TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Reliever Masahiko Morifuku made his first postseason appearance of the year in the ninth inning, with the bases loaded, nobody out, and his team clinging to a two-run lead in Game 1 of the first stage of the Pacific League Climax Series.
Getting the job done: (Above) Hawks reliever Masahiko Morifuku (right) is congratulated by teammates after he slammed the door on the Lions, who had the bases loaded in the ninth inning, in Game 1 of the Pacific League Climax Series first stage on Saturday at Seibu Dome. Fukuoka Softbank beat Seibu 2-1. (Below) Starting pitcher Tadashi Settsu (left) greets Morifuku after the game. KYODOFukuoka Softbank Hawks starter Tadashi Settsu had tamed the Seibu Lions for eight innings, but he was in the dugout with an ice pack on his shoulder now, and the Lions and their fans were finally roaring after having just sent reliever Brian Falkenborg to join him.A three-game series leaves precious little margin for error, especially for the road team, and the Hawks were perilously close to ceding control of the series to their hosts."In a short series, it doesn't matter if your condition is good or bad," Morifuku would say later. "It's about heart."All that stood between the Hawks and either a one-game lead or a one-game deficit was diminutive 171-cm, 65-kg Morifuku. With everything riding on his shoulders, Morifuku came through in the biggest moment of the season, recording three quick outs, while allowing a run, to allow the Hawks to escape with a 2-1 victory."Perhaps none of us could even swallow during the last part of the game," Hawks captain Hiroki Kokubo said. "We were in a no-out, bases-loaded situation and could rely on nobody but Morifuku there. It reminded me of the Japan Series."That's right, we've seen this before.
The stakes were much higher the last time the Hawks asked Morifuku to wriggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the postseason. He was down 2-1 on the road in a previously listless stadium that had just come to life in that game as well. That was Nov. 16, 2011, in the sixth inning of Game 4 in the Japan Series at Nagoya Dome — not far from Morifuku's hometown of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture — and the Chunichi Dragons were ahead 2-1 in the series.The left-hander shrugged off the pressure and retired three right-handed batters without allowing a run to preserve the lead in a game the Hawks won 2-1. Softbank would eventually win the series in seven games."We were talking about that in the bullpen," Morifuku said after Saturday's win. "I didn't actually think it would really happen. But I guess it did."Morifuku wasn't perfect against Seibu, but he got the job done.The first batter he faced was pinch hitter Chris Carter, a sparkplug of a player who had delivered in similar situations this season and earlier in the year gave an in-game speech that inspired the Lions so much the team created, and sold out of, shirts to commemorate the occasion. Carter promptly hit a hard grounder that stayed in the infield and drove in a run at the cost of an out. The next batter, Tatsuyuki Uemoto, flew out to short, and Hisashi Takayama flew out to center to end the game."Morifuku was composed in the end," pitching coach Ikuo Takayama said.If the Hawks close out this series, fend off the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the final stage of the Climax Series, then edge the Central League representative in the Japan Series, Softbank can look back at this game as the moment everything began to come together.One misplaced pitch, off-balanced throw, botched relay, or any number of things really, could've led to a Lions walk-off win. Then instead of having to simply not lose in Game 2 in order to advance, the Hawks would be looking at a pair of must-win games on the road, after having wasted a great start by their best pitcher.Settsu has dominated the Lions over the better part of the last two seasons, but after 119 pitches over eight scoreless innings, he was running out of gas. Falkenborg was tapped to close things out, but the right-hander has dealt with injures for much of the year and isn't 100 percent yet — and it showed in the ninth."Falkenborg isn't that bad and his pitches are coming back," Takayama said. "Settsu hit his limit there," he added. "I bet it was difficult for him to pitch like that after a layoff of more than 10 days."So when the Hawks were in need, they once again turned to Morifuku, who may have saved both the series and the season for his team."I'm happier that our team won more than whether or not I did a good job," Morifuku said. "In this kind of short series, every game is obviously important. So winning is everything. No matter how you do it."
