The professional baseball team SSG Landers marked the opening game of the exhibition season with a victory. SSG won 9-3 in an away game against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 8th.
The home team, Samsung, had a starting lineup consisting of center fielder Kim Ji-chan, left fielder Kim Heon-gon, designated hitter Koo Ja-wook, first baseman Lewin Diaz, catcher Kang Min-ho, shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, right fielder Kim Sung-yoon, third baseman Cha Seung-jun, and second baseman Shim Jae-hoon. The '70 billion free agent' Choi Won-tae, who transferred from LG, took the mound as the starting pitcher.
In response, SSG named foreign pitcher Drew Anderson as the starting pitcher. They arranged their batting order as center fielder Choi Ji-hoon, second baseman Jeong Jun-jae, third baseman Choi Jeong, left fielder Guillermo Heredia, designated hitter Han Yu-seong, shortstop Park Seong-han, first baseman Ko Myung-jun, catcher Lee Ji-young, and right fielder Park Ji-hwan.
The first run belonged to Samsung. In the first inning, Kim Ji-chan prepared a no-out second base opportunity with a hit to center and a steal of second base. Although Kim Heon-gon was retired on a ground ball to second, Kim Ji-chan advanced to third base in the meantime. Koo Ja-wook scored the first point with a sacrifice fly to right field.
SSG, launching a counterattack, saw Lee Ji-young hit a solo homer over the left fence against Samsung's starting pitcher Choi Won-tae in the third inning with one out and no runners on base. The score was back to 1-1. SSG knocked on Samsung's mound with two big innings. In the fifth, taking advantage of the opponent's error and an infield hit, SSG had a one-out, runners on first and third chance, where Park Ji-hwan hit a double that cleared the left fielder's head to take the lead at 2-1. Continuing with runners on second and third, Choi Ji-hoon hit a single to right, allowing two runs to score due to another error from the opponent. The score was 4-1. Jeong Jun-jae added one more point with a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the seventh, lead-off batter Ko Myung-jun walked, and Kim Sung-hyun hit a double to left field to set up a second and third base opportunity. Park Ji-hwan added one point with a sacrifice fly to right field. Oh Tae-gon hit a double to bring Kim Sung-hyun home. With a hit by pitch and a wild pitch, the score widened to 9-1.
Samsung, trailing 1-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning, saw lead-off batter Diaz reach base on an opponent error, followed by Kang Min-ho hitting a single to left field. Pinch hitter Yoon Jeong-bin got a hit, loading the bases. At bat, Cha Seung-jun drew a walk, bringing one more point closer. Shim Jae-hoon recorded the third score with an infield ground ball, but they could not narrow the score any further.
Anderson, the starting pitcher for SSG, threw well, going four innings with two hits allowed, three strikeouts, and one earned run. Lee Ji-young led the offense with two hits, including a homer, one RBI, and two runs scored, while Park Ji-hwan contributed with two hits, two RBIs, and one run scored. Choi Ji-hoon had two RBIs, and Jeong Jun-jae achieved a multi-hit game.
Samsung's starting pitcher Choi Won-tae held the mound until the third inning, allowing a solo homer, which was all the damage he yielded. He struck out four batters without issuing any walks. The lead-off batter Kim Ji-chan, celebrating his birthday that day, shone with two hits, one run scored, and one stolen base.
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