Lotte's second-round draft pick, left-handed pitcher Kaito Mori (22) from Meiji University, took part in pitch practice at the Coolish bullpen at the Miyakonojo camp on the 6th, throwing 52 pitches.

"I was able to throw with good balance. It's been a while since I threw more than 50 pitches."

In Lotte's camp, hitter stands at the plate during bullpen pitch and "gets used to it". pitcher also has the advantage of being able to pitch more practically. On this day, when Mori entered the bullpen, it was Kyuto Ueda (Kyuto) infielder (24), a senior two years older than Meiji University, who stood in the left at-bat.

"The first hitter this year was Kiyoshito... He's left-handed hitter, so I just focused on not letting the ball get away from him and not hitting him," said Mori. Mori became Meiji University's ace in his final year, but his first appearance in a league game was in the first round against Hosei University in the spring of his second year. At that time, Ueda was the captain and the number four batter at third base. bullpen brought back the team's beginner's spirit.

"Ishigaki (Genki) was throwing 149 km/h next to me..." he said with a laugh, but added, "He's a different type of pitcher, so I'll just take it easy. There were no fluctuations in the speed of the ball compared to last time, and I was able to keep it up the whole time, so I think that was good." The southpaw is looking ahead, keen to make it to the opening day first team. (Kato Hiroshi)