Kia Tigers’ new No. 4 hitter Na Sung-beom swung for the fences and led a late comeback. He went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI in the Tigers’ 9-8 victory over the Samsung Lions in the 2024 Baseball World Series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Monday. The team snapped a two-game losing streak.
In the previous three-game series against KT, he was just 1-for-11. Notably, they didn’t score a single run until the 12th inning of the previous day’s extra innings. He had one hit, but was unable to capitalize on his chances as a No. 4 hitter. This day was different. He led off the second inning with a single to right-center and scored two batters later on Byun Woo-hyuk’s two-run homer to left. In the third inning, he grounded out to shortstop, but in the bottom of the sixth inning, trailing 5-2, he singled to center field with no outs. He came home to score three runs.
The ninth inning was his big at-bat. With the score 7-8, Kim Sun-bin doubled to left-center and Kim Do-young singled to shortstop to put runners on first and second with no outs. Kim then took a pitch off of Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan and hit a line drive that landed in front of the center fielder for the tying run. Kia then put runners on first and third with one out, but Seo Geon-chang hit the game-winning single.
After the game,
Na Sung-beom said, “Yesterday, we went to extra innings, but it was hard for the players. We felt that if we lost today, it could lead to a losing streak. 파워볼게임 The players had a different mindset. They prepared equally well rather than thinking that they had to win. We talked to each other and said, ‘Let’s just do what we’re doing and do it well,’ so we played really well,” he said, explaining the key to the victory.
On the tying run in the ninth inning, he said, “We had runners on first and second with no outs. I tried to hit a grounder, thinking that I could at least get them to second or third. If I get a good pitch, it could be a hit. I went in with a relaxed mindset. If I’m nervous, my swing doesn’t come out. Today it worked out the way I thought it would,” he explained calmly.
“I don’t feel the pressure of batting fourth, I just want to do my job in any order. Do-young is hitting well in front of me and Socrates is behind me. I’m trying to bat comfortably with the idea of batting fourth. I’m trying to forget the bad memories and moments from the beginning of the season. I’m going to keep thinking about the good memories from last year. If I can continue to contribute to the team the rest of the season like I did today, the fans will be happy,” he said.