"I think we must win unconditionally."

The South Korean baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Jung-il, will face Japan in the final of the Kanext Asia Professional Baseball Championship 2023 (APBC) at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on April 19.

South Korea pounded out eight hits in game one against Australia, but failed to capitalize. In the second game against Japan, the offense struggled to hit starter Chihiro Sumida (Seibu Lions) and managed only five hits until the ninth inning.

However, the bats came alive in the final game against Chinese Taipei on the 18th. They pounded out 10 hits and scored runs. The result was a 6-1 victory. South Korea swept Chinese Taipei to finish second in the group.

The Korean bats came alive thanks to the efforts of QC coach Lee Jin-young. Lee threw batting practice balls to the batters in the last two games against Japan and Chinese Taipei. Both Japan's starter Sumida and Taiwan's starter Wang Yen-chung (Rakuten Golden Eagles) were left-handed pitchers. 카지노사이트

After the game against Chinese Taipei, Coach Lee Jin-young met with the media in the mix zone (joint press area) and said, "I threw to help the hitters. Anyway, the hitters hit well today, so I think it paid off."

South Korea will have their hands full in the group stage. Japan's starting pitcher is Tatsuya Imai (Seibu). Tatsuya has started 19 games this season, posting a 10-5 record with 130 strikeouts and a 2.30 ERA, earning double-digit wins for the first time in his career.

Coach Lee Jin-young said of Imai, "We have an ace pitcher from Japan. He has a good ball. His fastball is over 150km/h. He also has a good changeup." "I think the hitters have improved their form until today. It's the last game, so we have to give it our all."

The Japanese media was also very interested in the fact that Lee Jin-young wore the Korean flag as a coach. Jin-young's nickname as a player was "the national right fielder. He was nicknamed "National Right Fielder" because of his success in international competition against Japan.

In the final game of the first round of the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) against Japan, Lee saved the day with two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth inning. He made a diving catch of Tsuyoshi Nishioka's fly ball to preserve the final out.

Lee's defense continued to play well against Japan in the second round. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tomoya Satozaki hit a single, but Lee caught the ball and threw it home to score Akinori Iwamura, who was on second base.

Coach Lee Jin-young said, "I have a lot of national team experience, but in a national team game, it's all about the result. This tournament is also a game to see the future of Korea's young players, but I think we have to win. Only by winning can they grow and feel something." South Korea has a poor recent record against Japan in international competition. Their last win against Japan was in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 semifinals. Since then, they have lost seven straight games.

"It's not so much that it's a Korea-Japan game, but that our fans have been disappointed with our recent losses to Japan," said Lee Jin-young. "I hope we can win tomorrow's game and pave the way for Korean baseball to develop."