The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho + Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT

Jun 18, 2025

The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
KIA Tigers Lee Chang-jin, who finished the final hit. Reporter Jung Jae-geun



The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
KIA Tigers' Park Chan-ho, who wielded three hits. Photo courtesy = KIA Tigers
KIA Tigers have won four consecutive games with a scary background.

KIA came from behind to win 5-3 against KT Wiz in the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 18th. KIA recorded 36 wins, 33 losses and 1 draw in the season, and KT lost two consecutive games to 36 wins, 33 losses and 3 draws.

For KIA, Ko Jong-wook (left fielder), Park Chan-ho (striker), Oh Sun-woo (right fielder), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Patrick Wisdom (third baseman), Han Jun-su (catcher), Hwang Dae-in (first baseman), Kim Kyu-sung (second baseman), and Choi Won-jun (midfielder) started. The starting pitcher is Yoon Young-chul.




KT faced Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder), Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Ahn Hyun-min (designated hitter), Mel Rojas Jr. (right fielder), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Moon Sang-cheol (first baseman), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Sang-soo (second baseman), and Kwon Dong-jin (striker). The starting pitcher is Cho Hyung-joon.

Yoon Young-chul retired without winning or losing in five innings with 87 pitches, four hits, two outs, five strikeouts and three runs. With a maximum fastball speed of 138km and an average speed of 135km, the ball was slower than usual, so there was no need to overdo it.

KIA made an all-out bullpen battle as it saved the must-win group with a big victory the previous day. Jeon Sang-hyun (2 innings), Cho Sang-woo (1 inning), and Jung Hae-young (1 inning) continued to throw to keep the victory. The winning pitcher is Jeon Sang-hyun.




In the batting lineup, Park Chan-ho played 3 hits and 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats. Pinch hitter Lee Chang-jin did not miss a single opportunity to bat, finishing the game with a timely two-run hit.

One defensive mistake in the top of the fourth inning, when the score was 0-0, led to a large number of runs. Yoon Young-chul sent out leadoff hitter Ahn Hyun-min with a heavy hit. Rojas sent Ahn Hyun-min to second base by wild pitch during the game against Jang Sung-woo, who had a fly ball to center field, and even walked Jang to get on base. Yoon Young-chul allowed Moon Sang-chul to make a timely hit to the left, giving up the first run of 0-1.

At a time when it had to be prevented with the minimum number of runs, center fielder Choi Won-joon's fatal mistake came out. Heo Kyung-min's ball extended toward center field with one out and runners on first and second bases. If he had judged the ball well, he could have handled it as a fly ball, but Choi Won-joon came forward and later chased the ball, making it a timely double in mid-month.




The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
The game between Hanwha and KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th, KIA Yoon Young-chul catches Hanwha Moon Hyun-bin's ground ball in front of the pitcher and throws it to first base in the top of the 6th inning. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.06/
The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
On the 6th, KIA Jeon Sang-hyun is pitching hard in a match between Hanwha and KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.06/
The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
The match between Hanwha and KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th, KIA Wisdom hits a solo home run and shares joy with Ko Jong-wook in the bottom of the 7th inning. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.06/
The crisis continued with 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base as it was 0-2. Yoon Young-chul allowed Kim Sang-soo to sacrifice fly to right field. At this time, the fielders helped him defend himself. As soon as right fielder Oh Sun-woo caught the ball, he threw it to first baseman Hwang Dae-in, and Hwang Dae-in aimed at second baseman Huh Kyung-min, who was heading to third base as soon as he judged that the home game was late. The inning ended when Huh Kyung-min was tagged out at third base. The score was 0-3.

Choi Won-joon atoned for his defensive mistake by setting the stage for the chase in the bottom of the fifth inning. After one out, he opened the scoring with a hit to the left of center field. When Ko Jong-wook hit a hit to the right, KT right fielder Ahn Hyun-min's catch error led to a golden opportunity with one out and runners on second and third bases. Park Chan-ho hit a two-run timely double on the left-field line to chase 2-3, and Wisdom hit a timely double to right-center with two outs and runners on the first and third bases to balance 3-3.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, when KT lowered Cho Hyung-joon and operated the bullpen, KIA's batters drove once more. Leading hitter Park Chan-ho opened the door as he got on base with a pitcher's left infield hit. I was worried when I entered the first base with headfirst sliding, which was at high risk of injury, but it certainly had the effect of waking up the team's fighting spirit. When Wisdom and Kim Tae-gun drew a series of walks from KT Won Sang-hyun with two outs and third base, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho took out Lee Chang-jin's card as a pinch hitter at Hwang Dae-in's at-bat. Lee Chang-jin turned the game around 5-3 with a timely two-run hit to the left.

In the top of the eighth inning, he broke KT's will to chase after him by overcoming the last crisis. Cho Sang-woo got a double from leadoff hitter pinch-hitter Junghoon Lee and sent Bae Jeong-dae out with a pitch, but he turned the next three hitters into a mistake. Cho Sang-woo continued his scoreless streak for the seventh game in June.

KT starter So Hyung-joon recorded a quality start with 91 pitches, eight hits, one out, four strikeouts, and three runs in six innings and withdrew without a win or loss. The losing pitcher is Jeon Yong-joo (one run in ⅔ innings).

The fighting spirit's Park Chan-ho Lee Chang-jin's pinch-hit final hit KIA won four consecutive games, 5-3 come-from-behind victory over KT
The game between Hanwha and KT at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 25th. KT Cho Hyung-joon is pitching as a starter. Daejeon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.04.25/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.