Semyon Kakimoto threw five shutout innings on 78 pitches to lead Panasonic past Prince with a 4–0 victory at Kyocera Dome Osaka, Yahoo!ニュース reported. The second-round win in the 51st National Corporate Baseball Championship secures a quarterfinal berth for Panasonic, making its 44th tournament appearance.
Pitching Duel Sets the Stage at Kyocera Dome
Kakimoto, selected in the second round of October’s Nippon Professional Baseball draft by the Saitama Seibu Lions, allowed just one hit and struck out five batters while walking two. Prince countered with pitcher Arata Higuchi, a third-round selection by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and infielder Seito Shibasaki, a second-round pick by the Chunichi Dragons. The matchup brought together three top draft selections on the amateur circuit before they join their professional clubs.
Kakimoto faced Shibasaki with two outs in the top of the first inning. After a seven-pitch battle, Kakimoto issued a walk but escaped the inning without damage. He held Prince scoreless through the third inning before yielding a single to Shibasaki to lead off the fourth. Catcher Shoki Koyama erased that baserunner by throwing out the would-be base stealer, keeping the scoreboard clean.
Late Inning Execution Breaks Scoreless Tie
Higuchi matched Kakimoto through five scoreless frames, but the Panasonic offense broke through in the sixth. Yamaji Shotaro drew a walk with two outs, stole second base, and scored on a single to right field by Shuma Sakahama. Panasonic held a 1–0 advantage heading into the bottom half of the frame.
Panasonic added three insurance runs in the seventh inning against Higuchi and reliever Yusuke Asai. Takuma Kubota drove in a run with a single to center, Koyama followed with a single, and Junya Ueda delivered a two-run single to left field to push the lead to 4–0.
Quarterfinal Outlook Against NTT Osaka
Relief pitcher Takuma Sadamoto took over in the bottom of the seventh and blanked Prince through the ninth inning to preserve the shutout. The victory moves Panasonic into the quarterfinals of the national tournament. Panasonic, founded in 1950, faces this tournament as its final national appearance before the company halts its baseball club operations at the end of the current season.
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