◆ Pacific League: Lotte 3x-2 Softbank Hawks (3rd, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte outfielder Kyota Fujiwara (25) watched the ball fly through to right-center field, then rounded first base and raised his right fist in the air. Seeing the smiles on his teammates' faces as they rushed over to him, he said he was overwhelmed with joy, saying, "I was so happy."

In the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing 0-2, Takabe's timely hit brought in one run, and with two outs and runners on second and third base, he connected with Sugiyama's fastball. "I had a good feeling about it. I knew it would be a fastball," he said, setting his sights on the pitch. His two-run doble gave them the lead, and it was his first walk-off hit as a professional. He had expected a water shower that would soak him, but said, "I thought there would be a bit more. There was only one at the very end." He chuckled at the surprisingly small amount of water that had hit him.

They couldn't afford to lose. Starting pitcher Mori, a second-round draft pick left-hander, pitched brilliantly, holding the opponent runs through six innings. In the seventh inning, he gave up a two-run homer to Kurihara, and seeing him slam his glove down in frustration in the dugout, Fujiwara thought, "We have to hit this. I think everyone, including myself, felt the same way." This became the "motivation" that united the bench. In order to erase the rookie's potential loss, the senior players cheered louder than usual, creating a comeback atmosphere. With the hopes of everyone on his bat, Fujiwara delivered the winning hit.

In the previous card against Nippon-Ham (ESCON), he was 3-0 hit. In the game on the 2nd, he was sent in as a substitute in the 6th inning along with Takabe in the 1st and was replaced in the middle of the inning. Manager Saburo complained, "If No. 1 and No. 2 don't work, we won't score any runs. Overnight, he responded with 2 hit 2 RBI as No. 2 hitter. Before the season opener, he dyed his hair color red, saying, "I want to burn hot. He moved into a tie for second place with a savings of 1. He is determined to make Makuhari go crazy again and again with his own success. （The team is now in a tie for second place with a savings of 1.)