Jeong Woo-ju (18, Jeonju) led Jeonju to its first-ever Cheongryonggi championship with a two-hitter that outdueled Major League Baseball’s Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers).
Jung made three appearances on the mound and combined for 2⅔ innings of one-hit ball, two walks, four strikeouts and no earned runs in the 79th Cheongryonggi High School Baseball Championship and Weekend League Wangjung Wang Game final against Masan Yongma High School at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul on Saturday.
Freshman Lee Si-hoo gave up a leadoff walk to Lee Jae-yong and a sacrifice bunt by Lee Seung-heon to load the bases in the top of the first inning before giving up three straight singles to Kwon Hee-jae, Cha Seung-joon, and Jeon Tae-hyun.
In desperation, Jeon and the bench changed plans and decided to send ace Jung Woo-ju to the mound in the bottom of the first inning.
The pitching change paid off. With the bases loaded, Jung Woo-ju came out to the plate and overwhelmed the Yongmago bats with his fastball in the low 140s. He struck out the first batter, Kim Joo-oh, on a 149-kilometer high fastball and then followed it up with a 150-kilometer fastball from Je Seung-ha for another strikeout. The inning was over.
Jung Woo-ju came on in the bottom of the second inning with a 3-1 lead and struck out leadoff hitter Choi Min-sang on a wild pitch. He then handed the baton to Park Shi-hyun to face Lim Noe, who lined out to right field.
Park struck out the first batter, Lim No-eul, on a grounder to second base and then gave up a triple to right-center off Lee Jae-yong, putting the tying run in scoring position. The Jeon Ju-joo bench then called for an SOS to Jung Woo-ju, who was watching the right-field defense.
Jung Woo-ju returned to the pitcher’s mound and showed off his 151-kilometer fastball, but walked Lee Seung-heon on a full count. With runners on first and third, he faced Kwon Hee-jae with a full count, but induced a grounder to shortstop to end the inning.
Jung continued his momentum in the bottom of the third, striking out the leadoff batter, Cha Seung-joon, on a wild pitch. Then, with the score 2B-1S against Jeon Tae-hyun, the game was suspended due to heavy rain. After waiting for about an hour and a half, the 카지노 커뮤니티 game resumed and Jeong took the mound again, facing Kim Joo-oh before being replaced by Kim Young-bin, who returned to the right field position.
Jung returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 14-5 lead. Despite the large deficit, manager Joo Chang-hoon called for an ace, entrusting Jung Woo-ju with three outs to seal the win. With the bases loaded and Kim Jae-gyun at first base, Jung struck out the side on a fielder’s choice to secure Jeonju’s first national title in 39 years.
Jung Woo-ju, who was honored with the Cheongryonggi Outstanding Pitcher Award, met with the press and said, “Both my individual and team goals were to win the championship, but I feel good that we worked hard together to win this tournament, which may be our last chance.” “In the E-Mart ship, I was under pressure, but in this tournament, I threw both the pitchers and the batters behind me with excitement,” he said.
“In some ways, the team lost because of me, but I’m glad that I didn’t give up any runs this time and helped the team win,” he added.
When asked if he expected to pitch in the bottom of the first inning, he replied, “I was originally planning to pitch from behind, but the manager told me in advance that if the pitcher was shaky in the first inning, he might go up. I was preparing for it a little bit.”
Jung Woo-ju was perfect at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored. Despite constantly moving back and forth between the pitcher and right field, both pitcher and hitter stayed on task.
“Sometimes I’d throw and come down and then go back up, so I felt like the coach took the outfield out. I feel good because I think I did about one out in the outfield,” he smiled.
In the interview, Jung also expressed his gratitude to his catcher, Lee Han-rim, with whom he has formed a battery partnership. “I think I’ve improved a lot because (Lee) sits as a catcher and guides my ability well and blocks well. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to throw like this,” he said.
With his championship dreams fulfilled, Jung’s next goal is to enter the professional ranks as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft in September.
“I want to be the No. 1 pick unconditionally. I’m competing in good faith with Jeong Hyun-woo (Duk Sugo), and I’m grateful to him. I want to remain a good friend until the end,” he said.
