"I experience a lot of things every day. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but that's what makes me the strongest."

Lotte's Misho Nishikawa reflected on the first month and a half since the season began as follows: Watching Nishikawa this season, every play is meticulous and flawless, and he shows a never-give-up attitude until the very end. In the game Seibu Lions on the 1st, in the bottom of the 9th inning with no outs and no runner on base, in his fourth at-bat, he hit a single to center fielder hit on the second pitch thrown by Ryota Itokawa after a 1-ball count, and I strongly felt his determination to fight to the very end.

◆ Persist and draw Walk

win He is calmly choosing where he chooses, despite his strong obsession with the Last season, he had 16 Walk in 444 at bats, but this season he has 10 Walk in 165 at bats. In the first at bat against Rakuten Eagles on April 18, with no outs in the first inning of a 0-0 game, he said, "Since it was 2 strike, I was more conscious of making the point closer than usual, and I think that made me better at spotting the ball, I think that was a good point." He was driven in by two pitches against Ureña, but he looked at the ball, fouled it off and chose Walk the eighth pitch from 3 balls 2 strike to slider the outside corner.

Again against Rakuten Eagles on April 29, he was driven in on two pitches against Kenta Maeda in the second at bat with two outs in the 1-2-3 3rd inning, but he spotted a ball on the outside corner and sent off a 136 km slider on the outside corner from 3 balls 2 strike to Walk for a base hit.

◆ hit to right field. Walk-up music for the first at-bat.

When it comes to hitting, in the game against Nippon-Ham on May 12th, he said, "I was able to hit exactly as I intended, and that's the most important thing." In his third at-bat in the 6th inning with two outs and no runner on base, with the score 0-2, he hit doble to right-center field off the first pitch slider thrown by Hiromi Ito, a powerful hit to right-center field that was typical of Nishikawa.

In the game against Nippon-Ham on the 14th, in his first at-bat in the first inning with one out and a runner on third base, he said, "I haven't been able to drive in RBI recently, and yesterday (the 14th) I wasted a lot of chances, so I went to the plate determined to get a hit. I'm glad we were able to score first." He hit the first pitch, a 151 km/ fastball thrown by Nippon-Ham 's Haruki Hosono, to right field for a go-ahead RBI single.

Since the game against Nippon-Ham on the 12th, Nishikawa has been using the walk-up music of Kyota Fujiwara, who was sidelined after injuring his right shoulder while defense against Softbank Hawks on the 10th, resulting in an anterior subluxation of the right shoulder joint. When asked about the reason, Nishikawa revealed, "Even when he was removed from the roster, Kyota-san and I talked about how we wanted to win the batting hitter together, and it was a title that Kyota-san had also been aiming for." He added, "He told me, 'I'm entrusting you with my dream of winning the batting hitter and most hit!' and I was so happy," expressing his gratitude.

While grateful for the support, Nishikawa plans to give Fujiwara plenty of at-bats once he returns. "I hope he can come back in as little as two months, and I'll hit well so that Kyohei can get as many at-bats as possible, and ultimately we can compete for the batting hitter. That's why I chose that as my walk-up music."

◆ Home Run I wanted

In the 3-1 sixth inning, with no outs runner and no outs, "I was able to hit it well on reaction. I was happy to score an extra run." Nippon-Ham- Hosono's second solo shot, a 150-kilometer fastball third pitch he threw from 1 ball 1 strike into the left home run lagoon.

Nishikawa hit a lot of angled pitches in fall practice at Zozo Marine Stadium last year, and has been working on focusing on certainty and long hits for this season. After the season opener, he said, "It's hard to get home run. I'm not really conscious of that during games, but as you can see from the numbers, I've only hit one, so I'm feeling that, but the swing I want to hit is gradually growing. I'm going to work on my confidence," he said in a post-match practice interview on May 13, his first Home Run since the April 15 Nippon-Ham match.

In the game against Nippon-Ham on the 14th, he contributed to win with a go-ahead hit and Home Run that added to the score. "Every game I play with the team in mind, for myself, and for the team, and I want to win. I'm doing my best to be a valuable asset to the team." Above all, he has a strong desire to win. For the team's win, for himself, and to compete with Kyota Fujiwara for the hitter title after returning from injury, he will deliver another hit today that will lead the team to win.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita