South Korea's baseball team was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals after a devastating 0-10 mercy rule defeat to tournament favorite Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
The Korean national team, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, suffered the seven-inning loss at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, ending their first WBC quarterfinal appearance in 17 years.
Starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles) allowed three runs in the second inning. Four relievers combined to surrender four additional runs in the third inning on four hits and three walks.
Trailing 0-7 in the seventh inning, Korea conceded a three-run homer to Austin Wells (New York Yankees) with two outs, sealing the defeat.
WBC tournament rules allow umpires to end quarterfinal games when one team leads by 15 or more runs after five innings or by 10 or more runs after seven innings.
Korea's offense managed just two hits and struck out eight times through five innings against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (Philadelphia Phillies), who finished second in last year's National League Cy Young Award voting.