Kim Seo-hyun (Hanwha Eagles) of the "2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12" national team took the mound as relief pitcher in the match against Australia, the last showdown in Group B, which took place at Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan on Wednesday. He pitched one inning without allowing a hit, one strikeout, and one walk, contributing to his team's 5-2 victory.스포츠토토

Kim Seo-hyun took the mound at the beginning of the eighth inning with the national team leading 5-2. Australia's starting lineup started with No. 3 hitter Tim Kennelly. Kim had a rough start by allowing leadoff hitter Cannelly to walk, but managed to overwhelm the opponent's batters with strong ball power. He caught Rickson Wingrove with a fly ball to the center field and blocked Darryl George with swing strikeouts. Then, he stopped Alex Hall with a ground ball to the second base to end the inning.

Kim Seo-hyun pitched in four games and allowed no runs in four innings to end the tournament with zero ERA. He pitched in the most games among pitchers in the national team, and only seven pitchers including Kim Seo-hyun were included in the entire tournament. Kim Seo-hyun gained many chances to play but was still hungry. 

"I was surprised that (Kim) Seo-hyun did not give a point," Choi Il-eon, the pitching coach, said of Kim Seo-hyun after the game. He was the most outstanding pitcher of the season. He said, "I want to throw the ball (in the game). I didn't want to use it again today, but I threw it in the eighth inning because I could see him wanting to throw it. I like that attitude. You will get better if you train with such positive mindset and get good treatment. Currently, Korea does not have a starting pitcher. Many people use fastball promising players as mid-term pitching because they want to use them quickly. I hope such pitchers will improve their skills to become starting pitchers."

"My ERA is zero, which is comforting," Kim Seo-hyun said of his pitching in this year's event. "I was a little nervous in the first game (VS against Taiwan on the 13th), but I felt very comfortable doing it. It was my first international competition as an adult, and it was more comfortable than throwing it in Korea."

"I think (the good results of this tournament) will come out next season. I caught almost everything. There was no big loss of control. I had a little walk, but I didn't get out of it badly. I didn't want to get caught again, but I think 153 kilometers per hour came out well in November," he added.

Kim Seo-hyun, who was hungry to take the mound, expressed his strong determination for the 2025 season based on this tournament. If he continues his outstanding pitching like now, Kim Seo-hyun may be able to have the outstanding season he wanted next season.

Kim Seo-hyun said, "If I am going to stay in the first team for the next season, I think I will have to plan how I will spend the next year. I have never experienced full-time in the first team. I think I will have to make a lot of plans including how I will supplement my physical strength for the next season as I am physically depleted in the first team."

In the meantime, all schedules for this year's Asian Games have ended with the match against Australia. Team Korea will return to Korea at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday.