Ukyo Shuto doubled and scored the winning run on Hikaru Kawase's one-out 10th-inning single as the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks came from behind Saturday to beat the Seibu Lions 2-1.
The Hawks tied it at Mizuho PayPay Dome on Akira Nakamura's seventh-inning RBI pinch-hit single. In the 10th, Nakamura encouraged Kawase, who had entered as a pinch-runner and had yet to bat.
"He told me, 'Just give it your best shot and it will be fine,'" Kawase said. "The veterans on this team are so cool."
With Shuto on third after a sacrifice, the Lions walked slugger Yuki Yanagita intentionally to face the less-experienced Kawase, who drove a pitch over the drawn-in outfield.
"I saw how very far in their infielders and outfielders were playing, and I figured if I could do anything at all, Shuto would do the rest," Kawase said.
The Lions opened the scoring on a third-inning Yuji Kaneko homer off Hawks starter Livan Moinelo, who went seven innings and left with the game tied. In the top of the 10th, Kaneko nearly plated another run, but was robbed of extra bases on a great catch by Yanagita in right.
Among other games on Saturday, the Nippon Ham Fighters shut out the defending PL champion Orix Buffaloes 9-0, while the Rakuten Eagles handed the Lotte Marines their seventh straight loss, 4-1. In the Central League, Kazuma Okamoto hit his fourth home run for the Yomiuri Giants in a 2-1 win over the DeNA BayStars.
