Hwasun Middle School, Runner-up in the 2024 71st National Middle School Baseball Championship

First National Competition Win in 8 Years: A Signal of Revival

The baseball team of Hwasun Middle School in Jeonnam (Principal Seo Yangshim), coached by Lee Giju, won the runner-up title at the '71st National Middle School Baseball Championship' held at Gyeongju Baseball Park on the 19th.

According to Hwasun Middle School, the tournament, held from the 3rd to the 19th over 17 days at Gyeongju Baseball Park's fields 1 and 2 and Pohang Life Sports Baseball Stadium, featured 134 teams and about 4,700 participants nationwide, with 134 games played.

Hwasun Middle School played the preliminary rounds defeating Daegu Middle 4-2, Cheongju Middle 7-2, Mattis (U-15) 6-5, and Busan Middle 4-2. On the 15th, in the round of 12, they beat Gyeonggi Jungang Middle 4-2; on the 16th, in the quarterfinals, they narrowly won against Chungnam Onyang Middle 9-8; and on the 18th, in the semifinals, they defeated Seongnam Middle 7-4. However, in the final on the 19th, Hwasun Middle School's baseball team lost 1-6 to Daegu Gyeongwoon Middle and had to settle for the runner-up position.

On the 19th, they won second place at the '71st National Middle School Baseball Championship' held at Gyeongju Baseball Park.
[Photo by Reader]

In this tournament, Hwasun Middle School's Choi Jaewon (3rd grade) received the Fighting Spirit Award, and Kim Donghyun (3rd grade) was awarded the Rookie Award.

Lee Giju, coach of Hwasun Middle School's baseball team, said, "I am proud of our players who achieved the runner-up result at the historic and traditional 71st National Middle School Baseball Championship," adding, "Starting in July, we will carefully organize the team’s strength and definitely want to enjoy the joy of reaching the national top."

Building on this runner-up achievement, Hwasun Middle School has secured the momentum to conquer the national top in the remaining three tournaments this year, including the Baekho Middle School Baseball Tournament in August.

Team captain Kang Naru (3rd year) said, "I give glory to Coach Lee Giju and coaches Jeong Taehoon, Kim Sunhyun, and Jeon Semin, who have guided us so far, and I thank my parents who have always cared for us with love," adding, "Watching the Sporty TV broadcast video after the game brings back fresh memories. I want to share the joy of the runner-up with my teammates and train even harder after entering high school to become a good professional baseball player and appear on TV again."

The Hwasun Middle School baseball team has aimed to dominate the national stage with a strong mound composed of right-handed pitchers Choi Jaewon, Jo Hani, Jeong Seungwon, and Sa Hochan (all 3rd grade), and a stable defense based on 'stingy baseball' and 'defensive baseball.'

Founded in March 1986, the Hwasun Middle School baseball team has produced professional players such as Kia’s Kim Sunbin and Lee Hyungbeom, Doosan’s Hong Geonhee, Samsung’s Lee Seunghyun, NC’s Jeong Jinki, and Hanwha’s Kim Inhwan. The team has achieved outstanding results, including 3rd place at the 53rd President’s Cup National Middle School Baseball Tournament, the first bronze medal in Jeonnam at the 46th National Youth Sports Festival, victories at the 2021 Jeonnam Association President’s Cup and Governor’s Cup Baseball Tournaments, and winning the 13th KIA Tigers Honam Region Middle School Baseball Tournament in 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.