World No. 6 Korea defeated No. 9 Cuba (2-0 and 13-3) in two warm-up games played in front of sellout crowds at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul ahead of the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS.
In Game One, Do-Yeong Kim and Ju-Hyoung Lee batted in the only runs against Cuban starter Yoannis Yera. Been Gwak was the first of eight Korean pitchers who limited Cuba to three hits.
Korea pounded 14 hits for a comfortable win in Game Two.
Dong-hee Yoon put South Korea on the board with a solo home run off Raymond Figueredo in the top of the second inning. Cuba tied things up with Yoelquis Guibert's solo shot off Young-Pyo Ko, Korea's second pitcher, in the bottom of the third.
Korea took a 5-3 lead into the seventh when they broke the score open. Korea's starter, Seung-Yong Choi, pitched two shut-out innings.
Cuba has already announced their 28-player roster and will continue preparing in Taichung, where they will face the CTBA champions CTBC Brothers on November 6 and 7, and Taipei, where they will play Chinese Taipei on November 10 and 11.
Korea hasn't announced a final roster yet. Manager Joong II Ryu has worked on an expanded 34-player squad so far. All the players in camp are under contract with Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) teams. An announcement is expected on Wednesday, November 6.
"We will cut four pitchers and two position players, including one catcher," Ryu told the Yonhap News Agency
He wouldn't reveal more details, including the debut game's starting pitcher.
"That's a secret," he added with a smile. "We have also decided whether to go with a five-man rotation or a four-man rotation in the tournament. But that's also a secret. It wouldn't be any fun if we revealed our plans so early."
Cuba and Korea will compete in Group B, facing No.1 Japan, No. 2 (tied with Mexico) Chinese Taipei, No. 12 Dominican Republic, and No. 15 Australia from November 13 to 18.
The WBSC Premier12 will open with Group A action on November 9 in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico. The hosts and world No. 2 Mexico will face No. 4 Venezuela, No. 5 USA, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 8 Puerto Rico and No. 10 Panama.
