Seiichi Uchikawa played hero for the second straight night for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, who broke up a pitchers' duel en route to a 6-1 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines in Thursday's Game 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series final stage.
A night after his 10th-inning sayonara single lifted the hosts to victory in Game 1, Uchikawa's two-out, two-run double broke up a 1-1, sixth-inning tie at Yafuoku Dome.
The Hawks lead the six-game series 3-0 by virtue of a one-win advantage received as league champions. Since Climax Series stages that end in ties, are awarded to the higher-seeded host team, the Hawks only need to record a 12-inning tie Friday's Game 3 in order to reach the Japan Series for the second straight year.