◆パ・リーグ　オリックス３―５西武（２１日・京セラドーム大阪）

Orix Buffaloes 's Sugisawa received a heartwarming message: "Congratulations!" It was from Shuhei Fukuda, who played for the team until last season, after he hit his first professional Home Run in his 69th at-bat in the 5th inning with no outs and a runner on second base, trailing by 5 runs.

He swung and missed the first pitch, realizing that his body was lunging forward. He instantly remembered. Last year, he only played in 14 games, mainly in the minor leagues. He had swung the bat desperately every day, and there was something Mr. Fukuda had taught him: "Rotation, rotation, stride!" The second pitch was the same fastball. He changed his mindset and stepped forward with his right foot almost vertically. "Shuhei came to mind. I owe it all to Shuhei." With a smooth yet powerful swing, the ball went into the right-center field stands. The commemorative ball was returned to him.

He's in his fourth year as a pro, having graduated from Tohoku Fukushi University, the same university as manager Kishida. During his off-season training, he has been mentored by fellow left-handed hitter Kurihara (Softbank Hawks) and Sakakura (Hiroshima). Although they hadn't met personally, Nishikawa introduced them to each other. Kishida was impressed by Nishikawa's earnestness and how he "seriously thinks about baseball." He has only had 29 at-bats so far, but his batting average is a high .417. Even though the gap with league leaders Seibu Lions has widened to a season-high 6.5 games, this young talent will help close the gap. (Toru Nagata)