Moon Bo-gyeong's shout and Lee Jung-hoo's prayer both worked. The longed-for miracle of advancing past the first round was achieved. The Korean national team advanced past the World Baseball Classic (WBC) first round for the first time in 17 years.
Korea beat Australia 7-2 in the fourth game of Pool C of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 9th.
With this, Korea finished the group round with two wins and two losses. Tied at 2-2 with Taiwan and Australia, Korea advanced to the eight-team tournament in Miami, USA, by narrowly leading on the fewest runs allowed. Korea advanced to the second round for the first time since the 2009 tournament, 17 years later.
Korea got off to a good start with an 11-4 rout of the Czech Republic in the first game on the 5th. It was the first time Korea won its opening game since 2009. After a day off, in the Japan-Korea game on the 7th, everyone expected Korea to be the underdog and to lose, but Korea took a 3-run lead in the first inning and was tied 5-5 through the middle innings. Late in the game, after allowing three runs in the seventh inning the outlook grew bleak, but Korea immediately answered with one run and lost 6-8. It was literally an example of "we lost but fought well," raising hopes for the upcoming games against Taiwan and Australia.
But Korea fought another close game the next day against Taiwan. It struggled against Taiwan's home run barrage while Taiwan was desperate at 1-2. Korea deployed its three most trusted starters—Ryu Hyun-jin, Kwak Bin and Dane Dunning—but lost 4-5 after an extra-innings tiebreaker. Taiwan became 2-2 and Korea 1-2. Now Korea faced a situation where it had to calculate complicated scenarios again.
Korea faced the task of beating Australia in the final game by at least five runs while holding them to two runs or fewer.
Manager Ryu Ji-hyun, ahead of the game against Australia, said, "Looking back on how we prepared, it feels unfair and frustrating," and added, "For the players, this is a game that gives us a chance," expressing his determination to win against Australia.
Players also faced the final game resolutely, saying, "We will not give up." As a result, Korea's offense exploded. In the top of the second, Moon Bo-gyeong's two-run homer gave them the lead. In the third, consecutive doubles by Jones and Lee Jung-hoo produced one run, and Moon Bo-gyeong's double added another to make it 4-0, and in the top of the fifth, after two outs, Ahn Hyeon-min drew a walk, stole second and Moon Bo-gyeong's RBI made it 5-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Robbie Glendinning hit a home run to make it 5-1, a four-run margin. But in the top of the sixth, after one out, Park Dong-won's double and a wild pitch created a two-out, runner-on-third opportunity, and Kim Do-young's base hit to right increased the lead to 6-1.
Dane Dunning came on in the top of the seventh. Dunning had bowed his head after allowing a decisive two-run homer in the Taiwan game the day before (the 8th). In the top of the seventh, Dunning again created a first-and-second, no-out scare. But he erased Robbie Glendinning, who had earlier hit a home run, with a double-play ball and finished the inning by striking out Rixon Wingrove, roaring afterward.
But in the bottom of the eighth, Kim Taek-yeon allowed an RBI single to Travis Bajana, narrowing the gap to 6-2. If Korea failed to score in the top of the ninth, advancement to the quarterfinals would be completely undone. But an Australian shortstop, Jared Dale, who plays for KIA, helped. With the leadoff batter Kim Do-young drawing a walk and one out at first base, Lee Jung-hoo's grounder was misthrown to second base, creating a one-out, runners at first and third opportunity, and Ahn Hyeon-min's sacrifice fly made it 7-2, restoring a five-run lead heading into the ninth.
And in the ninth, Jo Byung-hyun preserved the victory. Moon Bo-gyeong hit a home run in the first inning and shouted to his teammates, "You can do it," and Lee Jung-hoo hit a double and, instead of a ceremony, prayed earnestly. That prayer reached the heavens and the earnest wish was fulfilled.
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