Riley Thompson (29) of the NC Dinos achieved the all-time foreign pitcher single-game most strikeouts tie record.

Riley pitched as a starter in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' game against the KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 10th, recording 7 innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 14 Samjin, and no runs for the win.

In the bottom of the first inning, after striking out lead-off hitter Mel Rojas Jr., Riley got Heo Kyung-min out with a ground ball to shortstop. Kang Baek-ho was struck out with a swing and miss. In the second inning, lead-off hitter Kim Min-hyuk reached base due to an error on a throw by the third baseman, but Riley overwhelmed Hwang Jae-kyun, Yoo Jun-kyu, and Bae Jeong-dae, striking them all out on three pitches.

In the third inning, after getting lead-off hitter Jang Jun-won out with a ground ball to first base, Riley struck out Kwon Dong-jin with a swing and miss. He again struck out Rojas with a swing and miss, creating another three-up, three-down inning. In the fourth inning, he hit Heo Kyung-min with a pitch, but struck out the core hitters Kang Baek-ho, Kim Min-hyuk, and Hwang Jae-kyun all on strikes.

In the fifth inning, Riley allowed lead-off hitter Yoo Jun-kyu to reach base with a walk. Bae Jeong-dae was caught out with a fly ball to center field, and Jang Jun-won struck out, but Riley faced a crisis with two outs and a runner on second base. However, he remained composed and struck out Kwon Dong-jin with a swing and miss to escape the jam.

In the sixth inning, after getting Rojas out with a fly ball to first base, Riley also handled Heo Kyung-min with a strikeout and not out. However, he allowed a hit to Kang Baek-ho, halting a long no-hit streak. Nevertheless, he got Kim Min-hyuk out with a ground ball to second base, finishing the inning without major troubles. Riley added another strikeout in the seventh inning, ending the inning once again with three up and three down. With the NC ahead 7-0 in the eighth inning, he was replaced by Kim Jae-yeol, concluding his appearance for the day. The NC bullpen secured the remaining two innings, breaking a two-game losing streak and avoiding a series sweep.

Before this game, Riley had recorded a disappointing performance with 1 win and 1 loss in 3 games (15 innings) with an earned run average of 7.80. However, he completely transformed during this game, dominating the KT lineup. Throwing 99 pitches, Riley utilized a variety of pitches including fastballs (23), sliders (28), forks (23), and curves (16), restraining the KT lineup. His fastball reached a maximum speed of 154 km/h. The strike rate reached 75.8%.

Riley, who achieved his second win of the season, struck out a remarkable 14 batters, tying the all-time single-game most strikeouts record for foreign pitchers (tied with Danny Bautista in 2013, Rick Van den Hurk in 2014, Henry Sosa in 2018, and Wilmer Font in 2022). It also set a new franchise record for most strikeouts in a game for the NC.

In a post-game interview, Riley noted, "The game was great. I wanted to increase our team's chances of winning. I knew about the franchise record from my interpreter, but I just found out that I tied the all-time single-game most strikeouts record for foreign pitchers in the KBO League. I’m really happy."

Riley mentioned, "I want to give credit to catcher (Kim) Hyung-jun. I trusted him to lead me, and that's why the game went well." He further stated, "I don’t think I’ve had many games where I struck out this many batters. I'm not sure about my high school record, but I had a game where I struck out an incredible number of batters. I think it was around 19. I don’t remember well," he said with a laugh.

Manager Lee Ho-jun stated that Riley changed his pitching design that day. Indeed, Riley showcased an amazing performance, displaying a completely different version of himself. Riley shared, "I had a meeting with the pitching coach. However, there was nothing special. I focused on solidifying the basics and tried to win using my arsenal. I never shook my head at the catcher’s signs. Once again, I want to give credit to Hyung-jun. While I threw the pitches on the mound, the strikeouts were thanks to him."

"The last two games were very disappointing," Riley expressed candidly. "I always step on the mound to perform well. Recently, I was putting too much pressure on myself. So today, I cleared my thoughts and pitched. I will continue to lead the game using my strongest pitches every day as the season progresses."

[OSEN]