The SSG Landers of professional baseball avenged the humiliation of 18 strikeouts inflicted by Hanwha Eagles' Cody Ponce in the second game of the doubleheader. Mitch White silenced the Hanwha batting lineup with 11 strikeouts.

SSG won the second game of the doubleheader against Hanwha by a score of 5-2 on the 17th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park. Although they lost the first game 0-1, they managed to win the second game, achieving a split of 1 win and 1 loss in the doubleheader.

SSG starting pitcher White recorded 7 innings with 3 hits allowed, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts, and 1 earned run to silence the Hanwha batting lineup, marking his 4th win of the season. At the plate, Jung Joon-jae led the lineup with his first season three-hit game, driving in 3 runs.

In the first game of the doubleheader, SSG suffered a staggering 20 strikeouts. Hanwha's starting pitcher Ponce set a tie record for the most strikeouts in a single game in KBO League history with 18 strikeouts (a new record based on regular innings) as SSG became his victims. They also added 2 more strikeouts to the total against closer Kim Seo-hyun in the 9th inning, setting a record for 20 strikeouts based on regular innings, but they sought redemption in the second game.

Hanwha, which won 1-0 in the first game, took the lead from the bottom of the first inning. After two outs, Moon Hyun-bin reached base with an infield single to third base and successfully stole second base, and Noh Si-hwan brought in the first run with a clutch hit falling in front of the center fielder.

SSG, unable to score a run off Hanwha's starter Ryan Weiss with just 1 hit through the 4th inning, launched a counterattack in the 5th. After Choi Jun-woo walked and Ahn Sang-hyun got a hit to left field, a passed ball from the opposing catcher put runners on second and third with no outs. Jung Joon-jae then hit a 2-run double to right field, reversing the score to 2-1. He decorated the hit after switching from a bunt foul on the first pitch to a regular swing.

With no outs and a runner on second, Jo Hyung-woo also had a bunt foul on the first pitch. However, on the second pitch, he made a fake bunt slash for a hit to right field, allowing runner Jung Joon-jae to score. Continuing their aggressive approach, SSG added another run when Choi Ji-hoon had a hit to left-center with one out and a runner on second and third, followed by Choi Jeong's sacrifice fly to the right fielder.

SSG added another run in the top of the 8th. Facing Hanwha reliever Lee Tae-yang, Ahn Sang-hyun hit a double that fell to the right of center field with two outs, and Jung Joon-jae followed with a 1-run double slicing through left-center, sealing the victory. Jung Joon-jae led the SSG lineup with 3 hits and 3 RBIs in 4 at-bats.

In the meantime, White dominated until the 7th inning. His 11 strikeouts marked his personal best for the season. This was also the first time he exceeded 100 pitches. With a total of 102 pitches, 74 of which were strikes, he delivered an aggressive performance. He mixed a fastball averaging 152 km/h and hitting a top speed of 155 km/h (50 times), along with 19 curves, 14 cutters, 11 two-seam fastballs, and 8 sweepers. Winning his 4th game of the season, White improved his earned run average from 2.54 to 2.29.

Hanwha's starting pitcher Weiss suffered his second loss of the season (6 wins) after allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 4 earned runs over 5 innings, ending his recent 6-game winning streak. In the 9th inning, Moon Hyun-bin pulled a 145 km/h fastball that came inside on the second pitch from SSG closer Jo Byeong-hyeon, launching it over the 8-meter high monster wall in right field. He battled bravely with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, including his 8th home run of the season with a distance of 130 meters, and 1 RBI.

[OSEN]