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| Lee Ju-hyeong / Photo=DB |
Kiwoom routed the SSG Landers 11-2 on the road at Incheon SSG Landers Field on April 1 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.
The win moved Kiwoom to 1-3 after the rough start. SSG suffered its first loss and dropped to 3-1.
Lee Ju-hyeong paced Kiwoom’s offense with three hits, three RBIs and three runs. An Chi-hong added two hits, two RBIs and two runs, while Brooks finished with two hits, one RBI and three runs.
On the mound, starter Bae Dong-hyun earned the victory, throwing five scoreless innings while allowing five hits, striking out four and issuing one walk.
SSG’s offense was largely silent, and starter Takeda was roughed up, surrendering five runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Kiwoom struck first in the top of the first. After a leadoff hit from Brooks, Lee ripped an RBI double to put Kiwoom ahead. Choo Jae-hyun followed with an RBI single, and with the bases loaded an opponent’s wild pitch produced another run to make it 3-0.
Kiwoom maintained that advantage thanks to Bae’s strong start. In the top of the fifth, consecutive doubles by Lee and An produced a run, and another wild pitch extended the lead to 5-0.
Riding the momentum, Kiwoom added to the lead in the top of the sixth. After Brooks’ double and a move by Lee, a defensive error with two outs and a runner at third brought in a run, and an RBI double by Kim Keon-hee made it 7-0.
Held in check by Bae, SSG didn’t mount a response until the bottom of the sixth. With one out and runners at the corners following walks to Kim Jae-hwan and Go Myung-jun, Choi Ji-hoon’s infield grounder allowed Kim Jae-hwan to score, cutting the deficit to 7-1.
Kiwoom’s bullpen then shut the door on any comeback. In the top of the ninth, after loading the bases, Brooks hit an RBI grounder, Lee followed with a two-run double, and An added an RBI single to push the score to 11-1 and effectively put the game away.
SSG added a late run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI hit by Ahn Sang-hyun, but it was too little, too late. Kiwoom closed out an 11-2 victory.
[Sports Today reporter Lee Sang-pil sports@stoo.com]
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