Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.

Jul 20, 2025

Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.
A panoramic view of Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 20th. Gwangju = Reporter Kim Min-kyung



Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.
The groundkeepers completed the ground maintenance work early on. Gwangju = Reporter Kim Min-kyung
The first game of the second half is expected to finally be held in Gwangju.

KIA Tigers and NC Dinos are scheduled to play Game 8 of the season between the teams '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 20th. All games were canceled due to heavy rain in Gwangju for three days from the 17th to the 19th, and KIA and NC were just looking at the sky.

Until the 19th, the situation at the Champions Field Ground was the worst. It rained so much for two days on the 17th and 18th that the ground soil was lost, causing a step difference in the ground. Not only was it difficult to play normally, but the risk of injury to the players was high. In particular, the mound was in bad condition. No matter how much soil was dug up, water kept coming up from deep in the mound, making it impossible to recover.




While the game was canceled early due to ground conditions on the 19th, there was no choice but to worry about the cancellation of four consecutive games as heavy rain fell from the evening.

KIA and NC had no choice but to worry about their sense of play as the period of not being able to play from the All-Star break became too long. On the 20th, if it didn't rain, he was determined to proceed with the game by maintaining the ground early.

Champions Field groundkeepers started normalizing the ground early on. Fortunately, thanks to the bright sun rising from the morning, the ground condition was able to recover quickly. Spraying the lost soil and completing the mound maintenance. Currently, the home team KIA players are fully prepared for outdoor training.




Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.
Gwangju Kia Champions Field, where the ground condition was the worst until the 19th. The ground soil was lost due to too much rain for two days. Gwangju = Reporter Kim Min-kyung
KIA and NC predicted Lee Eui-ri and Shin Min-hyuk as starting pitchers, respectively. KIA tried to lay the groundwork for the rise in the second half with James Nail and NC with Riley Thompson, but it was difficult to postpone the game anymore as the game was canceled for three consecutive days. In consideration of breaking other players' routines, both Nail and Riley decided to take the mound in the first game of a three-game series next week on the 22nd.

Lee Eui-ri will return to the mound after a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June last year. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho expected Lee Eui-ri to be replaced after throwing about 60 pitches on the day. It plans to mobilize the entire bullpen, which has fully rested since the All-Star break.

KIA's main hitters Na Sung-bum and Kim Sun-bin are also expected to finally return to injury. The two players have been consistently in the starting lineup for the past three days, but rain has prevented them from returning. Attention is focusing on what changes will happen to KIA's batting lineup, where the two players joined.




Shin Min-hyuk was 5-3 with 77 ⅔ innings and an ERA of 4.29 in 16 games in the first half. As an opponent of KIA, he has good memories of winning one game, five innings, and a 1.80 ERA in one game this year. NC manager Lee Ho-joon predicted that if Shin Min-hyuk was judged to be shaken early, he would use all of the bullpen without sparing it. Lee Joon-hyuk, who was selected as the fifth starter in the second half of the year, will also be on standby on this day.

Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.
KIA Tigers objection. Gwangju = Reporter Kim Min-kyung
Finally, Gwangju is playing baseball...After all-time heavy rain, the ground maintenance is almost done.
The game between the NC Dinos and the Hanwha Eagles at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on the 21st. NC Shin Min-hyuk is pitching hard. Ulsan=Park Jae-man Reporter pjm@sportschosun.com/2025.05.21/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.