Alfredo Despaigne hit a tie-breaking, eighth-inning home run, the fourth of the game for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in a 6-5 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Wednesday night.
Before 34,708 at Yafuoku Dome, Despaigne got a high 155-kph fastball from closer Chris Martin and blasted it out to left for his 19th home run, tying teammate Yuki Yanagita for the Pacific League lead.
"Because we were tied, I was thinking, 'home run,' " Despaigne said. "I wanted to win and send everyone home with smiles on their faces."