“I thought of my mother who passed away in 2017...”

Hanwha Eagles foreign pitcher Cody Ponce (31) shed hot tears on the mound. On the day he set a record for the most strikeouts in a single game in KBO League history with 18 strikeouts, he shed tears of emotion recalling his mother in heaven.

Ponce started the game against SSG Landers at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 17th, pitching 8 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 18 batters without allowing a run, leading Hanwha to a 1-0 victory.

With his 8th win of the season, maintaining an undefeated streak, Ponce lowered his earned run average from 1.68 to 1.48. He maintained the top spot in the earned run average rankings and rose to a tie for the most wins with Park Se-woong (Lotte). He increased his strikeout total to 93, surpassing Drew Anderson (SSG, 77) to take the lead. His win percentage is also 100%, making him a strong candidate for a four-crown season, including the Triple Crown, following Eric Peddy of NC in 2023.

This was Ponce's best game in his 10th outing of the season. Starting off with a pleasing 'KKK' inning from the first, he dominated the SSG lineup as a no-hitter until two outs in the 8th inning. In that time, he struck out a remarkable 18 batters, controlling the game.

The 18 strikeouts tied the KBO League single-game record previously held by former national team coach Seon Dong-yeol, a national treasure-level pitcher. He recorded 18 strikeouts over 13 innings in a game against Binggrae in Gwangju (Mudeung) on June 19, 1991. It has been 34 years since then that someone has achieved 18 strikeouts in 9 innings.

According to regular inning standards, this set a new all-time record. Ryu Hyun-jin, currently on the same team Hanwha, recorded 17 strikeouts against LG in Cheongju on May 11, 2010. It was a record that was not easily broken, but Ponce broke it after 15 years.

With a total of 113 pitches, he threw 81 strikes and 32 balls. His fastball reached a top speed of 157 km/h, averaging 154 km/h with 53 fastballs, along with changeups (24), sliders (21), and curves (15) mixed in. The breakdown of the 18 strikeouts included 8 fastballs, 7 changeups, 2 sliders, and 1 curve, showcasing a perfect command of all his pitches. He recorded 15 swinging strikeouts and 3 looking strikeouts, with all starting batters for SSG striking out.

Ponce recorded his 17th strikeout of the game by striking out the first batter in the 8th inning, Ryan McBroom. As the scoreboard displayed the all-time tied record alert, the packed crowd of 17,000 erupted in cheers. Ponce was seen wiping his tears with both hands on the mound, seemingly overwhelmed.

After the game, Ponce explained the reason for his tears on the mound, saying, “I was reminded of my mother who passed away in 2017, and emotions came rushing in all at once. I felt as if my mother was right beside me today. I wish she could have watched from the stands… I felt in my heart that she was watching.” Ponce's mother, Jennifer, passed away from brain cancer in December 2017.

Alongside the 17 strikeouts, he reached 100 pitches. Pitching coach Yang Sang-moon came to the mound, but there was no substitution. Ponce remarked, “The coach knew my will to keep pitching, and there was no mention of stopping. He said he came to see my face,” adding, “It’s an honor to achieve this record at Hanwha. Even though we play in different stadiums, it's a joy to achieve such a great record in the same home game as Ryu Hyun-jin. It is so overwhelming that words cannot express it. Ryu Hyun-jin congratulated me as well.”

He only became aware of the strikeout record after recording 16 by the 7th inning. He said, “Until the end of the 7th inning, I didn’t even check the number of strikeouts. I knew Ryu Hyun-jin held the record, but I couldn’t remember exactly how many.”

While he broke the strikeout record, he unfortunately missed out on the no-hitter. Ponce, who achieved a no-hitter game during his time with the Nippon Ham Fighters in August 2022, allowed a single to Ahn Sang-hyun after two outs in the 8th inning, breaking the record.

Ponce noted, “I became somewhat aware of the no-hitter record around the 6th inning. I thought it might be possible, but I've had such experiences a few times in my career. It has always been tough after the 8th inning.” He added, “I have achieved no-hitters in Japan, but today feels a bit more emotional. It’s because of everything that happened today. When Hanwha fans cheered my name, I felt an indescribable emotion. I was really amazed at how passionate our fans are.”

Thanking the players for their solid defense and the unseen help of the data analysis team led by Jeon Jung-woo from the first team, Ponce once again brought up his family. His wife, Emma, is currently living in Korea and is pregnant with their daughter. After the game, while touching his wife's belly, Ponce took a commemorative photo and said, “Our first baby will be a girl, born in October. I think she is bringing me all my luck. If we make it to the postseason, there’s a high chance she will be born in Korea. She will be a playoff baby,” and smiled brightly.

As he reflected on everything, Ponce thought of his mother once more. He expressed his feelings by saying, “I love you,” and recalled, “When I was in the minor leagues, my mother often joked, ‘You have to play well enough to be on TV. That way, I can comfortably watch from home.’ Now that I'm on TV, I’m sure she is watching,” as his eyes welled up.

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