高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

It seems a bit unfair to lump these schools into 1 post, but in general most 21st century teams are there for their cup of coffee and not much else. It's kinda the reason why these bids were created for the most part. There have been some exceptions, the most recent in 2009 when Rifu went to the semifinals defeating both Narashino and Waseda Jitsugyou before losing to Hanamaki Higashi, but in general these teams either are one-and-done or two-and-done.

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Kamaishi (Iwate) - lost in 2nd round of Tohoku Super-Regionals

Certainly selected because they were devastated by the tsunami back in 2011, Kamaishi was on life-support right off the bat after being blown out by Takada in their first game 10-1. They fought back through the repechage (note that in the fall tournaments it isn't necessarily a single elimination tournament in the prefecturals. Some have round-robins, other like here in Iwate have repechages in the regionals) to reach the prefecturals. And while they struggled at times against no-name competition, they reached the finals where they tried to hold firm against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but fell 6-3. They did the same against Tohoku tying the game at 2 with a squeeze in the top of the 9th and held on for 2 more inning before being sent off 3-2 in the 12th.

Iwama Dai (岩間 大) is the team's ace, but I don't have any info on his pitching. The stats from the two losses don't inspire confidence though. In 19.2 IP he had given up 18 H, 5 ER, 3 K, 6 BB.

Offensively, again with small sample size, there were some batters that did have success in their two losses to known squads. Not surprisingly, 2 of them are their 3-4 hitters, 3B Kikuchi Yuunosuke (菊池 勇之介) and 1B Aranuma Yasuhiro (新沼 康大). At the bottom of the order is 2B Ishizaki Masutomo (石崎 仁鵬) who laid down that squeeze.

But while they were able to at least hang tough against better competition, it's still not against strong competition relatively speaking and as a result I don't think their prospects are that good.

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Nagata (Hyogo) - lost in quarterfinals of Hyogo prefecturals

Nagata performed adequately during their fall run, reaching the

Nagata may have the best prospects of all the 21st century teams if only for one thing - their ace Sonoda Ryousuke (園田 涼輔) who is garnering attention from pro scouts. Discounting for local stadiums' radar guns he probably throws in the mid-to-upper 130s with a changeup to go with the standard slider-curve combo. In every game he pitched in he averaged at least a K/IP including 9 in their loss to Shinkou Gakuen.

The only problem is that he has to be on point all the time. There is no mention of anyone on offense for the team, and worse yet, in 5 of their 7 games they scored just 2 runs, and in another they scored just 3. This against lesser competition raises a red flag because you can't win if you can't score.

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Shoudoshima (Kagawa) - lost in 1st round (quarterfinals) of Shikoku Super-Regionals

So here are the 9 super-regional nominees:

Eastern

• Hokkaido - Sapporo Kiyota
• Tohoku - Kamaishi (Iwate)
• Kanto/Tokyo - Ageo (Saitama)
• Hokushinetsu - Nagano (Nagano)
• Tokai - Uji-Yamada (Mie)

• Kinki - Nagata (Hyogo)
• Chuugoku - Izumo (Shimane)
• Shikoku - Shoudoshima (Kagawa)
• Kyushu - Yaeyama (Okinawa)

So in less than a couple weeks time, we will have the projected field for the 86th Haru Koushien. Most of the field is pretty much decided, but there is the matter of the 21st century bids which the JHBF gives out to those schools which have shown success in the face of adversity, or for things they have contributed to the community.

The final 9 nominees are:

• Hokkaido - Kitami Kougyou
• Tohoku - Matsushima (Miyagi)
• Kanto/Tokyo - Tomioka (Gunma)
• Hokushinetsu - Kanazawa Shougyou (Ishikawa)
• Tokai - Toyohashi Kougyou (Aichi)
• Kinki - Touin (Wakayama)
• Chuugoku - Hirata (Shimane)
• Shikoku - Matsuyama Higashi (Ehime)
• Kyushu - Yahata Minami (Fukuoka)

Remember that there are 3 bids given out, 1 for the Western regionas, 1 for the Eastern regions and 1 as a wild card.

Let's go through each nominee:

Kitami Kougyou (Lost in Super-Regional Quarterfinals)
Kitami Kougyou actually has a great resume. They didn't have to face Kitami Hokuto in the regionals, but did play and defeat Engaru with 2 runs late. They then defeated Sapporo Dai-ichi and Hakodate Kougyou before losing a 2-0 lead to eventual champions Toukai Dai-yon late.

It would be nice to see a team from Hokkaido to make it as a 21st century team as I think they are generally under-represented. Kitami Kougyou might make it through this year.

Matsushima (Lost in 2nd round of Super-Regionals)
Matsushima's resume, despite reaching the super-regionals, is very weak. They qualified as the 3rd place team out of Miyagi, having been shutout in the regional final to Touryou 5-0, and losing in the semifinals 7-0 to Sendai Ikuei. They defeated Furukawa Gakuen 9-2 in 8 to get that 3rd place.

They blew out Miyako Shougyou in the first round before losing in 10 innings to Oomagari Kougyou 3-2 in 10 innings.

The lack of competitiveness in the major games means on baseball merit they don't really have a leg to stand on that way.

Tomioka (Lost in semifinals of Gunma prefecturals)
Tomioka's resume is much shorter, and therefore is harder to build compared to other schools. Their signature win was in the round of 16 where they defeated Tokyou Noudai Dai-ni 2-1 in 12 innings. They did hold firm early against Kendai Takasaki in the semifinals, but faltered late giving up 5 runs to fall 7-3.

Like Matsushima, if they get in it will be based upon some other merit than on the field results.

Kanazawa Shougyou (Lost in 1st round of Super-Regionals)
Kanazawa Shougyou was impressive in prefecture, defeating powerhouses Kanazawa and Seiryou back-to-back to win the title (They shutout Kanazawa, and then rallied after falling behind 6-3 in the final 2 innings to win 8-6).

The problem is that they suffered a mercy-rule loss to Toyama Dai-ichi. They were shutout by Tsuruga Kehi 2 games later, but then again who didn't? The big name victories in-prefecture will be a plus.

Toyohashi Kougyou (Lost in 1st round of Super-Regionals)
Give credit to Toyohashi Kougyou, they did reach the super-regionals. But they didn't have to defeat any of the big-name schools and when they did it was a 10-0 loss to Aikoudai Meiden. They did salvage 3rd when they defeated Haruhigaoka 3-1.

And in the super-regionals, they fell behind quickly to Hamamatsu Shuugakusha (Shizuoka 2) and lost 6-1.

Sadly, they fall in with the likes of Matsushima and Tomioka when considering teams using baseball merit.

Touin (Lost in prefectural quarterfinals)
Touin's resume might actually be the weakest of them all. They qualified for the prefecturals proper by being one of the 4 winners of the 1st year tournament. But in the first round (i.e. the quarterfinals), they lost 7-5 to Minoshima.

Now, the loss could be qualified in that they gave up 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th, but still with Minoshima not performing well in the super-regionals it doesn't really give Touin that much weight for consideration.

Hirata (Lost in super-regional quarterfinals)
Hirata, for what it's worth in Shimane, built about a good of a resume as they could have.

First, in the first stage, they defeated a solid Izumo Nourin squad 4-0. Then, in the prefecturals they defeated Masuda Shouyou and Taisha before almost slipping up against Matsue Kita, winning in sayonara fashion 3-2. They then gave Risshoudai Shounan all they could handle rallying from behind to force enchousen, but lost an inning later 5-4.

Hirata had a favorable draw in the super-regionals, getting Yonago Higashi (Tottori 4) to open - though they needed all 9 innings to win 2-0. Unfortunately, scoring late was not a successful strategy against Ube Shougyou (Yamaguchi 2) as by that time they were already trailing 4-0, eventually losing 6-3.

Matsuyama Higashi (Lost in 1st round of super-regionals)
Matsuyama Higashi's run this year started off well with a 7-1 win over Touon in the regionals. But when they reached the prefecturals, they struggled all the way through against teams like Matsuyama Kita and Komatsu before putting together a solid 3-2 win over a resurging Nitta squad. However, when paired with Imabari Nishi in the final, they fell flat losing in a shutout 5-0.

They didn't really appear to recover from that in the super-regionals, though admittedly it didn't help that they were paired against Naruto (Tokushima 3). A 5-2 loss spelled the end of things.

Yahata Minami (Lost in 1st round of super-regionals)
Yahata Minami had a good run this year, starting with an exhaustive 8-6 victory versus Touchiku to advance to the prefecturals.

In the prefecturals, they then put a solid game together against Nishi-Nippon Tankidai Fuzoku, narrowly winning 4-3 before failing late, yielding 5 runs in the final 2 innings to fall 5-4 to eventual winners Kyushu Sangyoudai Kyushu. Still, with Fukuoka qualifying 4 teams as the host, they advanced to the super-regionals.

They unfortunately drew one of the few first round spots and a game against St. Ursula (Miyazaki 2). Once again, they failed to hold a lead, relinquishing a 2-0 and then a 3-2 lead, falling 4-3 for an early exit.

The run for them was good, but there wasn't a true quality win in their run. Still, compared to some of the other resumes it looks better than most of them.

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So, with a summary of all the nominees, who is projected to receive that phone call?

It's hard to say. Mostly because there is that part that can award a bid for something outside of baseball merit.

But, as best as I can determine, here's what I see happening:

• Hokkaido - Kitami Kougyou
• Tohoku - Matsushima (Miyagi)
• Kanto/Tokyo - Tomioka (Gunma)
• Hokushinetsu - Kanazawa Shougyou (Ishikawa)
• Tokai - Toyohashi Kougyou (Aichi)
• Kinki - Touin (Wakayama)
• Chuugoku - Hirata (Shimane)
• Shikoku - Matsuyama Higashi (Ehime)
• Kyushu - Yahata Minami (Fukuoka)

Kainan earned the wild-card bid for the 21st century schools.  They were rewarded for their efforts in the arts while still being successful in baseball - having reached the Kinki Super-regionals.  With Chiben Wakayama dominating the scene in Wakayama, you wouldn't have known that this is Kainan's 17th appearance, since it is their first in 27 years.  They made 3 Natsu Koushien appearances and have reached as high as the Best 4 (Note though that Wakayama was not always awarded a bit to Natsu Koushien - why I'm not quite sure).

