◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Lotte vs. Chunichi (11th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

On the 11th, Lotte’s Misho Nishikawa outfielder faced off against Chunichi left-hander Yuto Kanemaru pitcher—a teammate from his college days on the Samurai Japan national team—for the first time as professionals in a game held at ZOZO Stadium Chunichi. In his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, he launched a fly ball over the center-field wall doble.The home stadium erupted in a frenzy at the sight of that powerful hit. Immediately afterward, with one out and runners on second and third, Soto delivered a run-scoring single to left field, giving his team the early lead.

Four university players were selected for the Samurai Japan European representative game held in March 2024: Rui Muneyama (currently Rakuten Eagles, Meiji University), Kanemaru (Kansai University), Nishikawa (Aoyama Gakuin University), and Yuto Nakamura (currently Yakult, Aichi Institute of Technology). The two had fought together representing Japan in a warm-up game against South Korea last November, and Kanemaru made his first start against Lotte, finally making their professional matchup a reality. Before the game, he said with determination, "The quality of his fastball has definitely improved since then. I want to be prepared to swing with all my might so that I don't get struck out."

As of before the start of the season, he has appeared in 60 games, recording 74 hit At Bat-bats, a batting average of .310, 5 Home Run, and 27 RBI. Meanwhile, Kanemaru has made 10 appearances on the mound, with a stable record of 4 wins and 5 losses and ERA of 2.38.

Nishikawa created the scoring opportunity, and Soto, the team's slugger who immediately followed up with a go-ahead hit, said, "The pitch I hit was change-up. I knew he was a good pitcher, so I'm happy that I was able to at least get RBI. I want to try not to miss opportunities like this as much as possible."