Shogo Akiyama hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to give the Hiroshima Carp a 3-2 victory Saturday over the DeNA BayStars in Game 1 of the best-of-three first stage in the Central League Climax Series.
With runners at the corners and two outs in the 11th, the former Cincinnati Reds outfielder drove a 0-1 pitch from J.B. Wendelken over the head of center fielder Tatsuo Ebina at Mazda Stadium.
Toshiro Miyazaki's two-run home run gave the third-place BayStars a 2-0 lead in the sixth. The second-place Carp tied the game on Ryosuke Kikuchi's squeeze bunt in the eighth.
The first stage's winning team will take on the CL champion Hanshin Tigers in the final stage beginning Wednesday.
