NC avenged a doubleheader loss to Lotte with a strong performance from Seo Ho-cheol and Oh Young-soo.
The NC Dinos earned a thrilling one-run victory over the Lotte Giants in the second game of their 2023 KBO Baseball League doubleheader at Changwon NC Park on Monday, 6-5.
After losing the first game of the doubleheader 2-5, the Dinos bounced back with a sweep, improving their record to 62 wins, 2 draws, and 52 losses, keeping them in third place. Lotte, on the other hand, failed to win back-to-back games and suffered their 62nd loss (55 points). They remain unchanged in seventh place.
NC’s Seo Ho-cheol hits the game-winning hit in the second game of the doubleheader against Lotte on September 9. Photo courtesy of NC
NC’s Oh Young-soo had three hits in the second game of the doubleheader against Lotte on Sept. 9. Photo courtesy of NC
NC’s Kim Young-gyu earned the save in the second game of the doubleheader against Lotte. Photo courtesy of NC
In addition to pitcher Choi Sung-young, NC’s starting lineup included Son Asub (designated hitter), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Park Min-woo (second base), Jason Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Oh Young-soo (first base), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Chun Jae-hwan (right field), and Park Dae-on (catcher).
Lotte countered with Yoon Dong-hee (center field), Jeong Hoon (first base), Ahn Chi-hong (designated hitter), Jeon Jun-woo (left field), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), Han Dong-hee (third base), Nico Goodrum (second base), Lee Hak-joo (shortstop), and Ko Seung-min (right field). The starting pitcher was Han Hyun-hee.바카라사이트
It was Lotte who struck first. In the top of the first inning, Ahn Chi-hong drew a walk to open the scoring, and Jeon Jun-woo hit a 110-meter two-run arch over the left field fence. It was Jeon’s 14th home run of the season.
Down by a run, NC started to rally in the bottom of the second. Kwon Hee-dong walked and Oh Young-soo singled to put runners on first and second, and Kim Joo-won followed with a single to right. However, after Kim stole second, Jae-hwan Lee and Park Dae-on struck out in succession to put runners on second and third.
After surviving the big inning, Lotte widened the gap in the top of the third. Leadoff hitter Yoon Dong-hee opened the inning with a single to left. Jeong Hoon followed with an infield hit to the pitcher’s mound, but NC starter Choi Seong-young’s throw to first base left a gap, allowing Yoon to advance to third. The next batter, Ahn Chi-hong, was retired on a foul fly to first base, but Jeon Jun-woo followed with a single to right-center field. With runners on first and third, Jeong Hoon took advantage of a wild pitch to score.
After surrendering the early lead, NC resumed its scoring streak in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded after Son’s infield single to shortstop, Park Min-woo lined a single to left field. Shortly afterward, a throwing error by the opposing shortstop put runners on first and third, and Martin followed with a sacrifice fly to center field.
With the game somewhat settled, NC rallied in the bottom of the sixth. After Oh Young-soo doubled to right center and Kim Joo-won singled to right, Choi Jung-won hit a grounder to second base with runners on first and third. Lotte second baseman Gudrum, who caught the ball, attempted to make the throw home, but was unable to get the ball out of his glove in one motion, allowing Oh to cross the plate. The official score was a fielder’s choice at second base. Son Asub then walked to load the bases, and Seo Ho-cheol followed with a two-run single to right. 6-4.
LOTTE scored one run in the top of the seventh inning. After back-to-back singles by Yoon Dong-hee and Jung-hoon and a walk to Ahn Chi-hong, Jeon Jun-woo hit a sacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded. However, Jung-hoon’s pinch-runner, Ahn Kwon-soo, who was trying to steal third, was cut off by a precise throw from the NC defense, and pinch-hitter Lee Jung-hoon was silenced by a grounder to second base to tie the game.
Lotte had a long way to go, but they couldn’t capitalize on their chances in the top of the eighth. One out later, Goodrum hit a double down the right field line, but Lee Hak-joo and Ko Seung-min grounded out to second and third, respectively.
Lotte tried their best to score a run in the top of the ninth inning, but no more runs were scored, and the game ended in favor of NC.
NC’s starting pitcher Choi Sung-young (3.2 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 2 home runs, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts) struggled, but the rest of the bullpen – Kim Si-hoon (1.1 innings, no runs), Kim Young-gyu (1 inning, 1 run), Ryu Jin-wook (1 inning, no runs), Lim Jung-ho (1 inning, no runs), and Lee Yong-chan (1 inning, no runs) – minimized the damage. Seo Ho-cheol (1-for-4, 2 RBI), Oh Young-soo (4-for-3) and Kim Joo-won (3-for-2, 1 RBI) led the offense with big hits.
Lotte’s pitching staff struggled, including starter Han Hyun-hee (2.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 runs). Jeon Jun-woo (3-for-3 with a double, home run, and four RBIs) and Yoon Dong-hee (4