches was not small as there were many strikeouts. However, Ponce, who recorded 97 pitches until the seventh inning, also took the mound in the eighth inning. Ponce, who expressed his intention to keep throwing to Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach, continued.
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| SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Ponce is cheering when second baseman Hwang Young-mook caught Choi Jeong's ball with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/ |
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17th strikeout while striking out McBroom, the first batter in the eighth inning. Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach, took the mound and asked Ponce again, who reached 100 pitches, but the meaning was the same again this time. Ponce continued to pitch. He struck out the next batter, Choi Jun-woo, until his 18th strikeout. With this strikeout, Ponce set a new KBO record based on nine innings. The previous record was 17 strikeouts set by Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha) against the Cheongju LG Twins on May 11, 2010, which was the most in nine innings, and Ponce exceeded it. The most strikeouts in a game in history were 18 achieved by Sun Dong-yeol (Hae-tae) in the match against Mudeung Binggrae on June 19, 1991, when he pitched 13 innings. Ponce will match Sun Dong-yeol with a new record based on nine innings and a strikeout record that left the inning.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
