The Korea national baseball team tied Japan on a dramatic game-tying solo home run by Kim Ju-won with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The team led by Manager Ryu Ji-hyun recorded a 7-7 draw with Japan in Game 2 of the K-Baseball Series at Tokyo Dome on the 16th.
Down 5-7, Korea began its chase in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run by Ahn Hyeon-min. Then, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kim Ju-won blasted a game-tying home run over the right-center fence off Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Taisei, dramatically salvaging a draw. As this exhibition had no extra innings and was played only to regulation, the two teams finished in a tie.
After a heavy 4-11 loss in Game 1 on the 15th, Korea snapped a 10-game losing streak in recent "first-tier player showdowns" with Japan by earning a valuable draw. Still, it was disappointing that in both Games 1 and 2, Korea failed to close out wins despite taking a 3-0 lead.
The last time Korea beat Japan in an international tournament with a roster of professional first-team players was the 2015 WBSC Premier12 semifinals (a 4-3 win). Since then, starting with a 7-8 loss in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) group stage, Korea has gone 0-10-1 in "first-tier player showdowns" against Japan through this game.
The team will return home on the 17th and is set to reconvene in Jan. 2026 for training camp in Saipan. The next matchup with Japan will be at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Mar. 2026 in Japan.