Veteran Park Gun-woo (36) of the professional baseball NC Dinos once again delivered a performance that led a comeback. Gripping his aching knee, he ran once more for the team's victory.
NC beat the Lotte Giants 8-4 on the 2nd at Changwon NC Park in a regular-season game. With this, NC swept the three-game set against Lotte and continued its early surge with a 4-1 record.
The day's starting pitcher was injury replacement foreign player Drew VerHagen. VerHagen pitched well, allowing three hits, one walk, two strikeouts and one run over three innings before coming out. He completed three innings within the scheduled 60 pitches, raising expectations for next time.
The second pitcher, Shin Young-woo, allowed two runs. They trailed 0-3. But in the bottom of the fifth, the lineup came through with clutch hitting after two outs and took the lead. With two outs and runners on first and second, Park Min-woo and Davidson delivered consecutive run-scoring hits, and Park Gun-woo succeeded in a 4-3 comeback with a two-run double.
Then in the seventh, including a two-run double by Han Seok-hyun, they added four more runs to put the game out of reach. After the game, manager Lee Ho-jun said, "Saving the chance in the fifth decided the game. Although we were behind, all the players showed that they could do it with good focus and gave off positive energy," and said, "Even though Park Gun-woo was not in full condition, he showed concentration at the plate."
Now the team's senior, Park Gun-woo has had an abnormal right knee since the opening game. But gripping his aching knee, he does not shy from fielding and continues to play. After fielding and finishing a game, his knee swells. He plays through repeated cycles of swelling and subsiding. Although the team tries to manage it as much as possible, Park Gun-woo tries to show fighting spirit. As Park Gun-woo's energy spread to everyone, NC completed the three-game series against Lotte with a sweep of comeback wins. Manager Lee Ho-jun added, "Choi Jeong-won also played a big role in creating the winning momentum in the lineup. We secured the game with a big inning in the eighth, and in that process the pitchers fulfilled their roles and preserved the team's victory. We thank the fans who supported us to the end despite the cold weather."
Park Gun-woo said, "The team has been building wins while maintaining a good flow early in the season, and I am glad to have been able to contribute even a little in that process," and said, "Unexpectedly batting fourth has still felt unfamiliar, but in chance situations I have been trying to put the burden aside and focus on bringing runners home."
He added with a laugh, "At the plate today it wasn't the direction of hit I intended, but with the team's good mood I think luck was on our side," and emphasized, "Thanks to many fans cheering during midweek games, we were able to play well. We'll prepare well to carry this momentum into the weekend road games."
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