The Seoul Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team (headed by Kim Hyun-woo) won the 2024 Hwaseong Mayor’s Cup National Youth Baseball Championship after defeating the Ilsan Giants Youth Baseball Team (headed by Choi Young-soo) 12-10 in a tightly contested game. The Seoul Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team proved to be the strongest team in youth baseball by winning the tournament for the second time in a row.
In the final, the Seongdong-gu baseball team won the U-13 championship in the strongest league, the Hwaseong Mayor’s Cup, thanks to a start and two big home runs by Kim Do-bin (Daechijung 1) and a 3-for-3 performance by Hong Seok-young (Geumbukcho 6).
Organized by the Korea Youth Baseball Federation (Chairman Lee Sang-geun), the tournament was held over four days from May 31 to June 3 at eight fields at Hwaseong Dream Park, with a total of 124 teams and more than 3,000 players and parents participating.
The tournament was held in a tournament format, with teams competing for the championships in seven categories, including the Bud League (U-9), Dreamer League (U-11), Youth League (U-13), and Junior League (U-16). The tournament was sponsored by Hwaseong City, Africa TV, baseball equipment company Yayongsa Knox Bat, Crown Bee, and health supplement AminoLigen. The final was broadcast live nationwide on Africa TV with commentary by popular casters and professional baseball player Oh Hyun-taek.
The biggest story of the tournament was not the final, but the revenge match between Sejong Sejong Youth Baseball Team (coached by Jang Jae-hyuk), the reigning champions who won all three tournaments they competed in this year, and Seoul Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team, who lost to Sejong Sejong by one run in the finals of both tournaments.
The two teams met in the quarterfinals. The match ended far too easily. The Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team, the biggest rival of the tournament, defeated the Sejong Sejong Youth Baseball Team in the quarterfinals with a perfect 8-0 victory, thanks to two home runs by Kim Do-bin and Lim Sung-joon (Deoksujung 1) and a complete game shutout by Choi Tae-hyuk (Daechi Jung 1) and Kim Do-bin.
Their opponent in the final was the Gyeonggi Ilsan Giants Youth Baseball Team, who were making their second final appearance of the year and 카지노 looking for their first championship. In the quarterfinals, the Giants defeated the traditional powerhouse Chungnam Asan Youth Baseball Team (managed by Hwang Min-ho) with a 7-6 victory thanks to two home runs from Kim Ji-io (Yang Cheon-joong 1).
The final was a pitcher’s duel, with Seoul’s Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team taking the lead in the bottom of the second inning with a six-run big inning that featured RBI singles by Hong Seok-young (Geumbukcho 6) and Jung Jung Sung-joon (Hangdangcho 5), a two-run double to left by Choi Tae-hyuk (Daechi Jung 1), and a game-winning two-run home run by Kim Do-bin.
In the top of the third inning, Gyeonggi Ilsan Giants scored three runs on four consecutive hits by Park Gun-yul (Hong Eun-joong 1), Kim Sung-yoon (Ji-chuk 1), Kim Min-joon (Wondang 1), and Kim Dong-eun (Seo Jung-scho 6) to cut the deficit to 6-3. In the bottom of the third inning, Seoul Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball scored four more runs on four hits by Hong Seok-young, Kwon Do-il (Youngdong Jung 1), Lim Sung-joon, and Choi Tae-hyuk to extend the lead to 10-3.
The two teams traded runs until the fifth inning, when the score was 12-7. In the top of the sixth inning, the Ilsan Giants scored three runs on four hits by Kim Min-joon, Lim Ji-chan (Wondang Jung 1), Lee Sung-jae (Bulgwang Cho 6), and Kim Ji-jio in their final at-bat to cut the deficit to 12-10, but they were unable to overcome the two-run deficit. After protecting the lead, Seoul Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball finally won the tournament for the second time in a row.
Kim Dobin (Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Club, Seoul, Korea) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading his team to the title with a stellar performance at the plate, going 6-for-6 (.667) with four home runs and seven RBIs, including 파워볼사이트 four home runs in three games, while Kim Jio (Ilsan Giants Youth Baseball Club, Gyeonggi, Korea) and Choi Tae-hyuk (Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Club, Seoul, Korea) earned Honorable Mention honors.
Kim Dobin, who was honored as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), said, “I’m so happy that I was able to contribute to the Youth Cheongnyong winning back-to-back titles. All the players played hard and with one mind, and I think it paid off. I feel like I won the Most Valuable Player award on behalf of my teammates, so I feel grateful and sorry at the same time.”
“First of all, I give glory to God for helping me win the championship. I’m also grateful to coach Kim Hyun-woo, my coaches, and my parents for always supporting me. I am also grateful to coach Park Chul-hong and principal Lee Itaek for their generous support and teaching, as well as for their consideration for my participation in the tournament,” said Lee. “My role model is Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles). I’m a left-hander and I have a similar body type to Ryu, so I’m nicknamed Ryu-dong. I want to be a great player like him,” he added.
Kim Hyun-woo of Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team in Seoul, who won the tournament’s Manager’s Award, said, “It is an honor to win two consecutive tournaments and become the first champion of the Hwaseong Mayor’s Cup. I thought of my parents, whom I love and respect, who made me the coach I am today. I hope that the children of our youth baseball team will always remember to be grateful to their parents and develop into good players in the future. Finally, I would like to thank the Mayor of Seongdong-gu, Jung Won-oh, for his active support for the Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team.”
Lee Sang-geun, president of the Korea Youth Baseball Federation, said, “In the history of youth baseball tournaments, this was the best tournament in terms of scale and support from Hwaseong City, and it was a baseball festival that not only players but also kindergarteners and parents participated in. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Hwaseong Mayor Jung Myung-geun for hosting the tournament, National Assemblyman Lee Joon-seok for attending the opening ceremony, Hwaseong Vice Mayor Son Im-seong, Hwaseong City Council Speaker Kim Kyung-hee, Hwaseong Sports Chairman Park Jong-sun, and Hwaseong City Corporation President Kim Geun-young.”