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| ▲ Won Tae-in of the South Korean Olympic baseball team pitches against Sangmu in a tuneup game ahead of the Tokyo Olympics at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on July 23, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Choi Joo-hwan of the South Korean Olympic baseball team rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against Sangmu in a tuneup game ahead of the Tokyo Olympics at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on July 23, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Oh Ji-hwan of the South Korean Olympic baseball team hits a double against Sangmu in a tuneup game ahead of the Tokyo Olympics at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on July 23, 2021. (Yonhap) |
(Olympics) S Korea-baseball
(Olympics) S. Korea beats minor league team in 1st baseball tuneup game
SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- Defending Olympic baseball champion South Korea cruised to a 9-0 victory over the minor league military club Sangmu in the first of three tuneup games on Friday, behind strong pitching and opportunistic offense.
Starter Won Tae-in threw three innings of one-hit ball, with four more pitchers putting zeroes on the board at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Leadoff Park Hae-min went 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing, three-run triple in the second inning. Choi Joo-hwan came off the bench and blasted a three-run homer in the seventh.
Won, the Samsung Lions' ace in the midst of a career year, will likely get the nod in South Korea's first Olympic preliminary game against Israel next Thursday. The 21-year-old is 10-4 with a 2.54 ERA this year in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
South Korea will face two KBO clubs over the next two days to wrap up their training camp: LG Twins on Saturday and Kiwoom Heroes on Sunday.
The national team will then depart for Japan on Monday.
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