Spring rain is regrettable.
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, was scheduled to play a final practice game against the KT Wiz at Kadena Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on the 27th, but it was canceled due to rain.
It had been raining in Okinawa since 9 a.m. that day, and forecasts predicted a considerable amount of precipitation through 5 p.m. The team ultimately decided to cancel the final practice game.
Left-hander Song Seung-gi was originally scheduled to start that day, but it was called off. The national team players instead changed to light training, hitting batting practice in the indoor training facility at Kadena Stadium. Among the pitchers, Ryu Hyun-jin, Kwak Bin and Ko Young-pyo, the starting pitchers, conducted bullpen pitching that day.
The national team, which held its first camp in Saipan in mid-January, conducted a second camp in Okinawa from mid-February. Ahead of the tournament in early March, they ramped up conditioning in earnest and regained their game feel through practice games against KBO League teams.
The national team went 4-1 against Samsung, Hanwha and KIA. They lost the first game to Samsung 3-4, but then faced Hanwha twice and won 5-2 and 7-4. They beat KIA 6-3, and in the rematch with Samsung on the 26th they erupted for 16 hits, including two home runs, for a 16-6 rout.
After finishing the Okinawa camp, the national team moves to Osaka on the 28th. In Osaka, big leaguers Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Hye-sung will join, and Korean-descended major leaguers Jermaine Jones, Shay Whitcomb and Dane Dunning will join to complete the full roster.
The national team will play official WBC tuneups at Osaka's Kyocera Dome against the Hanshin Tigers on the 2nd and the Orix Buffaloes on the 3rd. The Japanese national team will also hold tuneups at the same venue on the 2nd and 3rd against Orix and Hanshin.
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