After a 5 hours and 2 minutes long battle, a kt-SSG draw resulted in SSG dropping to 5th place.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO)’s KT Wiz and SSG Landers were unable to come away with a win after a five-hour, two-minute battle, the longest of the season.
The two teams played to an 8-8 tie in the Baseball World Series 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Monday.
SSG dropped to fifth place, losing the fourth spot to the KIA Tigers, who won both games of a doubleheader with the LG Twins on the day.
Second-place KT reduced its lead over first-place LG from 6.5 games to 5.5 games.
The two teams, who pounded out 13 (KT) and 10 (SSG) hits the day before, came out swinging.
It was KT who struck first. In the top of the first inning, Kim Min-hyuk singled and Kim Sang-soo walked to put runners on first and second with no outs, but Hwang Jae-gyun singled and Park Byung-ho scored on a single to left-center.
In the bottom of the second inning, the offense also pounded the opposing starter Oh Won-seok. Anthony Alford’s walk and Oh’s single loaded the bases, and Lee Ho-yeon’s infield single and SSG catcher Cho Hyung-woo’s foil brought in another run.
SSG fought back fiercely. Trailing 0-2 in the top of the third inning, they pounded out four hits and three wild pitches against KT starter Kim Min-soo to cut the deficit to 5-2.
KT fought back immediately. In the bottom of the inning, back-to-back singles by Hwang Jae-gyun and Park Byung-ho scored a run, and with the bases loaded, a throwing error by the opposing shortstop, Park Sung-ho, and an RBI double by Alford down the left field line tied the game at 5-5.
With runners on second and third, Oh Yoon-seok walked to load the bases before pinch-hitter Moon Sang-chul hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-5.
KT added to its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Alford led off with a strikeout against reliever Lee Kun-wook and advanced to third on singles by Oh Yoon-seok and Shin Bon-ki.
Kim Min-hyuk then drew a walk and stole second to put runners on second and third, and the next batter, Kim Sang-soo, blasted a two-run double over the left field fence to make it 8-5.
SSG fought back. KT tied the game again in the seventh inning with a shaky mound. After the first inning, KT’s Son Dong-hyun gave up three consecutive hits to Choi Joo-hwan, Han Yusum, and Ha Jae-hoon to cut the deficit to 8-6.
With runners on first and third in the bottom of the inning, Park Young-hyun hit an RBI double over the left field fence to tie the game at 8-8.
Neither team scored until the ninth inning, sending the game into extra innings.
KT’s closer Kim Jae-yoon pitched three scoreless innings from the 9th to the 11th, while SSG’s veteran Noh Kyung-eun pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings from the bottom of the 8th.
The two teams were unable to settle the score in the end. SSG was unable to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the 12th, and KT was unable to score on a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the 12th.
Both teams 먹튀검증 used a total of 12 pitchers on the day, six each.