Eleven long years of waiting for the Hanwha Eagles,... but disappointment struck in their first postseason in over a decade..
Their dream run came to an end on Tuesday night,... losing the fourth game in their five-game series against the Nexen Heroes.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
After a remarkable season,... finishing third in the regular season,... the Hanwha Eagles went into the first round of the playoff series against the Nexen Heroes as the favorites.
Despite eleven long years of waiting for fall baseball,... Daejeon's favorite sports team was eliminated by the Nexen Heroes on Tuesday night after losing 5-to-2.
The 3-to-1 series win for the Nexen Heroes was made thanks to an unlikely hero in Lim Byeong-wuk.
Despite a stacked lineup of Park Byung-ho,... Kim Ha-seong,... and Lee Jung-hoo,... it was the 23-year-old outfielder who led the offense for the Heroes in the series win.
Having belted two homeruns,... and knocking in eight runs over a four-game series win,... Lim earned the series MVP award,... garnering 49 out of 74 votes from the media.
Another young star took the spotlight in the series,... as rookie pitcher An Woo-jin earned two wins out of the three wins for the Nexen Heroes.
The 19-year-old fireballer won both game two and four,... coming into relief.
An pitched a total of 9 innings in the two wins,... without giving up a single run,... and helping the Heroes hold on to slim leads in the two games.
With the Nexen Heroes advancing to the next round,... they're now set to face off against the homerun hitting SK Wyverns beginning on Saturday,... for another best of five series.
While the SK Wvyerns are the favorites,... the Nexen Heroes have a better head to head record in the 2018 regular season,... winning 9 out 16 games.
But in postseason,... it's anybody's game.
The regular season champions Doosan Bears await the winner,... as fans look forward to a high-scoring series between the Heroes and the Wyverns.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.