A moving first victory on the professional stage at 28 years old! "I am grateful that my first team was Lotte; it is truly a great team, and we can climb to a higher position."

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants' Asia quota pitcher Iimura Shota (28) finally secured a moving first victory on the professional stage.

On the afternoon of the 1st, Lotte defeated Doosan 3-2 in 10 extra innings in a regular-season away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

With this win, Lotte recorded 34 wins, 2 draws, and 42 losses. The team maintained its 8th-place position in the league standings.

In the bottom of the 9th inning on this day, with Lotte leading 2-1, Lotte brought in their most reliable card, 'closer' Choi Jun-yong. Choi faced leadoff batter Yang Eui-ji and struck him out with a fly ball to right field after throwing a total of 11 pitches.

However, perhaps due to the physical exertion from the battle with Yang Eui-ji, he allowed a hit to the center-left gap to the next batter, Kim Min-seok. The following batter, Jo Su-haeng, flew out to left field. Two outs. Then, he allowed a hit to the center-left gap against Park Chan-ho, and subsequently gave up a run-scoring single to Ahn Jae-seok, tying the game at 2-2.

At this point, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung made a bold strategic move. He immediately removed Choi Jun-yong. The pitcher who took the mound following Choi Jun-yong was none other than Iimura.

Iimura got Kang Seung-ho out with a ground ball to second base, putting out the immediate fire. Then, in the top of the 10th extra inning, Lotte added three runs. Iimura returned to the mound in the bottom of the 10th extra inning. He retired leadoff batter Jung Soobin with a ground ball to second base, Ryu Seung-min with a ground ball to first base, and Park Jun-soon with a ground ball to shortstop, closing out the game with a victory. It was the moment Iimura secured his first win.

Iimura is a Japanese pitcher whom Lotte announced as their new Asia quota player on the 18th of last month. The contract terms totaled 70,000 dollars (approximately 180 million won).

According to Lotte, Iimura is a right-handed traditional pitcher with a solid physique of 184cm and 86kg. He played for KMG Holdings in Japanese industrial baseball (corporate baseball) and later for Taiwan Life in Taiwan. Notably, he pitched 29 innings in this year's Taiwan Spring League, achieving an ERA of 0.93, ranking first in that category, and showed excellent form. He possesses fastballs averaging 147km/h and reaching up to 153km/h. Above all, he is highly praised for his excellent control.

And on this day, he tasted a moving first victory on the professional stage. After the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "In the 9th inning when the game was tied, Iimura did not waver and held the mound. He calmly threw his pitches until the very end. Congratulations on his first KBO League victory," while giving a thumbs-up.

After his first win, Iimura shared his thoughts: "'Lotte Giants' is my first team in the pros, and I recorded my first win with this team. When the team pitchers celebrated together, I remembered the past times when I played baseball. I feel glad that I did not give up on baseball and kept challenging until the end."

He continued, "I am not nervous at all when appearing in tight situations. I was not nervous during last weekend's game or today's game either. I only thought about the batters and the battle." He added, "Our team is a good team. I believe we have the strength to climb to a higher position. I will do my best to fulfill the role entrusted to me so that the team can compete for a higher position in the standings during the second half of the season."

Finally, he said, "I am grateful that my first experience in the pros was with 'Lotte Giants.' The teammates are warm, and even when there are unfavorable results, they support me from the side. It was impressive that they celebrated with me after this first win as well. I will prepare my body to be ready to appear whenever needed for the benefit of my teammates and the team's results," looking forward to the future.

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*This content was translated by AI.