The professional baseball team KT Wiz turned the game around, overcoming a 5-point deficit with a strong focus.

KT won 7-5 against the NC Dinos in a home game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 21st, thanks to a decisive hit by Kim Sang-su. This victory marked the end of their three-game losing streak since the game against the KIA Tigers on the 17th. Conversely, despite the strong performance of starting pitcher Mok Ji-hoon, NC suffered a bitter defeat as the bullpen collapsed.

KT's starting lineup included left fielder Kim Min-hyeok, second baseman Kim Sang-su, right fielder Ahn Hyun-min, designated hitter Lee Jeong-hoon, catcher Jang Sung-woo, first baseman Lee Ho-yeon, third baseman Heo Gyeong-min, center fielder Bae Jeong-dae, and shortstop Kwon Dong-jin. Left-handed pitcher Oh Won-seok took the mound as the starter.

NC, with right-handed pitcher Mok Ji-hoon as the starter, arranged its lineup with shortstop Kim Joo-won, left fielder Kwon Hee-dong, second baseman Park Min-woo, designated hitter Matt Davidson, right fielder Park Geon-woo, first baseman Seo Ho-cheol, catcher Kim Hyeong-jun, third baseman Kim Hwi-jip, and center fielder Cheon Jae-hwan.

The first run belonged to NC. In the 4th inning, lead-off hitter Kim Joo-won was retired on a fly ball to left field, after which Kwon Hee-dong hit a double to the right of the right fielder. Soon after, Park Min-woo got a single to right field, scoring the first point. Davidson's single to right and Park Geon-woo's walk loaded the bases, but Seo Ho-cheol and Kim Hyeong-jun struck out consecutively, failing to add further runs.

In the 6th inning, NC’s Kwon Hee-dong and Park Min-woo reached base with walks. Davidson’s grounder to third base resulted in a 1 out, 1st and 3rd situation. Park Geon-woo added another point with a sacrifice fly to center field. After Seo Ho-cheol's single, they had runners on 1st and 3rd, widening the score gap to 3-0 with a surprising base-running play.

NC seized an opportunity with consecutive hits from Kwon Hee-dong and Park Min-woo, along with an automatic intentional walk to Park Geon-woo, leading to a bases-loaded situation with 1 out. The NC bench utilized Choi Jeong-won as a pinch runner for Park Geon-woo. Seo Ho-cheol hit a single to left field, bringing home 2 runners. The score was now 5-0.

In the 8th inning, trailing 0-5, KT created a bases-loaded opportunity with consecutive walks from Kim Sang-su and Ahn Hyun-min, and a hit from Lee Jeong-hoon to center field. Jang Sung-woo hit a single to center field, narrowing the gap by 1 point. Although Lee Ho-yeon struck out swinging, with 1 out, the next 4 batters, including Heo Gyeong-min, Bae Jeong-dae, pinch hitter Moon Sang-cheol, and Kim Min-hyeok, all received walks, tying the game at 5-5. In the continued bases-loaded chance, Kim Sang-su hit a single to center field, turning the score around to 7-5.

Starting for KT, left-hander Oh Won-seok recorded a no-decision with 5 innings pitched, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 5 while giving up 3 runs. Kim Sang-su led the offense with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, including the game-winning hit, 2 RBIs, and 1 run scored. Jang Sung-woo contributed with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored.

Starting pitcher Mok Ji-hoon of NC, who recorded his first victory against KT on the 7th of last month, pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 4 walks, and striking out 4 without giving up a run, thereby meeting the conditions for his 3rd win of the season before leaving the mound. However, due to the collapse of the bullpen, he had to swallow his disappointment. Seo Ho-cheol (3 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 RBIs), Kwon Hee-dong (3 hits in 4 at-bats, 3 runs scored), and Park Min-woo (2 hits in 3 at-bats, 1 RBI, 1 run scored) fought hard.

[OSEN]