KT Wiz infielder Lee Ho-yeon helped his team to a come-from-behind victory over the Lotte Giants.
KT won 5-2 at home against the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, improving to 27-2 and 34-0 (.443) on the season.
Lee, who started in the sixth spot and batted second, went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored, marking his second straight multi-hit game. She reached base three times, including once on a walk.
Lee scored the first run for the team after a scoreless inning. With KT trailing 0-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lee took advantage of Han Hyun-hee’s first pitch and lined a single to center field. KT, which had gained a foothold in the game thanks to Lee Ho-yeon, scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to turn the game around.메이저사이트
Lee made her presence felt not only offensively but also defensively.
In the top of the fourth inning, he followed Yoon Dong-hee’s bunt all the way to first base and then used his body to catch the ball, easing the pressure on the starting pitcher.
Lee’s performance had such an impact on the game that KT head coach Lee Kang-cheol commented after the game, “I want to praise Lee Ho-yeon’s performance in the field and on the ball.”
After the game, Lee Ho-yeon said, “I prepared with the same routine before the game as I always do. It’s hard not to want to do better when you’re playing against your family, but I felt like I was just continuing what I had prepared. It’s meaningful to play when it matters.”
In fact, Lee had a similar situation in her home game against the Samsung Lions on the 16th.
With the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Lee stepped up to bat with runners on first and second and switched to a hard hitter, taking a fastball from left-hander Lee Seung-hyun. The ball sailed past the pitcher and into center field, allowing Moon Sang-cheol, the second baseman, to cross the plate and end the game.
“I was going to bunt, but I remembered the coach before the game saying, ‘If you get a bunt or a fake bunt-and-slash sign, hit it confidently,’ so I hit it confidently,” Lee said. “I saw that sign (fake bunt-and-slash) from the bench,” he recalled.
Lee, who came to KT from Lotte in a trade on March 19, is batting .293 with 22 doubles, one home run, 10 RBIs and a .676 OPS in 24 games in a KT uniform. KT has also picked up the pace from the start of the season, going 17-10 (.630) since the trade, the second-best winning percentage in the league behind the NC Dinos (16-1, 9-0.640).
“It feels good to see the team win, and I think it increases my self-esteem,” Lee said. “I always practice before the game, and I think my body remembers it, so I got good results in the game. I talk to my hitting coach Kim Kang a lot. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback and practiced a lot, so I’ve gotten better and better,” she said.
Lee Ho-yeon, who quickly integrated into the team, said, “There are a lot of my peers in the team. (Jang) Jun-won, (Kim) Min-hyuk, and (Bae) Jung-dae help me a lot. “I want to finish the season without any injuries, and my goal is to stay in the first team,” he said.