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| Whitcomb / Photo: Getty Images |
Korean-American slugger Shea Whitcomb goes yard twice in impressive display.
Team Korea faced off against the Czech Republic in their Pool C opener of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome on March 5th.
The Korean squad wasted no time, as Moon Bo-kyung cleared the bases with a grand slam to right-center in the bottom of the first, giving them an early lead.
They added to their tally in the second when Park Dong-won doubled and Kim Joo-won singled to set up a scoring opportunity. Jones then grounded out to short, driving in another run.
The offensive onslaught continued in the third. With one out and the bases empty, Whitcomb crushed the Czech reliever Barto’s fifth pitch for a solo shot over the left field wall, extending Korea’s lead to 6-0.
The Czechs showed some fight in the fifth. With one out and runners on first and second, Babra took Jung Woo-ju deep for a three-run homer to right, cutting into the deficit.
Whitcomb, however, had an immediate answer. In the bottom half, after Moon was hit by a pitch with one out, Whitcomb turned on Kovala’s second-pitch slider and sent it soaring over the left field fence for a two-run blast.
Korea threatened again when Kim Hye-seong worked a full-count walk and advanced to second on a balk, but they couldn’t push across any more runs.
At the end of five innings, Korea held a commanding 8-3 lead.
[By Shin Seo-young, Sports Today, sports@stoo.com]
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