SUWON-SI, South Korea (Interstat) — Caleb Boushley delivered another dominant start and Choi Won-jun drove in two crucial runs as the KT Wiz defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at Suwon Baseball Stadium, extending their hold on first place in the Korea Baseball Organization standings.

A crowd of 13,721 watched the Wiz (13-5) secure their second consecutive victory over the struggling Heroes (4-14) in this weekend series. The game unfolded as a tight pitchers’ duel early before KT’s lineup broke through in the middle innings.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning, with KT trailing 2-1. After starter An Woo-jin was lifted following two innings of work, Kiwoom reliever Bae Dong-hyun navigated the third but ran into trouble in the fourth. With two outs and the bases empty, Han Seung-taek and Lee Gang-min hit back-to-back singles. That brought right fielder Choi Won-jun to the plate, and he ripped a double to the gap in right-center field, clearing the bases and giving the Wiz a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Boushley, the American right-hander for KT, earned his fourth win without a loss this season. He worked six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking none. He effectively worked out of his only significant jam in the top of the sixth. After Kiwoom loaded the bases with one out on three consecutive singles by Lee Joo-hyung, Park Joo-hong and An Chi-hong, Boushley limited the damage. An’s single scored one run, and a subsequent single by Aaron Brooks tied the game at 2-2. Boushley then struck out Kim Gun-hee and induced an inning-ending double play from Park Chan-hyeok to escape further trouble, preserving what was then a 3-2 lead.

Boushley’s performance continued an exceptional run. In his three previous April starts, he had pitched 18 scoreless innings, meaning the two runs he allowed Saturday were the first he had surrendered all month.

Kiwoom had taken an early 2-0 lead without a hit in the first inning, capitalizing on control issues from An Woo-jin, who was activated from the injured list to make the start. An walked the bases loaded and then hit a batter to force in the first run. A sacrifice fly from Kim Gun-hee brought in the second. An was pulled after two innings, having thrown 47 pitches, and was charged with the loss, his record falling to 0-1.

The Wiz got one run back in the second against Bae Dong-hyun on an RBI double from Jang Jun-won, setting the stage for Choi’s go-ahead hit in the fourth. KT added a valuable insurance run in the seventh when veteran Kim Hyun-soo singled home Choi Won-jun, who had led off the inning with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt.

The KT bullpen sealed the victory with three scoreless innings. Han Seung-hyuk struck out two in a perfect seventh, Sugimoto Koki worked around a hit in the eighth, and closer Park Yeong-hyun pitched a clean ninth for his seventh save of the season.

For Kiwoom, An Chi-hong went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but the Heroes’ offense stranded multiple runners, going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and hitting into two double plays. The loss was Kiwoom’s fifth in a row and 12th in their last 14 games, deepening their early-season slump.

The victory improved KT’s record in one-run games this season and reinforced their status as the league’s early front-runner. The teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Suwon.