The SoftBank Hawks celebrate winning their first Pacific League championship in four years with a win at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Monday.
14:54 JST, September 24, 2024
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won their first Pacific League title in four years on Monday night, defeating the Orix Buffaloes 9-4 at the Kyocera Dome Osaka.
This was the 20th championship for the franchise, which also included predecessors the Nankai Hawks and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.
Hiroki Kokubo, the 52-year-old manager, led the team to the title in his first year.
Before Monday’s game against the Buffaloes, the Hawks had raised their magic number to one to win the PL title.
The team marched through the summer without relinquishing the top spot in the standings after April 4, with SoftBank seeing its magic number appear for the first time on July 30.
Starting in August, the Hawks went through some tough times, due to injuries to key players and other obstacles, but eventually managed to pull through and win the pennant.
