The Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) 2023 squad completed their first exhibition game with the Commerce. Despite the chilly conditions, both teams batted well. However, coach Ryu Jung-il (60) is keeping a cool head.
The APBC team won its first trial against Sangmu 10-3 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Aug. 8. The game was relatively tight in the first inning, but the team scored seven runs in the seventh inning to complete the victory.
The national team convened in Daegu on the 5th. They began training at Lions Park on the 6th. On the 7th, they held two days of training, and on the 8th, they went into action. They faced off against Sangmu. Some of the national team players played for Sangmu. We wanted as many players as possible to play, so we asked for their permission.굿모닝토토 주소
Moon Dong-ju, who started for the national team, pitched three innings of one-hit ball (one home run) with four strikeouts and one run allowed. He gave up a home run to Na Seung-yup, but it was a fastball that reached a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour.
Kwak Bin Kwak started for the Sangsangs and gave up two runs on three hits (one homer) with three walks and two strikeouts in three innings. His fastball was in the low 140 mph range, but his command was a little shaky.
Moon Dong-joo was followed by Choi Seung-yong (two scoreless innings), Kim Tae-kyung (one run in one inning), Cho Byung-hyun (one run in one inning), Choi Ji-min (one run in one inning), and Jung Hae-young (one run in one inning).
Kwak Bin was followed by Oh Won-seok, who tossed two scoreless innings. In the sixth inning, Choi Jun-yong came on and gave up one run on two hits and one walk.
It was the first game, but the bats were good. Choi Ji-hoon had three hits, including a solo home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored, while Kim Hye-sung also had two hits and two RBIs. Noh Si-hwan also had three hits and two RBIs, while Moon Hyun-bin went 1-for-3 with a three-run shot. Kim Sung-yoon also had a 1-for-3 performance.
Na Seung-yeop had two hits, one RBI and one walk, including a home run, while Park Seung-kyu had two hits and one run scored. Han Tae-yang went hitless and drew a walk.
Noh Si-hwan of the South Korean baseball team at the Hangzhou Asian Games tee-bats during a training session at the Gocheok Sky Dome on Sept. 24. Sept. 24, 2023, Gocheok | Park Jin-up upandup@sportsseoul.coma
After the game, coach Ryu Jung-il said, “We were a little bad in the first inning, but we got better in the second. Some pitchers are still fully fit, while others are not. We’ll take a day off tomorrow (the 9th). I think it will be better in the second game on the 11th,” he concluded.
Regarding starters Moon Dong-joo and Kwak Bin, he said, “I rested a bit. I asked them the other day when they were pitching in the bullpen, and they said they didn’t pitch well because there was no catcher. They said they played catch. I think Kwak-Bin needs to throw a little more. The ball was high,” he explained.
“It’s been about 20 days since I played a real game. There are still some players who haven’t come up yet because of the rest. I think they will be better in the second practice.”
“The batters were different depending on the pitcher they faced. We didn’t hit well in the first half. In the second half, we did well against the commercial pitchers. Anyway, the pitchers have to be good first. The batters will be more active,” he added.
APBC reserve Na Seung-yeop practices first base defense during a call-up training session at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on June 6. Photo courtesy of the KBO
Despite being on the reserve roster, there are some players who played on the day. Na Seung-yeop is one of them. He showed some good at-bats. His chances of making the final roster seem high.
Manager Ryu Jung-il said, “We have to wait and see. We have to look at Kang Baek-ho’s spot, and we have to look at the players who are playing in the Korean Series. I think we need to see everything. Besides Na Seung-yeop, Moon Hyun-bin also hit a home run today. It was good to see.”