◆ Pacific League: Nippon-Ham vs. Rakuten Eagles (7th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham Hiroki Tsuneya infielder hit a single to left field in his second at-bat of the fifth inning, marking his first professional hit . hit

Even before Tsuneya had started running, manager Shinjo in the dugout raised both arms in celebration. In his second at-bat, leading off the fifth inning, Tsuneya was behind in the count against Rakuten Eagles starter Urena, but he still managed to connect with slider. It was a sharp single to left field, breaking through the gap between third base and shortstop. Eight days after being registered as starting line-up on July 31st and immediately starting in the lineup, he hit his first professional hit, clenching his right fist on first base.

He finally fulfilled his "promise" to the manager. On June 20th, manager Shinjo sent Tsuneya a direct message. "If you hit 16 more hits you'll be on the main roster. Hurry up and hit them." However, by the end of the first half of the farm team season, he had only managed 15 hit. At the press conference announcing his registration as a main roster player, manager Shinjo sent him off saying, "I want you to show me that one hit right in front of my eyes." But up until his first at-bat that day, he had hit in 8 of 10 At Bat appearances. It was in his third starting line-up that he finally got the promised "16th hit."

His selling point is his aggressive batting style, which allows him to hit long balls to all fields. Even though he went hit in four At Bat-bats in his debut game, Tsuneya remained positive, saying, "I think my aggressiveness, which is my strong point, and the pitches I went after were correct." He will use a well-placed hit to establish himself in the first team.