National baseball team pitching and batting check completed, competition for ‘cleanup batter’ intensifies

[Anchor]

The South Korean baseball team, preparing for the Premier 12, has won both of their exhibition games against Cuba.

In the first game, the strength was on the mound, while in the second game, the batting lineup was solid, intensifying the competition for the cleanup hitter position.

Reporter Heo Sol-ji has the details.

[Report]

The national team secured victory in the first exhibition game against Cuba yesterday with a strong performance from the pitchers.

[Ryu Joong-il/Baseball Team Manager/After the First Game Victory: "Kwak Bin pitched well for 2 innings, and the other pitchers did a great job keeping a scoreless game. I hope they can pitch like that in the actual games as well."]

The second game showcased the power of the batting lineup.

The hitting lineup, which felt somewhat sluggish in the first game, was awakened by national outfielder Yoon Dong-hee's first home run under Ryu Joong-il's management.

Following this home run, the national team's batting lineup began to ignite.

In particular, following Song Sung-moon's triple, consecutive RBIs in the 8th inning by Na Seung-yeop, Lee Joo-hyung, and Shin Min-jae led to a big inning with 8 runs.

With a total of 14 hits, the national team took a 10-point difference grand victory and two consecutive exhibition wins to complete both their pitching and hitting checkup.

[Yoon Dong-hee/National Baseball Team: "I think it was a very meaningful game as we can head to Taiwan with a good atmosphere."]

In the elevated mood, the competition for the 'cleanup hitter' position is intensified.

Candidates for the cleanup hitter, including captain Song Sung-moon, Moon Bo-gyeong, and Park Dong-won, all produced extra-base hits, deepening Ryu Joong-il's dilemma.

[Ryu Joong-il/Baseball Team Manager: "(The final roster) is expected to be decided tomorrow or the day after. We will prepare well to achieve good results in the Premier 12."]

After completing assessments, the national team will soon finalize their roster, and will begin the Premier 12 with a match against Taiwan on November 13th.

KBS News, Heo Sol-ji.