Noh Si-hwan's closing error in the 10th inning KIA defeated Ponce's Hanwha and the thrilling Winning Series
Jun 08, 2025
|
|
KIA won the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' match against Hanwha at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 8th after a neck-and-neck race that lasted until the 10th inning. The seventh-ranked KIA had 31 wins, 30 losses and 1 draw for the season, while the second-ranked Hanwha had 37 wins and 27 losses for the season, again 1.5 games apart from the first-ranked LG Twins.
KIA made the starting lineup with Yoon Do-hyun (second baseman), Park Chan-ho (eligible fielder), Oh Sun-woo (first baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Patrick Wisdom (third baseman), Choi Won-joon (right fielder), Kim Seok-hwan (left fielder), Kim Tae-gun (poster), and Kim Ho-ryeong (middle fielder). The starting pitcher was Yang Hyeon-jong.
Hanwha faced off with Esteban Florentine (middle fielder), Ha Joo-seok (striker), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Lee Jin-young (right fielder), Ahn Chi-hong (designated hitter), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Hwang Young-mook (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Cody Ponce.
Yang Hyun-jong collapsed early, making the game difficult. Yang Hyun-jong recorded the least innings this season as he collapsed with 49 pitches, eight hits, one out, two strikeouts, and five runs (four earned runs) in two ⅓ innings.
After Yang Hyun-jong went down, Sung Young-tak (2 ⅔ innings), Choi Ji-min (1 inning), Jeon Sang-hyun (2 innings, 1 run) and Jung Hae-young (2 innings) threw consecutively, setting the stage for victory. The winning pitcher is Jung Hae-young.
It was Hanwha's first run. After one out in the top of the first inning, Ha Joo-seok opened the scoring with a right-handed double, and Moon Hyun-bin hit a right-handed hit to lead to first and third bases. Moon Hyun-bin stole second base and pressed KIA's battery more, and led 0-1 thanks to Noh Si-hwan's sacrifice fly to left field.
KIA immediately launched a counterattack in the bottom of the first inning. Leading hitter Yoon Do-hyun got on base with a hit to the right. After one out, Oh Sun-woo took a superior two-run shot from Ponce and turned it over 2-1. Ponce threw a 154km/h two-seam fastball at the fourth pitch in the ball count of 2B1S, and Oh Sun-woo hit a bullet-like ball over the fence.
|
|
|
At the beginning of the third inning, Lee Jin-young came forward with 'Gwangju's Solver'. In the previous four games in Gwangju, Lee Jin-young bullied KIA with a batting average of 0.533 (8 hits in 15 at-bats), two homers and six RBIs. After Moon Hyun-bin's infield hit to the left side of the second baseman, Noh Si-hwan got on base due to an error in catching a grounder to the third baseman, making it 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with no outs and Chae Eun-sung's sacrifice bunt. Lee Jin-young then hit a timely two-run hit to left to widen the distance to 2-5. It was a powerful shot that effectively brought down Yang Hyeon-jong.
Ponce caused the crisis in the bottom of the sixth inning by sending Choi Hyung-woo and Wisdom on four pitches and a walk, respectively. As the number of pitches has already exceeded 100, Hanwha Bench quickly replaced the pitcher with Park Sang-won. Choi Won-joon got on base with a ground ball to shortstop, making it 1st and 3rd base with 1 out, and Hwang Dae-in hit a timely two-run double to left-center to balance 5-5.
Floral seemed to lead Hanwha to victory in the top of the eighth inning. Leading hitter Choi Jae-hoon was replaced by pinch runner Lee Won-seok after getting on base with a left-handed hit. a sign on the bench to squeeze out a point. Pinch-hitter Choi In-ho made the first and third bases with no outs with a heavy hit, and Floral hit a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 5-6.
KIA announced its pursuit again with a hit by leadoff hitter Choi Won-joon in the bottom of the eighth inning. After one out, Han Jun-su hit a right-center hit, when center fielder Floral made a catch error to fumble the ball, and Choi Won-joon scored to make it 6-6.
Hanwha closer Kim Seo-hyun went down and Kim Jong-soo came up in the bottom of the 10th inning. Leading hitter Choi Won-joon hit a double to the right of the right field, setting the stage for a walk-off victory. The pinch hitter Hong Jong-pyo threw a fly ball to left field. With one out, Hanwha replaced the pitcher with Jung Woo-joo. Han Jun-su's dune made it to first and second base, and Ko Jong-wook hit a grounder to third base, and third baseman Noh Si-hwan's bad pitch came out to win 7-6.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Ponce only allowed five hits (two homers) with 105 pitches in five innings, three strikeouts, seven strikeouts, and five runs, without winning or losing. Five runs is Ponce's record for most runs this season. The season ERA rose from 1.80 to 2.20. He broke up with the league's only one-point ERA title, but maintained the top spot in the category.
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
