Australian pitcher O'Loughlin looking to make most of 'incredible opportunity' in KBO

One last-minute phone call changed the trajectory of Australian pitcher Jack O'Loughlin's career this month. O'Loughlin had himself a strong World Baseball Classic (WBC) earlier in March in Tokyo, a stint that included 3 1/3 strong innings against Korea in the teams' final Pool C game. Australia lost to Korea 7-2 to fall just short of qualifying for the quarterfinals. The players would go their separate ways, with a couple of O'Loughlin's teammates, pitcher Lachlan Wells and shortstop Jarryd Dale, on their way to Korea to begin the new Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. Little did O'Loughlin know he would soon join them. The 26-year-old signed with the Samsung Lions as a short-term injury replacement on March 16. He is on a six-week, $50,000 contract, with the Lions scrambling to find a full-time replacement for starter Matt Manning, who is out with an elbow injury. "I did not expect it at all. I was talking to a few teams back in the United States, and then at the last second, right before I got on the plane to go back to Australia, I got a phone call about coming to Korea to play

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