The cheers grew louder in proportion to the flight of the ball. In the second inning with two outs and runners on second and third, and a one-point lead, Seibu Lions' first-round draft pick Kojima caught a 151 km/h fastball right down the middle, sending the ball on a low trajectory into the right-field stands. It was his ninth three-run home run of the season. 'The contact felt great the moment I hit it, so I thought it might go,' he said. It was a perfect shot that the right fielder stopped chasing halfway through.

4 hit and 4 RBI in 5 At Bat. It was a rampage that put him on the verge of a major record. In his first at-bat with one out and a runner on second in the first inning, he hit a go-ahead RBI doble down the right-field line. In his third at-bat with one out in the fifth inning, he hit a single to center. At that point, he only needed a triple to achieve the first cycle hit by a Pacific League rookie, but he said with a shy smile, 'After I got the third hit, Masaki told me on first base that I only needed one more triple to achieve it, so that was the first time I realized it.' Amidst loud cheers of 'triple hit, Kojima!' from the Lions fans who dyed a corner of the left-field stands blue, he entered his fourth at-bat with one out in the seventh inning. He said, 'The stadium is a bit small and I'm not that fast, so I wasn't aiming for a triple, just a hit.' Staying grounded, he swung compactly and reached base with an infield hit to second.

Behind his rookie-defying performance lies the support of a reliable senior teammate. During the three-game series, at the invitation of Yu Koga, who is four years his senior and competing for the starting catcher position, he visited a famous Fukuoka offal hot pot restaurant with team staff. He said, 'It was delicious. I had been wanting to eat it, and since it was my first time eating it in Fukuoka, it provided great nutrition.' He recharged his energy, which led to his dynamic performance.

Thanks in part to Ojima's performance, the team stopped their losing streak at three and reached 70 wins. They secured a winning percentage of .500 or higher for the first time in four seasons and maintained their hold on second place, which they are contesting with Nippon-Ham. Although there is a six-game gap with the first-place Softbank Hawks, Manager Nishiguchi said, "We haven't given up on first place. In a situation where we just have to close the gap by even one game, this single win is huge." They will continue to hang on without giving up.

(Ayami Onaka)