With a spot in the Asian Games baseball gold medal game on the line in China, South Korean starter Won Tae-in took the mound against the host country Friday and took care of business on multiple fronts.
For one, Won tossed six shutout innings, as South Korea defeated China 8-1 at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing, southeast of the main host city, Hangzhou. Won allowed only three singles and struck out six.
And by going deep into the game, Won also saved his bullpen for the final against Chinese Taipei, set for 6 p.m. Saturday, back in Shaoxing.
With his job well done in the tournament, Won knows what he wants to do Saturday.
"I will be a big cheerleader on the bench in the final," Won said. "I wanted to make sure some of our young guys in the bullpen would get a day off today, and I am happy that I took care of that. Now I am going to cheer for them and help the team win the gold medal any way I can."
Though China isn't close to being the established baseball force that South Korea is, Won said he wasn't going to take the team lightly, especially because China had stunned Japan in the preliminary round earlier.
"I felt we had to take this team seriously, but at the same time, I also knew they weren't a great offensive team," Won said. "We were confident we could win this game as long as we didn't let our guard down."
Some of Won's fastballs touched 152 kilometers per hour (94.4 miles per hour) on the scoreboard radar gun. Its accuracy is dubious -- Won is averaging 144.4 kph this season for the Samsung Lions -- but Won said he did throw harder than usual in this game.
"I had some adrenaline pumping, and I knew this was a must-win game for us. So I gave every ounce of my strength to every pitch," Won said. "More so than velocity, I am pretty happy that I didn't walk anyone today."
In the gold medal game, South Korea will now have a chance to avenge a loss to Chinese Taipei in the preliminary round. Won said he and his teammates all cherish this opportunity.
"Ever since that loss, we've all been talking about how we want to get our revenge in the final," Won said. "I am grateful that we'll have the chance to do just that."
While Won was dealing on the mound, Kim Ju-won provided some early offense with a two-run home run in the second inning. He now leads South Korea with two dingers in the competition.
"It felt great to hit another home run. I think my focus has been really sharp every game, since this is such a short tournament," Kim said. "I don't know if I will be in the starting lineup tomorrow. I will try to take it one at-bat at a time if I do get that chance."
Source: Yonhap News Agency