He scored 6K runs in eight ⅓ innings, the most likely No. 1 overall...Gyeonggi Aviation High School defeated Gyeongnam High School to advance to the semifinals for the first time (Cheongryonggi Field)
Jul 09, 2025
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Yang Woo-jin started in the quarterfinals against Gyeongnam High School in the 80th Blue Dragon Open National High School Championship and the weekend league King Wangjung match (co-hosted by the Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and the Korea Baseball Softball Association) at Mokdong Stadium on the 9th and pitched a perfect game of 102 pitches, 6 hits, 2 outs and 8 strikeouts in 8 ⅓ innings. Gyeonggi Air High School won 4-3 to advance to the semifinals.
Yang Woo-jin is a player who has rapidly emerged as the No. 1 candidate for the KBO Rookie Draft in 2026 as his competitors lean toward the U.S. Major League challenge. Kim Sung-joon (Gwangju Il High School), who drew attention as a promising pitching player, signed with the Texas Rangers early on. Bukil High School's Park Joon-hyun and Jangchung High School's ace Seo Moon-joon, who throw fastballs up to 157 kilometers per hour, are also highly expected to go to the U.S. Park Joon-hyun is well known as the son of former Doosan Bears coach Park Seok-min.
Yang Woo-jin has the ball power to keep up with his competitors. Rather, at this point, some say it is better than Park Joon-hyun and Moon Do-jun. It stands out with a height of 1m90 and a weight of 98kg hardware. He throws fastballs over 150 kilometers per hour and even sweepers, which are rare for high school students. Assuming that he comes to the profession and polishes his completeness, he has a very high potential for development.
He pitched well as expected. Yang Woo-jin recorded a maximum fastball speed of 150km and an average speed of 146km. The breaking ball overwhelmed Gyeongnam High School's lineup by mixing curves (109-123km) and sliders (127-135km).
Kim Da-min (middle fielder), Kim Nam-hwi (second baseman), Kim Gun (striker), Kim Yoon-woo (third baseman), Kim Jae-hoon (left fielder), Jang Hyun-myung (right fielder), Choi Jae-hyuk (fosu), Choi Hyun-sung (designated hitter), and Kim Do-gun (first baseman) started.
Gyeongnam High School faced off with Park Jae-yoon (middle fielder), Ahn Woo-seok (striker), Park Bo-seung (left wing), Lee Ho-min (first baseman), Yoo Jin-joon (second baseman), Jung Moon-hyuk (fosu), Oh Ji-sung (third baseman), Kim Jun-an (right wing) and Cho Dong-wook (designated hitter). The starting pitcher is Jang Chan-hee.
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In the fourth and fifth innings, he completely blocked it with a three-way strikeout in succession. Yang Woo-jin overwhelmed Gyeongnam High School's lineup by taking three strikeouts while facing six batters. Until the fifth inning, he pitched efficiently, with only 57 pitches.
Yang Woo-jin sent out leadoff hitter Cho Dong-wook with a heavy hit in the sixth inning. The first leadoff hitter on the day. Park Jae-yoon's sacrifice bunt made it to second base with one out, but Ahn Woo-suk and Park Bo-seung both grounded out to second base, continuing their scoreless streak.
The seventh inning was the biggest challenge. After one out, Yoo Jin-joon's ball bounced wide in front of the mound and became a hit. Even Jung Moon-hyuk has an infield hit at second base. Oh Ji-sung's ground ball to shortstop in a crisis with one out and runners on first and second bases made it to second and third bases with two outs. Yang Woo-jin did not go down despite the coach's visit to the mound, and he sent Kim Joon-an to four pitches on purpose to carry out a bases-loaded operation. Yang Woo-jin, who turned Lee Tae-soo into a fly ball to right field, roared loudly as if he were performing a victory ceremony.
The quiet Gyeonggi Air High School lineup only broke out at the beginning of the eighth inning. After two outs, Jang Hyun-myung's walk, Choi Jae-hyuk's hit, and Choi Hyun-sung's walk gave him a chance to load the bases. Han Dong-yeon hit a timely three-run triple to cut the right-center gap to score a 3-0 lead, and Kim Da-min hit a timely hit to the right with two outs and third base to make it 4-0.
Yang Woo-jin kept the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning. He got a hit to right-center by leadoff hitter Park Jae-yoon, but after dealing with the next two batters with an infield grounder, he struck out Lee Ho-min swinging.
Yang Woo-jin struck out leadoff hitter Yoo Jin-joon in the ninth inning with a swing and miss. That's all for his mission. Lee Ju-ho was replaced, and Lee Ju-ho allowed three runs, but he was responsible for the remaining two outcounts and kept the victory.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
