The mood was light, but serious.
The South Korean women’s national baseball team, led by head coach Yang Sang-moon, trained early in the morning on Monday (July 8) ahead of their first match of the Women’s Baseball World Cup 2024 (WBSC) qualifiers.
Prior to the training session, Yang gathered the players to prepare them for the competition. “Let’s wear the flag and show no shame,” Yang said, and the players were ready to go.
After stretching and warming up, the team was divided into two groups, the batters and the pitchers, and began training to adapt to the local ground. The outfielders practiced their defense with Jung Geun-woo and Heo Il-sang, the battery coaches. The players checked their fielding and bunting skills and ended the day with batting practice.
The pitching group checked the condition of the mound and then worked on pitching with pitching coaches Lee Dong-hyun and Yoo Won-sang in the bullpen. The two pitching coaches praised the players, saying, “Let’s just throw like this in the game,” as they sprayed the ball all over the corners.
After arriving the previous evening and putting in a short workout, the team was in good shape for their first official practice just 10 hours later. The outfielders handled flies and fastballs without missing a beat, while the infield drew applause from the coaches with their light footwork and unselfish defense.
The batting wasn’t bad either. Toward the end of the day, the players produced fastballs that cleared the infield and balls that fell between the outfield and infield. The pitching staff threw a variety of pitches, working in battery synchronization with the catchers.안전놀이터
Catcher and captain Choi Min-hee said, “Before tomorrow morning’s game, the players will have individual training and rest today to adjust their physical condition. We will play without regrets.”
“We will not let our guard down and give our best effort,” said coach Yang Sang-moon, “We will also have our pitchers play short innings to check them out.”
Meanwhile, the first game of the Women’s Baseball World Cup 2024 qualifiers between Korea and Hong Kong will take place at 12:30 a.m. (ET) on September 9 at Baseball Central in Thunder Bay, Canada.