The South Korean national team, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, will play the Dominican Republic at 7:30 a.m. (Korea time) on March 14 at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida.
South Korea advanced by finishing second in Pool C in Tokyo. It is the first time the team has made it out of the group stage since its runner-up finish in 2009.
South Korea opened pool play with a rout of the Czech Republic but then lost to Japan and Taiwan, putting its tournament hopes in jeopardy. In its final pool game against Australia on March 9, it needed a win by at least five runs while allowing no more than two. The players kept fighting and secured a quarterfinal berth.
The Dominican Republic went 4-0 in Pool D, beating Nicaragua 12-3, the Netherlands 12-1, Israel 10-1 and Venezuela 7-5.
The Dominican Republic is widely viewed as the stronger team on paper, with a lineup packed with Major League Baseball All-Star-caliber talent.
Its offense has been especially productive, scoring 41 runs in four games, more than 10 per game. The roster includes Juan Soto (New York Mets), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado (both San Diego Padres).
The pitching staff is also deep, led by Cristopher Sanchez (Philadelphia Phillies), who has won at least 10 games in each of the past two MLB seasons; Brayan Bello (Boston Red Sox), who has posted double-digit wins in each of the past three seasons; and Camilo Doval (New York Yankees), who led the National League in saves in 2023.
All quarterfinal matchups have been set. If South Korea beats the Dominican Republic, it will meet the winner of Italy (Pool B winner) vs. Puerto Rico (Pool A runner-up) for a spot in the final.
Japan (Pool C winner) will face Venezuela (Pool D runner-up) in the quarterfinals. The winner will play the winner of Canada (Pool A winner) vs. the United States (Pool B runner-up) in the semifinals.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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