Baseball: Hawks clinch back-to-back PL pennants with win against Lions

The SoftBank Hawks clinched back-to-back Pacific League pennants Saturday as their 4-1 win against the Seibu Lions gave the Fukuoka-based club an unassailable lead in the standings over the second-place Nippon Ham Fighters.Starting the day with their magic number to win the pennant at one, the Hawks sealed the title after starter Kohei Arihara (13-9) struck out seven over seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball at Belluna Dome in Saitama Prefecture.The game was tied 1-1 before Ryoya Kurihara sparked a three-run fifth inning with his two-RBI double off Seibu starter Kona Takahashi (8-8).Clos…READ FULL ARTICLE