The new foreign pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles, KODI PONCE (31), delivered a powerful performance worthy of a number one starter. It was a masterful pitching display that lived up to the evaluation of being 'historic.'

Ponce pitched in the home game against the Lotte Giants in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Hanwha Life Baseball Park in Daejeon on the 3rd, throwing 7 innings with 5 hits allowed, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs. He achieved a quality start plus for the second consecutive game, but he left the game without a win due to a 2-2 tie.

Ponce became the first winning pitcher at the new stadium by throwing 7 innings with 7 hits allowed (1 home run), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs against KIA on the 28th of last month. After finishing the 5th inning, he gathered the fielders in front of the dugout, showing leadership and inspiring them, and led Hanwha to break a four-game losing streak with a 7-2 comeback victory. The next day, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho said, 'I think he might be the best player I've seen since coming to Korea,' noting the quality of his pitching.

After taking a 5-day break, Ponce was once again tasked as the stopper of the losing streak. While Hanwha, which had achieved two consecutive victories with the opening of the new stadium, had fallen to a two-game losing streak, this was a game they absolutely needed to win, and Ponce overwhelmed the Lotte lineup with strong pitching.

From the start of the first inning, he recorded 2 strikeouts, beginning with a three-up, three-down inning. Jung Hoon missed a high fastball outside, while Na Seung-yeob was caught looking at a changeup that crossed the outside corner. In the second inning, he gave up a single to Victor Reyes but retired the next 3 batters. Yoon Dong-hee struck out swinging at a low slider outside.

In the third inning, he finished with 3 batters including 2 strikeouts. He got Jeon Min-jae to pop out to third base on a two-seam fastball and struck out Jeong Bo-geun and Jeon Jun-woo in succession. Jeong Bo-geun swung late at a low slider outside, and Jeon Jun-woo swung and missed at a fastball. Ponce, starting the fourth inning by striking out Jung Hoon with a slider, allowed a walk to Na Seung-yeob but struck out Reyes on three pitches. He got the first strike with a curveball, followed by three consecutive fastballs to face Reyes head-on, resulting in another swing and miss. Kim Min-seong also flew out to center field, maintaining a scoreless streak through the fourth inning.

However, he incurred his first earned run in the fifth inning. After giving up a single to Yoon Dong-hee, he allowed Lee Ho-joon a double that sailed over the right fielder's head. Both were poorly placed fastballs that were caught over the middle of the plate. He managed to strike out Jeon Min-jae swinging with three sliders but allowed a tying hit to Jeong Bo-geun that skipped between first and second base, driving in a run. Jeong Bo-geun connected well with an outside low fastball.

Continuing with one out and runners on first and third, Ponce conceded another run on a sacrifice fly from Jeon Jun-woo, but he struck out Jung Hoon looking on a low fastball, ending the fifth inning. In the sixth, he allowed a double to Reyes down the left field line but got the next 3 batters out. He threw consecutive fastballs to Kim Min-seong, then a breaking pitch with significant drop for a swing and miss.

The Hanwha lineup scored 2 runs in the sixth inning, tying the game at 2-2. Ponce, who took the mound in the seventh, allowed a leadoff walk to Lee Ho-joon. After Jeon Min-jae's sacrifice bunt, there were runners on second base with one out. Ponce's composure was evident in the crisis. He induced a ground ball in front of the pitcher from Jeong Bo-geun with a deep inside fastball. After checking the runner on second, Ponce threw to first base for the second out and then dealt with Jeon Jun-woo by getting him to ground out to third base, escaping the crisis.

However, the Hanwha lineup could not score in the seventh inning. Leadoff batter Hwang Yeong-muk reached base on a walk, but Ahn Chi-hong's well-hit line drive went directly to the left fielder. Later, during Estevan Florial's at-bat, a wild pitch from Lotte pitcher Park Jin occurred, allowing Hwang Yeong-muk to attempt to advance to second base, but he was caught by catcher Jeong Bo-geun's throw and tagged out. Florial then struck out swinging at Park Jin's forkball, ending the inning.

Ultimately, Ponce handed the mound over to Park Sang-won in the eighth inning with the game tied at 2-2. He threw a total of 96 pitches, reaching a top speed of 155 km/h and an average of 153 km/h with his fastball (46 pitches), along with sliders (26 pitches), two-seam fastballs, change-ups (9 pitches each), and curves (6 pitches), all mixed evenly. Although he left the game without a decision, Ponce lowered his season earned run average from 3.00 to 2.84 after achieving quality start plus pitching for the second consecutive game.

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