◆ Pacific League 8-1 Softbank Hawks (April 4th, Mizuho PayPay Stadium)

Lotte dominated the Softbank Hawks both on the mound and at the plate, overtaking the Orix Buffaloes to move up to fourth place. Leading off the first inning, Kyota Fujiwara outfielder (26) blasted his third solo home run of the season into the “lucky zone” in right-center field right off the first pitch.In the second inning, the team hitter mounted a fierce seven-run rally, knocking out Softbank Hawks ’s 2025 Development Draft 8th-round right-hander Hokuto—a former Chuo University semi-hardball player making his professional debut as a starter. Starting left-hander Long pitched seven runs innings to record his first win in Japan.

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Veteran outfielder Katsuya Kakunaka (39), in his 20th year as a professional, recorded his first hit of the season. This marks his 16th consecutive year with a hit since 2011.

In the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, he came up to bat as a pinch hitter for Soto. He reacted to Fuga Otake 's 152 km/h fastball and was hit by a hair's breadth for infield single to shortstop.

"I don't think my speed has declined," said the player number 3, reflecting on his impressive run. "Even pitches over 150 km/h felt normal to me. Rather than saying I got hit, I was just happy to have had one at-bat and that I was doing surprisingly well. So I think it was good."