American slugger Hilliard delivers key plays with bat, glove in 1st KBO postseason game

SUWON, South Korea, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- KT Wiz cleanup Sam Hilliard was named the Player of the Game in his team's victory in the opening contest of the Korean Series on Tuesday, after delivering three hits and two RBIs.

Just a few months ago, it did not seem possible Hilliard would still be playing in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this late in the year.

The former big leaguer struggled to find his footing early in his first season in South Korea. He batted just .224 in April, the first full month of the season, and his average for the year sat at .232 with five home runs in 28 games.

The Wiz, though, would stick with Hilliard, and the outfielder responded by going on a heater for the rest of the campaign. He batted .365 with nine homers and 26 RBIs in July, earning the Player of the Month honor, and then was voted the top player for the September-October period by leading the KBO with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Hilliard has picked up right where he left off in the Korean Series with his superb performance Tuesday.

And every run counted for the Wiz, as they nearly blew an eight-run lead and hung on to win 8-7.

"Obviously a big win. Turned out to be a crazy game," Hilliard said. "We knew it wasn't going to be that easy. It's a really good team over there. So it's great to get a win in the first game and have a little bit of momentum going into tomorrow."

Hilliard struggled against pitches at the top of the zone earlier in the year but he said he feels more comfortable with those pitches. He had two of his three hits off pitches in that area.

"It's always kind of a tough zone for me to hit but my swing feels great right now and I feel comfortable at the top of the zone," he said. "Just always being ready for that pitch, especially with two strikes."

Hilliard also turned in a defensive gem in center field, robbing Park Seung-kyu of a double by running down a flyball over his head after Kim Ji-chan had led off the game with a single in the first. Kim, a speedy runner, would have scored if the ball had dropped and the Lions would have grabbed the early momentum.

"It was a huge momentum shift. If that ball drops, the runner on first is definitely scoring with his speed," Hilliard said. "I'm glad I'm able to help my pitcher."

In another key play, Hilliard legged out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth inning. He was initially called out but a video review overturned it. It kept the inning going, and Kim Hyun-soo, the next batter, smacked a two-run homer that made it 8-0.

Those two runs ended up being the difference of the game.

"One of my strengths is my speed," he said. "In a big game like this, you've got to use that and you've got to run every ball out."

Hilliard, who did not have any postseason experience in the majors, said he is excited about a chance to win a championship in Korea.

"This is why you play," he said. "We always believe that we could do it and we're here now and we have a little momentum. So everyone's really excited and I know I'm very excited. It would be a great accomplishment for us to get this done."