She wasn’t overjoyed to end an eight-game losing streak. Kim Hye-sung (Kiwoom) was worried about the injury absence of Lee Jeong-hoo, the centerpiece of the team.
Kiwoom snapped a long eight-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 22. It was a breath of fresh air for the mid-table club.
They took advantage of Lotte starter Park Se-woong’s struggles in the first inning, scoring four runs to take control of the game. They allowed Lotte to load the bases in almost every inning after that, but managed to keep them off the board. After overcoming a one-out crisis in the bottom of the sixth inning, they added a run in the top of the seventh on a triple by leadoff hitter Kim Hye-sung and an RBI single by Lee Jung-hoo. There were no crises after that, but it was a wedge point in the game.
Kim Hye-sung, who started at second base, drew a walk in the first inning and hit the game-winning triple in the seventh. After the game, Kim Hye-sung said, “If we lose today, we will tie the record of nine consecutive losses, and I didn’t want to do it at all. All of the players had that mindset, and that’s why we were able to win.” “I didn’t aim for the seventh inning, I just wanted to get on base. I’ve had a lot of bad at-bats lately where I haven’t come through, so I felt like if I got on base, I was going to score. I think my desire to get on base unconditionally led to a good result,” she laughed.
But Kim’s smile faded when she was asked about injuries to key players on the team. Her face turned grim. Lee Jung-hoo, who had a perfect day at the plate with three hits and a walk, was pulled from 토토 the game in the eighth inning. He felt pain in his left ankle and limped, and had to be helped back to the dugout by a trainer. The team said he is icing it and will have a medical examination after monitoring his condition.
However, Kim Hye-sung, who watched Jung-hoo’s condition from the sidelines, was worried. “I don’t know until I go to the hospital, but I don’t think it’s a light injury. “I’ll have to go to the hospital to find out, but it doesn’t look like it’s a light injury.” He prayed for her safety, saying, “I hope it’s not a serious injury, because she’s our captain and our core.
The eight-game losing streak has dropped them to ninth place, but they are not far from the mid-table. With their eighth consecutive win, Kiwoom moved back up to eighth place, knocking Hanwha off the top spot. They are also only 3.5 games behind fifth-place Lotte. Kim Hye-sung said, “We can move up to fourth or fifth at any time. The gap is small, so we won’t lose hope and will work hard one game at a time.”