Yang Woo-jin beat Gyeongbuk High School, a traditional powerhouse, with Lee Joo-ho's one-two punch. Gyeonggi Air High School Blue Dragon enters the quarterfinals for the first time
Jul 06, 2025
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Gyeonggi Air High School advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Gyeongbuk High School 10-5 in the round of 16 match between Yang Woo-jin and Lee Joo-ho in the 80th Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship and the weekend league King Wangjung match (co-hosted by the Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and Korea Baseball Softball Association) at Mokdong Stadium on the 6th.
Gyeongbuk High School scored the first run against Yang Woo-jin, the ace of Gyeonggi Air High School, in the bottom of the first inning. After the leader Lee Seung-bin got on base with a hit ball, he created a chance for one out and second base with a sacrifice bunt, and the superior triple by No. 3 Shin Ji-hoo added one run with Lee Dong-ho's left-handed hit to make it 2-0.
However, Gyeonggi Air High School immediately turned the tables. After one out in the top of the second inning, Kim Jae-hoon's left-handed hit and Jang Hyun-myung's right-handed hit created chances for the first and third bases. During Choi Jae-hyuk's at-bat in the 7th, Gyeongbuk High School starter Lee Jung-seok threw a wild pitch, and the third baseman homered and made it 1-2.
Choi Jae-hyuk and Han Dong-yeon drew consecutive walks with one out and second base, and No. 9 Choi Hyun-sung hit a right-handed hit to add one point to tie the score 2-2.
Eventually, the pitcher replaced Woo Joo-young. However, the first pitch thrown to No. 1 Kim Da-min fell back, and the third baseman homered to make it 3-2, and Kim Da-min's sacrifice fly to center field widened it to 4-2.
In the bottom of the third inning, Kyungpook High School's lead Kwon Hyun-kyu advanced to second base due to a third baseman's error, and Shin Ji-hoo and Lee Dong-ho struck out consecutively, which seemed to fly away the chance, but after the catcher's fastball at the 5th Choi Woo-joon's bat made it to third base with two outs, Choi Woo-joon's infield hit came out and chased by 3-4, one point.
Gyeonggi Air High School starter Yang Woo-jin was replaced by left-handed pitcher Lee Ju-ho after catching No. 1 Lee Seung-bin with a ground ball in front of shortstop in the bottom of the fifth inning. The number of pitches reached 72 and went down because he should not exceed 75 to throw in the next game. Yang Woo-jin threw 72 pitches in four ⅓ innings, allowing four hits, one out, four strikeouts, and three runs (two earned).
Gyeongbuk High School created a scoring chance with one out and two bases with a sensible play that ran to second base when the second base was empty after No. 2 Kwon Hyun-kyu got on base due to a third baseman error.
However, Shin Ji-hoo struck out and Lee Dong-ho stepped down with a ground ball in front of the third base, failing to tie the game.
In the top of the seventh inning, Gyeonggi Air High School also had a chance to score additional points by advancing to second base as center fielder, shortstop, and second baseman rushed to catch all the ordinary fly balls hit by No. 9 Choi Hyun-sung, but all conceded. Kim Da-min's right-handed hit followed to the first and third bases. During Kim Nam-hwi's at-bat, first baseman Kim Da-min stole second base to reach second and third base, but Kim Nam-hwi and No. 3 Kim Gun failed to run after striking out consecutive swings and misses.
Gyeonggi Air High School sealed the match in the top of the eighth inning. Jang Hyun-myung, the 6th in the 1st and 2nd base, made a sacrifice bunt due to a walk by the leadoff No. 4 Kim Yoon-woo, hit a heavy hit against the changed pitcher Lee Do-hoon, making it 5-3. No. 7 Choi Jae-hyuk stepped down with a ground ball in front of the third baseman, with two outs and a runner on second base. Gyeongbuk High School right fielder Kim Min-je tried to catch the ball hit by No. 8 Kim Do-gun, but he failed to catch it and fell back, resulting in a triple. 6-3. Choi Hyun-sung's right-handed hit was then added, widening the gap to 7-3, 4-point.
Gyeongbuk High School scored one point thanks to the opponent's error in the bottom of the eighth inning, but failed to catch up any more. And Gyeonggi Air High School added three points in the top of the ninth inning to make it 10-4.
Gyeonggi Air High School's Lee Ju-ho became the winning pitcher by allowing three hits, one out, six strikeouts and two runs (one earned run) in four ⅓ innings until the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. After giving up one run in the bottom of the ninth inning and throwing the last batter Shin Ji-hoo and 1B1S with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, he was replaced by Yoo Hong-kyun after reaching 75 pitches, and Yoo Hong-kyun blocked Shin Ji-ho with a fly to shortstop to finish the game.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
