“Wake up! Your parents traveled all the way from Yangsan to Seoul to watch this game? We can do this! One point at a time.” The game between Gyeongnam Yangsan Mulgeumgo and Masango at Shinwol Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 20th. It was the round of 16 of the 78th Cheongnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship and the Weekend League Wangjoong Wangjeon (co-hosted by Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and the Korea Baseball Softball Association).
When Masango took an 11-1 lead in the top of the third inning, Mulmulgo captain Gong Min-seo, a junior, shouted at his teammates. “The players’ eyes were drained of energy. Even if we lose, it would be unfair to pack up like this.” He said. The captain’s heart was in the right place, as Mulmungo won 14-12 in a movie-like comeback to reach the quarterfinals of the inaugural Blue Dragon Games.카지노사이트
It’s a dream, Saint Xiya – The round of 16 game between Mulmungo and Masango at the Cheongnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship on the 20th. Mulmungo players Lee Seung-ju (front) and Han Dong-geun (far right) celebrate after Mulmungo scored the tying run in the fifth inning. /Jung Jae-geun Sports Chosun Reporter
An upstart team founded in 2015 faced off against an 81-year-old program. Masango was on a roll after defeating No. 1 Deoksugo and Golden Lion champion Busan Go in consecutive games. When Masango bombed the mound in the top of the third inning and scored 11 runs, no one expected the game to be over. Even the players were packing their bags.
The turnaround began in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Mulmungo trailed 1-11. With the bases loaded, Mulmugo scored four runs on a hit by Gong Min-seo, two balls to the body, and a sacrifice fly, and then Kim Woo-sung (sophomore) hit a three-run cannon to make it 8-11, a three-run lead. At that point, the Mulago players jumped out of the dugout and celebrated as if they had won the tournament.
Masango scored one run in the top of the fifth, but Mulmungo was not done. In the bottom of the fifth, after an error and a wild pitch made it 10-12, Kim Woo-sung tied the game with a double, this time with the bases loaded. Sophomore Lee Seung-ju followed with an RBI single to put Mulmungo back on top. Mulmungo added one more run in the bottom of the eighth to seal the deal.
Mulmungo is no stranger to baseball fans. It produced its first professional player (Samsung’s Kim Young-woong) last year. This year, however, the Cheongryonggi are showing off their prowess, having topped the Gyeongsangnam-do A division in the first half of the Weekend League with six wins in six games. Mulgungo coach Kang Seung-young, who is also a Masango alumnus, said, “I got a lot of calls from (Masango) alumni before the game, and I’m very emotional. I’ve never played a game like this in my coaching career. The referees must have thought it was a cold game (a 10-point deficit) in the fifth inning,” he said, adding, “The cohesiveness of the players, who encouraged each other to ‘try’ and ‘not give up,’ was the driving force behind the comeback.”
Jang Chung-go 4-2 Yushin
Defending champions Jang Chung-go fought off a late charge from last year’s winners to reach the quarterfinals. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the score 4-2 and runners on second and third, Jang Hyun-min (sophomore) hit a line drive to center field on a full count, and Jang Chung-go center fielder Kim Min-chan (junior) made a flying catch to end the game.
7-5 Pohang Steel
After scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, Gyeonggi Sanggo gave up two consecutive passed balls in the bottom of the fifth inning to fall behind 2-3. They regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Jung Hee-jae scored three runs on an RBI single and a passed ball. Sophomore Jiyoon Han, the team’s designated hitter and No. 4 hitter, drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth with a 6-3 lead, pulling a fastball from Choi Jun-myung for a solo arch over the left field fence. Han went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
Chungam Go 5-3 Jeporego
Chungam-go cruised to the finals for the third straight year. With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the team held on to a two-run lead on a bases-loaded walk to junior Hyun Min Choi. Park Gun-woo (sophomore), Chungamgo’s second pitcher, pitched four and two-thirds scoreless innings to earn his second win of the tournament, following his performance against Cheonan Bukil High School in game two.
Daegu Sangwon Go 11-1 Hwasun Go (5 innings cold)
Sangwongo showed off its firepower. Leading 4-1, they scored six runs in the bottom of the third inning to virtually end the game. Three wild pitches, a two-run double by Park Hyun-seung (sophomore) and a sacrifice fly by Yeo Dong-wook (sophomore) made it 10-1. In the bottom of the fifth inning, with runners on first and third, Park Do-gun (junior) grounded out to shortstop to score one more run.
Kyungpook National University 10-0 (6th inning cold)
Game 2 (Round of 32) Last game. Playing in their first game of the tournament after skipping the first game as a bye, Kyungpook National University pounded Gyeonggi State for 11 hits. In a rare national tournament start for a freshman, Kyungpook’s Dui-seok Doo threw four and two-thirds innings of one-hit ball.