How Hanwha Eagles Turned the Tide Against Samsung Lions in 2026 KBO Preseason Showdown

Kim Seo-hyun / Photo=DB

[Sports Today reporter Lee Sang-pil] The Hanwha Eagles picked up their first win of the exhibition slate.

Hanwha defeated the Samsung Lions 3-2 on March 13 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in a 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League exhibition game.

The Eagles avenged a loss from the previous day and split the two-game Daejeon set with Samsung, finishing 1-1.

Kang Baek-ho and Heo In-seo supplied the offense with solo home runs, and a steady outing from the rotation set the tone. Starter Hwang Jun-seo held the Lions to one run over three innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Park Jun-young, Kwon Min-gyu and Park Sang-won each threw a scoreless inning in relief, and Kim Seo-hyun came on in the ninth and threw one scoreless inning with two strikeouts to close out the win.

For Samsung, Lee Seong-gyu had a multi-hit game that included a homer, but his efforts weren’t enough. Starter Lee Seung-hyun worked four innings, surrendering two runs on four hits while recording four strikeouts.

Samsung struck first in the top of the first. After Kim Ji-chan’s double and Kim Sung-yun’s infield hit, Ryu Ji-hyuk’s grounder produced a one-out, runners-on-second-and-third look; Diaz’s ground ball scored the runner from third to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Hanwha answered in the bottom of the third when leadoff hitter Heo In-seo launched a solo shot to level the score at 1-1. In the fourth, with two outs and a runner at third following Chae Eun-seong’s single and a wild pitch, Ha Joo-seok’s infield hit produced a run and put Hanwha ahead 2-1.

Samsung tied it in the top of the fifth when Lee Seong-gyu belted a solo homer to make it 2-2.

The lead proved short-lived. In the bottom of the sixth, leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho battled Lee Seung-hyun to an eight-pitch at-bat before drilling a solo homer to push Hanwha back in front, 3-2.

Hanwha’s bullpen protected that edge the rest of the way, and the Eagles closed out a 3-2 victory.

[Sports Today reporter Lee Sang-pil sports@stoo.com]
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