[Baseball] Korea Routs Australia in Olympic Qualifier

The national baseball team yesterday destroyed Australia, 16-2, in the second round of Olympic baseball regional qualifiers in Taiwan.

Korea led 7-1 in the bottom of the third inning with runners on first and second when the team’s leading slugger Lee Seung-yeop went up to the plate. Australian pitcher Chris Mowday took a deep breath before throwing his first ball outside the strike zone.

After changing signs with the catcher, Mowday hurled an inside fastball, which Lee blasted over the right fence. His three-run homer made a huge trajectory through the night sky to the upper stand.

Lee scored four runs and had three hits in the game, which was called after seven innings due to the mercy rule.

He told the reporters after the game, “I worked a lot during my pro team’s spring training. That’s why I did well today.”

Korea joined Taiwan and Canada at the top of the standings with two consecutive wins.

The game was a textbook example of aggressive baseball. In the bottom of the first when Australia was leading 1-0, Korea loaded the bases on two walks and one hit and then took the lead, 4-1, after two consecutive hits.

In the second, Korea added two more runs on Lee’s double and two walks. In the bottom of the third, Lee’s three-run homer and two hits added four more scores.

In the bottom of the fourth, more than nine Korean batters combined for six runs as the game turned into a rout.

Korean pitcher Ryu Hyeon-jin gave up two earned runs and seven hits over four and 1/3 innings.

beetlez@donga.com