Seong Yeong-tak recorded a thrilling first victory in his debut.

On the 28th, Seong Yeong-tak took the mound as a relief pitcher in a game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, throwing 1⅔ innings with 2 hits allowed and no runs scored. With the team's offense igniting, the victory conditions were met, and KIA won 9-8, making him the winning pitcher. It was his debut victory.

Seong Yeong-tak took the mound as the third pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning, with the score tied at 7-7. He got lead-off batter Lee Ju-heon out with a fly ball to left field, but allowed a single to Park Hae-min. He induced Shin Min-jae to hit a ground ball to second base, ending the inning with a double play at first base.

In the top of the sixth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Kim Seok-hwan hit a two-run single to put KIA ahead 9-7. Seong Yeong-tak got Song Chan-ui out with a fly ball caught in front of the left field fence for the first out. Austin made a foul out to first base for the second out. He allowed a single to Park Dong-won.

With two outs and a runner on first, the KIA bench replaced him with Jeon Sang-hyun. Although Jeon Sang-hyun issued a walk to Moon Sung-ju, he got Choi Seong-ho out on a ground ball to first base, preventing any runs from scoring. KIA secured a narrow 9-8 victory with Jeon Sang-hyun, Jo Sang-woo, and Jeong Hae-young pitching in sequence.

After the game, Seong Yeong-tak said, “I’m happy to win my first victory, but I’m even happier that the team won without a losing streak. I knew I was in line to be the winning pitcher, and my seniors (the bullpen pitchers) said they would secure the win for me, which made me feel reassured. Even though I left the mound with runners on base, I’m grateful that senior Jeon Sang-hyun was able to hold them off.”

He also noted, “I felt a bit of pressure because I had to face the top of the batting lineup. However, I told myself that if I focused too much on the burden, I wouldn’t be able to pitch well, so I resolved to overcome it and took the mound. It worked effectively that I quickly got ahead in the counts and pitched aggressively.”

He was selected by KIA with the 96th overall pick in the 10th round of the 2024 rookie draft. Last year, he only played in the Futures League as a training player. He appeared in 23 games, pitched 40 innings, recorded 2 wins, 2 losses, and 2 holds with an earned run average of 4.05.

He started this season as a training player and was officially registered as a player on May 20. His performance in the Futures League was average, with 13 games, 1 win, 1 hold, and an earned run average of 4.97. He was called up to the first team on May 20 and showed strong pitching without allowing runs each time he took the mound. He set a new KIA franchise record by breaking the 13⅔-inning scoreless streak established by Jo Gye-hyeon in 1989 after 36 years.

Seong Yeong-tak extended his scoreless streak to 17⅓ innings, but on the 24th against Kiwoom, he allowed his first runs in a 6-6 tie when he came in during the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and runners on first and second, giving up a three-run home run to Im Ji-yeol. It ended the third-longest scoreless debut inning streak in KBO history. He struggled again on the 26th against Kiwoom, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and 1 walk in ⅓ inning.

Seong Yeong-tak said, “After allowing runs in the Kiwoom game, I replayed the scoring moment. Unlike before, I noticed I was trying to force my pitches too much. I refocused, thinking it was a fresh start, and concentrated on getting ahead in the counts and competing as I used to. I will become a pitcher who throws aggressively like when I had my scoreless streak.”

After the game, as Seong Yeong-tak finished the broadcast interview for the player of the game, all KIA pitchers came out and poured water bottles over him. Soaked from head to toe, Seong Yeong-tak beamed with joy.

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