Professional baseball player Yoo Young-kon (26) of the Kiwoom Heroes showed his fighting spirit from the first day he was called up to the first team and earned his first victory of the season.

On the 6th, Yoo Young-kon made a relief appearance in the game against the LG Twins in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, recording a victory with 1 inning, 1 strikeout, and no runs allowed.

With both teams tied at 1-1 in the tightly contested 10th inning, Yoo Young-kon faced the leadoff hitter Austin Dean. Austin hit a sharp ball toward the pitcher, and Yoo Young-kon was hit on his right ankle. The ball, which hit Yoo Young-kon's ankle, bounced off and was caught by first baseman Choi Joo-hwan, who stepped on first base to get Austin out.

However, Yoo Young-kon could not stand up due to extreme pain. Trainers came out to provide emergency treatment, but he found it difficult to continue pitching and ultimately returned to the dugout. Everyone thought the pitcher would be replaced. But Yoo Young-kon taped his ankle in the dugout and headed back to the mound. After throwing a few warm-up pitches, he indicated that he could continue pitching, and the game resumed.

Yoo Young-kon struck out Moon Bo-gyeong with a not-out strike, raising his second out count. Then Park Dong-won was caught with a fly ball to left field, ending the inning without allowing any runs.

Thanks to Yoo Young-kon's fighting spirit despite his injury, Kiwoom secured a dramatic comeback victory in the bottom of the 10th inning when leadoff hitter Song Seong-mun hit a walk-off home run on Kim Young-woo's first pitch. Although Song Seong-mun ended the game, Yoo Young-kon's fighting spirit played a significant role.

Kiwoom's manager Hong Won-ki praised Yoo Young-kon's fighting spirit in a post-game interview, saying, "Yoo Young-kon showed his fighting spirit immediately after being hit by the ball, and this attitude reminded the entire team of our will to win." Song Seong-mun also remarked, "I thought we were going to substitute for (Yoo) Young-kon, so I was waiting for another pitcher. But Young-kon came back. I thought he was really eager to finish. I was moved by that fighting spirit."

Yoo Young-kon shared his thoughts on the victory, saying, "When I was first hit by the ball on my ankle, it hurt a lot, and I couldn't put much force into my pitches. However, I was called up today, and I wanted to show a good performance to the fans, so I played with a compression bandage and completed the game. I am happy that it led to a good result."

After earning his first victory of the season with his call-up to the first team, Yoo Young-kon said, "I trained with a lot of advice from the pitching coaches in Futures. The forkball I learned from coach Lee Seung-ho in crucial situations was very helpful. I want to thank the pitching coaches." He added, "I feel sorry for the fans for showing poor performances in the past. I will work hard to pitch at a better level."

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