◆ Seibu Lions Pacific League: Seibu vs. Softbank Hawks (24th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions 's second-round draft pick, pitcher Hakua Hakua Iwaki, made his return to the first team in a game against Softbank Hawks (at Belluna Dome), pitching one inning, allowing two hit and no runs.

He entered as the fourth pitcher from the ninth inning with the team trailing by four runs. Leadoff hitter Kurihara grounded out to shortstop. Next, Kawamura hit a hit to center field, and after two outs, Tanigawahara hit a hit to right field, putting runners on first and third. In the end, he got pinch hitter Imamiya to a grounder to third and took the mound out with no runs. His fastest fastball was 150 km/h.

Although the team was trailing, the left-hander returned to his 9th-inning “mound” form—the same he had before being demoted to the minors—and expressed his determination to reclaim his role as closer, saying, “I want to pitch in a winning situation as soon as possible and help the team win.” Looking ahead, he vowed to continue improving: “fastball I was able to get some swings and misses, so I want to make sure I use that as a weapon. breaking ball count, and improve my accuracy even further,” he vowed to continue improving.

He joined Seibu Lions Lions in 2013 as the second overall pick in the draft from Chuo University. In his rookie season this year, he served as the team's closer from the start of the season, but in June he was hit hard at times, and was removed from the active roster on the 24th of that month. At that point, his record was 1 win, 1 loss, 2 hold, 18 saves, and ERA 4.15 in 26 appearances.