The South Korean baseball team secured a 5-0 victory against Taiwan in their opening match of Group B at the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games, held on September 21 at Okazaki Central Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Starting pitcher Kwak Bin led the way with an impressive performance, throwing six innings without allowing a hit and recording 10 strikeouts, marking a strong start in their quest for a fifth consecutive championship.
Kwak allowed only two walks and threw 90 pitches. Taiwan opted for 20-year-old Lin Yi-wei, an inexperienced pitcher, instead of Wang Yan-cheng from the KBO League.
In a tightly contested game, South Korea broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning. Moon Bo-kyung reached base due to a throwing error by the shortstop, and Kim Joo-won advanced him to third with a single to right field. After Jo Hyung-woo walked, 19-year-old Park Jae-hyun drove in the first run of the international tournament with a sacrifice fly to left field.
In the seventh inning, against Taiwan's second pitcher Liu Zhi-rong, Moon Bo-kyung walked again, and Kim Joo-won hit a single to center, putting runners on first and third with no outs. Park Jun-soon then hit a one-run double to right field, followed by Jo Hyung-woo's sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 3-0.
In the eighth inning, Kim Do-young hit a double to right-center, and No Si-hwan added another run with a sacrifice fly. Later, pinch hitter Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte) sealed the victory with a solo home run to left field. Kim Joo-won led the offense with three hits in four at-bats.
Following Kwak, Jo Byeong-hyeon pitched two innings with three strikeouts and no runs allowed. In the ninth inning, Park Young-hyun took the mound but allowed two hits with one out, narrowly missing a combined no-hitter. Nevertheless, the three pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts, securing a shutout victory.
The tournament format advances teams to the Super Round based on their group stage performance, which will take place on September 25-26. South Korea will face Hong Kong in their second match on September 22 at 6:30 PM at Toyohashi Stadium, followed by their final group stage game against Thailand on September 23 at noon.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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