By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Son Min-han pitched six scoreless innings and Kim Dong-joo added three hits and scored twice as South Korea defeated South Africa 5-0 in their Olympic qualifying match in Taichung, Taiwan, Friday.
The Koreans pounded South African starter Robert Verschuren early, opening their account on an RBI double by Lee Seung-yeop in the first inning. They added two runs in the third inning on consecutive doubles by Kim and Lee Dae-ho, and Lee Taek-geun drove Kim home with an RBI single in the eighth.
Lee Jin-young scored Cho In-sung with a double in the ninth to complete the rout.
Son, a Lotte Giants veteran, allowed just one hit and struck out six batters, while Kim Sun-woo and Woo Kyu-min combined for three scoreless innings to complete the shutout.
South Korea is currently playing in an eight-team tournament that stakes three tickets to the Beijing Olympics in August. The South Africans, along with Germany and Spain, were considered among the weakest of the eight squads, but host Taiwan and regional powers Australia, Mexico and Canada may be tough competition for the Koreans.
South Korea meets Australia today in their second match of the tournament and Mexico on Sunday.