Daikan Yoh broke out with a pair of homers, Eiichi Koyano hit a three-run blast, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters stomped the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 12-4 in Game 3 of the final stage of the Pacific League Climax Series on Friday night.
With the victory, the third-place Fighters evened the series at 2-2 against the Hawks, who had received an automatic one-win advantage as PL champions.
Fighters skipper Hideki Kuriyama predicted before the game that Yoh would break out of his postseason slump and the center fielder did just that — and how. Yoh had five RBIs on the night and Sho Nakata hit a three-run drive to homer in his fourth straight game since Game 3 of the PLCS first stage.