DAEJEON, South Korea (Interstat) — In a tense, back-and-forth affair that saw 17 walks and 23 stranded runners, the Samsung Lions edged the Hanwha Eagles 6-5 on Tuesday night at a packed Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium.

A crowd of 17,000 watched as the Lions, despite being outhit 12-8, leveraged patience at the plate and a lockdown effort from their bullpen to secure the one-run victory and improve their season record to 9-4-1. The Eagles fell to 6-8 with the loss, their fourth in the last five games.

The game’s pivotal sequence arrived in the top of the eighth inning, with Samsung trailing 5-4. Hanwha’s bullpen, tasked with protecting the slim lead, completely lost the strike zone. Facing reliever Lee Min-woo and then Hwang Jun-seo, the Lions drew four consecutive walks with one out, forcing in the tying run when Lewin Diaz took a base on balls. Kim Jong-soo entered and immediately walked Ryu Ji-hyuk, pushing across the go-ahead run. The inning featured only 10 pitches, nine of which were balls, and turned the game decisively in Samsung’s favor.

The contest began as a pitcher’s duel, with Hanwha starter Moon Dong-ju delivering a strong five-inning outing. He scattered six hits, struck out six and did not allow an earned run, keeping the Lions off the board early. Samsung starter Choi Won-tae was less sharp, surrendering four earned runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Hanwha broke through first in the third inning. Lee Won-seok singled and scored on Yonathan Perlaza’s double to right-center. Perlaza then came home on Moon Hyun-bin’s single to right, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

They extended it in the fourth. A bunt single by Sim Woo-jun plated Lee Do-yun, and a sacrifice fly by Perlaza brought in Choi Jae-hoon, making it 4-0.

Samsung finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth, capitalizing on control issues from Hanwha’s bullpen. With the bases loaded, Lee Jae-hyeon reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Ryu Ji-hyuk to score. The Lions then erupted for three runs in the seventh to tie the game. Kim Ji-chan scored on a bases-loaded walk to Ryu Ji-hyuk, and Choi Hyoung-woo came home on a double play groundout by Jeon Byeong-woo, knotting the score at 4-4.

Hanwha responded instantly in the bottom of the sixth to reclaim the lead. Sim Woo-jun walked, stole second, and scored on a single by Lee Won-seok, making it 5-4. That lead, however, was erased by the disastrous eighth inning for the Eagles’ relievers.

Samsung’s bullpen combination of Lee Seung-min, Bae Chan-seung, Lee Seung-hyun and Kim Jae-yoon sealed the win. Over the final 4 1/3 innings, they allowed just one run on three hits. Kim Jae-yoon was particularly dominant in the ninth, striking out two in a perfect frame to earn the save.

The Lions’ offense was led by Kim Ji-chan, who had a hit, walked three times, scored twice and stole a base. For Hanwha, Lee Won-seok went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Perlaza drove in two runs.

The victory defied the pregame projections from Interstat, which had forecast a 7-3 Samsung win and gave the Lions a 50.6% probability of victory. The combined 11 runs fell under the posted over/under line of 10.5.

The two teams will meet again Wednesday evening in Daejeon for the second game of their three-game series.