Tokyo (AFP) – South Korea squeezed into the World Baseball Classic quarter-finals by the finest of margins after a nerve-jangling 7-2 win over Australia on Monday to finish as Pool C runners-up. The South Koreans needed to win by five clear runs at the Tokyo Dome to advance ahead of Australia and Taiwan, and they were staring elimination in the face until they scored the crucial run in the ninth inning. The final out sparked wild celebrations among their players and fans as they advanced past the pool stage for the first time since 2009.
“We gave up a run in the eighth inning and we only had one inning left to score,” said South Korean manager Ryu Ji-hyun. “But every player left all their tension out on the field, everything from our history.” The result ended Australia’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals for the second successive tournament, having sensationally eliminated South Korea in 2023. Manager Dave Nilsson said Australia had “failed but at the same time we did a lot of good things.”
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“I think it just showed we can play on this stage but we’ve got more work to do,” he said. “We’ve got some more improvements to make in the big moments.” South Korea qualified for the knock-out round in the United States along with Japan, who clinched top spot in Pool C the previous day with their third win of the tournament. The South Koreans finished with the same win-loss record as Australia and Taiwan but went through with a better tiebreak record.
South Korea’s Moon Hyun-bin said the players “felt the pressure” throughout the game. “This is the World Baseball Classic, the highest level,” he said. “We have great hitters and pitchers but we had to score a lot of runs.” South Korea quickly built up a five-run lead, but Travis Bazzana put Australia in the driving seat when he drove in a run in the eighth inning.
The South Koreans had to come up with an immediate reply and they did when Australia’s Jarryd Dale made a throwing error that allowed Park Hae-min to reach third base. “Disappointed to see him make an error,” Nilsson said of Dale’s play. “He had been playing fantastic defence for us all tournament. He backed himself but he just didn’t have a grip of it.” Park went on to score, and South Korea came up with some huge defensive plays to shut out Australia in the bottom of the ninth inning and clinch qualification.
“What made it difficult was not just the offence but also stopping them from getting runs,” said manager Ryu. “I thought before the game that defence would be more important.”
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