A high school student is already throwing 2 sliders and 2 curves? I'm left-handed, but I shot it up to 148km
Jul 07, 2025
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Gyeonggi Aviation High School's left-handed pitcher Lee Ju-ho's good pitching put the team in the first quarterfinals of the Blue Dragon.
Gyeonggi Air High School advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Gyeongbuk High School 10-5 in the round of 16 at the 80th Cheongryonggi National High School Championship and the weekend league King Wangjung match (co-hosted by the Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and Korea Baseball Softball Association) held at Mokdong Stadium on the 6th.
Lee Ju-ho took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning with a lead of 4-3, one point, followed by starter Yang Woo-jin, and became the winning pitcher with four hits, one out, six strikeouts and two runs (one earned run) in four ⅓ innings until he handed over the mound to Yoo Hong-kyun with two outs and runners on first and second bases in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Lee Ju-ho, who blocked well without a hit until the seventh inning, struck out No. 3 Shin Ji-hoo in the bottom of the eighth inning with a third baseman error and his own check error, but allowed No. 4 Lee Dong-ho to hit the right-handed and give up one run. However, since then, both subsequent batters have been dealt with by mistake and no additional runs have been lost.
With the team leading 10-4, Lee had 56 pitches when entering the bottom of the ninth inning. He had to finish the ninth inning with 75 pitches in order to make it to the quarterfinals. Rather, it was not easy. After one out, he sent a runner to third base with a hit ball and wild pitch, and even allowed consecutive hits, giving him one run and leading to a crisis of first and second bases. After striking out No. 2 Kwon Hyun-kyu, he made 1B1S with a ball and a foul on No. 3 Shin Ji-hoo, filled 75 pitches, and was replaced by Yoo Hong-kyun, and the game ended with Yoo Hong-kyun catching Shin Ji-hoo with a fly to shortstop.
On this day, Lee Ju-ho recorded a maximum speed of 148 kilometers on a fastball, rewriting his personal maximum speed. Lee Ju-ho, whom I met after the game, laughed, saying, "I usually throw 144-145 kilometers and the maximum speed was 147 kilometers, but I'm happy to hear that I threw 148 kilometers today."
He usually throws sliders and curves on good fastballs and plays against batters. Scouts' evaluation is also good. It is evaluated that he is a left-handed pitcher with good deception and good operational ability to control the pace according to the situation.
Lee Ju-ho cited the slider as his most confident pitch type, saying, `Throwing a slider into the bell and bending it horizontally, and throwing a slow curve and a fast one.'
Lee Ju-ho, who started baseball at the recommendation of his father, a Lotte Giants fan, said he is a fan of the Doosan Bears. Lee Ju-ho, who picked Lee Byung-hun of the Doosan Bears as a role model because his powerful pitching was cool, said he is also watching videos of Shota Imana of the Chicago Cubs and making a lot of reference.
I had elbow surgery in the first grade, and in the second grade, I broke my left ankle and eventually took a year off. Lee Ju-ho, who overcame a hard time of not playing baseball for about two years, said, `Watching my friends throw, I wondered if I could do that, but my father doesn't know what will happen to people. I kept exercising hard because I told him not to lose hope," he said with a smile.
Lee Ju-won, his younger brother, also transferred to Gyeonggi Air High School and is training with him. "My younger brother is an outfielder. I think he'll do well."But when asked if he was better than himself, he replied with a light smile.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
