◆Exhibition game: Nippon-Ham 1-1 Yakult (22nd, ES CON FIELD)

Kotaro Kiyomiya, Nippon-Ham infielder has fully recovered from right elbow arthritis and rejoined the first team, recorded his first hit of the preseason.

In his second at-bat in the third inning with one out and no runner on base, he fouled off several pitches against Yakult starting pitcher Ogawa, and on the 13th pitch, he hit a floating fork perfectly to center fielder field. This was his first appearance in a preseason game this season, and it dispelled any anxieties about the start of the season.

Yuki Kiyomiya smiled and said, "I'm glad I persevered and got a hit." Regarding his first exhibition game with the first team this season, he said, "It's really fun. Professional baseball is all about playing here, and I was reminded of that again."

He had no anxieties about the start of the season. "Even while I was doing rehabilitation, I thought I would be ready in time. Whether or not I would be called up was up to the boss." He also took a positive view of the time he was out, saying, "I thought God was telling me to rest. I wanted to be able to think now that it was good that it happened, that it was good that I had this time off."

During camp, Ko Kiyomiya left before a practice game with Chunichi on February 19 (Chatan). He was diagnosed with "right elbow arthritis" on the 21st of the same month, and when he returned to actual competition in the Eastern Education League on March 11, he played two games in the Education League, 4 At Bat 1 hit. He then played five games in the Eastern regular season, 15 At Bat 5 hit 3 Home Run 6 RBI and recovered to join the first team in the final game of the open season.