The historic first game of the regular season for the professional baseball Hanwha Eagles will be held at the Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon. After winning the opening game, Hanwha, which is in a four-game losing streak, must capture this opening game.

Hanwha will host its home opener against KIA at 6:30 p.m. on the 28th at Hanwha Life Ballpark. The official opening game of the regular season at Hanwha Life Ballpark, which opened on the 5th, has attracted significant interest from baseball fans. Already, ticket scalping for the opening game has become rampant, making it extremely challenging to secure tickets.

For Hanwha, which has entered a new era at the Daejeon Shin-Gu Stadium after a long-cherished wish, this first start is crucial. The four legends whose jersey numbers are retired (Song Jin-woo, Jung Min-cheol, Jang Jong-hoon, Kim Tae-kyun) will throw the historic first pitch, and there is a strong possibility that Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon will visit, making a victory the best possible start. A challenging battle is expected against the defending champions KIA Tigers, but there is hope to leverage the home advantage of the new stadium.

This is the first time KIA has come to the Daejeon Shin-Gu Stadium. Players visiting the new baseball park for the first time must adapt to various aspects of the environment, including the grass, bounce characteristics, mound height, soil condition, and fence shape. Notably, Hanwha Life Ballpark features Korea's first asymmetrical pentagonal design, with an 8-meter-high monster wall on the right and the first two-story bullpen in Asia. The unique features of this baseball park, which have not been seen domestically, may be particularly unfamiliar for players who are visiting for the first time.

In contrast, Hanwha has conducted internal training games and practices since the opening on the 5th and engaged in a practice game with Samsung on the 17th, gaining some experience. While Hanwha's players have not entirely adjusted due to limited games and training, they are in a relatively advantageous position compared to the KIA players who are seeing the stadium for the first time. They are aware of detailed aspects that could affect game performance, such as the characteristics of batted balls bouncing off the monster wall and the narrow outfield foul area, providing an advantage for the opening game.

Hanwha's starting pitcher for the opening game will be foreign pitcher KODI Fonse. Having shown overwhelming pitching performance in the practice games, Fonse earned the opening day start instead of Ryu Hyun-jin and is celebrated for being the starter for the first game at the Daejeon Shin-Gu Stadium. In the season opener on the 22nd against KT in Suwon, he pitched 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, leaving without a decision and will seek his first win of the season today. For Hanwha, which has fallen into a four-game losing streak after winning the opening game, a turnaround in momentum is crucial, and Fonse must effectively lead the game's early flow.

For KIA, which has stumbled with a record of 2 wins and 3 losses in the first 5 games amid injuries to Kim Do-young and Park Chan-ho, this is not a game they can give up. Ace James Nail will take the mound. Last year's KIA championship hero, Nail pitched 5 innings against NC in Gwangju on the 22nd in the season opener, allowing 2 hits, 1 hit batter, 5 strikeouts, and no earned runs, but the bullpen's struggles cost him the win. Nail aims for his first win of the season at the Daejeon Shin-Gu Stadium and has a solid record against Hanwha from last season, winning once over 2 games with an earned run average of 2.31.

Meanwhile, among KBO League teams starting their new season at the Shin-Gu Stadium, Hanwha ranks 7th all-time, with the other 6 teams holding a season-opening record of 3 wins and 3 losses, resulting in a win rate of 50%.

Lotte secured a 3-1 victory over MBC on March 29, 1986, at Sajik Stadium in Busan. Choi Dong-won, who achieved a complete game with 1 earned run over 9 innings, was the protagonist of the opening game. KIA previously won 1-0 against NC at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on April 1, 2014. Starting pitcher Yang Hyun-jong became the winning pitcher of the opening game with an outstanding 8-inning performance that included 122 pitches and no earned runs. The most recent team to open a new stadium, NC, defeated Samsung 7-0 at Changwon NC Park on March 23, 2019. Starter Eddie Butler became the winning pitcher after pitching 7⅓ innings with no earned runs, and Cristian Bethancourt contributed with a home run and 3 hits in 2 at-bats, along with 3 RBIs.

In contrast, SK (now SSG) lost to Hanwha 5-6 at Incheon Munhak Stadium on April 9, 2002. Starting pitcher Lee Seung-ho pitched 8 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, but the bullpen collapsed in the 9th inning. Jung Min-cheol secured the win for Hanwha in this opening game. Samsung lost 1-5 to Doosan at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on April 1, 2016. Doosan's starting pitcher Dustin Nippert achieved victory with a 1 earned run over 6 innings, leaving a historic impression as a 'Samsung killer' in the opening game at 'The Park.' On the same day, Nexen (now Kiwoom) lost to Lotte 1-2 at Gocheok Sky Dome, handing Lotte the opening game victory, with starting pitcher Josh Lindblom achieving a scoreless 6-inning performance.

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