Yulye Lee sets tone, solid pitching propels Korea win against Australia

In a game dominated by pitchers, catcher Yulye Lee broke the scoreless tie to set the tone in Korea's 3-0 win over Australia on Monday to currently place third in Group A of the XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.

Korea’s scoring chance came in the bottom of the fourth. After Hyunmin Cho was intentionally walked, the bases were loaded for Korea, while Australia turned to their second reliever of the game, Adam Bates.

Yulye Lee hit a three-RBI double liner down right field, giving Korea all the runs they needed in the game. Australia’s infielders then turned a smooth 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, preventing Korea from extending the lead.

Korea’s solid fielding and pitching eventually secured the win for the team at 3-0.

Starter Sunyeop Yook pitched 6.1 innings, using 104 pitches. He struck out eight, allowing five hits and two walks. Reliever Taekyeon Kim pitched 0.2 innings and finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

No. 4 Korea (2-1) still has a chance to enter the Super Round from Group A. They will face No. 3 Mexico on Tuesday, while No. 9 Australia (1-3) will play No. 15 Czechia at 14.30.