◆Exhibition game Orix Buffaloes 0-1 Softbank Hawks (8th, Kyocera Dome)

On the 8th, Softbank Hawks Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo concluded the team's Kansai road trip, in which the offense was sluggish, allowing only one runs in three games. Regarding the young fielder' chances of making the first team, he pointed out their lack of ability to impress, saying, "They don't have a decisive factor."

The team is missing four fielder- Kondo, Shuto, Makihara and Downs - for the WBC, so now is a great chance for the young players to make an impression. The second team's opening game is scheduled for the 14th, and the three-game series against The Giants (10th-12th, Ube, Mizuho PayPay) will be a key point. "It won't just be three games though. There will be a lot of changes when the WBC members return. To be honest, the current situation is that the players on the borderline have no decisiveness at all. They have no decisiveness. They're all pretty much the same," he said.

On this day, Tomoya Inoue, who started as the sixth batter and right fielder, went 1-At Bat hit 4, Yoshiyasu Sasakawa, the seventh batter and center fielder, hit 0 At Bat 3, and Yuto Akihiro also hit 0-At Bat-3. The most notable performance came from Tomoya Masaki who hit doble over the center field fence as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning with no outs and a runner on first. Manager Kokubo also praised him, saying, "I think it was a slightly sweet inside pitch, but being able to hit a ball like that is one of his strengths."