Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture –

Shota Morishita said he did not hear the roar of the crowd, that unmistakable explosion of ebullient sound that comes when the Hanshin Tigers do something special at Koshien Stadium.

The rookie was too focused on the moment. He was locked in on his at-bat against the Orix Buffaloes' ace reliever and then on running around the bases.

Everyone celebrated in the moment the rookie outfielder delivered the Hanshin Tigers to the doorstep of their first Japan Series title since 1985 — except Morishita himself.

"I was so focused I didn't really hear anything," he said. "Even when I was at third, I didn't really hear it. It was only when I was back on the bench and Seishiro (Sakamoto) drove in a run, that's when I heard the Koshien cheers."

Morishita commited a costly error that allowed a run to score in the seventh and made up for it with a two-run triple that sparked a six-run eighth as the Hanshin Tigers moved within a win of the Japan Series crown with a 6-2 victory over the Orix Buffaloes in Game 5 on Thursday night.

"I made an error in the inning before, and my teammates worked hard to put runners on in front of me," Morishita said. "So I went into the at-bat determined to get the run in."

The Tigers lead the series 3-2 and can clinch the second title in franchise history with a win in Game 6 at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Saturday.

Orix will head back to its home park hoping to force a Game 7. The Buffaloes still have an ace up their sleeve in recently crowned three-time Sawamura Award winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

"We don't know who we'll face yet, but it will be a really good pitcher no matter who it is," Morishita said.

The Tigers needed Morishita's heroics in the eighth because of an error he made in the seventh.

Orix led for most of the game after a solo home run by Marwin Gonzalez in the fourth inning. The Buffaloes went ahead 2-0 in the seventh when Yuma Mune raced home from first after second baseman Takumu Nakano misplayed a grounder from Tomoya Mori and Morishita fumbled the ball while attempting to back up the play.

Morishita did not have much time to dwell on the mistake.

Seiya Kinami doubled to start the eighth and went to third on a single by Kento Itohara. Koji Chikamoto got the Tigers on the board with an RBI hit and Nakano moved the runners ahead with a bunt to set the stage for Morishita.

"I was just trying my best to tie the score no matter what," Morishita said. "Even it was with the worst ground ball, as long as the run scored."

The Buffaloes brought in reliever Yuki Udagawa, who had yet to allow a run in postseason, to stop the rally.

With the count 2-2 after six pitches, Morishita laced a fastball into left for a triple that put the Tigers ahead 3-2.

"Even after I made the error, Seishiro-san, Kumagai-san and other players talked to me and told me if I kept me head up, another chance would come around," Morishita said, referring to Sakamoto and Takahiro Kumagai.

"The chance came before my at-bat, and I just focused on it."

Yusuke Oyama drove in a run later in the frame and Sakamoto added a two-run triple.

Atsuki Yuasa earned the win in relief and Suguru Iwazaki worked a scoreless ninth to close out the game.

Buffaloes relievers Soichiro Yamazaki took the loss.

Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with his home run for the Buffaloes. Kotaro Kurebayashi also had a pair of hits.

Neither team has a practice scheduled for the off day on Friday before the series resumes in Game 6.