The Lotte Giants broke the cycle of losing a losing streak that they were fed up with.
Lotte won a 6-5, 1-point victory in an exhibition 온라인바카라game against NC Dinos held at Changwon NC Park on the 24th. It is a victory tasted in 7 games and 10 days since the Doosan Bears match on the 14th.
The atmosphere of the Lotte team before the game was gloomy. It was too short a time for Seo Jun-won, a key prospect, to escape from the shock released by the criminal act revealed the day before.
Director Larry Sutton couldn’t hide his emotional feelings, saying, “As a director, I apologize to the many people who love the KBO, the people involved, and the fans.” When asked about Seo Jun-won, he said, “Very… disappointing. He is a player who invested a lot of passion and time not only in me but also in the coaches,” he even stuttered for a while.
However, hardships sometimes become the strength that brings a team together. On this day, Lotte gave the first point in the early stages, but reversed the game. An unexpected mistake allowed the score to be tied again, but it was won by winning the finish.
Many of the 1073 fans who visited the site were Lotte fans. They cheered Lotte with their voices by singing a cheering song, while shouting ‘ma!’ without fail when the NC pitcher was in check.
The start was not good. Lotte starter Barnes’ sluggishness in the exhibition game continued on this day.
After one out in the bottom of the first inning, Seo Ho-cheol and Park Gun-woo’s consecutive hits broke out. In the 2nd 1st and 3rd bases that followed, Son A-seop and Park Seok-min were allowed timely hits one after another, giving them a 0-3 lead.
The Lotte lineup, which was struggling with NC starter Shin Min-hyuk, opened the door to the attack in the top of the 3rd inning. After leading hitter Yoo Kang-nam hit in front of the right fielder, he stepped on second base when NC right fielder Park Kun-woo made a mistake.
When Hwang Seong-bin’s bunt fly followed, Yoo Kang-nam doubled out and seemed to miss the opportunity. However, what changed the atmosphere was Jack Rex, who had been sluggish with a batting average of 10.5 li (2 hits in 19 at-bats) in exhibition games before the match. Rex hit a 3-run home run over the right fence from 2nd 1st and 2nd base, which was created by Ahn Kwon-su’s walk and An Chi-hong’s hit. It was a cool room to quench Lotte’s thirst.
NC used Shin Min-hyuk and Song Myung-ki for four innings each to manage the condition of the starting pitchers that day. In the top of the 5th inning, Lotte took the lead with Ahn Kwon-soo’s hit against NC second pitcher Song Myung-ki, followed by Ahn Chi-hong’s two-run homer.
The road to victory was not smooth. Barnes was replaced after allowing NC Park Kun-woo a solo shot at the end of the 5th inning. The next pitcher, Choi Yeong-hwan, induced NC Seo Ho-cheol’s ground ball at the bottom of the 6th inning with 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base, but NC Oh Tae-yang was saved from Yoo Gang-nam’s tag at home, so the tie was allowed.
However, Lotte changed the atmosphere by overcoming the crisis with the bases loaded with two companies without conceding. In the top of the 7th inning, Shin Yun-hu, who replaced Yoo Gang-nam, who had gone to the sand dune, stole second base, and Ahn Kwon-soo hit the winning run after two outs to take the lead again.
From the bottom of the 7th inning, the Pilseung group was activated. Kim Do-kyu struck out Park Seok-min, Kim Seong-wook, and Ahn Joong-yeol to raise his momentum. Koo Seung-min also passed the 8th inning cleanly with two fly balls and Seo Ho-cheol’s strikeout.
Kim Sang-soo, who climbed the mound in the ninth inning, also finished the game without conceding, giving the team a victory in 10 days. Lotte Ahn Kwon-soo added 2 hits and 1 walk in 3 at-bats, continuing his batting average of 6.55.