By KELLY OLSEN, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)—South Korea erupted in joy Saturday after the country claimed its first Olympic gold medal in baseball by beating perennial powerhouse Cuba in a nail-biting final to stay undefeated in Beijing.
South Koreans gathered in homes, bars, restaurants, public squares and a Seoul stadium to cheer for their team in the most important game in their country’s baseball history.
The final two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, courtesy of a clutch bases loaded double-play, sealed South Korea’s 3-2 win.
“It’s great. I’m overjoyed,” said Cho Chong-eun, a mobile communications company employee who had joined several hundred people to watch the game on a big screen television on a muggy night in a downtown Seoul square.
