Baseball: Hawks win 3rd straight Pacific League pennant, 1st time in 60 yrs
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- The SoftBank Hawks won the Pacific League for the third straight season Thursday, repeating the feat from 60 years ago when they were
The SoftBank Hawks secured their third consecutive Pacific League pennant on Thursday, marking the first time this feat has been achieved in 60 years. The Hawks outplayed the Orix Buffaloes with a score of 7-1 at Kyocera Dome Osaka, extending their winning streak to nine games. A key contributing factor was the Orix Buffaloes' loss to the Seibu Lions with a score of 4-2.
Manager Hiroki Kokubo, who took over in 2024, led the team to victory in every season since his arrival. In an interview, Kokubo expressed that the goal of winning three consecutive Pacific League titles had been their aim since the preseason camp in February, a goal they had never accomplished since moving from Osaka to Fukuoka in 1989.
Throughout the season, the Hawks demonstrated a balanced team performance with a strong offense, emerging young pitchers, and no significant injuries to position players. Taisei Makihara contributed with a two-run triple, leading the offense with 37 home runs and 111 RBIs, followed by teammate Kensuke Kondo with 98 RBIs. The team's 647 runs scored were the most in the Pacific League.
Pitchers Yugo Maeda (12-0) and Kazuki Sugiyama both led with 33 saves, and Haru Matsumoto (11-3) limited the Buffaloes to a run on six hits and a walk over five innings, assisting in the Hawks' 3-1 lead in the sixth inning.
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