FUKUOKA (Interstat) — The SoftBank Hawks rallied from a five-run deficit Friday evening, scoring three runs in the ninth inning to edge the Lotte Marines 6-5 at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

Lotte took a 5-0 lead in the top of the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Kyota Fujiwara went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Toshiya Satoh doubled in two runs. Lotte finished with 13 hits. Starting pitcher Koshiro Hiroike allowed three earned runs over six innings but was denied the win.

SoftBank pulled within 5-2 on Kensuke Kondoh’s two-run homer in the third inning and a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Kondoh finished 2-for-4. The Hawks managed only nine hits but capitalized in the ninth. Ryoya Kurihara led off with a solo homer, and with two outs, Taisei Makihara and Kenta Tanigawara hit consecutive RBI doubles.

Yuki Tsumori pitched a scoreless ninth for the win, improving to 1-0. Rikuto Yokoyama took the loss, his first. Attendance was 40,122. Time of game was 3 hours, 6 minutes. SoftBank improved to 18-16; Lotte fell to 14-20.