Choi Seong-yeong (NC Dinos), who returned from an orbital fracture, showed off a decent pitch in her first actual start after returning.
Choi Seong-young took the mound as 꽁머니 a starting pitcher in the home game against the LG Twins Futures team in the Futures (second team) league held at Changwon NC Park on the 2nd.
Choi Seong-young, who made his professional debut in an NC uniform in 2016 and recorded an average ERA of 5.32 with 8 wins, 7 losses, 1 save and 2 holds, in 82 games (223.1 innings) in the first team until last year, continued to rise this season. . He was active as a bullpen in the beginning, but took over when local left-hander ace Gu Chang-mo was out of power due to a stress fracture in his left forearm. His performance was 4 wins, no losses and an earned run average of 2.57 in 7 appearances (28 innings).
However, on June 20th, Choi Seong-young was caught in unexpected bad news. In the match against LG in Changwon, he was hit in the left cheekbone by Moon Bo-gyeong’s straight ball and collapsed. The diagnosis was an orbital fracture. Fortunately, it was reported that he did not have to undergo surgery, but it was a dizzying moment that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could come.
However, Choi Seong-yeong, whom I recently met with a reporter, was courageous. He said, “Can’t you show off just because a man got hit by one shot? I also didn’t want to reveal my pain, so I said it was okay (to NC coach Kang In-kwon),” he said. But I was beaten at my home stadium (Changwon NC Park). It can’t be helped (laughs). It’s okay,” he stressed.
Choi Seong-young, who had been working hard on rehabilitation and treatment after the injury, took the mound in the Futures League match against the Samsung Lions on the 25th of last month and recorded 1 inning, no hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, and no runs. On that day, he started and raised the number of pitches and spurred preparations for returning to the first team as a’starting pitcher’.
From the beginning of the first inning, Seongyoung Choi showed off her good condition. He started the game pleasantly with a three-way offense by putting Seo Geon-chang (center fielder fly), Ahn Ik-hun (second baseman grounder), and Song Chan-eui (third baseman grounder) to sleep.
His first run came in the top of the second inning. The root of the problem was Kim Joo-seong’s triple hit to right field. Seong-Young Choi then struck out Seong-Jin Kim and Bum-Seok Kim, respectively, and grounded the third baseman, but in the meantime, he had to watch Kim Joo-Sung step on the home plate. Afterwards, he committed 4 pitches against Kwon Dong-hyuk, but he struck out Ham Chang-geon to prevent additional runs.
In the beginning of the third inning, the crisis management ability was outstanding. After inducing lead hitter Jeon Jun-ho to fly second baseman, Seo Geon-chang (4 pitches) and Ahn Ik-hun (heavy hit) consecutively got on base, but Song Chan-eui was treated as a double hit by third baseman.
Even in the top of the fourth inning, Choi Seong-young, who came up on the mound, struck out first batter Kim Joo-seong. He allowed follow-up hitter Kim Joo-seong to go on base due to a shortstop error, but finished his mission that day by striking out Kim Beom-seok and Kwon Dong-hyuk in a row.
The final result was 4 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts and 1 run. The total number of pitches was 65, and the highest speed of the fastball was measured at 142 km.
NC has recently been suffering from a line injury in the starting lineup. Choi Seong-young, Koo Chang-mo, and Lee Jae-hak (left metatarsal bone fracture) are all missing. On top of that, right-hander Young Gun Lee Yong-jun, who showed impressive performances during the first half, is also out of the team due to reorganization, and Eric Peddy is the only reliable starter. In the midst of this, if Choi Sung-young returns quickly, NC will get a thousand troops.
NC coach Kang In-kwon, whom I met recently, said that he would raise the number of pitches as a starting pitcher when it is possible to return Choi Seong-young. The number set by Director Kang as a standard is 85 to 90 pitches.
Will Choi Seong-young, who bravely shrugged off an orbital fracture, be able to stand on the mound for the first team in the near future by meeting the standards of the commanding tower? This is also what NC, who is crying over the successive departures of the starters, is currently hoping for the most.