NC defeated Doosan 14-9 in the wild-card deciding game of the 2023 KBO League at Changwon NC Park on April 19. NC, which lost out on third place to SSG Landers on the final day of the regular season, will have two days off before taking on SSG in the semifinals starting on the 22nd.
Seo Ho-cheol led the way for NC with a three-hit, six-RBI blast, including the first-ever grand slam in a wild-card game. The six RBIs are the most in a single game for a wild card since the program was introduced in 2015. National team catcher Kim Hyung-jun also had a multi-hit game with four RBIs. NC starter Tanner Tully struggled with five runs on seven hits in five innings, but the bullpen of Kim Young-gyu, Lim Jung-ho and Lee Yong-chan closed out the game.
Doosan's ace, Kwak Bin, was knocked out after three and two-thirds innings of two home runs and five earned runs. Hong Gun-hee, who pitched the eighth inning, gave up six runs. The offense was led by Jose Rojas, who hit his first home run of the postseason, and Kim In-tae, who had a three-hit game, but the NC firepower was too much for them, ending their fall baseball campaign with just one game.
It was Doosan's turn to take control of the game. In the first inning, Kim Jae-ho led off with an infield single and moved to third on Rojas' long ball, then scored on Yang Ji Hyun's grounder. In the next inning, Rojas hit a solo home run to make it 3-0 after an eight-pitch battle with Tully.
Seo Ho-cheol came to the rescue for NC. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, he took a Kwak-Bin fastball and blasted it over 카지노사이트 the left field wall. After Kim Hyung-jun made it 5-3 with a back-to-back home run, Do Tae-hoon drew a walk to plate Kwak Bin.
NC's bats then exploded. After scoring a run on a wild pitch in the fifth, Seo Ho-cheol's RBI double in the seventh made it 8-5, and Kim Hyung-joon hit a three-run homer in the eighth for a six-run big inning. Lee Yong-chan closed out the game to preserve the margin.