On March 21st at 1:00 PM, an exhibition game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the Yokohama DeNA Belluna Dome.

​Junichiro Kishi, who joined the first team before the game the previous day, was immediately given a starting line-up position as the "number 5 first baseman." While his team's batting lineup struggled against opposing starting pitcher Katsuki Azuma, who was slated to be the opening day pitcher, Kishi hit a difficult low outside pitch to center fielder in his first at-bat, recording the team's first hit and showcasing his extraordinary batting ability.

Last season, Kishi was sidelined due to two muscle strains, resulting in only 10 appearances in official first-team regular season. This season, he spent the spring training with the second team, but he managed to join the first team after recording 6 RBI, 1 hit, and 6 Home Run in 15 At Bat-bats over 4 games in the farm league, for a batting average of .400. With Nevin, a key player for the team, likely to be sidelined, expectations are high for Kishi to fill the void.

Written by Ao Yokoyama