◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 1-5 Nippon-Ham (28th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions Haruse Narita (Haruse) pitcher reached his first professional mound in the ninth inning of the Nippon-Ham game.

He came in as the fourth pitcher in the ninth inning, replacing Mameda, for his first appearance at mound. He pitched aggressively, mixing a fastball that topped out at 154 km/h with fork, slider, and cutter. Although he gave up a single to center field hit to leadoff hitter Yuki Kiyomiya, he got the next batter, Shindo, to ground out to shortstop double play.However, Narama hit a fastball that floated high into the air just inside the left-field pole, marking his first home run allowed. Reflecting on his bittersweet debut, he said, “It’s not a great start, but I hope I can bounce back from here.”

A right-hander from Aomori who joined the team as the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Hirosaki Technical High School. Although he gave up his first home run in his debut,he vowed to improve, saying, “Even if I take the mound while we’re behind, I want to use my pitching to lift the team’s spirits and lead us to a comeback. And if I’m pitching while we’re ahead, I want to be the kind of pitcher who can really keep the team focused.”