Kiwoom Heroes pitcher Jung Hyun-woo (19) completed his final check-up ahead of the season opener.

On the 18th, Jung Hyun-woo started the exhibition game against the Lotte Giants in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, recording 4 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs (1 earned).

In the top of the 1st inning, with leadoff hitter Son Ho-young advancing to second base due to a second baseman fielding error, Jung Hyun-woo faced a no-out, two-on threat. He managed to get Ko Seung-min to hit a pop-up to the shortstop, but he allowed a one-run single to Na Seung-yeop, giving up the first run. However, he handled both Victor RAY and Jeon Jun-woo as ground outs, escaping the inning without allowing additional runs.

In the 2nd inning, after issuing a walk to leadoff hitter Yun Dong-hee, Jung Hyun-woo got Park Seung-wook to hit a pop-up to the left fielder and struck out Han Tae-yang. Jeong Bo-geun was retired on a fly ball to right field, finishing the inning without significant trouble. In the 3rd inning, when Kiwoom tied the game at 1-1, he retired Lotte's top order of Son Ho-young, Ko Seung-min, and Na Seung-yeop in succession.

In the 4th inning, after allowing a hit to leadoff hitter RAY, Jung Hyun-woo managed to get Jeon Jun-woo to fly out to center field, but he faced a one-out, bases loaded situation with hits from Yun Dong-hee and a walk to Park Seung-wook. Eventually, he gave up a one-run sacrifice fly to Han Tae-yang, allowing Lotte to take the lead again. However, in the subsequent two-out situation with runners on first and third, he struck out Jeong Bo-geun to escape the threat. In the 5th inning, trailing 1-2, he handed over the mound to Kim Joo-hoon and concluded his appearance. Kiwoom won the game 3-2, achieving their third consecutive win and finishing the exhibition games tied for 3rd place in the league.

Jung Hyun-woo, who recorded 72 pitches, utilized his fastball (41 pitches), forkball (13 pitches), curveball (10 pitches), and slider (8 pitches). His maximum fastball velocity reached 144 km/h, while the average was 140 km/h. The strike rate was relatively low at 58.3%. He was shaken early in the game due to a fielding error but managed to maintain his composure and displayed his skilled game management once again.

Jung Hyun-woo, who was selected first overall in the 2025 rookie draft by Kiwoom, has been appointed as the fourth starter for this season, and he is expected to perform immediately in the first team. In the exhibition games, he pitched in 3 games (11 innings), achieving 2 wins and an impressive earned run average of 0.82, raising expectations.

Jung Hyun-woo noted, "As it was the last game of the exhibition season, I feel I was able to execute everything I wanted to try before entering the regular season. In the first 3 innings, I had a high strike rate on the first pitch, allowing me to manage my pitch count efficiently. However, from the 4th inning onwards, my pitch count increased, making it difficult. I will reflect on the aspects that did not go well today and work hard to achieve better results in the regular season."

Having recorded the most innings in the league during the exhibition season, Jung Hyun-woo said, "Thanks to being put into games, I was able to gain a lot of experience and learn many things during the exhibition season. Now, I will do my best to manage my condition during the remaining period until the regular season so that I can show a good performance to the fans."

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