In the bottom of the first inning, the SoftBank Team's first three batting attempts were fruitless.
Just like Lin Guanglai, Nakamoto Ango, who also made his debut as a rookie starter, performed quite well in the opening stages. Facing the first three batters of the SoftBank Team, he demonstrated the high caliber of a top college graduate player:
Against Honda Yuichi, who is known for his batting and running skills, he used a high inside fastball to lure the batter into swinging, causing Honda Yuichi to hit a fly ball to right field, which was caught for an out;
When facing Imamiya Kenta, Nakamoto Ango repeated the strategy, using a high breaking ball to force another flyout;
With two outs in hand, Nakamoto Ango relaxed more, using an inside fastball to suppress Nakagawa Seiichi's swing, resulting in a ground ball toward second base that was neatly collected and thrown to first base by Rakuten's second baseman, Fujita Kazuya, for a force out.
