"The hidden card to beat Higuchi has emerged" Ryu Ji-hyun boldly moves Kim Joo-won and Park Jun-soon up the order: Final lineup

[Financial News] This is the final do-or-die matchup, with South Korea's bid for a fifth consecutive Asian Games baseball title on the line. Ryu Ji-hyun has placed his sharpest and most reliable offensive weapon at the forefront to bring down longtime rival Japan.
South Korea's national baseball team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, unveiled its starting lineup ahead of the final against Japan at 6:30 p.m. on September 27 at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
South Korea will use Kim Joo-won at shortstop and Park Jun-soon at second base as its table-setters. KIM Do-young at third base, Moon Bo-kyung as the designated hitter, and Roh Si-hwan at first base will anchor the heart of the order. The lower half will feature Yoon Dong-hee in right field, Moon Hyun-bin in left field, Kim Ji-chan in center field, and Cho Hyung-woo behind the plate. Gwak Bin, the well-rested homegrown ace, will handle the crucial start on the mound.
The key move in the lineup is undoubtedly the decision to move Park Jun-soon up to the No. 2 spot. It is Ryu Ji-hyun's tailored plan to attack Japan's left-handed starter, Shin Higuchi.
In the Super Round matchup against Japan on September 25, South Korea was stifled by Higuchi's unfamiliar pitching motion and precise control, failing to score a single run over seven innings. Even as the lineup was thoroughly outplayed, the only batters to make solid contact and produce hits against Higuchi were Kim Joo-won, with two hits, and Park Jun-soon, with one. By placing the two players who have successfully attacked Higuchi back-to-back in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, South Korea aims to put pressure on Japan's mound from the very first inning.

The two players also have the hottest bats on the national team right now. In the China game the previous day, Kim Joo-won went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, while Park Jun-soon went 3-for-4 with one RBI, providing a major spark to the offense.
Japan will counter with a lineup of Toyo Kumada at designated hitter, Manami Soeda at second base, Motoki Mukoyama in left field, Ryosuke Aizawa in center field, Yukiya Yano at shortstop, Shohei Mizutani in right field, Yuki Sato at third base, Masashi Maruyama at first base, and Yuki Tsujimoto at catcher.
Meanwhile, heavy rain began pouring down at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium, the venue for the final, just one hour before the scheduled first pitch. The national team trained indoors instead of on the field as the players worked to maintain their batting form.
A team official said, "It is currently raining, but the game will begin as scheduled at 6:30 p.m. without delay."
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter