"I only hit the first shot..."
Lotte's Koshiro Wada got more opportunities to starting line-up in the interleague games, but he was far from satisfied.
This season, he has mainly been used as a pinch runner and defense substitute, and had not made a single starting line-up before the interleague series. In the last game before the interleague series, Rakuten Eagles on May 24, he came in as a substitute in the 7th inning to play defense, and in his first at-bat in the 8th inning with one out and runners on first and second strike, he hit the third pitch thrown by Ren Kajiya, cutter, to right field for his first hit of the season.
In the interleague series that began on May 26, Wada only appeared as a pinch runner in the first game against Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium, and did not start in any games. However, he got starting line-up first chance to start of starting line-up season in the game against Hanshin Tigers on May 31. Starting as the number 9 batter and center fielder, Wada came to starting line-up in the 5th inning with two outs and runners on first and second base, trailing 1-2. "I didn't think he was pitcher who could easily create opportunities, so I was just thinking about how to keep the rally going. I'm glad we were able to tie the game," he said, as he hit a timely single to right field off the eighth pitch, fork thrown by Hiroto Saiki, with a 3-ball, 2-strike.
His batting form appears to have reverted to a stance with his back straight, but he revealed, "I haven't really reverted to a previous form, but I am trying to visualize raising the bat from a horizontal position." He continued, "I've tried various things, and I think it's better to raise the bat now, so that's what I'm doing."
He also shone in the game against Yakult on June 2nd, where he started for the second consecutive game as the "number 8 batter and center fielder starting line-up." In his first at-bat in the 2nd inning with Walk 0-0, he drew a walk, and in his second at-bat in the 3rd inning with two outs and no runner on base, hit hit a single to left field off the seventh pitch, fastball thrown by Kengo Matsumoto on a 3-ball, 2-strike.
During batting practice before the game, he hit a ball to the opposite field from center fielder, a batting performance that seemed to be the result of his hard work up to that point. Wada himself reflected, "I always hit balls like that during batting practice, and I think it was good that I was able to hit a ball like that when I was behind in the count."
In the bottom of the 5th inning with two outs and runners on second and third base, Wada stepped up to the plate for the third time. He calmly watched the fifth pitch, an outside fastball thrown by Koryo Sakaguchi on a 3-ball, 1-strike hit and drew his second Walk of the day. In the bottom of the 8th inning with no outs and no runner on base, Wada stepped up to center fielder for the fourth time. He hit slider thrown by Kota Shoji on a 2-ball, 2-strike count to center field for a multi-hit game. Wada's momentum continued in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs and no runner on base. In his fifth at-bat, he hit change-up thrown by Yu Hirosawa on a 2-strike count, sending it past first baseman Osuna's glove for an infield hit. He finished the day with 3 hit and 2 Walk, reaching base in all 5 of his plate appearances.
Although his hitting has stalled since those three hit, he said, "That's something I have to do as a matter of course, given my style of play, so I hope I can just get it done as expected," and he has been successfully executing sacrifice bunts and drawing Walk.
Wada also has the safety bunt as a weapon. Although he hasn't successfully executed a safety hit in a first-team regular season since the game Orix Buffaloes on September 10, 2024, he did successfully execute five safety hit in first-team regular season in 2023. "If there's an opportunity, I'd like to try to execute it," he said, showing his enthusiasm.
With Kyota Fujiwara sidelined due to injury and Akito Takabe demoted to the minor leagues, Koki Yamaguchi continues to be starting line-up starter in left field, but only Misho Nishikawa can be considered a permanent starter. This isn't just true for Wada, but the key is whether he can produce results when given the opportunity to start and maintain that performance. "That (starting line-up position) is something everyone is aiming for, so I want to produce results when I'm given the chance to play." When the league season resumes and he gets a chance to start, he wants to demonstrate consistent performance and earn the trust of his teammates.
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
