TOKYO – Korea stormed the field in celebration after a 7-2 victory over Australia on Monday night at the Tokyo Dome, miraculously clinching second place in Pool C and a spot in the quarterfinals via tiebreaker.
Korea entered the game at 1-2 and needed to win by at least five runs while holding Australia to two runs or fewer to advance — and they did exactly that. It marks the first time Korea has made it out of the pool stage of the World Baseball Classic since 2009.
For Australia, it was heartbreak. They came in at 2-1, needing either a win or a loss by fewer than five runs to advance to Miami, but fell just short.
Bo Gyeong Moon opened the scoring in the second inning with a deep two-run home run.
Jung Hoo Lee added to the lead in the third with an RBI double, and Moon followed with an RBI double of his own to make it 4-0 Korea.
Moon collected his third hit and fourth RBI of the night in the fifth with a timely single that pushed the lead to five, the exact margin Korea needed.
From there, the game turned into a tense back-and-forth battle over the tiebreaker margin. Robbie Glendinning homered in the bottom of the fifth to pull the Aussies closer and temporarily swing the tiebreaker advantage back in their favor.
In the sixth, Do Yeong Kim delivered an RBI single to make it 6-1, putting Korea back in position to advance.
But the drama continued in the eighth when Travis Bazzana lined an RBI single to cut the score to 6–2, once again putting Australia in line to move on.
The ninth inning ultimately decided everything. Do Yeong Kim drew a leadoff walk, and with one out, Jung Hoo Lee hit a ground ball that ricocheted off pitcher Jack O’Loughlin’s glove to shortstop Jarryd Dale, who seemingly panicked and threw the ball away attempting to get the lead runner at second.
The costly error allowed pinch-runner Hae-Min Park to reach third. Hyun Min Ahn then lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2, restoring the margin Korea needed.
Australia still had one final chance in the bottom half, needing just one run to advance. Chris Burke drew a one-out walk, but Rixon Wingrove flew out to right field as Lee made a clutch sliding catch.
Byeong Hyeon Jo then induced a pop out from Logan Wade to end the game — and all the stress that came with it.
Korea used seven pitchers and limited Australia to just five hits while, crucially, holding them to two runs, beating the odds and sending Korea to the quarterfinals.
Japan, 3-0, will face Czechia, 0-3, in the final game of Pool C play tomorrow, though the standings have already been decided. Japan has clinched the top seed, Korea finishes second, Australia third, Chinese Taipei fourth, and Czechia has been relegated to the qualifiers in last place.
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Photo: South Korea players celebrate after defeating Australia in their World Baseball Classic game on Monday, March 9, 2026 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
