The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks extended their season for another day, beating the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 6-4 on Sunday to even their Pacific League Climax Series first stage at one game apiece.
Shuhei Fukuda broke a 4-4 tie, blasting a hanging forkball from Eagles starter Manabu Mima into the right field stands at Yafuoku Dome, and the Hawks never looked back.
"I was the leadoff hitter so my focus was to get on base," Fukuda said. "I think that was the best swing I've had all year. This is an elimination game, and hearing the crowd as I circled the bases was just too cool."