Road to Senbatsu
Newcomer Tournament

• def. Shouyou 7-6
• def. Tanabe Kougyou 12-2 (5 inn)
• def. Hidaka Nakatsu 5-1
• def. Kouyou 1-0
• lost Chiben Wakayama 5-2

Wakayama Prefecturals - 2nd stage

• def. Tanabe 11-1 (6 inn)
• def. Kinkidai Shinguu 3-2
• lost Chiben Wakayama 6-5

Kinki Super-Regionals

• lost Riseisha 2-1

Kainan had to fight hard just to bypass part of the prefecturals.  They almost lost right off the bat to Shouyou and would have had to fight through the 1st stage of the prefecturals.  Then, with a ticket to the 2nd stage at stake, they faced former Koushien participant Kouyou and scored the only run in the game to secure their spot.  With that done, it would be okay to relax again Chiben Wakayama.  Winning that game and playing 1 more inconsequential one doesn't mean anything if you can't beat them again later when it might matter.

Fortunately, they were separated on opposite side of the bracket in the 2nd stage.  With the prospect of facing them only when they reached the finals, they easily handled Tanabe first before trading early blows versus Kinkidai Shinguu, delivering the last shot in the top of the 3rd and making it stick the rest of the game.

Oddly enough, they were facing Chiben Wakayama again with little at stake other than perhaps possibly avoiding a 1st round game.  Even still, they actually put together a big inning early to take a 5-2 lead.  However, ace Okamoto Masayuki (岡本 真幸) couldn't go back-to-back days and faltered late, allowing Chiben Wakayama to come back with 4 unanswered runs after the break to fall 6-5.

This meant that they would probably have to fight a prefectural winner to start the Super-Regionals, and sure enough they drew Osaka champs Riseisha - certainly not an easy task, and yet had a fighting chance.  Okamoto once more did all he could to keep his team in it, but again he couldn't keep it up late as he would give up a run in the 8th which would be enough to give Riseisha the victory.

Kantoku Morimoto Naohisa (森本 直寿) appears to go with Okamoto exclusively.  He reportedly can throw in the upper 130s with a slider/changeup combination - though I would think more likely he sits in the mid 130s.

Offensively, not sure who to point at - though Okamoto did hit a HR against Tanabe.  The top of the order, 2B Fukuda Isao (福田 力) and SS Sorayama Yuudairou (空山 侑大朗) help set the table for the rest of the team.

Playing Chiben Wakayama close does count for something, but Chiben also went to their bullpen for the most part in that game.  That result though is backed up somewhat by the narrow loss to Risesha in the super-regionals.

It's a bit hard to say whether they'll get past the first game, but I think they'll have a chance depending on the opponent given some of the results they've posted.

Well, that's it for the reviews!  I might update individual teams as more information comes out in the following days leading up to Senbatsu.  I may also put up my own version of the newspapers "grading" scales that might be more delineating than they provide - though without footage on all teams it's just a guess at best.

16 days until the draw for Senbatsu!

The western 21st century bid was awarded to Ooshima, a school who had reached 2 Kagoshima semifinals last year (it's a bit hard to explain since the natsu taikai doesn't count in this statement) and whose location (they're closer to Okinawa than mainland Kagoshima) makes it really difficult to compete as they have to travel by ferry and sometimes by plane - making every game they play a real road game.

Road to Senbatsu
Kagoshima Prefecturals

• def. Shouyou 7-0 (7 inn)
• def. Sendai Shoukou 1-0
• def. Kagoshima Gyokuryuu 6-5 (10 inn)
• def. Amami 5-0
• def. Shounan 8-7
• lost Ibusuki Shougyou 2-1

Unlike other prefecturals, since Kyushu has so many prefecutres rolled into it most only receive 2 bids for the Super-Regionals.  Ooshima lost in the semifinals and thus their road to senbatsu ended... that is until they were awarded a 21st century bid.

The road to the semifinals was rather bumpy, including a narrow 1-0 win over Sendai Shoukou.  Then down to their final out, leadoff batter Takeyama Shuu (竹山 舟) hits a triple over the RF head to inexplicably tie the game, with Ono Kounosuke (小野 浩之介) hitting a HR to center to end the game 1 inning later!  And then against top tier Shounan they actually held a comfortable lead before 4-spot in the 8th made it a very close affair.

Off topic, but it's a bit funny as looking at the schools I noticed that Amami is no more than a 10 minute walk from Ooshima!  And they wound up playing them in both the spring and fall tournaments!  Also, even though the 3rd years were not on this team, they did defeat Kamimura Gakuen in the spring taikai.

