◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions Softbank Hawks (8th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions came from behind to defeat Softbank Hawks and climb back up to second place. Trailing 0-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs and a runner on second base, first-round draft catcher Taiga Kojima (22) = Meiji University = hit a go-ahead two-run homer, his fifth of the season, to turn the game around.

Up until the sixth inning, both starting pitchers, Seibu Lions of Softbank Hawks and Kamichatani of Softbank, pitch runs. In the seventh inning, Sumida gave up the first run when Tanigawara hit a timely doble down the left field line. Seibu Lions offense remained silent until the eighth inning, when Genda led off with a single to left hit off the second pitcher, Matsumoto Yu, and with two outs and a runner on second, Kojima hit a priceless two-run homer to give the team the lead.

In the bottom of the 7th with one out, Takeya Nakamura infielder (42)—who had been called up to the first team for the first time this season on the 7th—hit in his seventh at-bat of the season. This marked his 24th consecutive year since 2003 hit, sending the home fans and the third-base side Seibu Lions bench into a frenzy.Although it didn’t lead to a run, Seibu Lions the momentum gradually shifted in their favor, and rookie Kojima came through.

Takeshi Nakamura got his first professional hit on September 28, 2003, in a game against Nippon-Ham Fighters, when he was 20 years old. Kojima was born one month later, on October 27, 2003. Kojima said that Nakamura's hit "got the bench excited," and revealed that Nakamura's presence was behind the game-winning home run, saying, "He's an experienced player, so I think his demeanor in the dugout is great, and he was hitting some amazing balls in practice, so I want to learn from him."

The previous day, on the 7th, they suffered three consecutive losses and dropped to third place, but they have risen back up to second place in just one day. Although they are still 7.5 games behind Softbank Hawks, manager Nishiguchi nodded and said, "I think everyone, every single one of them, is really fulfilling their role properly. This is a really big win."