Chunichi's Hirokazu Ibata acted the part of a middle-of-the-order man on Wednesday, when the middle infielder drove two pitches over the head of the center fielder and plated three runs in the Dragons' 9-4 demolition of the Hanshin Tigers at Nagoya Dome.
Entering the game with just five extra-base hits all season, Ibata cranked up the volume to keep the Dragons unbeaten at their home dome since May 16 despite a lackluster start from Yudai Kawai (3-2).
The Tigers had just gotten on the scoreboard with two runs in the fourth, but Ibata wanted to keep them out of the game. With two outs and a man on, he powered a pitch to the wall in center to make it a 7-2 game.