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Down you go: Harumafuji outmuscles Gagamaru on Saturday in the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. KYODOHarumafuji, aiming for back-to-back titles after winning the Nagoya Basho without a single loss, was given a run for his money by his Georgian opponent at Ryogoku Kokugikan, but he showed good technique as he broke up a mid-ring stalemate and got both arms around the No. 2 maegashira to beat him with a "shitatenage" underarm throw. Gagamaru dropped to 2-5.Aiming for a move up to the top of the sumo ladder for the third time, Harumafuji shares the lead with yokozuna Hakuho, ozeki Kisenosato and maegashira pair Kyokutenho and Takayasu.Harumafuji is one of only three ozeki still fighting in the 15-day basho after Estonian Baruto, Kotoshogiku and Bulgarian Kotooshu all pulled out earlier in the week through injury.Hakuho wrapped up the day's action in style, slapping down Homasho to stay unbeaten in 14 matches against the No. 3 maegashira.Kisenosato shrugged off a series of neck thrusts from Aoiyama and showed poise and composure in barging out the winless Bulgarian komusubi for a well-earned victory.Meanwhile, Kyokutenho showed no signs of letting up, the 38-year-old Mongolian getting a firm one-handed grip on the back of Daido's belt and working him over the straw ridge. Takayasu, a No. 9 maegashira, stayed in the leading pack with a force-out win over 14th-ranked Asahisho (5-2).Kyokutenho is looking to show his stunning championship victory in May was no fluke. He went 12-3 en route to the title at the summer meet but had to wait until the penultimate day of the Nagoya Basho to pick up his first win in a disastrous 2-13 effort in July.Mongolian ozeki Kakuryu emerged victorious from an entertaining slugfest against top-ranked Shohozan (2-5) and is tied for second at 6-1 with Okinoumi, Myogiryu and Aminishiki.On a good day for sekiwake wrestlers, Goeido (4-3) piled more misery on Russian maegashira Aran by crushing him out to a seventh straight loss and Myogiryu completed a winning double for sumo's third-highest rank by defeating Brazilian-born Kaisei (3-4).
Overjoyed: Marcel Hirscher celebrates after winning a World Cup slalom event on Sunday in Adelboden, Switzerland. APThe 22-year-old Austrian mastered rapidly worsening conditions on the Kuonisbaergli slope to beat defending overall champion Ivica Kostelic by 0.27 seconds, for a combined two-run time of 1 minute, 58.66 seconds."It's an incredible feeling," Hirscher said, after his third victory in four days. "I can't imagine or explain what's happening right now."Stefano Gross of Italy trailed Hirscher by 0.99 in third. Another Italian, Cristian Deville, had shared the lead with Hirscher after the first run but had a poor second run and crossed with the ninth best time before he was disqualified for a gate violation.Hirscher became the first men's skier to win the first three races of the year since Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in 1978. Hirscher also won Thursday's night slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, and the classic Adelboden giant slalom on Saturday."I take so many risks in every race and you should ski out 50 percent of the time like that. I'm feeling great and I'm not tired during the races," Hirscher explained.Kostelic moved up to second overall, but Hirscher's 100 World Cup points for the win put him 230 ahead, as he looks set to put together the same kind of good run in January that propelled the Croatian to the title last year."Your self confidence grows and it's just that you are riding on this wave of success," said Kostelic, who won seven events last January. "This is a mental thing and I think Marcel is in it right now."Kostelic kept the lead in the discipline standings by 25 points.Hirscher has led after the first run in all three of his victories in 2012, but trailed Kostelic by 0.03 at the second-to-last intermediate time Sunday. He found extra speed down the steep final section despite racing through snow and thickening cloud cover."It was all or nothing. We were at the limit of it being impossible to race on this course," said Hirscher, whose eighth career World Cup victory reversed the result of a year ago, when Kostelic edged him for victory.Ted Ligety of the United States dropped one place to fourth in the overall standings after he skied out midway through a rough second run."I skied pretty bad the whole way and never found a rhythm," Ligety said after placing 21st in the first leg. "It's a tough schedule coming straight here from Zagreb without the chance to get some training in."Nolan Kasper was the best of the Americans, retaining his ninth place from the morning as he finished 2.28 behind Hirscher. Teammate Will Brandenburg placed 22nd, 3.92 back.Bode Miller, who won the Adelboden slalom in 2002, skied out near the end of his first run. He stayed sixth overall and can expect to collect points next weekend at nearby Wengen, where he traditionally excels.Hirscher is sticking with his plan to skip speed events, to focus only on technical gate races.Kostelic, who competes in all five Alpine events, said Hirscher could still win the crystal globe for the season-long overall title despite only getting points in two disciplines."I said, maybe two years ago, that Marcel was a contender for the overall if he dominates in the technical races, and that is what he is doing right now," the 32-year-old veteran said. "The only question is whether he can dominate until the end of the season."