South Korea's national baseball team has advanced to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years.
Korea, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, defeated Australia 7-2 in their Pool C fourth-round game at Tokyo Dome in Japan on March 9. With the victory, Korea improved to 2 wins and 2 losses, tying Taiwan and Australia in the standings. However, Korea secured the second spot in the pool behind Japan (3 wins) by virtue of a superior run differential, punching their ticket to the quarterfinals.
Entering the game with a 1-2 record, Korea faced a daunting scenario: they needed to beat Australia by at least 5 runs while allowing no more than 2 runs within regulation innings to advance. Against these extreme odds, the team cleared the quarterfinal hurdle for the first time since their runner-up finish in 2009.
Moon Bo-kyung (LG Twins) led the offensive charge, going 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run home run. In the top of the 9th inning, with Korea leading 6-2 and needing one more run, Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) drew a walk, followed by a fielding error on Lee Jung-hoo's (San Francisco Giants) ground ball. Pinch runner Park Hae-min (LG) then scored on An Hyun-min's (kt wiz) sacrifice fly, adding a crucial insurance run. In the bottom of the 9th, Cho Byung-hyun (SSG Landers) pitched a scoreless inning to seal the victory.
Korea will travel to Miami, Florida, to face the Pool D winner in the quarterfinals at 7:30 a.m. Korean time on March 14. In Pool D, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are currently tied with 2 wins each.