"Meet Boy"'s first victory was wasted on two balks. Mok Ji-hoon (21) of the NC Dinos repeated the same mistake on good pitching, giving him a score that he did not have to give.

NC beat the Samsung Lions 11-5 in an away game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. NC has won two consecutive games since losing 14-5 in the first game of the series on Saturday, making it 3-2 all-time.안전놀이터

On the day, Mok Ji-hoon was the starting pitcher for NC. He pitched eight innings in two exhibition games this year, showing good performance with an ERA of 2.25. Thanks to this, Mok was able to join NC's rotation, which he planned to start up to seven games early in the season.

Mok showed off his ball power by throwing fastballs with speeds of around 140 kilometers per hour. However, he was hit by Kim Ji-chan, the first batter, at the bottom of the first inning with a full count and a double to the center field. He faced a crisis with two outs and runners on the second and third bases due to Koo's walk, and faced off Park Byung-ho, a slugger who hit home runs in three consecutive games.

The moment Mok Ji-hoon tried to throw the first pitch to Park, the referee gave an autograph. It meant balk. After taking the set position, if you pull your left leg back, it turns into a wind-up and becomes a double action. The umpire pointed out this. The pitching coach went up to the mound and tried to calm down, but Mok gave up a walk, and allowed a 2-2 tie by committing wild pitch at the sixth batter's box at Lewin Diaz.

Still, Mok cooked well for Samsung batters in the second and third innings except for Lee Jae-hyun's solo shot (third inning). In the meantime, NC`s batters scored one run each in the second and fourth innings to create a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mok faced a sacrifice bunt after being hit twice by leadoff hitter Diaz.

When Mok Ji-hoon started pitching at No. 8 Kim Heon-gon's at-bat, the umpires declared balk again this time. The part where the set position was switched to wind-up as in the first inning became a problem. As the third baseman came home, the game was again at 4-4 origin. On the broadcast screen, NC manager Lee Ho-joon was seen looking bitter.

Mok Ji-hoon continued the game to Kim Heon-gon until the ninth pitch, but eventually gave up a walk. Still, as Lee Byung-hun and Kim Ji-chan both grounded out to the infield, Mok did not allow any additional runs. Mok, who threw 84 pitches through the fourth inning, eventually replaced Kim Min-gyu at the beginning of the fifth inning and left the mound. His first start win since his debut in the first division was also canceled due to failure to meet the requirements for a winning pitcher.

The head coach also pointed out this. "Mok Ji-hoon also did his part," coach Lee Ho-joon said after the victory, but added, "I was a little disappointed with the two balks."

Still, the game showed Mok's potential overall. When he was a freshman in elementary school, he appeared in a hot chocolate ad for a company in 2011, and was nicknamed "Meet Boy." After starting baseball, he was selected by NC as the 34th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft.

He pitched in only three games in his first season (2023), but last year, he pitched well in 16 games (66 ⅔ innings) with two wins, four losses and an earned run average of 2.70. Amid his performance, Mok was also selected in the Futures All-Star Game.