The NC Dinos of Korea's professional baseball completed their second training camp in Tainan, Taiwan. Fireballer new foreign pitcher Riley Thompson's impressive 151 km pitching put an end to the eight practice games of the Taiwan camp.

On the 4th, NC recorded a 2-2 draw against the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in a practice game held at the Asia-Pacific International Baseball Training Center in Tainan, Taiwan. As a result, NC finished their eight practice games conducted in Taiwan with a record of 2 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses.

NC's last practice game starting pitcher was right-handed fireballer Riley Thompson. Riley pitched 3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, and recording 3 strikeouts with 1 earned run. His fastball reached a top speed of 152 km. He threw 23 fastballs, 13 curves, 7 sliders, and 1 forkball.

Another foreign pitcher, Logan Allen, barely hit speeds in the 140 km range and has yet to completely improve his condition; however, Riley displayed enough prowess to potentially pitch in the opening game, raising expectations. Riley has no experience in Major League Baseball.

After Riley, Kim Min-kyu pitched ⅔ inning with no runs allowed, Lim Jeong-ho also pitched ⅔ inning with no runs allowed, Son Joo-hwan pitched 1 inning allowing 1 earned run, Kim Tae-hyeon pitched 1 inning with no runs allowed, Kim Jae-yeol pitched 1 inning with no runs allowed, and Kim Si-hoon pitched 1 inning with no runs allowed. At the plate, Jeon Jae-hwan, who started as the lead-off left fielder, excelled with 2 hits and 2 runs in 4 at-bats.

With the end of the practice game against Wei Chuan, NC's 'Lee Ho-jun team' completed their first spring camp. In the first training camp in Tucson, Arizona, they enhanced the players' skills through rigorous training, and in the Tainan camp, they found game sense and confirmed the players' skills.

Manager Lee Ho-jun noted, "During this CAMP 2 period, the coaching staff came together with the mindset of preparing to prioritize winning," and said, "Prior to CAMP 2, during a workshop with the coaching staff and front office, we shared our plans under the theme 'Did we prepare 100 things for 1 win?' and I evaluate that we executed what we prepared well during the camp period."

He continued, "Through 8 games in Tainan, we confirmed both the positive aspects and areas needing improvement. The players grew through training and competition during the camp period. We will decide the opening entry through exhibition games," and added, "I extend my gratitude to all players, coaching staff, and front office staff who did their best during the CAMP 2 period. We will carry the tension of the camp into the exhibition games and strive to show everything we have prepared."

The team, having completed the camp schedule, will return home through Incheon International Airport on the 5th (Wed.) morning, take a day off on the 6th (Thu.), and begin training at Changwon NC Park starting from the 7th (Fri.).

[OSEN = Reporter Jo Hyung-rae]