TOKYO - Lee Dae-Ho smacked a two-run single in the ninth inning as South Korea stunned bitter rivals Japan 4-3 on Thursday to reach the final of the Premier 12 baseball tournament.
South Korean players celebrate as slugger Lee Dae-Ho hits a two-run single against Japan during the semi-finals of the Premier 12 baseball tournament in Tokyo
Following seven strong innings from Japanese pitcher Shohei Otani, the Koreans trailed 3-0 before their final three at-bats, when leadoff man Jeong Keun-Woo doubled to spark a stirring comeback from the visitors in front of 40,000 at the Tokyo Dome.
South Korea, who captured gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, will face the winners of Friday's match-up between the United States and Mexico in the championship game on Sunday.
Japanese-based Lee took the plaudits, carrying on from his MVP form in helping the SoftBank Hawks win the Japan Series last month by smashing a bases-loaded single down the third-base line for the go-ahead run.
South Korea's late fireworks spoiled a superb performance from Otani, who struck out 11 batters, while surrendering just one hit and walking one.
Japan's Sho Nakata singled to get a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth but to no avail as Yoshitomo Tsutsugu and Takaya Nakamura both grounded out, silencing the Tokyo crowd and sending South Korea through.