On 12 April, the fifth round match between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Saitama Seibu was played in ES CON FIELD, with Saitama Seibu win 2-1.

Saitama Seibu 's starter, Chihiro Sumida pitcher, started the game with a closer in the first two inning and three runs. After the third inning, he still had a pitch and put a 0 on the scoreboard. However, the bats put runner in scoring position from the first inning but could not score another run. After that, they continued to struggle against the opponent's starter, Shoma Kanemura pitcher, and the match went 0-0.

Desperate to respond to the strong pitching, the bats created an opportunity in the top of the eighth inning with back-to-back singles by Shuta Tonosaki and Cedeño, and with two outs and one out, Sosuke Genda scored on an RBI infield hit from third base. They added one more run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Shota Hiranuma, and Kaima Taira pitcher took the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Despite conceding one goal, they managed to hold on to the lead and end the game with a score of 2-1.

Starter pitcher Sumida pitched four innings hit 1 Walk 4 strike out runs in eight innings. His pitching was impressive and he picked up his second win of the season. Genda had three hit of the batting order, including the go-ahead hit. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, on the other hand, started Shoma Kanemura pitcher and went 5 hit 3 Walk 3 strike out runs in six innings, but the offense was scattered until the eighth inning, and the offense was limited to 4 hit in the eighth inning. They gave up one run in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn't enough.

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West 000000011 2
Day 000000001 1

West ○ Chihiro Sumida-S Kaima Taira
Japanese Shoma Kanemura-Nao Miyanishi-Takahide Ikeda-Taisei Yanagawa

Text by Aoi Nemoto

・ Match details/video