Chiba Lotte Marines defeat the SoftBank Hawks to advance to the Final Stage.
The Chiba Lotte Marines pulled off a 4-3 come-from-behind victory in extra innings in Game 3 of the Pacific League Climax Series First Stage against the SoftBank Hawks on Saturday at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan. With the win, Chiba Lotte will face the Orix Buffaloes for the Pacific League championship on April 18.
The game was a tense pitching battle. The score remained 0-0 until the ninth inning. It was SoftBank who took the lead. In the top of the 10th inning, they scored three runs on consecutive singles by Ukyo Shuto, Hikaru Kawase, and Yuki Yanagita.메이저놀이터
However, Chiba Lotte produced some unscripted drama in the bottom of the 10th inning. Back-to-back singles by Katsuya Kakunaka and Takashi Ogino put runners on first and second with no outs. Yudai Fujioka tied the game with a three-run homer to right-center field.
Kyota Fujiwara and Polanco followed with outfield singles. Two batters later, Hiromi Oka singled to left and Hisanori Yasuda followed with an RBI double to end the game. This is the first time in two years that Chiba Lotte has advanced to the final stage.