Sho Nakata landed a punch to the gut, blasting a tiebreaking leadoff homer in the 10th inning to lift the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters past the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka on Tuesday night.

The third-place Fighters, who beat their second-place opponent 2-1, won the best-of-three series two games to one to set up a meeting against the PL champion Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Fukuoka on Wednesday night in the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage.

Nakata turned on a second-pitch fastball from Orix closer Yoshihisa Hirano, crushing the ball over the center-field wall and simultaneously knocking the wind out of a crowd of 32,588 at Kyocera Dome.

“We worked as a team and I was glad that I could decide it. I was hoping to just get on base to give us a chance. I was waiting on a fastball in that situation and that’s what came,” said Nakata, who pumped his fist repeatedly as he rounded the bases before being greeted at home plate by his jubilant teammates.

Shunta Goto gave Orix a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer off Luis Mendoza in the bottom of the first inning.

A day after the decisive game had to be postponed due to the approach of Typhoon Vongfong, Orix starter Yuki Nishi, who was seeking to win his first decision since Aug. 1, put up zeroes over five innings before a sudden lapse in the sixth.

Given the task of having to beat the Buffaloes in order to advance, the Fighters rose to the occasion.

Lefty reliever Naoki Miyanishi inherited a jam with a runner on third in the eight and struck the next two batters to end the threat.

The Buffaloes needed a tie or a win to advance but wasted several chances, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the fifth inning when Ryoichi Adachi hit into an inning-ending double play.

Retiring Fighters slugger Atsunori Inaba made it 1-1 when he hit a pinch-hit RBI single with one out and runners at the corners in the sixth, ending Nishi’s night.

Reliever Tatsuya Sato came in to strike out Juan Miranda for the second out. The righty threw a wild pitch that moved runners to second and third, but he got Haruki Nishikawa to fly out to center to prevent any further damage, until later.

Double duty man Shohei Otani, who threw six innings of three-run ball to win Game 1 of the series, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in the designated hitter’s spot.

The Hawks will hold an automatic one-win advantage in the final stage.

The first team with four wins advances to the best-of-seven Japan Series on Oct. 25 against the winner of the final stage of the Central League Climax Series between the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers.