Dinos Edge Bears in Thrilling Comeback Victory
The NC Dinos pulled off a dramatic ninth-inning victory over the Doosan Bears on Wednesday night, winning 5-4 in a game that turned on defensive miscues and clutch hitting. Kwon Hee-dong delivered the decisive blow with a bases-loaded single to left field in the ninth inning, sending the Dinos faithful into a frenzy at Changwon NC Park.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| NC Dinos | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
What looked like a comfortable position for the Bears—holding a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame—evaporated quickly. The ninth inning became a nightmare for Doosan’s bullpen and defense, as two errors opened the door for NC’s comeback. The sequence of events left Bears manager Park Jin-man searching for answers in what should have been a straightforward victory.
Doosan’s Jack Rogz had been solid through six and a third innings, allowing just seven hits and two runs while striking out three. The veteran righthander kept the Bears’ hitters in the game early on, though he wasn’t exactly dealing with overwhelming stuff. When the Bears finally broke through offensively, they built what they thought was enough cushion to secure the win. That assumption proved premature.
Pitching Performance
Gu Chang-mo took the mound for the Dinos and labored through six innings of work. He surrendered seven hits and two runs while walking two batters but managed to keep NC in the game despite some shaky moments. The Bears’ lineup was making solid contact off Gu, particularly in the middle innings, but couldn’t string hits together for a bigger inning.
The bullpen work defined this contest. After Rogz exited, Doosan turned to Lee Byung-heon, who threw two-thirds of an inning without incident. Park Chi-guk got one clean inning in relief. But Kim Taek-yeon, who took the loss, couldn’t escape the ninth inning chaos. The righty faced just three batters before being pulled, giving up two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
NC’s relief corps was equally active. Son Ju-hwan pitched a scoreless inning in the seventh. Lee Yong-jun earned the hold with a perfect eighth inning, recording a strikeout. Jeon Sa-min got the win despite an uneven outing—he worked one inning in the ninth, allowed one hit and two runs, walked two, and struck out one. Still, he was on the mound when the Dinos secured the victory.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | ||||||
| Jack Rohr | 6 ⅓ | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Lee Byung-hun | 0 ⅔ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Park Chi-guk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Taek-yeon [L] | 0 ⅔ | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| NC Dinos | ||||||
| Koo Chang-mo | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Son Ju-hwan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lee Yong-joon [H] | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeon Sa-min [W] | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Offensive Highlights
The Bears got contributions throughout their lineup but couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities. Jo Su-haeng went 2-for-4, while Park Jun-soon had the hot bat with three hits in four at-bats. An Jae-seok drove in a run, and Park Chan-ho added two hits and an RBI. These were solid individual performances that simply didn’t add up to enough runs when the game was decided.
NC’s hitters came through when it mattered most. Kim Ju-won contributed an RBI despite just one hit in four tries. Kwon Hee-dong finished with two hits and two RBIs, the last of which proved to be the game-winner. Park Geon-woo went 2-for-4, staying patient at the plate. Kim Hyung-jun chipped in with two hits and an RBI in a limited role.
| Batter | AB | H | R | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | |||||
| Jo Su-haeng | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Park Jun-soon | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ahn Jae-seok | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Park Chan-ho | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| NC Dinos | |||||
| Kim Joo-won | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kwon Hee-dong | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Park Gun-woo | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Hyung-jun | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Key Play
The winning play itself was simplicity itself: bases loaded, two outs in the ninth, and Kwon Hee-dong lining a single into left field. It scored the go-ahead run and sent the Dinos dugout into celebration. What made the moment even sweeter for NC was how unlikely it seemed just moments earlier.
The ninth inning unraveled for Doosan with back-to-back errors—one by Yang Ui-ji and another by Park Min-woo—that kept the inning alive when it should have been over. Those mental lapses directly led to the winning run crossing the plate. In baseball, a game is never truly finished until the final out is recorded, and the Bears learned that lesson the hard way.
Standings Impact
The Dinos improved to 48-2-56 with the victory, while the Bears dropped to 58-4-50. Doosan remains in fifth place in the standings, but this loss stings given how close they came to walking away with two points. For NC, clinging to eighth place, a win like this—coming from behind in dramatic fashion—provides momentum heading into the next matchup.