The strongest Monsters lost to Sungkyunkwan University by 1 point and was in danger of being released.
In the 46th episode of JTBC's 'Strongest Baseball', which aired on the 26th, an intuitive match was held between the strongest monsters and Sungkyunkwan University following last week.
The strongest Monsters started with great momentum, posting the first score in the presence of 16,000 spectators. Starter Jung Hyeon-soo performed well by striking out as many as 5 times until the 2nd inning. However, after two consecutive dead balls in the third inning, Won Seong-joon, who was playing for Sungkyunkwan University, was allowed to turn around and came down the mound after giving a total of 4 points.
Lee Dae-eun, who took the mound, played an ace-like performance, and the strongest Monsters caught up with captain Park Yong-taek's team batting and saved the fire of the pursuit. Sungkyunkwan University also prevented the strongest Monsters from scoring with starting pitcher Lee Yong-heon's sharp breaking ball and stable defense. Sungkyunkwan University's defenders' unimaginable rain of rain broke the strongest monster's will to pursue.
With the strongest Monsters trailing by 2 points with a score of 4-2, the 5th cleaning time was held. The crowd sang in unison, waving cell phone flashlights to the tune of "Bravo My Life" resonating throughout the stadium. Caster Jeong Yong-gum expressed his wish, "I wish we could hold an intuition game every month", and commentator Kim Seon-woo expressed his belief, "Our general manager will do it. He will do more games even for the sake of the unified family." In return for that belief, general manager Siwon Jang delivered the news of the intuitive game on July 9th. The third intuition day of this season will be held as an independent league all-star game.
Lee Dae-eun kept the mound in the 6th inning. He put in an overwhelming number of strikes compared to balls. While Lee Dae-eun sealed the bats of Sungkyunkwan University hitters, the strongest monsters had a golden chance to secure second and third base at the end of the 8th inning due to Jung Keun-woo and Choi Soo-hyun's consecutive walks and Sungkyunkwan University's error in check. Park Yong-taek scored an RBI and a timely hit in front of the table set precisely in front of him, and the strongest Monsters started chasing.
Lee Dae-ho, who had proven his worth in all of the intuition games, appeared and the stadium was filled with cheers from the crowd calling his name. He scored a sacrifice hit that flew deep into the outfield and returned the game to a 4-4 scoreline. The joys and sorrows of the two teams were divided in the ninth inning. Lee Dae-eun played the role of an ace perfectly by holding a scoreless streak from 2 outs in the 3rd inning to the 8th inning.
Lee Dae-eun lost her strength in the ninth inning and struggled to find the ball, and faced the biggest crisis in this game with a triple with two outs. In response, Joo-Won Oh took the mound for relief, and Manager Yeon-Soo Lee provided a pinch hit, resulting in a fierce battle of numbers between the two managers. As a result, Sungkyunkwan University succeeded in reversing by adding one point.
At the end of the ninth inning, an all-out battle of the strongest monsters unfolded for a comeback. Hwang Young-mook survived due to an opponent's defensive mistake, and Kim Moon-ho perfectly executed manager Kim Seong-geun's strategy, creating chances for first and second base safely. In the come-from-behind chance, Jung Geun-woo tried to bunt, but failed twice in a row, and the worst situation occurred with a double hit. Choi Su-hyeon fought persistently with only one out count left, but in the end, he failed to score an extra point and finished the game 4-5.
Jeong Geun-woo, who blew the last big chance, suffered in the corner of the dugout, and Jung Hyeon-soo blamed himself for giving up a lot of runs in the third inning. Lee Dae-ho also reflected on the chance he blew away early in the game. Due to the defeat in this game, the strongest Monsters had to feel the risk of being released with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses and an odds ratio of 6.6 and 7. The strongest monsters were driven to the edge of a cliff and even had the burden of winning the next match. Since then, the news of injuries to Lee Taek-geun and Hwang Young-mook has been delivered, and the greatest crisis has come to the strongest Monsters ahead of the match against Gyeongbuk High School.
The 46th episode of 'The Strongest Baseball' recorded an audience rating of 3.6% (provided by Nielsen Korea, based on paid households in the metropolitan area). The 2049 audience rating was also 1.7%, proving its topicality by receiving high attention regardless of generation.
Reporter Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia kkk39@tenasia.co.kr