Of the two teams desperate to end their losing streak, Hanwha was the more determined.
Hanwha won 5-4 in 10 extra innings against Wa on Tuesday at Daejeon Stadium. The win snapped a three-game losing streak. Hanwha was chased by ninth-place Lotte, which is tied with 10th-place Lotte, but was able to pull away. Kiwoom, on the other hand, fell into a seven-game losing streak.
Hanwha struck first.
In the top of the second inning, Ahn Chi-hong singled to left, Choi Jae-hoon singled to center, and Jeong Eun-won singled to right to load the bases. Kiwoom starter Ha Young-min then committed a wild pitch, scoring Choi Jae-hoon from third base. Young-min induced Choi In-ho to ground out to second base to bring in Jeong Eun-won from third, but he was hit by a pitch to Hwang Young-mook. After giving up a walk to Jonathan Peraza, Ha faced No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan, who reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Choi In-ho from third to give Kiwoom a 3-0 lead.
Kiwoom would go down in order in the fifth inning before rallying in the sixth. Park Soo-jong singled to load the bases with two outs, but Ronnie Dawson and Kim Hye-sung followed with back-to-back singles, and Lee Joo-hyung followed with a single up the middle to pull Kiwoom within one.
After the first run scored, the tide turned in the seventh inning. After leadoff hitter Ko Young-woo drew a walk on seven pitches, Kim Hwijip doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out, and Kim Jae-hyun singled down the right field line to load the bases. Lim Ji-yeol then reached on a fly ball to right field to put runners on first and second, and Lee Yong-kyu singled to left field to bring in Kim Jae-hyun and give Kiwoom a 4-3 lead.
But Hanhwa was eager to end the losing streak. Kiwoom tied the game against pitcher Kim Jae-woong. Peraza led off with a single to left and Noh Si-hwan looked to have a chance with a fly ball to right field, but Moon Hyun-bin tied the game with a single to right.
The starting pitchers for both teams were not smiling. Hanwha’s Ricardo Sanchez allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings. Kiwoom Ha Young-min gave up three runs on 10 hits, two walks, and three strikeouts in five innings.
It was Peraza who ended the game. Peraza led off the 10th inning of extra innings with a home run to end the game. Hanwha’s three-game losing streak 토토 ended.
The game also marked the 17th sellout of the season.
Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon also made an appearance. According to Hanwha officials, Kim traveled to Daejeon to watch the game with about 500 employees from affiliated companies.
It was the first time Kim visited Daejeon Stadium in about a month and a half since the March 29 home game against KT.
The sellout brought Hanwha’s average attendance this season to 11,938 fans. Hanwha, which had recently lost three straight games, was hoping to break the losing streak with the help of the home crowd.