Ryu Ji-hyun, who has completed his Okinawa schedule, will head to Osaka on the 28th.The South Korean..

Ryu Ji-hyun, who has completed his Okinawa schedule, will head to Osaka on the 28th.

The South Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun, was scheduled to play a practice game against manager Lee Kang-chul’s KT Wiz at Kadena Baseball Stadium in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 27th. However, it was canceled due to rain and ground conditions.

With this, the national team finished the Okinawa practice game with 4 wins and 1 loss. The national team, which lost 3-4 to the Samsung Lions on the 20th, defeated the Hanwha Eagles 5-2 and 7-4 on the 21st and 23rd, respectively. On the 24th and 26th, they defeated the KIA Tigers and Samsung 6-3, 16-6.

사진 확대 The Korean national baseball team has completed its Okinawa schedule. Photo = Yonhap News 사진 확대 Ryu Ji-hyun, who leads the Korean national baseball team. Photo = Reporter Kim Young-gu

These events are to prepare for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which will take place in March. The national team, which has completed its Okinawa schedule, will head to Osaka on the 28th. It will then hold an official warm-up match organized by the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) Hanshin Tigers, Orix Buffaloes and the WBC Secretariat at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on March 2 and March 3.

Especially in Osaka, the national team is expected to be “complete.” This is why six overseas players, including captain Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers), Ko Woo-seok (Detroit Tigers), Germay Jones (Detroit), Shay Witcom (Houston Astros), and Dane Dunning (Seattle Mariners), will join the team. After that, the national team will hold its first training session at Tokyo Dome on March 4.

In the first round of the WBC, South Korea, which belongs to Group C, will play its first match against the Czech Republic on March 5 and then have a day off. It will then face Japan, Taiwan, and Australia on March 7-9. If you finish in the top two, you can play in the second round.

South Korea, which advanced to the semifinals of the first tournament in 2006 and finished second in the 2009 tournament, was humiliated by being eliminated in the first round in 2013, 2017, and 2023, seeks to regain its status as a “baseball powerhouse” through this tournament.

사진 확대 South Korean national baseball team to play in 2026 WBC. Photo = Reporter Lee Han-joo

[Lee Hanjoo, MK Sports Reporter]