1 overall" in "ERA 0.64"? E-Mart is about to play in the finals
Attention is focusing on whether Jeonju high school ace Jung Woo-joo (18) will seal the No. 1 overall possibility of the 2025 KBO rookie draft through the E-Mart Cup final.
Jeonju High School will face Deoksu High School in the final of the "2024 Shinsegae E-Mart Cup National High School Baseball Tournament" co-hosted by the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) and Shinsegae E-Mart at 2 p.m. on the 22nd at SSG Landers Field in Incheon.
Jeonju High School, which produced players such as Kim Won-hyung, Park Kyung-wan, and Choi Hyung-woo, will try to win its first national championship since the Golden Lion in 1985. Jeonju High School, which had its heyday in the 1980s, is facing its second heyday, including the runner-up at the E-Mart Cup in 2019 and the runner-up at the Presidential Cup in 2022, after Joo Chang-hoon took office in 2018.
The team is also cruising through its attractive lineup and solid mound at the E-Mart Cup. Jeonju High School, which passed the first round by default, beat Gyeonggi Sanggo 6-1 in the second round, Busan High School 10-7 in the 32nd round, Gunsan High School in the 16th round, 13-0 in the 5th round, Daegu Sangwon High School in the 8th round, and Gyeongbuk High School 7-1 in the 4th round. In the process, Jung Woo-joo and Lee Ho-min showed off their one-two punch, and catcher Lee Han-rim with a batting average of 0.600 (9 hits in 15 times at bat).
In particular, Jung Woo-ju is playing a good role as an ace with one win and no loss in three ⅔ and six hits (one homer) in 13 games (one homer) with five walks and 24 strikeouts and four runs (one earned run). Catcher Han Ji-yoon struck out nine in four ⅔ innings against Gyeonggi Sang-go, who is holding out, showing his unearned pitching (one run). In the quarterfinals against Daegu Sangwon High School, he also took the mound as the last pitcher and led his team to a cold victory in the 8-1 and 7th innings with three strikeouts and no runs in two ⅓.
Jung Woo-joo, who is 185 centimeters tall and weighs 88 kilograms, played at Shinil High School until the second grade and joined Jeonju High School ahead of his third grade entrance. Although he did not stand out until last year, he quickly emerged as the first player in the 2025 KBO rookie draft through the nation's prestigious high school baseball heat and E-Mart Cup last month. The biggest attraction is the fast fastball with a maximum speed of 156 kilometers per hour that comes from a soft pitching form. It is a strength that other top pick candidates in the first round, Jeong Hyeon-woo (Deoksu High School, left-hander) or Bae Chan-seung (Daegu High School, left-hander), do not have. As he shows not only fast speed, but also stable ball control and a splitter with a large angle, it is expected that he will seal the "No. 1 overall" theory by winning the competition.
If it wasn't for Lee Ho-min's good pitching, Jeonju High School would not have been able to send out 100 percent of its full potential in the final. In the semifinal match against Gyeongbuk High School, Lee Ho-min led Jeonju High School to the final by pitching good pitching, which allowed only one run while striking out 12 times in eight innings. Although he has thrown 105 pitches, he is highly likely to win the title of strikeout king of the tournament by striking out 34 already.
Offensive catcher Lee Han-rim and slugger outfielder Seo Young-joon are clearly among the standouts in the batting lineup. In the five E-Mart games, Lee hit hard with a batting average of 0.600 (nine hits from 15 times at bat), seven RBIs and two steals, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.514. Seo has a batting average of 0.438 (seven hits from 16 times at bat) with two homers and six RBIs and one steal, and a batting average of 0.591 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 0.875 in five games. In the semifinal match against Gyeongbuk High School, he also gave a strong impression with a wedge-shaped shot that dampened the opponent team's willingness to pursue him.
Deoksu, the previous year's champion, aims to win its second consecutive championship under coach Jeong Yoon-jin, a master of 15 national championships. Deoksu advanced to the round of 16 after winning 6-0 against Jejudo High School in the first round, 8-1 against Mulgeum High School in the second round, and 7-0 against Bukil High School in the 32nd round. In the round of 16, it won 9-2 against Ansan High School in the seventh round, 9-4 against Kyungdong High School in the quarterfinals, and 6-3 against Gyeongnam High School in the semifinals, reaching the final.
The performance of Jung Hyun-woo and Kim Tae-hyung's one-two punch and Park Joon-soon, who has been reborn as a big gun in this tournament, stood out. The representative game was the quarterfinal match of Kyungdong High School. Deoksu was taken away early in the game by giving up three runs in the first inning to Kyungdong High School, but Park Joon-soon, who played as the third and second baseman with one out and the bases loaded with one out, hit a grand slam over the left fence in the bottom of the fifth inning, turning the game around instantly. On the day, Park Joon-soon recorded three hits, one home run and five RBIs from four times at bat, and Kim Tae-hyung, who took the mound as the second pitcher, also pitched 104 pitches in six innings, driving his team's victory with nine strikeouts.
Until last year, Park Joon-soon was the type to produce a lot of doubles and steals with fast feet without a home run, but this year, he has a batting average of 0.452 (14 hits in 31 times at bat), four homers, 17 RBIs, and three steals, and a 0.581 slugging rate of 0.968.
Jung Hyun-woo is a left-handed promising player who has been classified as a candidate for the first round of the 2025 Rookie Draft since last year. He is assessed to have a variety of pitches, including fastballs with speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, power curves, short and large sliders with short angles, circle changeups and splitters. He had an outstanding performance with three wins and one loss, an earned run average of 1.70 in 13 games last year, and 35 walks in 53 innings with 57 strikeouts (five hits, 30 walks). In particular, he took the mound at a crisis situation with one out and runners on first and third in the second inning at the E-Mart Cup final against Gangneung High School and the previous year, and garnered attention by leading Deoksu to come from behind to win the game 5-4 with one hit, four walks, seven strikeouts and one run (non-earned) in six ⅔ innings.
Unfortunately, Chung cannot be seen in the final. According to the current regulations, the maximum number of pitches per day for high school pitchers is limited to 105. A pitcher who throws 45 to 60 pitches has one day off, a pitcher who throws 61 to 75 pitches has two days off, a pitcher who throws 76 to 90 pitches has three days off, and a pitcher who throws 91 to 105 pitches has four days off. In the semifinal match against Gyeongnam High School, Chung led Deoksu to advance to the final by allowing one run and eight strikeouts in five ⅔ innings, but has thrown 82 pitches, which prevented him from participating in the final. https://www.totositenet.com/
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