Kenji Jojima, Julio Zuleta and Mitsuru Honma each drove in a run but it was not enough as the Daiei Hawks were edged by Naoyuki Shimizu and the Lotte Marines 4-3 in their preseason opener at Fukuoka Dome on Sunday.
At Kochi Prefectural Stadium, Kodai Sakurai hit a grand slam off Trey Moore in the second inning in the Hanshin Tigers' second straight preseason win over the Orix BlueWave, 8-0. At Nago Municipal Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Fernando Seguignol hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run opening inning and Tsuyoshi Shinjo went 1-for-3 to give the Nippon Ham Fighters their first preseason win with a 7-5 victory over the Yokohama BayStars.
At Urasoe Stadium, Okinawa Prefecture, Ryo Kawashima allowed two runs in three innings of relief but Ryota Igarashi made up for the rookie's mistake by retiring the side in order in the ninth for the save as the Yakult Swallows beat the Chunichi Dragons 6-3 in a 23-hit slugfest.