Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks veteran pitcher Nao Higashihama was as surprised as anyone else after he threw a no-hitter against the Saitama Seibu Lions.
The 31-year-old from Okinawa struck out six and issued only two walks in a complete-game 97-pitch effort that resulted in a 2-0 win over the Lions on Wednesday, May 11 at Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome.
“I didn’t think I could do it,” Higashihama said in the post-game hero interview. “And I still don’t believe it.”
It was the 95th no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball and Higashihama (4-1) became the 84th player to achieve the feat.
Read the full story here on JAPAN Forward’s dedicated sports website, SportsLook.
Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for more than 25 years. You can find his articles here.
