Maehyang Middle School triumphed over Jayang Middle School to become the champion of the '2025 Gyeonggi-do Asia Cup Baseball Tournament (U-15).
On the final day of the tournament held on the 14th at Gyeonggi-do Hwaseong Dream Park Baseball Stadium, Maehyang Middle School achieved a comeback victory against Jayang Middle School, winning 11-4.
This tournament, hosted by the Gyeonggi-do Baseball Softball Association and funded by Gyeonggi-do, saw participation from 9 domestic teams and 3 overseas teams (one each from Japan, Taiwan, and China). It opened on the 9th and was held for 6 days. As the first international baseball exchange event for youth in Korea that invited overseas teams, it attracted significant attention, making Maehyang Middle School's victory particularly meaningful.
Maehyang Middle School, finishing second in Group B with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss after defeating Taiwan's New Taipei Dual National Middle School, advanced to the quarterfinals. They then overcame strong teams, defeating Gyeonggi Central Middle School in the quarterfinals and Gyeonggi Daewon Middle School in the semifinals to reach the finals.
Jayang Middle School, having joined the quarterfinals as the second place in Group C (2 wins and 1 loss), advanced past Gyeonggi Jeongnam SBC in the quarterfinals and Incheon Dongsan Middle School in the semifinals to reach the finals. However, they had to settle for the runner-up position, falling short of victory against Maehyang Middle School.
As expected in the final match, a fierce competition ensued until the middle of the game. Jayang Middle School scored first in the bottom of the 1st inning, with lead-off hitter Park Jin-woo's double setting the stage for a sacrifice bunt and Shin Geon-woo's infield grounder to drive in the first run.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Maehyang Middle School turned the game around to 2-1 with Jang Hyun-seo's two-run homer. In response, Jayang Middle School leveled the score at 2-2 with Kim Young-hyun's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Then, in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Jayang Middle School regained the lead to 4-2 with back-to-back RBIs from Yoon Jeong-chan and Kim Han-gyeol.
Maehyang Middle School, previously behind, exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 5th inning, flipping the game once more. They concentrated 7 hits, highlighted by Jeong Seung-hoon's go-ahead RBI and Jang Hyun-seo's two-run RBI among others. Having turned the score to 8-4, Maehyang Middle School saw Jang Hyun-seo hit yet another homer in their final attack in the top of the 7th inning, celebrating the victory with a three-run homer.
Meanwhile, in the 3rd-4th place match held earlier that day, Daewon Middle School defeated Dongsan Middle School 10-1 in a 5-inning cold game to claim 3rd place. Daewon Middle School benefited from Jeong Yeon-woo's three-run homer, Jeon Ji-woo's solo homer, and a total of 8 hits, while starting pitcher Yong Geol-ryeon pitched 4 innings allowing only 1 run to lead to victory.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to Jeong Seung-hoon of the winning team, Maehyang Middle School. As their catcher, Jeong Seung-hoon played a crucial role in both offense and defense, contributing significantly to the team's championship. His performance, highlighted by a go-ahead hit in the finals and a total of 2 hits, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored, led to his MVP award.
True to their championship status, Maehyang Middle School also swept the outstanding pitcher and hitter awards. Lee Ji-hoon had an impressive performance with a 1.13 earned run average over 12⅓ innings, allowing just 2 runs, earning him the outstanding pitcher award. Kim Sung-yoon boasted a .545 batting average with 12 hits in 22 at-bats, 1 homer, and 9 RBIs, winning both the outstanding hitter and RBIs awards.
Daewon Middle School's Jeong Yeon-woo received the batting award with an outstanding average of .643 (14 at-bats, 9 hits). The home run award went to Dongsan Middle School's Lee Do-yoon, who hit 3 home runs, and the stolen base award went to Jayang Middle School's Park Jin-woo, who successfully stole 5 bases.
Jayang Middle School's Oh Yoon-ho, who regrettably finished as the runner-up, received the effort award, while Park Ji-hyo, a key player of the Maehyang Middle School pitching staff, earned the honor award. Lee Jae-joong, the coach of Maehyang Middle School, received the coach award, and Park Yong-jin, the principal of Maehyang Middle School, received the service award.
◇ List of award winners in each institutional sector.
▲ Most valuable player: Jeong Seung-hoon from Maehyang Middle School
▲ Outstanding pitcher: Lee Ji-hoon from Maehyang Middle School
▲ Outstanding hitter: Kim Sung-yoon from Maehyang Middle School
▲ Batting award: Jeong Yeon-woo from Daewon Middle School (batting average .643)
▲ RBIs award: Kim Sung-yoon from Maehyang Middle School (9 RBIs)
▲ Home run award: Lee Do-yoon from Dongsan Middle School (3 home runs)
▲ Stolen base award: Park Jin-woo from Jayang Middle School (5 stolen bases)
▲ Effort award: Oh Yoon-ho from Jayang Middle School
▲ Honor award: Park Ji-hyo from Maehyang Middle School
▲ Coach award: Coach Lee Jae-joong from Maehyang Middle School
▲ Service award: Principal Park Yong-jin from Maehyang Middle School
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