Havana, Cuba - Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne hit three homers in the 6-7 loss of his club, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the preseason of the Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB).

Despaigne batted 3 for 3 and drove in four runs and according to the NPB official website, his batting average in the spring training raised to .455 with six RBIs.

Last year, in the Pacific League, he finished as homerun and RBI leader with 35 and 103, respectively.

In addition, in this match against the Swallows, the also Cuban left-hander reliever Livan Moinelo pitched one scoreless inning, including three strikeouts.

The official NPB 2018 season kicks off next March 30th and the The Hawks of the Cubans Despaigne and Moinelo will face the Orix Buffaloes in the initial day as home-club at the Yahuokul Dome stadium.