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Going to Miami: Korea beats Australia to reach WBC quarterfinals

Published: 10 Mar. 2026, 09:42

Korean players celebrate their 7-2 win over Australia in the teams' Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 9. [NEWS1]

Korea defeated Australia 7-2 on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), getting out of the opening round for the first time in 17 years after beating steep odds to win the tiebreaker.

Designated hitter Moon Bo-gyeong hammered a two-run home run as part of his four-RBI night at Tokyo Dome in the teams' final Pool C game, helping Korea grab the final ticket to Miami.

In order to move on to the quarterfinals, Korea had to beat Australia by at least five runs while also holding the opponent to two runs or fewer.

The offense took care of the scoring part, with Moon's big night capped by Ahn Hyun-min's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that provided the necessary five-run margin of victory.

And the pitchers held up their end of the bargain, too, by holding Australia to just two runs after starter Son Ju-young was pulled after just one inning due to elbow discomfort.

After Son escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom first, Korea got on the board in the top second with Moon's two-run blast. After taking a slider from starter Lachlan Wells for a strike, Moon jumped on a second straight slider from the left-hander and sent it 430 feet to right-center field for a 2-0 Korean lead.

Wells issued two free passes later in the inning and then got an early hook with two outs and the dangerous Kim Do-yeong coming to the plate.

Moon Bo-gyeong of Korea celebrates after hitting an RBI double against Australia during the teams' Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 9. [NEWS1]

Coen Wynne, another pitcher with a KBO connection, got Kim to hit a groundout to first on a check swing to end the rally.

The game took an unexpected turn for Korea at the start of the bottom second. After throwing some warmup pitches, Son called for manager Ryu Ji-hyun and a team trainer. Following a brief meeting on the mound, the left-hander was pulled from the game in favor of Noh Kyung-eun.

A national team official later said Son felt some discomfort in his left elbow.

Undeterred by the sudden pitching change, Korea tacked on two more runs in the top third.

Jahmai Jones led off with a double and then Lee Jung-hoo brought him home with his own two-bagger. With new pitcher Mitch Neunborn on the mound, Moon then picked up his third RBI of the night with a double to center that scored Lee for a 4-0 lead.

Dane Dunning of Korea celebrates after striking out Rixon Wingrove of Australia during the teams' Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 9. [NEWS1]

Moon also delivered the key fifth run for Korea in the fifth inning with a two-out single.

But then Australia pushed back right away, as Robbie Glendinning led off the bottom fifth with a solo homer off So Hyeong-jun. Korea now had to regain its five-run lead.

And the team wasted no time doing just that, as Kim Do-yeong delivered an RBI single in the top sixth for a 6-1 lead.

Australia threatened to narrow the gap in the seventh when the first batters reached against the new pitcher Dane Dunning. But Dunning escaped the jam unscathed by getting Glendinning to hit into a double play and striking out Rixon Wingrove.

Korea failed to pull away further in the eighth despite Shay Whitcomb's pinch-hit, leadoff double.

Australia then made Korea pay by cutting the deficit to 6-2 in the bottom eighth on Travis Bazzana's RBI single off reliever Kim Taek-yeon.

Jo Byeong-hyeon replaced Kim on the mound but promptly walked Curtis Mead to push Australia's third run — a run that would end Korea's tournament — to scoring position. But Jo retired the next two batters to keep it a four-run game.

Korea now needed another run in the top of the ninth inning.

Ahn Hyun-min of Korea celebrates after hitting a sacrifice fly against Australia during the teams' Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 9. [NEWS1]

Kim Do-yeong drew a leadoff walk against Jack O'Loughlin, and Park Hae-min came on as a pinch runner.

After one out, Lee Jung-hoo hit a grounder that went off O'Loughlin's glove and rolled slowly toward shortstop Jarryd Dale.

With Park already close to the bag, Dale made an awkward toss to second baseman Bazzana. As the ball tricked into right field, Park got up and sprinted to third base.

Ahn Hyun-min then brought Park home with a sacrifice fly to right field to restore the necessary five-run cushion for Korea.

Australia still had a shot to foil Korea's bid in the bottom ninth but Jo slammed the door shut to lock down the place in the quarterfinals.

Yonhap