After the game, catcher Shinya Tsuruoka said with a bitter smile that he didn't expect it would be this through to earn a victory.
Having a rocky 0-3 start to the season, the Fighters finally notched their first win of the 2009 season by defeating the Chiba Lotte Marines 9-1 at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday.
Fighters starter Kazuhito Tadano scattered seven hits, allowing just one run on a solo homer to Tadahito Iguchi over eight innings, and their offense came through late, scoring three and five runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.