Kantoku Watanabe Yoshichika (渡邉 恵尋) uses a pitching tandem, going between ace Fukunaga Shou (福永 翔) and Maeyama Yuuki (前山 優樹).  Cleanup batter Ono and #5 batter Haku Keigo (泊 慶悟) probably will be the center of the offense.

There's no videos or game footage, so there's little to base judgement from.  Chances are Ooshima hasn't had the ability to face strong competition on a regular basis and could easily be considered one of the weaker teams in the tournament.  But, even facing weak competition it's hard to just luck yourself into the semifinals - especially since they did end up facing (and defeating) Shounan.  I hope they try and do more than being just happy to be there.

We're in the last 50 meters, and it's the final entrant - 21st century wildcard Kainan out of Wakayama.

Koyamadai earned the respect of the JHBF due to (a) the fact they reached the Best 8 despite not having an actual baseball ground at their school and thus can only practice an hour a day (though I do wonder how many schools in Tokyo could say that too), and (b) they have quite a few alumnus that have gone on to bigger and better things.  There is also mention of a player back in 2006 by the name of Ichikawa Hirosuke (市川 大輔) who was the starting 2B when he died in an elevator accident.  Since then, kantoku Fukushima Masanobu (福嶋 正信) has managed the team with the belief that he's still there helping the team.

Road to Senbatsu
Block 24 Regionals

• def. Shiritsu (私立) Musashi 4-3
• def. Toritsu Tachikawa/Toritsu Nougyou 10-3 (7 inn)
• def. Jyunten 4-1

Tokyo Super-Regionals

• def. Horikoshi 3-2
• def. Waseda Jitsugyou 9-5
• def. Nichidai Buzan 3-0
• lost Toukaidai Takanawadai 5-3

Really, the signature win as it were was the 9-5 win over Waseda Jitsugyou.  Other than that, there is very little to write home about since they barely edged a 3rd tier team in Horikoshi in the first round of the super-regionals and lost to Toukaidai Takanawadai in the quarterfinals.

Despite this, most of the reason why Koyamadai is here is because of their ace Itou Yuusuke (伊藤 優輔).  He's actually garnered attention by some of the more notable followers of 高校野球.  He only throws in the mid 130s but apparently has a splitter and changeup to go with the standard slider and curve.

Now, the peripherals for Itou need to be taken with some modicum of restraint.  He does carry the highest K/9 ratio overall though during the super-regionals it was brought down to under 8 per 9.  But Itou appears to be it for Koyamadai.  If he can't finish the run, then they won't finish it either.  To be sure, I won't discount Itou's performance - for a school who has never been to Koushien at all, to finish the game against Soujitsu is impressive.  Remember what I said before about the lower tiered school finishing games.

Offensively, perhaps one can look to Yoshida Ryouhei (吉田 龍平) and Nishiwaki Kouichi (西脇 康一), though they inhabit the lower part of the lineup.

I wouldn't necessarily discount Koyamadai as just a team that's happy to be there, but it's hard to really handicap them.  Toukaidai Takanawadai's shutout loss to Kanto Dai-ichi though may not portend good things, but we won't know until they hit the field.

Just 2 more to go and we hit the 21st century western representative Ooshima.

We now have the regional nominations for the 21st century teams. Note that there will be one selected from western japan (everything west of the Kinki Super-Region), one from the eastern region (everything Kinki and east), and one wild card. Nominees are for each prefecture, then for each super-region.

These are a bit harder to project until the final teams are selected for each super-region, and even then it's difficult.

Hokkaido - Teshio
Teshio made it out of Nayoro as the regional champion, but lost in the first round of the Super-Regional to Tomakomai Chuo in the final inning 6-4.

Tohoku - Kakunodate (Akita)

• Aomori - Aomori
• Akita - Kakunodate
• Yamagata - Yamamoto Gakuen
• Iwate - Ibonai
• Miyagi - Matsushima
• Fukushima - Sukagawa

This might be a mulligan for Kakunodate not being able to follow through back in the Akita natsu taikai when they lost to Akita Shougyou 4-3 in the bottom of the 15th inning.  This time around, they won Akita, then defeated fellow nominee Sukagawa before losing a barnburner 13-11 to Touryou.

Kanto - Oyamadai (Tokyo)

• Tochigi - Mooka
• Ibaraki - Shimodate Dai-ichi
• Gunma - Numata
• Saitama -  Shiritsu Kawagoe
• Chiba - Kemigawa
• Kanagawa - Nichidai
• Yamanashi - Yoshida
• Tokyo - Oyamadai

It looks like Kanto perhaps went for the best baseball representative.  Oyamadai defeated both Soujitsu and Nichidai Buzan before losing to Toukaidai Takanawadai.  I personally thought they would choose Nichidai, but instead went with Tokyo.

Hokushinetsu - Nagano Nishi (Nagano)

• Niigata - Sanjyou
• Nagano - Nagano Nishi
• Toyama - Toyama
• Fukui - Kanadzu
• Ishikawa - Hakui

Nagano Nishi baseball-wise is a bit of a stretch.  While they finished 3rd in the Nagano prefecturals, they were routed early by Toyama Dai-ichi. Compared to the rest though, they have the strongest resume.

