◆Pre-season game: Seibu Lions 4-3 Nippon-Ham (5th, Escon)

Nippon-Ham 's fourth-round draft pick, infielder Minato Handa (Nihon University Fujisawa), and first-round development pick, infielder (Hokkai Gakuen University), joined the first team. Both made their first appearance in an exhibition game midway through the game.

Before the game against Lotte on the 7th (ESCON), there was an event to introduce the new players, so Handa joined the first team early. Coach Shinjo told Handa to "make sure you remember the atmosphere of ESCON," and he played defense from the 7th inning. At the same time, Tsuneya also played third base, and the rookie played shortstop.

Tsuneya came up to bat in the eighth inning and grounded out to the pitcher. "I wasn't able to have the at-bat I wanted. I think I could have organized my thoughts a little better while at bat, so if I have another at-bat, I'd like to learn from this experience and have a good at-bat next time," he said, showing his regret.

Handa also came up to bat for the first time in the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on first full count struck out However, he reflected with a smile, "I ended up striking struck out, but being able to hang in there and keep up with the professional ball shows that I've grown. I was also able to play defense, which was a good experience. I was happy to have fun playing today."