◆ Pacific League Softbank 0-6 Seibu (4th, Mizuho PayPay Dome)
Seibu 's new manager Fumiya Nishiguchi (52) achieved his long-awaited first win in the fifth game of the season. The batting line, which had the worst team batting average of .212 last season among the 12 teams, scored six runs in one go against Arihara in the fourth inning. Second-round draft pick Satoshi Watanabe, who was selected as the fifth batter from the start of the season, reached base in all five at-bats, including his first three hit, and Nomura Dai, who was selected as the sixth starting line-up for the first time in the starting lineup, hit a two-run doble to win the game, proving his tactics to be spot on. After suffering 91 losses in the season last year, the team took a new step by winning their first game of the season against Softbank, who were 42 games behind them.
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An incident that brought him back to his roots occurred on January 18th. Coach Nishiguchi participated in a "pep rally for the new coach" organized by his alma mater, Rissho University, and the alumni of the school's baseball team. He was presented with a Casio G-SHOCK watch by a group of classmates whom he had not seen for a long time, and he said with a smile that he was "surprised."
His days at university became the foundation of his perseverance. He once ran home from a game venue in Tokyo to his dormitory in Kumagaya, Saitama. "closer the score at zero for the fifth inning, but pitch performance was bad, so I was told to run home by the coach, so I ran home to Kumagaya." He left at around 3:00 p.m. and arrived late at night. On the way, he was overtaken by a bus carrying his teammates after the game, and his managers, worried about his whereabouts, came to pick him up about 3 kilometers away.
The bond between the friends has not changed even now that Coach Nishiguchi has become the school's first manager of the NPB first team. During the February training camp, many friends, both seniors and juniors, came to Minamigo, Miyazaki to encourage him. "These guys like me, after all." After the season, they have decided to meet up for a "congratulations party," even if it turns out to be a "regret party."
He doesn't usually wear a watch, so the gift is carefully displayed in his home. This is his first win as a manager, and he has finally achieved it. With the encouragement of his precious teammates in his heart, he will continue to take steady steps toward his distant goal, just like on that day more than 30 years ago. (Seibu correspondent, Onaka Ayami)
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・ [Seibu] Manager Nishiguchi finally gets his first win, stopping the opening losing streak at "4" and defeating Arihara with 6 runs in the 4th inning
・ [Seibu] Seibu, who had lost four straight games since the start of the season, takes the lead. Daiju Nomura, who is in the starting line-up lineup for the first time this season, hits the leadoff hitter. He scores six runs in the first inning of the fourth inning, bringing down Arihara.
