“Watching from the outfield, it was a grand feeling, so I was really proud”
The Samsung Lions clinched the Winning Series with an 11-0 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League on Sunday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea. The Lions clinched their fourth consecutive Winning Series with their latest two-game winning streak.
Starting in left field at No. 3, Koo went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, an RBI and a run scored to lead the team to victory. After a grounder to the second baseman in her first at-bat, Koo singled with two outs in the third inning, but it didn't result in a run. However, in the fifth inning, she lined a single to center field with two outs to take the lead. It would prove to be the game-winning hit.
With the win, Samsung moved into sole possession of third place in the league with 17 wins, one draw and 12 losses for a .586 winning percentage. They are just three games behind first-place KIA (20-9, .690). “I think we have to do what we have to do,” said Guzauk in his post-match interview. If there are teams above us, we want to create an atmosphere where we can follow them one game at a time. We don't want to be too greedy and just try to do our best one game at a time.”
The Samsung bats pounded out 15 hits on the day, pounding Kiwoom's mound. “I think we were able to play without a lot of pressure because the players did a good job evenly. The pitchers threw well, so I think our hitters were able to hit with more energy. I think the new faces on the team are showing their true colors a little bit more, so I hope they can keep it up until the end,” said Koo, who was looking forward to the performance of the juniors.
“(Kim) Sung-yoon and (Kim) Ji-chan have a lot of power. So if you go out there and shake them up, it can rattle the other team. “Also, (Lee) Jae-hyun and (Kim) Hero are steady in defense, defense, and batting,” said Koo, “and they're 카지노사이트 doing a good job. McKinnon is also doing a great job, and he's the No. 1 guy who keeps our team's mood alive,” he said, adding that he was optimistic about the rising bats.
Guzauk, who celebrated after hitting the game-winning hit in the fifth inning, said, “It's not my personality to do that. I'm an introvert and I don't like to put myself out there, but since it was the first run and the lead was important, the pitchers were throwing well, so I thought that every little thing like that would make the atmosphere a little more exciting, so I tried to have fun with the ceremony.” “When it comes naturally, it's fine, but today it was a little bit contrived,” he laughed.
“This year, I'm coming to the ballpark with a light heart, feeling like I'm coming to play a little bit,” said Guzauk, who is batting .943 (38-for-113) with five home runs, 24 RBIs, 19 runs scored, three doubles and an OPS of .943 in 29 games this season. I'm just having fun playing baseball, and I'm giving myself a mantra to make it less stressful,” he said.
This season, Samsung revived the team's iconic cheer, “El Dorado,” which has become the team's signature song. The team's success has helped them become one of the most popular teams in the KBO, drawing huge crowds. Samsung's average home game attendance has increased from 11,912 last season to 14,101 this season, an increase of more than 2,000 fans. Today's game had a near-capacity crowd (16,000) with 15,073 fans in attendance.
“When I came to Gocheok Dome, there were a lot of our fans. I felt that there were a lot of fans in the outfield and on the third base side, and I was really proud to see the magnificent feeling from the outfield. I'm really grateful,” he said, thanking the fans.
