It wasn't the ending anyone envisioned, but the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks aren't complaining.
They're the 2014 Japan Series champions, and that's the only thing that matters.
Nobuhiro Matsuda put the Hawks in the lead with an RBI single in the eighth and a tightly contested game ended in almost chaotic fashion as the Hawks outlasted the Hanshin Tigers to win the Japan Series with a 1-0 victory in Game 5 on Thursday at Yafuoku Dome.