“I think I would have played too.”
Kim Hye-sung hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Kiwoom Heroes a 4-3 victory over the Hanwha Eagles in the 2024 KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome on Sunday. Kiwoom extended its winning streak to seven games with the series sweep of Hanwha. The team is now 7-4 on the season and in sole possession of third place.
The victory was not easy to come by. The game was tied at 3-3 in the top of the 10th inning of extra innings. Moon Sung-hyun, who had been selected as Kiwoom’s closer, faced back-to-back singles and was in trouble. Two batters later, Moon singled to left to Moon Hyun-bin and Jonathan Peraza singled to left to put runners on first and third.
Moon then hit a long fly ball to Chae Eun-sung. The ball sailed a long way toward the center field fence. At that point, center fielder Lee Joo-hyung leaped up and snagged the ball. If he had fallen, it would have been a big mistake, but Lee’s catch saved the inning.
After making the super catch, Lee stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning. He hit a long ball to Joo Hyun-sang, who hit a line drive to right-center field. Lee ran all the way around the bases, rounded second base and stole third, but was tagged out at third. Lee had to pick up his helmet and run back to the dugout. Lee’s fantastic defense lifted the team’s spirits, but the momentum was short-lived as Lee was thrown out at third base.
However, Kiwoom ended the game in the bottom of the 11th inning with a walk-off home run by Kim Hye-sung. It was Kim’s first career grand slam and first multi-homer game. After the game, Kim said, “I wanted to hit a walk-off home run at least once, and I’m glad I was able to do it before I retired. I never thought about hitting a multi-homer game, but I hit two home runs for the first time.”
He also praised Lee for bringing the team back from the brink of defeat. Since Lee’s return from injury, Kiwoom has been on a winning streak. “We’ve been 토토사이트 on a winning streak since Lee Joo-hyung came back. I think it’s a blessing,” she laughed.
In response to Lee Joo-hyung’s base-running play in the 10th inning, Kim Hye-sung defended her junior, saying, “I would have run too.” She added, “It’s not a situation where you run for personal greed. It was a one-out situation, so if he had gone to third base, he could have scored on a sacrifice fly. Even if it was me, I would have gone for it. Lee Joo-hyung made a great decision,” and gave a thumbs-up to Lee.
Before the season, Kiwoom was considered an underdog. When they lost their opening four games in a row, the predictions seemed to be correct. However, Kiwoom quickly climbed up the leaderboard with a seven-game winning streak. They jumped up to third place with a series sweep against Hanwha.
“The team atmosphere was always the same,” said Kim Hye-sung. Even during the losing streak, everyone tried to lighten the mood. We always approach every game with the same mindset of doing our best. Baseball is a sport where the outcome is unpredictable. The 10th place team can beat the first place team, so we don’t care about external evaluations. I think the players just need to prepare hard and do what they need to do, and I think that’s how we can keep the good vibes going,” he said, vowing to continue his upward trend.
