FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — Kensuke Kondoh hit two three-run home runs and drove in six runs to lead the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 7-2 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines on Sunday afternoon and evening at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

Kondoh provided the decisive blows in the first and fifth innings, each time clearing the right-field wall with a runner on second and third. The first homer erased a scoreless start for Lotte starter Kazuya Ojima, who had retired the first two batters before issuing a walk to Tomoya Masaki and hitting Ukyo Shuto with a pitch. Kondoh’s blast gave SoftBank a 3-0 lead after one inning.

Lotte answered in the third inning against SoftBank starter Haru Matsumoto. Aito Takeda and Ryusei Ogawa opened the frame with singles, and Atsuki Tomosugi sacrificed them to second and third. Kyota Fujiwara followed with a double to right-center that scored both runners, tying the game at 2-2. But Matsumoto stopped the rally by striking out Misho Nishikawa and inducing a groundout from Toshiya Satoh.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth, when SoftBank again capitalized on a two-out scoring opportunity. Yudai Shoji singled and Tomoya Masaki singled to put runners at first and second. Shuto grounded out to the catcher, but the runners advanced to second and third. Kondoh then crushed his second homer of the game, putting SoftBank ahead 5-2. The Hawks added a run later that inning on a passed ball or error? From the play-by-play, after Kondoh’s homer, the score shows Lotte 2, SoftBank 6. The inning ended with a strikeout and a groundout.

SoftBank extended the lead in the eighth inning when Ryoya Kurihara led off with a solo home run to right, making it 7-2. That would be the final margin.

Haru Matsumoto earned the win, improving to 5-2 on the season. He allowed two earned runs on four hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one. He threw 87 pitches. Kazuya Ojima took the loss, his record falling to 2-5. Ojima pitched three innings, giving up three earned runs on two hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He was lifted after 58 pitches.

The Lotte bullpen performed well in relief. Koshiro Sakamoto struck out one in a scoreless sixth inning, and Fumiya Ono struck out one in a hitless seventh. For SoftBank, the bullpen closed the door emphatically. Gota Suzuki and Yuki Matsumoto each pitched a perfect inning, Yuki Tsumori struck out one in a clean eighth, and Roberto Osuna allowed one hit but struck out two in the ninth.

Fujiwara’s double was the only extra-base hit for Lotte, which managed five hits total. Takeda and Ogawa each singled twice. For SoftBank, Kondoh went 2 for 3 with two homers and six RBIs. Kurihara added a solo homer, and Masaki, Shuto and Ryuta Hirose each singled.

The game drew an announced attendance of 40,122 and lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes.

SoftBank improved to 46 wins, 30 losses and 2 ties, while Lotte fell to 37 wins, 35 losses and 3 ties. The Hawks won the weekend series two games to one, having lost 8-1 on Saturday after winning 3-2 on Friday. The three-game set was the latest installment of a season-long rivalry that has seen five ties in the previous seven meetings heading into Sunday.

SoftBank’s offense has been potent all season, and Kondoh continued his torrid pace. His six-RBI performance matched his season high and provided the bulk of the Hawks’ run production. The home runs were his 18th and 19th of the year. Lotte’s pitching staff has struggled at times, but the bullpen held SoftBank scoreless over the final four innings after taking over from Ojima. The Marines could not solve Matsumoto after the third inning, recording only two hits over his final two frames.

After the game, both teams look ahead to upcoming series. Lotte returns home to face the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Tuesday, while SoftBank travels to play the Orix Buffaloes on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 7, Chiba Lotte Marines 4. SoftBank’s ELO win probability was 67.8 percent entering the game. The Hawks were installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of nine runs scored in the game went over the over-under line of 7.0.