GWANGJU (Interstat) — Kim Hyun-soo hit a grand slam and drove in four runs, and the KT Wiz scored three times in the 10th inning to beat the Kia Tigers 8-5 on Tuesday evening at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, South Korea. The game lasted 4 hours, 8 minutes and drew 14,065 fans. KT improved to 78-48-4, while Kia fell to 70-57-2. KT finished with 12 hits, and Kia had 11.

KT opened the game with a quiet first. Choi Won-jun flied out to center, Kim Hyun-soo popped out to third, Ahn Hyun-min walked, and Sam Hilliard singled to right. After Hilliard’s single advanced Ahn to second, Jang Sung-woo struck out to leave two runners on base. Kia then took the lead in the bottom half when Park Jae-hyun singled to center, Kim Ho-ryung struck out, and Kim Do-yeong homered to center. Harold Castro walked, Na Sung-bum reached on a fielder’s choice that retired Castro at second, and Kim Sun-bin grounded out to pitcher.

Kim Hyun-soo, KT’s top performer, went 3-for-6 with one home run and four RBIs. His grand slam came in the second inning after Choi Won-jun, Jang Jun-won and Heo Kyoung-min reached base. Ryu Hyun-in fouled out to third, Heo Kyoung-min walked, and Han Seung-taek grounded out to second while Heo advanced. Jang Jun-won walked, and Choi Won-jun singled to left to load the bases. Kim Hyun-soo then drove a pitch to right field, clearing the bases and turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead. The homer highlighted a four-run inning for the Wiz. Kim Do-yeong of Kia went 3-for-5 with one home run and two RBIs. He opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer to center that also scored Park Jae-hyun.

Kia went down in order in the second. Han Jun-su flied out to left, Kim Tae-gun flied out to left, and Ha Ju-suk grounded out to second. KT threatened in the third. Jang Sung-woo popped out to third, Ryu Hyun-in grounded out to second, but Heo Kyoung-min singled to center and Han Seung-taek singled to left. Jang Jun-won flied out to left to end the inning.

KT’s bullpen kept the Tigers in check. Park Yeong-hyun pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one hit with no earned runs while striking out three. Oh Won-seok followed with 2.0 innings of no-hit, scoreless relief and one strikeout. Kim Jeong-woon added 1.2 innings with no hits, no earned runs, one walk and one strikeout. Those outings helped KT hold its position after Kia’s early surge and kept the game close into the late innings. Park Yeong-hyun bridged the middle innings, and Oh Won-seok and Kim Jeong-woon combined to allow no hits over their relief work. Their control helped neutralize Kia’s lineup after the Tigers had hit three home runs.

Kia answered in the third inning with power of its own. Kim Do-yeong doubled down the left-field line, and Harold Castro went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBIs. His two-run shot scored Kim Do-yeong. Na Sung-bum went 2-for-4 with one home run and one RBI, and he followed Castro with a solo homer to right field. The back-to-back homers gave Kia a 5-4 lead. Kim Sun-bin reached on an error by the first baseman, but Han Jun-su grounded out to first to end the inning. Kia starter Oller worked 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Jeon Sang-hyun pitched 0.2 innings with no hits, no earned runs and one walk. Cho Sang-woo also threw 0.2 innings, allowing no hits, no earned runs, one walk and one strikeout.

KT had other chances early. In the fourth, Choi Won-jun struck out, Kim Hyun-soo fouled out to left, Ahn Hyun-min was hit by a pitch, and Sam Hilliard struck out to end the threat. Kia went down in order in the fourth when Kim Tae-gun flied out to center, Ha Ju-suk struck out, and Park Jae-hyun grounded out to short. In the fifth, Jang Sung-woo flied out to center, Ryu Hyun-in fouled out to third, and Heo Kyoung-min fouled out to first. Kia’s Kim Ho-ryung grounded out to pitcher, Kim Do-yeong flied out to center, and Castro flied out to left.

Kia threatened in the sixth when Na Sung-bum singled down the right-field line and Kim Sun-bin reached on an infield single to the left side. The rally ended when Kim Tae-gun grounded into a double play that retired Kim Sun-bin at second. In the seventh, Ha Ju-suk singled to center-right and Park Jae-hyun singled to center, and Park stole second. Kim Ho-ryung struck out, and Kim Do-yeong grounded out to third, leaving the runners stranded.

KT put pressure on Kia in the seventh. Kim Hyun-soo singled to center-left, Ahn Hyun-min was hit by a pitch, and Ryu Hyun-in walked to load the bases. But Sam Hilliard popped out to short, Jang Sung-woo fouled out to third, and Heo Kyoung-min fouled out to third, ending the inning without a run. In the eighth, KT got a two-out walk from Choi Won-jun, but Kim Hyun-soo grounded out to second. Kia’s bottom of the eighth saw Castro flied out to center, Na Sung-bum flied out to center, Kim Sun-bin walked, and Park Jung-woo flied out to left.

Kia had another chance in the ninth. Kim Tae-gun flied out to left, Park Min popped out to short, and Park Jae-hyun singled to right. Kim Ho-ryung then struck out on a dropped third strike, ending the inning. Before that, KT had tied the game in the top of the ninth. Ahn Hyun-min singled to left, Sam Hilliard singled to left, and after Jang Sung-woo struck out, Kwon Dong-jin reached on a fielder’s choice. Oh Yoon-suk was hit by a pitch, and Kim Sang-su walked with the bases loaded to force in Ahn Hyun-min and make it 5-5.

In the 10th, KT took control. Choi Won-jun singled down the right-field line, and Kim Hyun-soo doubled to left-center to put runners on second and third. Ahn Hyun-min tripled over the head of the center fielder, scoring Kim Hyun-soo and Choi Won-jun. Sam Hilliard followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored An Chi-young. Jang Sung-woo struck out, and Son Min-seok grounded out to second, but KT had built an 8-5 lead. Kia was retired in the bottom of the 10th without a run, completing the Wiz’s extra-inning road win.

The win gave KT a valuable result in the evening game and improved its season record to 78-48-4. Kia’s record moved to 70-57-2. The teams are scheduled to meet again Wednesday at the same ballpark. KT entered the series with recent wins over Doosan and NC, while Kia had recently beaten LG. KT’s 12 hits included extra-base hits from Kim Hyun-soo and Ahn Hyun-min, while Kia’s 11 hits were powered by home runs from Kim Do-yeong, Castro and Na. The game featured 23 combined hits and lasted 4 hours, 8 minutes before a crowd of 14,065.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of KT Wiz 5, Kia Tigers 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Kia with a 51 percent probability to win.