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| Jang Sung-woo / Photo=DB |
KT defeated Hanwha 13-8 on April 2 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.
The win gave KT sole possession of first place — the first time the club has started a season 5-0.
Swept in the series, Hanwha dropped to 2-3 and are tied for fifth with the Lotte Giants and LG Twins.
Starter Oh Won-seok turned in six solid innings, allowing four hits, striking out seven and yielding one run to earn his first victory of the season.
KT’s offense produced 19 hits, including two homers. Jang Sung-woo led the charge, going 2-for-5 with two homers, a walk, six RBIs and three runs scored.
KT opened the scoring with a power-packed third inning. In the top of the third, leadoff hitter Lee Kang-min singled to left and Choi Won-jun walked to put runners on first and second. Kim Hyun-soo grounded into an infield out, but with one out and runners at the corners, Ahn Hyun-min delivered an RBI single to right to put KT up.
Building on that momentum, Hilliard drew a four-seam walk to load the bases with one out. Jang Sung-woo then took Moon Dong-ju’s third pitch — a 152 km/h (about 94.4 mph) fastball — and crushed a grand slam to left-center. KT scored five runs in the third and led 5-0.
Hanwha answered in the fourth. After one out, Peraza and Moon Hyun-bin hit back-to-back singles. On Noh Si-hwan’s grounder, Peraza scored from third to cut the deficit to 5-1.
KT put the game further out of reach with a decisive sixth inning. After one out, Choi Won-jun ripped a triple to right. Hanwha brought in reliever Won Jong-hyuk, but KT kept pressing. Kim Hyun-soo followed with a double and Ahn Hyun-min added a hit to plate two more runs. Consecutive walks to Hilliard and Jang loaded the bases, and Oh Yun-seok delivered a two-run RBI double to extend the lead. An outfield misplay and an RBI single by Kim Sang-soo pushed the score to 11-1. KT added to the margin in the seventh when Kim Hyun-soo’s single set up Jang Sung-woo’s two-run homer, making it 13-1 and effectively sealing the game.
Hanwha refused to roll over. In the bottom of the seventh, leadoff batter Kang Baek-ho homered off reliever Son Dong-hyun to spark a rally.
The comeback continued in the eighth. With no outs and runners on first and second, Moon Hyun-bin blasted a three-run homer. Later, with two outs and the bases loaded, Lee Do-yoon ripped a two-run RBI double to pull Hanwha to 7-13. With two outs and runners at second and third, Lee Jin-young added an infield hit to make it 8-13.
That was as far as Hanwha would get. In the ninth, closer Sugimoto retired Moon Hyun-bin on an infield grounder, then struck out Noh Si-hwan and Kang Baek-ho to close out the game and preserve KT’s victory.
[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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