Home > Sports > Baseball

Young Eagles pitcher ready to eat up more innings in 1st KBO postseason

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 19:24

Hanwha Eagles reliever Hwang Jun-seo pitches against the Samsung Lions during Game 2 of the second-round series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19. [HANWHA EAGLES]

After pitching just one inning in relief in his postseason debut over the weekend, Hanwha Eagles second year player Hwang Jun-seo said Tuesday he is ready for bigger responsibilities.

Hwang pitched one shutout inning against the Samsung Lions in Game 2 of their second round in the KBO (KBO) postseason, striking out a batter as the Eagles' fourth pitcher of a 7-3 loss.

The first overall pick at the 2023 KBO draft, Hwang said he had a blast pitching in his first postseason game.

“Personally, I was hoping to see a different opponent in this round,” Hwang said before Game 3 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. “But now that I've pitched against Samsung, it was a lot of fun, and I don't think I will give up any runs against them. I was really pleased with the way I pitched in that game.”

Hwang, who split his time between the rotation and the bullpen this year, said he can eat up more innings than one.

“I started throwing multiple innings from the start of the season,” the 20-year-old said. “So that wouldn't be an issue for me. Personally, I'd love to throw a lot of innings here.”

Hwang is part of a youthful bullpen that also features the 18-year-old Jeong Woo-joo and the 20-year-old Cho Dong-uk. All three saw action in Sunday's game, and Hwang recalled how they looked the part of jittery postseason rookies in the bullpen before taking the mound.

But with their postseason debuts out of the way, the three young pitchers all want to push the Eagles deeper into October and take them to the Korean Series, Hwang said.

The current best-of-five series is tied at one game apiece, and the winner will go on to play the LG Twins in the Korean Series beginning this weekend.

“The three of us talk every day about wanting to play in the Korean Series,” he said. “The biggest goal now is to win tonight and finish off the series tomorrow.”

Yonhap