The extraordinary man was indeed different.

The professional baseball team KT Wiz secured a dramatic 5-4 walk-off victory against the Hanwha Eagles in the second game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 23rd.

KT avenged the previous day's season-opening loss and registered their first win of the season. Both KT and Hanwha ended the match with one win and one loss.

The home team KT fielded the same lineup as the previous day, facing Hanwha's starting pitcher Ryan Weiss, including designated hitter Kang Baek-ho, right fielder Mel Rojas Jr., third baseman Heo Kyung-min, left fielder Kim Min-hyeok, catcher Jang Seong-woo, first baseman Moon Sang-cheol, second baseman Cheon Seong-ho, center fielder Bae Jeong-dae, and shortstop Kim Sang-soo.

In response, Hanwha sent out their lineup against KT's starting pitcher William Cuevas, including left fielder Kim Tae-yeon, designated hitter Moon Hyun-bin, center fielder Estevan Florial, third baseman Noh Si-hwan, first baseman Chae Eun-seong, second baseman Hwang Young-mok, right fielder Lim Jong-chan, catcher Choi Jae-hoon, and shortstop Sim Woo-jun.

On-site, Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon explained, "Today, player Ahn Chi-hong is feeling some abdominal pain, so he will not start and will wait behind. If later there’s a chance to be a pinch hitter, I am considering putting him in." Following Ahn Chi-hong's exclusion, Hwang Young-mok, who hit the game-tying double in the seventh inning the previous day, was included in the lineup.

The first score belonged to Hanwha. In the top of the third inning, Lim Jong-chan led off by hitting a solo home run. He smacked a fastball at 146 km/h from starting pitcher William Cuevas, connecting for a solo home run that traveled 120 meters over the right field fence. This marked his fifth career home run, occurring 1,066 days after the game against the SSG Landers on April 22, 2022.

In the top of the fourth inning, lead-off hitter Moon Hyun-bin made a hit with a double to right-center on Cuevas's first pitch, then reached third base after a wild pitch. Florial, batting next, calmly hit a ground ball to second base, marking his first KBO League RBI.

KT, which had been tightly bound by Weiss until the end of the third inning, began to counterattack in the fourth. Kang Baek-ho and Rojas, the table-setters, set the stage by getting a walk and hitting a double that struck the center field wall, leading to no outs with runners on second and third. Heo Kyung-min and Kim Min-hyeok followed with consecutive singles off Weiss to tie the game at 2-2. Jang Seong-woo struck out, but with a stolen base by first baseman Kim Min-hyeok, KT had another chance with one out and runners on second and third, leading to Moon Sang-cheol hitting a sacrifice fly, turning the score around.

KT did not stop. In the bottom of the fifth inning, after one out, Kim Sang-soo hit a single, and Kang Baek-ho reached first and third due to an error by the shortstop, while Rojas hit an infield ground ball for an additional run.

Hanwha did not back down. In the top of the sixth inning, with Kim Tae-yeon leading off and hitting a single to left, followed by a walk to Moon Hyun-bin, Hanwha had a chance with one out and runners on first and second, where Noh Si-hwan hit a one-run single up the middle, narrowing the gap to 3-4.

Hanwha did not yield. The hero once again was Noh Si-hwan. With Hanwha trailing 3-4, he led off the top of the ninth inning and hit a home run against KT's closing pitcher Park Young-hyun, nicknamed the second Oh Seung-hwan. On a 1B-1S count, he connected with Park's third pitch, a low 139 km/h cutter, for a solo home run that traveled 110 meters over the left field fence. He hit home runs in two consecutive games, remarkably saving the team from the brink of defeat.

With the teams unable to settle the score in regulation, they moved into extra innings. The decisive moment came in the bottom of the 11th. Jang Seong-woo walked, Cheon Seong-ho was hit by a pitch, and 'the extraordinary man' Bae Jeong-dae hit a dramatic walk-off single against Hanwha's closer Joo Hyun-sang, marking his eighth career walk-off hit.

KT's starting pitcher Cuevas delivered a strong performance, pitching 6⅔ innings with five hits allowed (one home run), two walks, four strikeouts, and three earned runs, but a shaky bullpen cost him the victory. Following him, Won Sang-hyun (⅓ inning, no earned runs), Kim Min-soo (one inning, no earned runs), Park Young-hyun (two innings, one earned run), and Son Dong-hyun (one inning, no earned runs) followed in relief. The blown save from closing pitcher Park Young-hyun was painful, but the result was a victory.

In contrast, Hanwha's starter Weiss pitched six innings, allowing five hits, two walks, four strikeouts, and four earned runs (three unearned), but thanks to Noh Si-hwan, he avoided his first loss. He was followed by Lee Tae-yang (one inning, no earned runs), Jeong Woo-joo (one inning, no earned runs), Park Sang-won (one inning, no earned runs), Kim Seo-hyun (one inning, no earned runs), Han Seung-hyuk (⅓ inning, one earned run), and Joo Hyun-sang (zero innings, no earned runs). Jeong Woo-joo made a successful professional debut, throwing a fastball that reached a maximum speed of 155 km/h.

After a day of rest, KT will face the Doosan Bears in a three-game series at home starting on the 25th. Hanwha will move to Jamsil to meet the LG Twins.

Meanwhile, KT has sold out all 18,700 seats for two consecutive days, achieving a full stadium for the opening series for two consecutive years.

[OSEN]