(Xportsnews Busan, Korea) The three-game weekend series between the KIA Tigers and Lotte Giants ended with Lotte’s winning series. The weekend in Sajik was hotter than ever, regardless of the outcome.
The two teams played a three-game series at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan starting on the 2nd, with a total of 64,976 fans in attendance during that time. Over 20,000 cloud spectators visited the ballpark per game.
Game 2, the first day of the series, drew 18,996 fans. Considering it wasn’t a weekend, that’s a lot of fans. With the exception of a few seats, it was hard to find an empty seat.
The next day was a surefire sellout. Fans who made “intuitive” plans for the weekend secured tickets through online ticketing, and Lotte announced that 22,990 tickets were sold out as of 4:45 p.m. that day. It was Lotte’s fourth sellout home game of the season.
However, it was unclear whether the fourth game would be sold out. Until the afternoon of the 3rd, fans were able to purchase tickets for the 4th game online. The game’s start time was moved from 5 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to the terrestrial broadcast. Fans had to brave the heat in the scorching sun.
However, on the third night, the story changed. Lotte won the game 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off hit by Noh Jin-hyuk, raising fan expectations for a series sweep.
This naturally affected ticket sales, with all 22,990 tickets sold by 1:45 p.m., 15 minutes before the game was scheduled to start. This is the second time this season that Lotte has sold out back-to-back home games, after the SSG Landers on March 20-21.
Fans from both teams filled the stands and warmed up the atmosphere throughout the three-game series with wave rides at the 먹튀검증 beginning of the game. The wave started in the home team’s dugout at first base and traveled through the outfield bleachers to the visiting team’s dugout at third base, where KIA fans also joined in.
The players in the dugout were also encouraged by the crowd’s support. “To be honest, I was so focused on the game that I couldn’t count exactly how many times the fans were doing the wave,” said LOTTE manager Larry Sutton. “I could tell they were having fun because they were standing up and making a lot of noise.”
Kia, who traveled to Busan, also showed their appreciation for their fans. Coach Kim Jong-guk said after the game on the 4th, “We are grateful that so many fans came to the stadium and gave us great support even though it was an away game. We will repay them with a winning game in the next game.”
Lee Yi-ri, who won the first game of the day, also shared his feelings, saying, “I’m really grateful to the fans for coming out in such large numbers, and I feel like I have a lot of strength thanks to their continued support.”