In a hard-fought matchup at Changwon NC Park, the NC Dinos emerged victorious over the Hanwha Eagles, thanks to late-game heroics from Chun Jae-hwan and Kim Hui-jip. The game, held on August 16 as part of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, saw both teams fiercely compete until the very end.

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Moon Dong-ju had to leave the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning after being struck on his right forearm by a line drive from Choi Jeong-won. Despite conceding four runs in the first inning, Moon kept NC scoreless through the second and third frames and began the fourth with two consecutive strikeouts before his untimely exit. He finished with 3⅔ innings pitched, allowing six hits, four runs, and notching five strikeouts, handing the ball to reliever Cho Dong-wook.

NC Dinos seized the initiative in the bottom of the first, stringing together hits from Kim Joo-won, Choi Won-jun, Park Min-woo, Matt Davidson, and Kim Hyeong-jun to plate four runs. Hanwha responded by narrowing the gap with two runs in the top of the second, and Noh Si-hwan hammered a two-run homer to left in the fifth to tie the game.

Park Min-woo's sacrifice fly in the fifth restored NC's lead, and Kwon Hee-dong's RBI hit in the sixth extended it further. Hanwha, however, came back again, as Noh Si-hwan blasted his second two-run homer of the night in the top of the eighth to level the score at 6-6.

The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Chun Jae-hwan, entering as a pinch runner, smashed a fastball from Hanwha's Ju Hyeon-sang over the left-field wall for his first career home run, putting NC in front. Immediately after, pinch-hitter Kim Hui-jip followed up with a slider-driven solo shot, sending the home crowd into celebration and sealing a 9-6 win for the Dinos.

The loss ended Hanwha's five-game winning streak, while NC snapped a two-game skid. The match also featured some heated moments: after Ha Joo-seok of Hanwha struck out in the sixth, he reacted emotionally to a celebratory roar from NC starting pitcher Shin Min-hyeok, leading to benches clearing in a tense scene.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News, NC Dinos, Hanwha Eagles