(Premier12) S. Korean cleanup wakes up with two-hit effort
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- The bear is now up and on the prowl.
After looking completely overmatched at the plate for two games at the Olympic baseball qualifying tournament, South Korean cleanup hitter Park Byung-ho broke out of his slump with two-hit performance on Friday against Cuba.
Park helped South Korea take a 7-0 victory in the final Group C game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Park, the reigning home run king in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), had gone 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in two previous games. He popped out in his first at-bat on Friday, but then had two singles in his next two trips to the plate.
When Park had his first hit of the tournament with a hard-hit single in the third inning, the dugout erupted in cheers as if Park had just blasted a walk-off home run.
His teammates had even more to celebrate in the fifth inning, when Park drove in the first of South Korea's four runs in that frame with a single through the middle.
He finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Park struck out in five consecutive plate appearances at one point. But manager Kim Kyung-moon, famous for sticking with his players through thick and thin, repeatedly said Park was due to break out soon and there were enough talented hitters who could pick up the slack.
And the slugger responded to that show of faith with the multi-hit game.
The next step for Park would be to get an extra-base hit or go deep.
Park came within a few feet of leaving the yard in the sixth, when he took a Freddy Alvarez pitch for a ride to left field before it died in the warning track just in front of the fence.
But with South Korea moving on to the next stage -- the Super Round for the top two teams from three groups -- and his manager not about to take him out of the lineup any time soon, Park will have plenty of opportunities to get big hits.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)
-
'Queen of Tears' weaves rich tapestry of Korean contemporary art
-
Ateez member Yunho throws first pitch at MLB match between Dodgers, Mets
-
N. Korea says Kim guided simulated nuclear counterattack drills for 1st time
-
N. Korea calls envisioned U.S. aid to Ukraine 'hallucinogen'
-
N. Korea calls on party propaganda officials to work harder
-
'Queen of Tears' weaves rich tapestry of Korean contemporary art
-
Experts see possibility of N.K. conducting nuclear test before U.S. presidential vote
-
Details of meeting between Yoon, opposition leader undecided: presidential office
-
N. Korea says Kim guided simulated nuclear counterattack drills for 1st time
-
Looming weekly closure of major hospitals feared to worsen medical service crisis
-
S. Korea eliminated in Olympic football qualifiers as poor defense, undisciplined play prove costly
-
10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
-
(LEAD) 10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
-
Indonesia coach left with mixed feelings after eliminating native S. Korea in Olympic football qualifiers
-
(3rd LD) Hybe to file complaint against sublabel executives over internal conflict