Tokai - Ise (Mie)

• Shizuoka - Fuji
• Aichi - Kouzouji
• Gifu - Gifu Kougyou
• Mie - Ise

I'm kind of glad they chose Ise. I remember seeing them back in 2006, and wanted to see if they could somehow break through. This year they did, finishing 2nd to Mie before losing to Seki Shoukou 7-6 in the first round of the super-regionals.

Kinki - Kainan (Wakayama)

• Shiga - Youkaichi
• Kyoto - Nishijyouyou
• Nara - Kashiba
• Wakayama - Kainan
• Osaka - Teshima
• Hyogo - Himeji Minami

Kainan's 2 losses were narrow defeats to Chiben Wakayama and Riseisha - 2 very respectable schools.

Chuugoku - Daitou (Shimane)

• Tottori - Kurayoshi Higashi
• Okayama - Higashi-Okayama Kougyou
• Shimane - Daitou
• Hiroshima - Kamo
• Yamaguchi - Kumage Minami

Daitou's only notable game was their first round loss in the super-regional where they hanged with Kurashiki Shougyou early before faltering late.

Shikoku - Sakaide (Kagawa)

• Tokushima - Ikeda
• Kagawa - Sakaide
• Ehime - Touon
• Kochi - Kochi Higashi

Sakaide lost in their first round matchup against Imabari Nishi in the super-regionals, but won Kagawa defeating schools such as Eimei, Jinsei Gakuen and Marugame.

Kyushu - Ooshima (Kagoshima)

• Fukuoka - Kokura
• Saga - Waseda Saga
• Nagasaki - Shimabara Nougyou
• Miyazaki - Miyazaki Minami
• Oita - Oita Oginodai
• Kumamoto - Taragi
• Kagoshima - Ooshima
• Okinawa - Chinen

Kyushu interestingly goes with Ooshima, certainly the weakest representative out of the super-regional selections. They were eliminated in the semi-finals of the prefecturals losing 2-1 to Ibusuki Shougyou.

2 selections right now I find a bit questionable.  Tokushima nominated Ikeda despite the fact they made the final 2.  Unless for some reason they think the JHBF will pick Meitoku Gijyuku over Ikeda for the 2nd bid, I see no reason to do this.

The other is Waseda Saga.  Waseda Saga was established in 2010, so any history of something to be nominated for would be very recent.  They're already making waves in Saga, and could start dominating the prefecture sooner rather than later. Even if Waseda Saga is picked as the Kyushu nominee, I doubt the JHBF would choose them either.

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With the 21st century finalists determined, I can make predictions - however, since nominations are not based upon baseball merit it's harder to predict who they will choose.

Kakunodate (Tohoku/Akita)
I believe much like Engaru, Kakunodate will be selected based upon their ability to follow-up their performance in the summer.  The only thing that would affect this would be the fact that it does seem that the JHBF seems to be a bit late in selecting teams based upon this merit (see Engaru and Tosa)

Ooshima (Kyushu/Kagoshima)
Ooshima I believe is the main reason why the JHBF perhaps made the 21st century bids in the first place. Ooshima did not do well baseball-wise, but probably has done something special in the community.  Considering they were the only school that made the final 9 that did not reach the super-regionals they may just be picked by the committee.

Ise (Tokai/Mie) / Kainan (Kinki/Wakayama)
Both would be selected for the same reason. Both are in prefectures where there are major schools that dominate the prefecture.  Both reached the finals and fared very well despite losing.

So the field is announced, and there are some surprises, though I did manage to predict most of the field (though with many teams secure, it's not that hard):

Hokkaido

• 北照 - Hokushou (Otaru-shi) - 5th overall, 2nd consecutive - B-

Tohoku

• 仙台育英 - Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi, Sendai-shi) - 10th appearance, 1st in 6 years - A-
• 聖光学院 - Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima, Koori-machi) - 4th appearance, 2nd consecutive - B
• 盛岡大付属 - Moriokadai Fuzoku (Tohoku Memorial Bid, Iwate, Morioka-shi) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 3 years - C-
• 青森山田 - Aomori Yamada (Tohoku Meiji Jingu Bid, Aomori, Aomori-shi) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 8 years - C
•  山形中央 - Yamagata Chuo (Meiji Jingu Bid, Yamagata, Yamagata-shi) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 3 years

Kanto ex/Tokyo

• 浦和学院 - Urawa Gakuin (Saitama, Saitama-shi) - 9th appearance, 3rd consecutive - B
• 花咲徳栄 - Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama, Kazo-shi) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 3 years - B-
• 常総学院 - Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki, Tsuchiura-shi) - 7th appearance, 1st in 8 years - C
• 宇都宮商 - Utsunomiya Shougyou (Tochigi, Utsunomiya-shi) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 34 years - C-

Tokyo

• 安田学園 - Yasuda Gakuen (Sumida-ku) - 1st appearance - B
• 早稲田実 - Waseda Jitsugyou (Kokubunji-shi) - 20th appearance, 1st in 3 years - B

