Suzuki is currently the leader of the Kobe Chiben amateur team and organised an exhibition against 20 selected female high school players. It was the second time Ichiro has promoted women's baseball since his retirement (he played another exhibition game in December 2021).  

Ichiro, who has 4,367 career hits at the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) levels, batted ninth and didn't get a hit.  

Suzuki, 49, took the mound as the pitcher. He pitched a complete game, striking out 14 and allowing just two hits. His fastball reached 134 kilometres (83.75 miles) per hour. "I am physically exhausted. I pushed myself to the limit. I'm full of emotion to be able to come back here like this," said Suzuki on his return to the Tokyo Dome four years later. 

One of the two hits was a triple by An Morisaki of Fukuchiyama Seibi High School in Kyoto Prefecture. "I watched Ichiro's batting before the game and I tried to imitate him," she said.

Daisuke Matsusaka, 43, who was nicknamed Dice-K in his playing days, helped Japan to a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He has a combined 2,130 strikeouts in his NPB and MLB careers and this time, he started at shortstop and batted cleanup, going 3-for-4.

Japan has the most successful women's baseball programme in the world. In particular, the number of girls' high school teams has grown from five to 59 in the last decade. 

"We still have areas to improve," said former Women's Baseball World Cup MVP and a silver medalist at the inaugural Baseball5 World Cup Ayako Rokkaku. "The main problem is what to do after high school. Girls who want to play baseball still don't have many options," Suzuki added.