On the 4th, ENEOS pitcher Shunta Nagaya (23), who was selected in the third round by Lotte in the October draft, visited his alma mater, Hamamatsu Kaiseikan High School in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Nagaya, who was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Chairman Kazufumi Takabayashi and teacher Shin Sano, who had coached him, expressed his gratitude for the school's culture of emphasizing independence, saying, 'I developed the habit of thinking and practicing on my own.' He looked back on his time there, stating, 'If it weren't for those three years in high school, I would never have moved on to the professional level.'

He was an infielder until junior high school, but in the fall of his first year of high school, a coach recommended he switch to being a pitcher, and he became active as a right-hander with a top speed of 146 km/h. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no Koshien in the summer of his third year, but he led his team to a runner-up finish in the prefecture's independent tournament. After graduation, he went to Ritsumeikan University and then to ENEOS, and his current maximum speed is 154 km/h. 'If I hadn't become a pitcher, I wouldn't have made it to the pros. It was the biggest turning point in my life.'

He will become the first professional baseball player from Hamamatsu Kaiseikan. Teacher Sano, who previously played for Chunichi as an outfielder and knows the harshness of the professional world, gave him a shout-out, saying, 'Steel yourself and do your best.' Nagaya looked toward the future, stating, 'I want to utilize the strong winds of Marine Stadium for my fork, which I have confidence in. The player I want to face is Kondo of the Softbank Hawks.'