Hawks Clinch 2nd Straight PL Pennant

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:54 JST, September 28, 2025

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama — After spending time early in the season in the cellar of the Pacific League, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks will end it on the rooftop.

The Hawks clinched their second straight PL pennant and 21st in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Saitama Seibu Lions on Saturday night at Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.

“It was really a tough season,” Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo said. “If it weren’t for the energy of every player on the team and the entire staff, we would not have achieved a second consecutive title.

“Right up to today, all that we thought about was winning the league championship. Now we have to change our mindset and figure a way to become No. 1 in Japan.”

The Hawks, aiming for a 12th Japan Series victory and first in fifth years, will play in the PL Climax Series starting Oct. 15 against the winner of the playoff between the second-place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and third-place Orix Buffaloes.

The Hawks clinched the league title with four games to spare. On Saturday, with the score tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Ryoya Kurihara delivered a two-run double and Tatsuru Yanagimachi followed with an RBI single to put the Hawks up 4-1. The rally was sparked by a single by Isami Nomura, who drove in the Hawks’ first run in the second inning.

“I was able to ride the momentum and just went for it,” Yanagimachi said.

Veteran righthander Kohei Arihara (13-9) allowed five hits and one earned run over seven innings, with seven strikeouts and three walks to pick up his 13th win.

Arihara gave up three straight hits to start the game, but got Tyler Nevin to hit into a double play and limited the Lions to a single run.

Koya Fujii struck out two in a perfect eighth inning, and Kazuki Sugiyama struck out one and walked one in a hitless ninth to earn his 30th save.

Arihara, the starting pitcher on opening day for the second straight year, lost his first three starts as the Hawks struggled early in the season with injuries to key players. In late April, the team was sitting in last place.

Kokubo made the most of what he had, mixing and matching the lineup, with players Yanagimachi and Nomura particularly stepping up.

Last season, Kokubo had Hotaka Yamakawa bat cleanup in the lineup, and had only three different players each fill the Nos. 3 and 5 spots. This season, six different players hit in the No. 4 spot, while eight batted third and 11 batted fifth.

The pieces of the puzzle fit into place and the Hawks gradually moved up the standings, taking over first place to stay in early August.

Arihara lived up to his status as the team ace and turned things around, notching eight consecutive wins from June.

“I got the nod for opening day, but didn’t make a very good start,” Arihara said. “Today, I really wanted [the pennant] to be decided.”