Yuto Akihiro infielder, currently participating in the Miyazaki training camp, played as the "number 5 batter and first baseman" for the White team in the intrasquad game on the 19th. In his first at-bat in the second inning with no outs, he hit a clean single to left field off Haru Matsumoto, a strong candidate for the starting rotation. In his second at-bat in the fourth inning with two outs, he faced Ryusei Oe, who was traded with him from The Giants midway through last season in exchange for Richard. He stubbornly hit hit fastball for a single to center field. Ooe is also an upperclassman from Nishogakusha University High School. "I had faced him before (in intrasquad games) when I was with the Giants, but it was a fresh experience to see him in The Hawks uniform," he recalled.

In the sixth inning, with one out and two on, the third batter faced Yusuke Ito, a fellow The Giants member of the 20-year draft. While being driven in by an unfavorable count, he moved runner to third on a double play.

After the season ended, Akihiro became a disciple of Hotaka Yamakawa and modified his batting form to lift his right foot in order to effectively use his weight shift. "I want to try to swing as close as possible to the way I practice in games," he said.