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Korea clinches back-to-back wins over Czech Republic with 11-1 victory

Published: 09 Nov. 2025, 18:57

Korea's Moon Hyun-bin hits an RBI single during a K-Baseball Series game against the Czech Republic at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Nov. 9. [YONHAP]

The Korean national baseball team trounced the Czech Republic 11-1 on Sunday, ending the two-game series against the European side with back-to-back wins.

The win at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul came the day after Korea grabbed a 3-0 victory at the same venue.

Sunday's game helped Korea shake off its concerns from Saturday's game. Korea had relied on its pitching to win the first game. Starter Gwak Been pitched two innings, and relievers Kim Geon-woo, Choi Jun-yong, Lee Ho-sung, Lee Ro-un, Kim Taek-yeon and Jo Byeong-hyeon combined for 17 strikeouts while holding the Czech lineup scoreless.

The hitters, however, struggled to create offense, managing only five scattered hits and failing to extend the lead.

“Our batters seemed to struggle when facing pitchers with strong fastballs,” National team manager Ryu Ji-hyun said.

The offense broke through in Game 2, however, with Moon Hyun-bin leading the lineup with three hits, while Shin Min-jae, Park Seong-han, Cho Hyeong-woo and Kim Seong-yoon each recorded multiple hits.

Korea took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after Ahn Hyun-min’s infield single and steal, followed by a walk to Song Sung-mun and an RBI groundout from Moon Bo-gyeong. Shin added another run in the fourth with an RBI single after two infield hits and a steal set up runners on the corners.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Korea exploded for four runs. Cho singled, Kim hit an RBI double, and after three straight walks to Ahn, Song and Roh Si-hwan, Moon Hyun-bin drove in two more runs with a timely single.

Korea's Moon Hyun-bin, right, celebrates during a K-Baseball Series game against the Czech Republic at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Nov. 9. [YONHAP]

The ninth inning sealed the victory, as Park Hae-min’s single and consecutive doubles from Moon Bo-gyeong, Han Dong-hee and Moon Hyun-bin produced five runs. Lee Jae-won added a two-run homer — the game’s only long ball.

Korea’s pitching remained steady, giving up just one run. Kim Seo-hyeon allowed two walks and an RBI single in the fifth, cutting the lead to one. Rookie Jeong Woo-joo, 19, entered with two outs and struck out the side on four pitches, escaping the jam. Jeong threw 1 and 1/3 perfect innings with a fastball reaching 153 kilometers per hour (95 miles per hour) in his national team debut.

Starter Oh Won-seok and reliever Lee Min-seok each pitched two scoreless innings, while Bae Chan-seung, Sung Yeong-tak and Kim Young-woo closed out the game without allowing a run.

Sunday's game wraps up Korea's first half of the tuneup K-Baseball Series ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), with the second half of the series against Japan awaiting the squad.

Korea is in Pool C for the WBC alongside Japan, Taiwan, Czech Republic and Australia. Only two teams will advance to the quarterfinals. Having swept the two-game exhibition series against the Czech Republic, Korea will travel to Tokyo on Wednesday to face Japan in another tuneup series on Nov. 15 to 16 at the Tokyo Dome.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]