Kohei Arihara threw a four-hitter on Wednesday, pitching the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to a 3-1 win over the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Before 15,111 at Asahikawa Starffin Stadium in central Hokkaido, Arihara (7-11) allowed a run without issuing a walk. The right-hander needed just 99 pitches to finish the gem in which he struck out seven. It was his fourth complete game of the season, but his first victory after three losses.

The Fighters scratched out a first-inning run against Rick van den Hurk (12-6) on a Haruki Nishikawa leadoff walk, a stolen base and a Go Matsumoto single. The Hawks tied it on their first hit of the game, Kenta Imamiya's one-out, fourth-inning home run off the foul pole in right field.