Dongsung High Reaches Baseball Semis

In the book “Art of War” written by Sun Tzu, a famous verse says, “Know your enemy and know yourself and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.”

This must be an idiom that might have strongly encouraged Gwangju Dongsung High School’s baseball team as they heard the news that they would meet Jeju Tourism Industry (JTI) High School in the quarterfinals. Dongsung High School had trained with JTI High School last winter in Jeju for 10 days, having a chance to learn their partner’s strengths and weaknesses thoroughly. Although JTI High had the same chance as well, Dongsung High’s competence in pitching and teamwork was a cut above JTI.

Yesterday, in a quarterfinal match of the 60th Golden Lion National High School Baseball Tournament, held at the Dongdaemun baseball stadium as it was raining on and off, Gwangju Dongsung High School beat JTI High School by a score of three to one.

Eager to embrace the championship flag again after 29 years, Dongsung High School will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Gaesung High School and Yushin High School on July 6 at 3:00 p.m. to fight for a ticket to the final.

Allowing only one run in each of the three games they had in the tournament, Dongsung High School is gaining its reputation for “stingy baseball” which definitely seems to be the strength that hauled them up to the semifinals.

Yun Yeo-guk, coach of Dongsung High School said, “Although we didn’t bat well enough today, we won thanks to our pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong. I hope we can achieve our goal to win the tournament.”

As Yun said, Dongsung High’s batting line-up was kept almost silent while JTI High’s starter Kim Seong-hyeon, who also knew his enemies well, was on the mound. Only the ninth batter, Lim Se-jun, who made two hits against Kim, had the skill to attack. It was Dongsung High’s left-handed starter Yang Hyeon-jong, however, who snatched the victory for his team.

Yang, who is very likely to be taken by the Kia Tigers in the first round of the second KBO draft scheduled on the 16th next month, tossed the second complete-game victory in the tournament, striking out 15 batters and giving up only a single run which was unearned.

Established in 2000, JTI High School’s baseball team had to console themselves that they made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in a national tournament as they experienced a bitter loss caused by a series of errors committed at critical moments in the game.

Dongsung High School made their first run in the bottom of the third inning after Lim Se-jun made a three-base hit in the right field with one out in the inning. Then, Lim Ik-jun and Yun Hyo-seop walked to the bases with base-on-balls, filling the rest of the bases. Although the next batter No Jin-hyeok hit a groundball heading directly to the shortstop, JTI High’s second baseman, in an desperate attempt to seal a double play, made a wild throw to the first, allowing two runners step on the home plate.

Dongsung High lost a run in the top of the fourth inning, similarly due to a wild throw from the catcher as he was trying to throw out Kim Heon-gon who tried to steal the third base after making a two-base hit. However, they sealed their victory in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out and the first and second base loaded, Lim Se-jun made an attempt to steal the third base and then, dashed towards the home plate as the baseman made an error.

Jong-Seok Kim Sung-Kyu Kim kjs0123@donga.com kimsk@donga.com