Neck-and-Neck Competition Is Expected in Golden Lion League

At the opening ceremony which begins 1:00 p.m., Cheonan Bukil High School, last year`s title winner, will return the flag of the Golden Lion League and then Jee Jun-hee, the captain of the team, will take oath of fair play during the tournament. Following the opening ceremony, the superintendents of Sungnam High and Guri Inchang High will carry out a demonstration pitch and hit respectively.

Unlike last year`s tournament, nobody knows who will be a winner because of neck- and-neck competition among the participants. This year` s high school baseball games showed there is no absolute powerful team because Daegu high, Gyeongju High, Kwangju Dongsung high, Suncheon Hyocheon high performed very well in previous series of high school champion`s leagues.

The strongest candidates for the tournament are Kwangju Dongsung High, the winner of the Dragon League, Kyungju high with excellent left-handed pitcher Choi Chang-suk, and Cheonan Bukil High School, last year`s title winner. On top of those powerful teams, Shinil High School which has won the title seven times and Hwimoon high can be another strong candidates for the title given that over the past 10 years, high school teams in Seoul have performed very well by beating powerful teams from local areas.

Group of death is B where powerful high school teams have to take on each other. Included are Busan, Gyeongju, Seongnam, Inchang, and Sunrin Internet High School. Especially, a match between Gyeongju and Busan, the two powerful high school teams, is drawing much attention because they have to beat the other to move up to the second round.

This year`s Monsoon Season, which is forecast to start from June 23, corresponds with the tournament period (from June 26 to July 4). Therefore, participants should prepare themselves for facing a called game because of heavy rain or possible delay of scheduled games. In the event of heavy rain, the chief umpire can declare a called game after the 5th inning if he concluded it is impossible to continue the game after waiting for rain stop for 30 minutes. In the case of a called game before the fifth inning, the game will be held on another day. However, the organizing committee of the Golden Lion League said the Dongdaemoon Stadium where the tournament is held is well drained so scheduled games will be held as many as possible.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com