Hokushinetsu

• 春江工 - Harue Kougyou (Fukui, Sakai-shi) - 1st appearance - B-
• 敦賀気比- Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui, Tsuruga-shi) - 5th appearance, 2nd consecutive - C

Tokai

• 県岐阜商 - Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu, Gifu-shi) - 27th appearance, 1st in 18 years! - C+
• 菰野 - Komono (Mie, Komono-shi) - 1st appearance - C
• 常葉菊川 - Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka, Kikugawa-shi) - 4th appearance, 1st in 5 years - C

Kinki

• 京都翔英 - Kyoto Shouei (Kyoto, Uji-shi) - 1st appearance - B
• 報徳学園 - Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo, Nishinomiya-shi) - 19th appearance, 1st in 2 years - B+
• 龍谷大平安 - Ryuukokudai Heian (Kyoto, Kyoto-shi) - 37th appearance, 1st in 5 years - B-
• 大阪桐蔭 - Osaka Touin (Osaka, Daitou-shi) - 6th appearance, 2nd consecutive - B+
• 履正社 - Riseisha (Osaka, Toyonaka-shi) - 5th appearance, 3rd consecutive - B-
• 大和広陵 - Yamato Kouryou (Nara, Kouryou-machi) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 28 years - B-

Chuugoku

• 関西 - Kanzei (Okayama, Okayama-shi) - 12th appearance, 3rd consecutive - B+
• 広陵 - Kouryou (Hiroshima, Hiroshima-shi) - 23rd appearance, 1st in 3 years - C+
• 岩国商 - Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi, Iwakuni-shi) - 1st appearance - C+

Shikoku

• 高知 - Kochi (Kochi, Kochi-shi) - 17th appearance, 2nd consecutive -C+
• 鳴門 - Naruto (Tokushima, Naruto-shi) - 8th appearance, 2nd consecutive - C
• 済美 - Saibi (Ehime, Matsuyama-shi) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 9 years - B-

Kyushu

• 沖縄尚学 - Okinawa Shougaku (Okinawa, Naha-shi) - 5th appearance, 1st in 5 years - B
• 済々黌 - Seiseikou (Kumamoto, Kumamoto-shi) - 4th appearance, 1st in 55 years!! - C+
• 尚志館- Shoushikan (Kagoshima, Shibushi-shi) - 1st appearance - C-
• 創成館 - Souseikan (Nagasaki, Isahaya-shi) - 1st appearance - C-

21st Century Bids

• Higashi-Nihon (東日本) - 遠軽 - Engaru (Hokkaido, Engaru-machi) - 1st appearance
• Higashi-Nihon (東日本) - いわき海星 - Iwaki Kaisei (Fukushima, Iwaki-shi) - 1st appearance
• Nishi-Nihon (西日本) - 門司学園-- Moji Gakuen (Fukuoka, Kitakyushu-shi) - 1st appearance
• Nishi-Nihon (西日本) - 土佐 - Tosa (Kochi, Kochi-shi) - 7th appearance, 1st in 20 years
• Wild Card 1 - 五泉 - Gosen (Niigata, Gosen-shi) - 1st appearance
• Wild Card 1 - 遠軽 - Engaru (Hokkaido, Engaru-machi) - 1st appearance
• Wild Card 2 - 土佐 - Tosa (Kochi, Kochi-shi) - 7th appearance, 1st in 20 years
• Wild Card 2 - 益田翔陽 - Masuda Shouyou (Shimane, Masuda-shi) - 1st appearance

So, of the field of 32 selected via Fall Taikai play, it would appear Aomori Yamada got the snub.  But not for Sakata Minami, but Yamagata Chuo!  I find that selection a bit surprising given the fact that indeed the committee passed on Sakata Minami.  Aomori Yamada was in their game against Sendai Ikuei all the way to the end, while Yamagata Chuo waited until late to charge against Seikou Gakuin.

I don't see any quick tip-off as to why Yamagata Chuo would be selected, but fact of the matter is, they have the invite and are on their way come March.

Also, Tenri's welcome has worn off.  Chiben Gakuen has been taking their share, and now - for the first time in over 30 years a team not named Tenri or Chiben Gakuen goes to Koushien!  Yamato Kouryou and their ace will try to carry the flag for the prefecture.  Don't let us down!

The other shocking thing for me were the 21st Century Bids.  Engaru didn't outright get the Higashi-Nihon bid, instead the selection committee selected Iwaki Kaisei.  The fact they got the primary bid and not one of the wild cards shows that the committee really wanted to stress the Tohoku Earthquake - in addition to the Tohoku Friendship bid AND the extra Meiji Jingu bid.

Engaru still managed to get in though, thanks to one of the wild cards.

Tosa was rewarded by the committee with their 1st appearance in 3 consecutive tries at the 21st Century - and was in fact given the primary Nishi-Nihon bid.

I thought then that Moji Gakuen would be selected as the 2nd wild card, but the committee decided to go all rural and select Masuda Shouyou out of Shimane!

