On July 5th, Hikaru Yaotome of "Hey! Say! JUMP," who hails from Miyagi Prefecture, took catcher for the ceremonial first pitch at Rakuten Eagles Mobile's Saikyo Park Miyagi. Hikaru Ota He formed a "light battery" with the player and threw a powerful pitch.

▼Comment from Hikaru Yaotome▼
"I'd been practicing for several weeks, but when it came to the actual pitch, it was a bit of a ball. But I felt good throwing it! And today, for the first time in three years since my first ceremonial pitch, Hikaru Ota was catcher. We're good friends normally, but seeing Ota-san from mound gave me an aura that made me nervous (laughs)."

I think the team is doing well now, so I hope they can keep this momentum going and get through the hot summer. I'll always be cheering for them!