It was Rakuten Eagles 's Fumiya Kurokawa 's bat that brought an end to the 4-hour and 38-minute battle.

In the game Seibu Lions on the 22nd, with the score tied 7-7 in the bottom of the 12th inning with two outs and a runner on second base, Kurokawa came up to bat. He swung at splitter thrown by Taiga Ueda on a 1-ball, 1-strike, and hit a walk walk-off off single over the head of the left fielder who was playing in a forward defense.

Toshiaki Imae, who served as a commentator on CS Fuji TV ONE's "Pro baseball News" broadcast on the 22nd, said, "He is a player who is sincere about baseball. He always gives his all. When you are a person who always puts your heart into it, good results like this will eventually follow. His jersey is almost always completely black. He is a player who can get covered in mud even during practice, a true baseball fanatic. I am happy to see a player like him grow and improve." He expressed his delight at the achievement of the young talent who has worked so hard and persevered.

Another commentator, Masashi Saito, agreed with Ima'e, saying, "He's definitely the type of player whose emotions are on full display," and added, "He's batting ninth today. He's batted fourth before, so he must have a lot on his mind... It seems he was under immense pressure." He praised Kurokawa's mental strength for producing results despite the difficult situation of his positioning changing.

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"