Since this was the final wild-card, all teams were in theory in play.  Realistically though, if I had to include Masuda Shouyou in the discussion, it would have been against Gosen and Moji Gakuen.  And it seemed like both had a better resume than Masuda Shouyou.  Especially if you consider name brand - just like Soujitsu (Waseda Jitsugyou).

But Gosen could have been hurt by the indirect fact that Tsuruga Kehi (whom they lost to in the Super-Regional) lost 2-1 in the final to first-timers Harue Kougyou.  This could have signaled a weaker Super-Regional and thus hurt Gosen's chances.

Moji Gakuen's loss to Nagaski Nichidai could also have been indirectly hurt because Nagasaki Nichidai lost convincingly to Shoushikan who in turn got mercy ruled by Okinawa Shougaku.

The argument loses steam though when applied to Masuda Shougyou themselves.  They lost to Iwakuni, who in turn was mercy-ruled by Kanzei in the semifinals.  Even a mercy-rule win over Hayatomo in between probably wouldn't have been of any help.

So, the question would be evaluating the three teams circumstances.  And the committee decided on Masuda Shouyou.

In the coming days, I'll review the teams that I did not cover in my previews.

But for now, the field is officially out and teams will hit the grounds preparing until the first pitch is thrown on March 22nd.

So the Super-Regional Finalists have been announced, 4 will be selected to Senbatsu - 1 from Western Japan (Kinki, Chuugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu), 1 from Eastern Japan (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Hokushinetsu, Tokai), and 2 wild-cards.  Let's take a look at each of the nominees:

Higashi-Nihon (東日本)
Hokkaido - Engaru (Engaru-machi) - No appearances - Eliminated in semifinals of Super-Regionals
Engaru was nominated due to their volunteer work in the town, their acceptance of players of all abilities, and their many close calls to reaching Koushien.

If Engaru makes it, to me it will be one year too late.  Yes, they reached the semi-finals, but the scores indicate that they're not the team they were last year.  They were just 1 run away from going to Natsu Koushien last summer.  Alas, they were denied by Asahikawa Kougyou and their ace Matsugawa's final summer was over.

Taking over is a duo of Kamono Takaki (鴨野 崇希) and rookie Ooshiro Yuuki (大城 祐樹) with an occasional assist from Maeda Kazuki (前田 知輝).

It may be one year too late, but I'd like to see the small school make it.  They may be the front-runner to receive the Higashi-Nihon bid.


Tohoku - Iwaki Kaisei (Fukushima-ken, Iwaki-shi) - No appearances - Eliminated in Round of 16 of Fukushima prefecturals
Iwaki Kaisei has been nominated because they continued practicing after the tsunami despite their grounds being destroyed.  Despite that, they reached the round of 16.

As much as I know the JHBF wants to recognize the Tohoku area and stress repeatedly the earthquake, this nomination is a bit of a stretch.  First of all, Tohoku already has 4 teams.  2 normal invitations, the Tohoku Friendship bid, and the Meiji Jingu bid won by Sendai Ikuei.  I believe that will actually hurt Iwaki Kaisei's chances.

Also is the fact that while the round of 16 seems impressive, note that there were only 29 schools in the field this year.

As a result, I do not imagine Iwaki Kaisei receiving one of the 21st century bids.


Kanto/Tokyo - Hitachi Dai-ichi (Ibaraki-ken, Hitachi-shi) - No appearances - Eliminated in Quarterfinals of Ibaraki prefecturals
Hitachi Dai-ichi has had one Koushien appearance, back in the summer of 1985.  Here, they are being nominated for their 1st Senbatsu appearance.  They are being nominated for their work volunteering in areas affected by the Great Tohoku Earthquake.  In addition, this year they have reached the quarterfinals, with ace Kagaya Ryou (加賀屋 諒) narrowly losing 3-2 to the top seeded Kasumigaura.

If the selection committee is going to pick a team because of a link to the earthquake and tsunami, I would actually imagine it to be this one.  The committee would like to give opportunities to teams that have perhaps not been to Koushien, but at the same time would like those teams to be competitive.  Hitachi Dai-ichi could fit that criteria.


Hokushinetsu - Gosen (Niigata-ken, Gosen-shi) - No appearance - 3rd place in Niigata prefecturals, eliminated in first round of Super-Regionals
Gosen was nominated due to the help they provided in clearing snow during the winter months, as well as other volunteering efforts as well as focusing on academics.

Gosen has done well in recent years, and this year they narrowly lost to Niigata Kenou Kougyou 2-1 in the semifinals, then went to defeat Niigata Meikun to advance to the Super-Regionals where they lost to eventual runner-up Tsuruga Kehi in the bottom of the 9th inning

It's possible that Gosen gets nominated due to their performance.  All their games were decided by 2 runs or less.  They may be looked at as a team that can play up (and subsequently down) to their competition.


Tokai - Toyokawa (Aichi-ken, Toyokawa-shi) - No appearance - 2nd place in Aichi prefecturals, eliminated in first round of Super-Regionals
Toyokawa was mainly nominated due to their recent performance in the Natsu taikais as well as their active outreach in the area.

