Seibu Gas defeated KMG Holdings 7-0 in the first-representative deciding game of the Kyushu regional qualifiers for the Japan Amateur Baseball Championship, securing its eighth appearance in the national tournament as the first representative. Starting pitcher Ohata (大畑) recorded his first complete-game shutout in an official game.
Seibu Gas defeated KMG Holdings 7-0 in the first-representative deciding game of the Kyushu regional qualifiers for the Japan Amateur Baseball Championship at Kitakyushu Municipal Baseball Stadium. With the victory, Seibu Gas secured a place in the national tournament at Kyocera Dome Osaka as the representative from the region, confirming its seventh consecutive appearance and eighth overall.
Starting pitcher Ohata (大畑) recorded his first complete-game shutout in an official corporate baseball game. Although he allowed consecutive hits in the second inning, he held the opposition to 3 hits and kept them scoreless with consecutive strikeouts. From the third inning onward, he allowed only 1 hit and delivered a strong performance with 8 strikeouts over the course of the game.
In the first-round game against Okinawa Electric Power, he had allowed 1 run over 6 innings. Manager Matsuzono (松薗) had praised him as a developing right-hander whose fastball, topping out at 156 kph, was his main weapon. After the game, it was also said that his development into a central player had contributed to the team's victory.