Nippon-Ham Fighters Lose in Climax Series; Softbank Hawks Praised for Strength
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The Nippon-Ham Fighters lost in Japan's baseball Climax Series Final Stage.
The Climax Series is a group of games after the normal season. Teams play to go to the Japan Series.
Former player Tsutomu Iwamoto talked about the Fighters' loss. He said hard things, but with love for the team.
He said, "I thought that way." He wanted to help the team get better.
The Softbank Hawks won the games. Their manager Kozuhiro Kokubo praised a player named Masaki.
Masaki hit a big home run with two runners on base. This is called a two-run homer.
The home run helped Softbank win the game after they were losing.
A young pitcher, Yugo Maeda, also played well. He pitched well in a hard moment for his team.
Other baseball teams talked about why Softbank is strong. They said Softbank fights hard until the end.
People said Softbank does not give up easily in close games.
Vocabulary7 words
- Climax Series
- special games after the season to choose the best team
- Japan Series
- the biggest final games in Japanese baseball
- Softbank Hawks
- name of a baseball team in Japan
- manager
- the person who leads a sports team
- home run
- when a player hits the ball very far and scores
- two-run homer
- a home run that scores two points
- pitcher
- the player who throws the ball in baseball
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Nippon-Ham Fighters 2. A two-run homer 3. True
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The Nippon-Ham Fighters lost in Japan's baseball _____ Final Stage.
The Climax Series is a group of games after the normal _____.
Former player Tsutomu Iwamoto talked about the Fighters' _____.
He said hard things, but with _____ for the team.
The Softbank Hawks _____ the games.
Their manager Kozuhiro Kokubo praised a player named _____.
Masaki hit a big _____ with two runners on base.
A young pitcher, Yugo Maeda, also played _____.
Other baseball teams talked about why Softbank is _____.
People said Softbank does not give up _____ in close games.
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