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By Tyler Erzberger
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South Korea could defeat Australia in a blowout and still not make the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.
That was the stage set on Monday in Tokyo, Japan, in the Tokyo Dome for the most important game so far of the WBC. After losing narrowly to Chinese Taipei in extra innings the previous day, South Korea needed not only to beat Australia in the final game to advance, but also to hold them to two or fewer runs while beating them by a differential of five.
While South Korea controlled the tempo of the game from the jump, all Australia needed was to hold on with a run here or there to punch their ticket to the United States for the bracket stage.
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Australia kept scratching away, and the Koreans needed a run in the ninth to put them in position to advance. After an error that put a South Korean player in scoring position, a sacrifice fly put them ahead 7-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.
Usually, this is where teams relax, but it was essentially a do-or-die inning. If South Korea gave up a single run, their chances in the WBC would be over.
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But following a miraculous catch by San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee and a pop fly to end the game, South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in over a decade in the WBC.
It wasn't only the players who were tearing up over the milestone, but the commentators as well, exploding into delirious ecstasy following the final out and then breaking down in tears once everything sank in in the broadcast booth.
Even a KBO legend, Park Yong-taik, started tearing up after his country advanced to the top eight.
As the second seed in Group C, South Korea will face either the Dominican Republic or Venezuela in the quarterfinals.
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