Toyokawa's performance this year included a 2-1 win over Chuukyoudai Chuukyou.  But they lost in the finals to Touhou 9-0, and collapsed late to Shizuoka 3-seed Hiryuu 5-4.

It is true that they have done well, reaching the semifinals last summer and the quarterfinals this summer.  But because of the nature of kokoyakyu, success like that does not translate to future years (see Engaru).  That's because people graduate leaving the team to fill in the gaps.

I do have some information on the ace Moriguchi Rentarou (森口 練太郎) who throws in the high 130s with a curve and two-seamer.

The fact that he has a video is a plus, but I'm a bit skeptical on their prospects still.


Nishi-Nihon (西日本)
Kinki - Shiritsu Horikawa (Kyoto-fu, Kyoto-shi) - 1 appearance - Lost in Round of 16 of Kyoto prefecturals
Horikawa has been nominated due to the fact that they reached the round of 16 despite being considered more of a top-class educational institution.

Horikawa advanced out of the regionals, but was eliminated in their first game of the prefecturals by Ritsumeikan Uji 8-7.

I cannot find any more information on that, so it's really hard to gauge based upon so little information, but I don't believe they will get a bid.


Chuugoku - Masuda Shouyou (Shimane-ken, Masuda-shi) - No appearances - Shimane Champion, eliminated in first round of Super-Regionals
Masuda Shouyou has been to Koushien before, though under one of the merged schools (Masuda Sangyou).  In 2006, they merged with Masuda Kougyou to found Masuda Shouyou.  They were nominated due to their sportsmanship throughout the fall taikai, as well as the school receiving an award in recognition of being one of the top schools for career education.

This was Masuda Shouyou's first ever Shimane fall title.  However, this title did not involve facing some of the major players out of Shimane, and rallied in the semifinals and finals to take the title.  They lost in the first round to Iwakuni, Yamaguchi's 3/4 seed 3-0.

Yanai Yuuto (柳井 祐斗) is the staff ace, though Terado Masashi (寺戸 雅) often comes in relief.

Again, there is little information that I can find right now.  Masuda Shouyou may have won their first fall title, but I don't think they'll get selected either.


Shikoku - Tosa (Kochi-ken, Kochi-shi) - 6 appearances - Kochi 3rd place, eliminated in first round of Super-Regionals
This is the 3rd consecutive time that Tosa has been nominated out of Kochi, and the 1st that they've reached the final selection stage.  They were nominated due to their strong showing in recent years - reaching at semifinal stage all but one time since 2010 (and that time they lost in the quarterfinal stage), as well as their academic focus.

For this fall, Tosa had finished 3rd in the Kochi prefecturals, losing to Kochi but beating Kochi Minami to advance to the Super-Regionals where they lost to Tokushima Shougyou in the first round.


Kyushu - Moji Gakuen (Fukuoka-ken, Kitakyushu-shi) - No appearances - Fukuoka runner-up, eliminated in 2nd round of Super-Regionals
Moji Gakuen is the merger of Moji and Moji Kita, and finally reached the Super-Regionals for the first time in 55 years.  They were nominated because of the fact that they developed shorter, more intense practices so students could focus on academics.

That Super-Regional loss was a 6-5, 13 inning loss to Nagasaki Nichidai which included Moji Gakuen scoring 4, the giving up 4 in the 10th inning.

Doi Naoki (土井 直樹) is the ace who endured all 13 innings, 4-run 10th, sayonara run and all.

The quality loss to Nagaski Nichidai in the Super-Regionals gives them probably the inside track to the Nishi-Nihon bid.


I believe the four 21st century bids will go as follows:

• Nishi-Nihon -  Moji Gakuen (Fukuoka)
• Higashi-Nihon - Engaru (Hokkaido)
• Wild Card 1 - Gosen (Niigata)
• Wild Card 2 - Tosa (Kochi)

From 2009-12, only 1 team has been selected that had not advanced out of the prefecturals - Sumoto from Kyoto.  Kyoto is one of the more competitive prefecutres, so I assume that all teams selected will have advanced to their respective Super-Regionals.

That eliminates Iwaki Kaisei and Hitachi Dai-ichi and Shiritsu Horikawa.  Iwaki Kaisei is penalized also by the fact they received an extra bid.  Shiritsu Horikawa is penalized by Kyoto having 2 teams already in the field (by my projections at least).

Of the remaining 6, Toyokawa and Masuda Shougyou have the weakest resumes, and thus we have the 4 above.

Of course, the selection committee can make it a point to emphasize the Tohoku region by selecting either Iwaki Kaisei or Hitachi Dai-ichi, but I think the Tohoku friendship bid takes care of that.  If they do, Iwaki Kaisei will go for one reason only - Seikou Gakuin has basically ruled Fukushima, and here's a chance for someone else to go.

IF Iwaki Kaisei is selected, it will sadly be Tosa who is pushed out - despite the 3 straight nominations.