Final inning homer powers Kia Tigers to first Korean Series title in 12 years

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- Na Ji-wan belted a solo homer in the bottom of the
ninth inning to lift Kia Tigers to a 6-5 victory over reigning champion SK
Wyverns and give his team its first Korean Series title in 12 years.

The two teams traded three wins each in the best of seven game series before
clashing at the decisive seventh and final game before a sell-out crowd at
Seoul's Jamsil ball park.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Na, a 24-year-old
outfielder who had already batted a homer in the series, blasted the ball over
the left fence, closing out the match for the Tigers.
"I knew it the moment I hit it," Na said in a television interview as Tigers fans
celebrated their 10th title since professional baseball came into inception here
in 1982. "I turned my eyes to my fellow players in the dugout right away. I
didn't even know where the ball landed."
The Tigers, based in the southwestern city of Gwangju, finished first in the
regular season with 81 wins and 48 losses. The Wyverns, based in Incheon west of
Seoul, came second.
The Wyverns had won the Korean Series title back to back in 2007 and 2008.
South Korean professional baseball teams are partly named after their corporate
sponsors. The Tigers were sold to Kia, South Korea's second-largest automaker, by
Haetae, a confectionery maker, in 2001.
Na, who joined the Tigers last year, was named the Most Valuable Player.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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