◆ Pacific League Orix Buffaloes 3X-2 Lotte (24th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes ・ Ryo Ota infielder started at "No. 4, second base" and hit his second walk-off of the season in his fourth at-bat.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with one out and runners on first and second, the score was tied by a timely single to left field by his classmate Yamanaka. On a 1-1 count, he connected with cutter from Lotte's Kawamura and sent it to center field. In his previous three at-bats, he had grounded out to third base, struck out swinging, and grounded out to shortstop. Showing his determination while Nishikawa was intentional walk walked right in front of him, he smiled and said, "I wanted to decide it myself. I was able to react well."

As he rounded first base, his teammates gave him a rough water shower as a celebration. "I wish it was just water. They poured Aquarius on me instead (laughs)," he said, his face beaming with satisfaction. His alma mater, Tenri, has been steadily winning through the Nara tournament and will face Unebi in the semi-finals on the 25th. "I think they'll get this far. I'll be keeping an eye on them from here on out (to see how they do)," he said, offering his support.

The team has returned to a .500 winning percentage and achieved its first seven-game home winning streak against Lotte in 17 years, since 2009. The star player number 1 said, "The level of fatigue is completely different depending on whether you win or lose. We really just need two more wins," setting his sights on finishing the first half of the season with three consecutive wins.