Leos' ace Wakui 1-hits Hawks

Seibu ace Hideaki Wakui took a no-hitter into the ninth inning Friday night at Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome as the Lions shut out the Softbank Hawks 4-0 in a Pacific League matchup.

Wakui was just three outs away from a no-no when Lee Boem-ho hit a leadoff double to left, just out of the reach of Seibu outfielder Tomoaki Sato.

That was the only hit the Hawks would get on the night. Right-hander Wakui threw 116 pitches in his complete-game shutout. He struck out six, walked a pair and faced 30 batters, just three over the minimum.

"Finally I feel like I did my job and had a good game," said Wakui, who improved to 4-2 on the season. "I didn't get the no-hitter, but we got the win and that's enough to make me happy."

Takeya Nakamura was 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs for Seibu while Hiroyuki Nakajima also had two hits and drove in a run for the winners. Sato went 3-for-4 at the dish as the Lions out-hit Softbank 10-1.

"Our No. 3 and 4 hitters (Nakajima and Nakamura) were really getting it done tonight so I'm glad that I was able to turn their production into a win," said Wakui.

Hawks starter Tsuyoshi Wada saw his record fall to 4-3 on the season. The left-hander went five innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk.

In the Central League on Friday, light-hitting Chunichi catcher Motonobu Tanishige drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Dragons edged the Yakult Swallows 2-1 at Nagoya Dome.

The walkoff victory capped a solid effort by Dragons starter Kenichi Nakata, who didn't get the win but allowed just one run on four hits through eight innings. Nakata struck out seven and did not issue a walk.

Reliever Takuya Asao (2-2) worked a hitless ninth to get the win.

Tatsuro Iwasaki, getting some playing time after infielder Hirokazu Ibata was taken off the active roster after getting hit by a pitch last weekend, drove in the Dragons first run in the fifth. Shinya Miyamoto stroked an RBI single to right to tie it in the seventh for Yakult.

Swallows righty Ryo Kawashima allowed just one run through six innings. Reliever Takehiko Oshimoto (1-2) worked the final 1 2/3 innings in taking the loss.

The last-place Swallows have lost five in a row and 13 of their last 17.

A full slate of NPB games is scheduled for this weekend. The teams have Monday and Tuesday off before interleague play begins on Wednesday and runs through June 13.