Samsung Lions' flagship hitter Koo Ja-wook hit a grand slam in a spring camp practice game against the KIA Tigers, who faced off in the 2024 Korean Series (KS).메이저사이트

Koo Ja-wook played as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and a full base opportunity, trailing KIA 1-3 in a practice game at Onnason Akama Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 2nd, and fired a superior grand slam against KIA's ace James Nail.

He also hit a right-handed hit in the seventh inning and played a great role with two hits, one homer and four RBIs in two at-bats.

Koo injured internal ligaments in his left knee while attempting to steal second base in the second playoff game against the LG Twins in October last year. Due to the injury, he could not play in remaining PO games with LG, as well as in KIA and KS. Samsung had one win and four losses against KIA in the KS due to a flurry of players with injuries.

Unfortunately, Koo focused on recovery after finishing the 2024 season. Recently, he practiced rehabilitation training instead of the first camp in Guam to prepare for the 2025 season.

Koo Ja-wook, who joined Okinawa's second camp with a healthy body, played in a real game for the first time since his injury through an exhibition match against LG on the 1st, and raised expectations for the new season by swinging a fire bat against KIA on the 2nd.

After the game, Koo Ja-wook said, "I tried to hit the in-play ball," adding, "I went to the batter's box with the same mind as the real game, and the result came out well."

Rookie pitcher Bae Chan-seung took the mound in the seventh inning and struck out Kim Ho-ryeong, Yoon Do-hyun and Ko Jong-wook, showing off the perfect appearance of three strikeouts in one inning.

He threw 10 fastballs and four sliders, and his maximum fastball speed was 152 km/h.

"I focused on striking out above all else," he said. "I'm trying to increase the first pitch and second pitch strike rate, and I'll do my best to maintain my condition after camp."

On the day, Samsung won 8-4.

In KIA, Lee Woo-sung, the fifth batter and left fielder, made a multi-hit (more than two hits in one game) with two hits, one RBI and one run from three times at bat.

New foreign pitcher Adam Oler started and stopped two innings with one hit, no outs, and no strikeouts.