Partial power outage at the stadium during Seibu vs. Nippon-Ham game, pitching the players' lockers into darkness. Sotozaki bathes by smartphone light | Pacific League

９回途中、停電のためスコアボードの表示が消えたベルーナドーム（カメラ・頓所　美代子）

Pacific League: Seibu 3-2 Nippon-Ham (27th, Belluna Dome)

During the ninth inning of Seibu vs. Nippon-Ham game (Belluna D) on the 27th, a power outage occurred in part of the stadium while Nippon-Ham were at bat, causing the game to be suspended for four minutes. The lights on ground were fine, so the game continued. Seibu came from behind to win, while Nippon-Ham suffered a bitter lose, falling just one game behind the leader, Softbank. Ayami Onaka, a reporter covering Seibu, “saw” the strange atmosphere at the stadium.

The sound of the ball hitting the bat and the cheers of the fans echoed through the silent stadium. It was the top of the ninth inning, and Nippon-Ham was on the offensive. The moment Taira, Seibu ‘s guardian angel who had taken the mound in this inning, threw the first pitch to Tamiya, the leadoff batter, all the lights went out on the scoreboard behind center field. The lights and air conditioning also went out in the press box where the reporters were, creating a steam bath-like atmosphere. A murmur arose from some fans. Watanabe Satoshi, who was playing left field at the time of the power outage, said with a wry smile, “It felt strange.” Hasegawa, who was playing center field, reflected, “It was on over here (inside ground), so I wondered what was going on.”

The stadium lights instantly switched to a backup power source, so the stadium was not plunged into darkness and the game resumed after a four-minute interruption, but the game ended in the unusual situation where neither the announcements nor the entrance music could be heard.

Although investigation is still ongoing, it is believed that the cause was the lightning strike that had been rumbling since the beginning of the game. The power to the VIP seats, the broadcast vehicle, and the lights in the parking lot behind the stadium all went out, and the players’ lockers were also plunged into darkness. Sumitani gave up on bathing and went home, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m sweating so I want to take a bath, but it’s dark so I’m going home.” Kodama laughed, saying, “I took a shower, but I couldn’t use the hair dryer,” and Tonozaki expressed his gratitude to his teammates, saying, “Takamatsu (Watari) lit up the lights with his smartphone so I could take a bath.”

The sound system also went down, so the post-game hero interviews were canceled. Television coverage was interrupted, radio signals malfunctioned, and online news updates stopped updating. Mobile phone signals also rapidly weakened. The team song, “I Saw a Lion Running Across the Horizon,” which is usually played when a team win, was not played in the stadium, but the voices of Seibu fans, united in a united front, sang a cappella throughout the stadium.

◆Record notes On the 27th, Seibu vs. Nippon-Ham (Belluna D) was suspended for four minutes in the top of the ninth inning due to a partial power outage believed to be caused by lightning. The most recent example of a suspension due to lighting or power outage was on April 25, 2013, when Yakult vs. Hiroshima game (Jingu) was suspended for four minutes in the bottom of the eleventh inning due to a malfunction of the electronic scoreboard. On May 17, 2000, lightning struck three Kansai stadiums, Hanshin Tigers vs. Yakult (Koshien), Kintetsu vs. Seibu (Osaka D), and Orix vs. Nippon-Ham (Kobe), and both Koshien and Osaka D games were suspended twice. The Kobe game’s electronic scoreboard went out for about two minutes, but the game was not suspended.