The SoftBank Hawks advanced to their third straight Japan Series with a 6-2 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters that secured a sweep of the Pacific League Climax Series final stage on Friday.
The Fukuoka-based Hawks are aiming for back-to-back Japan Series titles, having defeated the Central League's Hanshin Tigers last year after losing to the DeNA BayStars in 2024.
Tomoya Masaki's go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning at Mizuho PayPay Dome gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished.
Left-hander Yugo Maeda (1-0) threw five solid innings for SoftBank, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits and a walk.
The Hawks clinched their third consecutive PL pennant on Sept. 17, winning the title every season since skipper Hiroki Kokubo took the helm in 2024.
Under the new Climax Series format, SoftBank earned an automatic two-game headstart in a first-to-five-wins final stage by virtue of winning the league pennant by a margin of more than 10 games.
The Hawks won Wednesday's series opener 6-4 and prevailed 6-2 on Thursday before sealing the series with a third straight victory at their home stadium in Fukuoka.
"I'm glad we were able to secure three straight wins, as we were determined to wrap things up today," Kokubo said.
"Representing the Pacific League, we will strive to win the Japan Series for the second consecutive year, playing with the focus and precision expected of us."
Skipper Tsuyoshi Shinjo's Fighters broke the ice on Kotaro Kiyomiya's two-out RBI single in the top of the first inning. SoftBank's Yudai Shoji singled in the tying run in the third before Tatsuki Mizuno put Nippon Ham back up 2-1 with his fifth-inning RBI single.
Masaki turned the game around with one out in the home half, working a full count from Nippon Ham starter Takayuki Kato (0-1) before launching a deep fly over left-center field.
"I went for it with the mindset that, at the very least, I could hit a sacrifice fly," he said.
The Hawks added two insurance runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.
In the CL Climax Series final stage, the BayStars blanked the Tigers 4-0 to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Yokohama-based club needs one more win to advance from the series, which the back-to-back CL champion Tigers started with an automatic one-win advantage.
