Paichai High School's baseball team during the opening round of the 54th Bonghwang Flag National High School Baseball Tournament at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap) Paichai High School’s baseball team exited the national high school baseball tournament with a first-round defeat Wednesday, ending a season that put the school at the center of a national controversy over a cheer mocking the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.Paichai lost 8-5 to Incheon High School in the opening round of the 54th Bonghwang Flag National High School Baseball Tournament at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday. It was the season’s final national tournament.The teams traded leads before entering the eighth inning tied at 5-5. Incheon then pulled ahead in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs on a series of hits and walks. Paichai failed to answer in its final two at-bats, bringing its season to an end.After the game, Paichai captain Ko Hyun-seok told reporters that the controversy had taught the players how deeply their words and actions could affect others."Before becoming adults, we learned that even a single comment or action can grow into something bigger and hurt others," Ko said."Before the game, I reminded the players to watch what they said and refrain from making inappropriate remarks toward the opposing team. I also told them to focus on their roles and give their best since we came here to win," Ko added.The controversy erupted on June 29 during Paichai's first-round match against Gwangju Jeil High School at the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship.During the game, several Paichai players chanted, "We have to go, we have to go, we have to go to Starbucks," toward Gwangju Jeil's dugout. Another player shouted, "Tank Day."The chants referenced a controversial Starbucks Korea promotional campaign in May that drew criticism for evoking memories of the military crackdown on the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. The references appeared to be used as jeers, as the opposing players were from Gwangju.Following the backlash, the team visited Gwangju Jeil High School to apologize and pay its respects at the May 18 National Cemetery.Also, the Korea Baseball Softball Association initially handed Paichai a six-month competition ban and awarded its remaining Cheongryonggi games to its opponents by default.Paichai appealed to the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, whose disciplinary panel reduced the suspension to one month, allowing the team to compete in the tournament.