Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks beat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4-2 on July 14, 2026, at Es Con Field Hokkaido, and the box score tells a story of one dominant hitter and one stubborn stalemate that broke open late. Tomoya Masaki went 4-for-5 with three RBI, including a solo home run, and starter Naoyuki Uwasawa threw six shutout innings despite two separate bases-loaded jams. Nippon-Ham actually out-hit the Hawks 10 to 8 but couldn’t turn that volume into runs until it was too late.
If you’re trying to make sense of the full player stats from this Pacific League clash, here’s the complete breakdown — batting lines, pitching lines, and the moments that decided the game. Stats below are drawn from the official NPB game log via Yahoo Sports Navi’s box score for the July 14, 2026 matchup.
A Quick Note for Newer Fans
Nippon Professional Baseball, or NPB, is Japan’s top professional baseball league, split into the Central League and Pacific League. Both the SoftBank Hawks and Nippon-Ham Fighters play in the Pacific League, so this wasn’t an interleague game — it was the 12th meeting between these two clubs in the 2026 regular season. SoftBank enters the year as the defending 2025 Japan Series champion.
Game Summary: SoftBank Hawks 4, Nippon-Ham Fighters 2
This game was played in front of 29,625 fans and ran three hours and 37 minutes. Both teams were scoreless through four innings. Masaki broke the tie with a solo shot in the top of the fifth, and Nippon-Ham answered in the bottom of the seventh to even things at 1-1. From there the game tightened up considerably, with both bullpens holding firm into the ninth.
The Hawks pulled away in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs. Pinch hitter Tatsuru Yanagimachi delivered a go-ahead RBI double, and Masaki added a single of his own as part of the same rally. Nippon-Ham got a solo home run from Kotaro Kiyomiya in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit.
| Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoftBank Hawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Nippon-Ham Fighters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Batting Stats
Masaki Tomoya was the whole offense for the Hawks in this one. He accounted for three of the team’s four RBI. Two pinch runners, Riko Ogata and Yuto Kawamura, each scored a run late in the game without recording an at-bat.
| Player | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomoya Masaki | RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ukyo Shuto | CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kensuke Kondo | LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryoya Kurihara | 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Taisei Makihara | 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Yuki Yanagita | DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Riko Ogata | PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Downs | 1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Yudai Shoji | SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tatsuru Yanagimachi | PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuto Kawamura | PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Takashi Umino | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | 35 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 1 |
Outside of Masaki, the Hawks lineup managed just four hits across everyone else combined, and struck out 12 times as a team. One player carrying three-quarters of the team’s RBI production is unusual even in a low-scoring game.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Batting Stats
Nippon-Ham’s problem wasn’t making contact — it was sequencing. The Fighters racked up 10 hits, two more than SoftBank, but stranded runners at a rate that kept them off the scoreboard for most of the night.
| Player | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tatsuki Mizuno | SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kotaro Kiyomiya | 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Franmil Reyes | DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Chusei Mannami | RF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kengo Yoshida | CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuya Gunji | LF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuki Nomura | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ryohei Hosokawa | PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ruian Otsuka | 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Yuya Shindo | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Yusuke Tamiya | PH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Total | 34 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 1 |
Gunji and Mannami combined for six hits between them and zero RBI — a good snapshot of the Fighters’ whole night. Kiyomiya’s ninth-inning homer was his 10th of the season and gave the home crowd something, but it came with the game already decided.
Pitching Stats: Both Teams
The pitching matchup was closer than the final line suggests. Both starters worked deep into the game and kept the score close through the middle innings, and the difference ultimately came down to who blinked first in relief.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | K | BB | R | ER | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naoyuki Uwasawa | 6.0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | No decision |
| Roberto Osuna | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Yuki Matsumoto | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Win |
| Kazuki Sugiyama | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Save |
Uwasawa’s line is the standout here — six innings, no runs allowed, seven strikeouts, and he did it while twice pitching out of bases-loaded trouble. He threw 107 pitches to get through six, which tells you how much traffic he had to navigate. Worth noting: Uwasawa spent a decade with the Fighters before joining the Hawks this season, so this was a start against his former team. He didn’t factor into the decision since the Hawks hadn’t scored yet when he left.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | K | BB | R | ER | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koki Kitayama | 7.0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No decision |
| Kota Tatsu | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Hold |
| Hiroya Shimamoto | 0.1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Loss |
| Mizuki Hori | 0.2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Kitayama’s start was every bit as good as Uwasawa’s — seven innings, one earned run, eight strikeouts, 117 pitches. He held the Hawks to a single run and left the game with a chance to win it. That chance disappeared in the ninth, when Shimamoto recorded just one out while allowing three runs, two of them earned, and took the loss.
Key Performers From the Game
Tomoya Masaki (SoftBank Hawks): Four hits in five at-bats, three RBI, one home run. He drove in the Hawks’ first run with a solo shot and picked up a single during the ninth-inning rally that put the game away. This was as complete an offensive performance as you’ll see in a 4-2 game.
Naoyuki Uwasawa (SoftBank Hawks): Six shutout innings on 107 pitches, seven strikeouts, and he escaped two bases-loaded situations without allowing a run. Pitchers who work out of that kind of trouble twice in one start rarely finish with a zero on the scoreboard — he did.
Koki Kitayama (Nippon-Ham Fighters): Seven innings, one earned run, eight strikeouts. It’s the kind of start that wins most games, and it would have here if the bullpen had matched him in the ninth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks vs Nippon Ham Fighters game on July 14, 2026?
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won 4-2, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Who had the best individual stats in the game?
Tomoya Masaki of the SoftBank Hawks led all players, going 4-for-5 with three RBI and a home run. On the pitching side, starter Naoyuki Uwasawa threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
Why did Nippon-Ham lose despite out-hitting SoftBank?
The Fighters collected 10 hits to the Hawks’ 8 but stranded most of their baserunners. Their offense produced only two runs on those 10 hits, while a one-out, three-run ninth inning from the Hawks sealed the loss.
Where was the game played and how many fans attended?
The game was played at Es Con Field Hokkaido, the Fighters’ home stadium, in front of 29,625 fans. It was the 12th meeting between the two clubs in the 2026 Pacific League season and lasted 3 hours and 37 minutes.
Did any player hit a home run in this game?
Yes, two. Tomoya Masaki hit a solo home run for the Hawks in the fifth inning, and Kotaro Kiyomiya hit a solo home run for the Fighters in the bottom of the ninth — his 10th of the season.
Key Takeaway
SoftBank Hawks 4, Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 — decided by a three-run ninth inning built around Tomoya Masaki’s four-hit, three-RBI night and a shutdown start from Naoyuki Uwasawa. Nippon-Ham out-hit the Hawks 10-8 but couldn’t convert that volume into runs, and a costly relief appearance from Hiroya Shimamoto in the ninth turned a close game into a two-run final margin.
For more player-by-player breakdowns from recent matchups, see our stats coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays vs White Sox game, or check out our football stat breakdowns for the Utah State Aggies vs Vanderbilt game and the Colorado Buffaloes vs BYU game.
I am Clark, a passionate blogger based in California. I write about everything that inspires everyday life — from fashion and lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas, useful tips, or simply a good read, you’ve found the right place.