FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — Yuki Yanagita delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning, driving in the winning run as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeated the Orix Buffaloes 6-5 on Thursday evening at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

SoftBank took a 5-2 lead into the ninth, but Kotaro Kurebayashi hit a three-run homer for Orix to tie the game. The Hawks answered in the bottom half, loading the bases before Yanagita’s hit to center field.

Kensuke Kondoh homered and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Tomoya Masaki also homered for SoftBank. Haru Matsumoto started and allowed two earned runs over five innings, striking out four. Kazuki Sugiyama (1-2) got the win. Ren Mukunoki (2-4) took the loss.

Orix scored single runs in the second and fifth innings, while SoftBank got one in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth. The Hawks outhit the Buffaloes 12-7.

Attendance was 40,122. Game time was 3 hours, 34 minutes. SoftBank improved to 50-38-1; Orix fell to 44-45-2.