South Korea's national baseball team defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 in an exhibition game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on November 8. Starter Gwak Been pitched two shutout innings, while the bullpen held opponents scoreless over seven frames. The match serves as preparation for next year's World Baseball Classic.
South Korea opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Kim Ju-won walked to lead off and scored on Song Sung-mun's single to right field. In the second, Han Dong-hee doubled, advanced on Park Hae-min's sacrifice bunt, and crossed home on Choi Jae-hoon's fly ball to shallow center for a 2-0 lead. The third run came in the eighth on Kim Young-woong's two-out single, pinch-runner Shin Min-jae's advance, and Lee Jae-won's double.
Starter Gwak Been delivered two hitless innings with four strikeouts, touching 156 kph on his four-seam fastball and averaging 153 kph, up from his seasonal 151.4 kph. He shook off a tough outing against the Czechs in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he allowed two earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. "I wasn't as good of a pitcher as I am today," Gwak said. "I pitched well until late hits in that game."
The bullpen shone with Kim Keon-woo, Choi Jun-yong, Lee Ho-sung, Lee Ro-un, Kim Taek-yeon, and Jo Byeong-hyeon combining for seven scoreless innings and 13 strikeouts. All born after 2000, they showed international promise; Kim Taek-yeon earned Player of the Game with a perfect eighth, hitting 152 kph. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun praised the young relievers' competitiveness but noted the lineup's lack of energy. "It's been over a month since their last competitive game, and they tried too hard in front of fans," Ryu said.
Czech manager Pavel Chadim credited South Korea's pitching and early productive hitting. Before a sellout crowd of 16,100 at Gocheok Sky Dome, the game was part of the KBO's K-Baseball Series. The teams rematch Sunday, followed by two games against Japan in Tokyo next weekend.
