Freshman saves baseball team from elimination in national championship

Freshman saves baseball team from elimination in national championship. May. 05, 2017 07:15. by Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com. A high school freshman saved his baseball team from the verge of elimination in a national championship.

At the opening match of the Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Championship on Thursday, Dongsan High School was on the verge of being eliminated in the first game, losing 4-7 against Songtan Jeil High School until the seventh inning. Dongsan, which advanced to the final tournament after topping regional qualifiers, was considered superior to Songtan. However, Dongsan had a tough game, allowing six steals during the first seven innings.

The table was turned in the eighth inning, when Songtan's starting pitcher Sohn Ho-jin came down the mound. Catching up to 5-7 and with the bases fully loaded with one out, Jang Gwang-seok, a freshman at Dongsan, sent the ball deep into the center field, bringing all the three runners home. The next hitter also made a hit to bring Jang home to complete a come-from-behind victory. Jang, who joined the game in the bottom of the seventh as a pinch hitter, led his team's victory by making two hits in two times at bat with three runs batted in and one run scored.

"I was nervous because this was a national championship and broadcast on television, but I tried not to show it," Jang said while smiling. "My seniors called me today's most valuable player. I will never forget today's game." Keum Kwang-ok, Dongsan's manager, also praised Jang, saying the freshman will become the team's "treasure" with boldness and good batting skills.