On 19 March, the opening match between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and The Giants in ES CON FIELD ended in a 5-2 win for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham got on board in the first inning when Shun Mizutani singled to load the bases with Walk and Martinez led off the inning with an RBI doble with one out. In the bottom of the second inning, just after the score was tied, back-to-back singles by Daigo Kamikawahata and Tatsuki Mizuno put runners on first and second with one out, and with two outs, Kotaro Kiyomiya hit an RBI single to score the winning run.

Starting pitcher Shoma Kanemura pitcher got off to a dominant start in the first inning, retiring three batters on just nine pitches, including two strike out. In the top of the second inning, Kazuma Okamoto led off the inning with a solo shot to lead off the inning, but after that, the three of them closed out the top of the second inning and retired three batters in the top of the third.

In the bottom of the third inning, with two outs, Yua Tamiya and Go Matsumoto If the players hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second, Uekawahata's two-run timely doble and fielder’s choice 's timely triple would make the score 5-1. Kanemura pitcher, who received relief, closer the top of the fourth and fifth innings with runner on his back but closed out the runs in key spots, then retired three batters in the top of the sixth, exiting the mound after 4 hit 4 Hit by Pitch 5 strike out 1 runs on 81 pitches in the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Koki Matsuoka pitcher gave up one run on a grounder from third base to infield with one out and two on Walk and doble. Still, he got through the next two innings with a closer minimum runs to left, and Ryusei Kawano pitcher threw 1 inning in the top of runs eighth. With a three-run lead in the top of the ninth, the game ended with Toshihiro Sugiura pitcher closer a three-way tie, including two strike out.

Starter pitcher Kanemura threw a season-long 6-inning and 1 runs in good shape for the season opener. The offense scored a total of 10 hit 5 runs, including 3 hit 2 RBI by Uekawahata and 2 hit 1 RBI by Mizu fielder’s choice.

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Giant ●Iori Yamazaki - Kenshin Hotta - Eito Tanaka
Sun ○ Shoma Kanemura-Koki Matsuoka-Ryusei Kawano-Toshihiro Sugiura

Text by Aoi Yokoyama

・ Match details/video