Busan and Changwon baseball powerhouses Busan Go and Masan Yongmago have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Cheongryonggi High School Baseball Championship.

The quarterfinals of the 79th Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship (co-hosted by Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and the Korea Baseball and Softball Association) were held at Shinwol Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday.

Busan High faced off against local rival Gyeongnam High first. Busan Go piled up runs from the first inning and led 6-0 through the fifth inning as Busan Go ace Kim Jung-yup pitched a no-hitter until the fifth inning.

However, in the sixth inning, Gyeongnam Go scored four runs in quick succession to cut the deficit to 6-4 after Kim Jung-yup was removed from the mound. The seventh inning was scoreless for both teams. In the top of the eighth inning, Gyeongnam Go put runners on first and second with a wild pitch, prompting Busan Go coach Park Kye-won to bring in another ace, Cheon Gyeom.

Cheon Gyeom pitched 4⅔ innings of three-hit, five-strikeout, no walks and one earned run in the second game of the doubleheader against Seoul Convention High School on Aug. 8, leading the team to an 11-2 cold victory. With only 57 pitches, he was able to pitch at key moments in the 11th game.

Chun retired the first batter he faced, No. 4 Kang Kang-hyun, on a fly ball to center field before striking out No. 5 Jung Eun-sung to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Busan Go scored two more runs on an RBI single by Ahn Ji-won and a sacrifice fly by Lee Won-joon to make the score 8-4.

A four-run lead can be overturned at any time in high school baseball. In the ninth inning, Chun gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs, but retired the next three batters to preserve the 8-4 win. 안전놀이터 He threw 25 pitches.

This year, Chun is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 13 appearances and 35⅓ innings pitched. His fastball has reached 149 mph with a steady delivery. It’s also encouraging to note that he hasn’t walked a batter in his last five games.

Next up is Masan Yongmago left-hander Joo Tae-joon. He started the round of 16 against North Korea and pitched 8⅓ innings, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks. Behind his performance, Masan Yongmago defeated North Korea 4-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Joo dominated from the first inning, striking out the first, second, and third batters in a row. He allowed only two hits until the sixth inning. He also struck out a whopping seven batters, shutting down the North Ilgo bats.

Facing a 4-0 deficit in the top of the seventh,

Joo gave up a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded, but struck out the next batter to end the threat.

After retiring the next three batters in order in the eighth inning, Joo returned to the mound in the ninth with one out before being removed due to a daily pitch limit. Throughout his 104-pitch outing, Joo gave it his all.

After taking a year off last year due to an elbow injury and surgery, Joo has been throwing again since April. He has appeared in 10 games so far, pitching 37⅓ innings with a 4-1 record and a 2.37 ERA. He also started the first game of the series against Gangwon on April 5, pitching 5⅓ innings and allowing two runs.

His fastball has an average velocity in the 130-kilometer range, but his changeup is his main weapon.

Busan Go will face Gangneung Go for a spot in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. On the 13th, the quarterfinals will be played between Masan Yongmago and Jangchunggo. The venue is Mokdong Baseball Stadium.