Doyeong Kim propels Korea over Australia, to Group B third place

World No. 6 Korea defeated No. 15 Australia, 5-2, to finish third in the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS Group B.

Aussie starter Tim Atherton navigated through two scoreless innings, escaping a bases-loaded and one-out jam in the bottom of the second.

Korea took the lead against reliever Steve Kent in the bottom of the third. Changki Hong led off with a single. Minjae Shin bunted him to second, and Doyeong Kim brought Hong home with a single up the middle.

Korean starter Youngpyo Ko worked three scoreless innings. Manager Joong Il Ryu replaced him with two outs in the top of the fourth after he allowed Australia's first hit to Tim Kennelly. Right-hander Yeongchan Youg got the third out of the at-bat on a pop to second base.

Josh Guyer took the mound for Australia in the bottom of the fourth but couldn't get through the inning. He allowed a leadoff walk, then Hong reached on a swinging bunt, and a run scored on a fielding error. Doyeong Kim followed with his second RBI single of the day, and Australia turned to Warwick Saupold, who ended the inning on a fly to centre.

Yeongchan You allowed back-to-back walks to lead off the fifth. Australia loaded the bases on Liam Spence's single, and Korea called Seungyong Choi from the bullpen. The left-hander got the first out on strikers, the second on a force play at home, then walked in the first Aussie run. Korea made another pitching change, handing the ball to Youngha Lee. The right-hander struck out Aaron Whitefield to escape the jam.

Australia cut the gap to 3-2 in the top of the sixth. Rixon Wingrove reached on a one-out double and advanced to third when Darryl George followed with a single. It was it for Lee and Korea called Taekyeon Kim from the bullpen. The Doosan Bears closer got the second out on a flyball but allowed a two-out RBI single to second baseman Liam Spence.

Doyeong Kim put himself between Australia and a comeback opportunity. Minjae Jin reached on a two-out infield single in the bottom of the sixth. Aussie manager Dave Nilsson replaced Saupold with Coen Wynne to face Kim. The superstar wasted no time and drove the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for a two-run home run.

Korea used three different pitchers to get the final nine outs. Hyeongjun So pitched the seventh, Seohyeon Kim worked the eighth, and Yeonghyun Park took care of the ninth.