[SPOTV News — Tokyo, Japan, Reporter Yoon Wook-jae] It felt like Lady Luck was on their side.
Nicknamed "the Grandson of the Wind," Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) finally put the nightmare of past failures behind him. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun’s Korea national baseball team beat Australia 7-2 on March 9 at the Tokyo Dome in the 2026 World Baseball Classic first-round Group C game. The victory lifted Korea past Australia and Taiwan into second place in the group and sent them to the quarterfinals.
There were several nerve-wracking moments. Leading 6-2 entering the top of the ninth, Korea needed at least one more run to guarantee second place on TQB tiebreakers if they finished 2-2 with Australia.
With one out and a runner on first, Lee came to the plate and grounded a ball toward shortstop. It looked like a heart-stopping play, but Australia’s shortstop Jared Dale made a bad throw to second. First baseman Park Hae-min took advantage, getting past second and reaching third, which increased Korea’s chance to add an insurance run. Korea later pushed the lead to 7-2 on a sacrifice fly by An Hyun-min, satisfying the condition needed to advance.
Reflecting on that at-bat, Lee said he feared the worst in that split second. "I thought I might be the one to cause another disaster," he said. "But even if I made an error, we have veterans like Ryu Hyun-jin and younger guys ready to build a new era. Their energy felt stronger in that moment."
Another tense moment came in the bottom of the ninth. With one out and a runner on first, Rixon Wingrove ripped a hard line drive to the outfield. Lee, patrolling right field, appeared out of nowhere and pulled off a lightning-quick, game-saving catch.
"After I fell behind two strikes, I shifted a bit toward center-right, and I think Lady Luck helped a lot," Lee said. "I had no other thought — when the ball came, I just ran and decided I had to catch it. The lights made it tricky, but luck was on our side."
Lee returned repeatedly to the theme of luck. "Japan gave us an opening by beating Australia," he said. "Another stroke of luck was that we were batting in the top half of the inning while we were leading. If we’d batted in the bottom half, we would have had only eight innings of offense. That extra at-bat was huge. It felt like everything tilted in our favor."
Had Japan not beaten Australia 4-3, Korea would have been eliminated early. Australia mounted a late charge with two ninth-inning homers, but Japan held on for the win.
Luck played a part, Lee acknowledged, but so did Korea’s performance. Without the necessary skill, a spot in the quarterfinals would have been out of reach. The Korean squad will now fly by charter to Miami, Florida.
"I’m so happy we all get to fly to the U.S. on a charter," Lee said with a smile. "It’s my first time on such a long charter flight. I’m excited."
Korea will face the winner of Group D in the quarterfinals on March 14 at 7:30 a.m. KST. The game will be held at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins.
Lee added, "The players will get to experience the Major League setup in Miami. That’s a big deal. It’ll give everyone extra motivation." His excitement about teammates receiving big-league treatment captured the mindset of a captain who truly cares for his squad.
