Sadaharu Oh's Fukuoka Softbank Hawks staged a ninth-inning rally to beat the Seibu Lions 2-1 as Japanese baseball preseason games started Saturday.
Hidemitsu Saito delivered a game-winning hit over right fielder Hiroyuki Oshima with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, shortly after Tomoaki Egawa tied the game with an RBI single.
Elsewhere, rookie outfielder Yohei Kaneko hit a pinch-hit solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, giving 2006 Japan Series champion Nippon Ham the lead for good in a 7-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars at Nago municipal stadium in Okinawa Prefecture.