FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — Sam Long tossed seven innings of six-hit, shutout ball as the Lotte Marines defeated the SoftBank Hawks 8-1 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

Lotte scored a run in the first inning on a solo home run by Kyota Fujiwara. The Marines broke the game open with seven runs in the second inning, all with two outs. Fujiwara walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, Misho Nishikawa also walked to plate another, Koki Yamaguchi singled home two runs, Toshiya Satoh doubled for a run and Neftali Soto singled home two more.

SoftBank’s only run came in the ninth inning when Tomoya Masaki hit a solo homer off Shuta Takano.

Long (1-2) struck out six and did not allow an earned run. Hokuto Ohyama (0-1) took the loss. Lotte outhit SoftBank 8-7.

The win improved Lotte to 37-34-3. SoftBank fell to 45-30-2. Attendance was 40,122. The game lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes.