(Asiad) S. Korea hammers Hong Kong for 2nd straight win in baseball
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea shut down Hong Kong 13-0 on Tuesday as its pitchers combined for a perfect game in a rout that ended after seven innings on a mercy rule.
Cho Hyeong-woo smoked a grand slam, and Roh Si-hwan launched a two-run home run in South Korea's second straight Group B win at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, some 85 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya.
Cho Hyeong-woo of South Korea hits a grand slam against Hong Kong during the teams' Group B game of the baseball tournament at the Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, Japan, on Sept. 22, 2026. (Yonhap)
Starter Choi Min-seok and five other pitchers combined for a perfect game and struck out 12 batters.
South Korea, made up of stars from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), is trying to win its fifth straight baseball gold medal. The quest began with a 5-0 win over Chinese Taipei on Monday, and South Korea will next face Thailand on Wednesday.
The top two teams from each of the two groups will compete in the Super Round. The two best teams from the Super Round will clash in the gold medal game on Saturday in Toyohashi.
South Korean players and coaches celebrate their 13-0 win over Hong Kong in the teams' Group B game of the baseball tournament at the Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, Japan, on Sept. 22, 2026. (Yonhap)
Roh fired the opening salvo on Tuesday with a two-run bomb in the top of the first, and South Korea scored in each of the first three frames, with Cho's slam coming in the third inning.
South Korea tacked on three runs on hits by Kim Ji-chan and Yoon Dong-hee, and added three more runs in the seventh.
According to the KBO, this was the first perfect game thrown by the national team since it began keeping record in 2002.
South Korean starter Choi Min-seok pitches against Hong Kong during the teams' Group B game of the baseball tournament at the Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, Japan, on Sept. 22, 2026. (Yonhap)
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