Kohei Arihara led the team with 10 wins last season in professional baseball and Softbank. The 31-year-old pitcher joined Softbank from the Major Leagues last season.
This is the third time in four years that pitcher Ari hara has served as the opening pitcher. Softbank will play against Orix, who have won three consecutive league titles, at Kyocera Dome Osaka in their opening game on the 29th of next month. Takeshi Wada, the oldest pitcher in the Pacific League, will be the starting pitcher for the first game against Lotte in his home base of Fukuoka on April 2nd.