高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

(My apologies to everyone reading the blog, I will probably not be able to finish these recaps before Natsu Koushien begins on Thursday.  I was unusually busy during the prefectural taikai's and was not able to keep up as in past years.  I will get to these when time allows, but I need to focus on Natsu Koushien itself.)

Gunma - Maebashi Ikuei (1st appearance)
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Tochigi - Sakushin Gakuin (9th appearance, 3rd consecutive)
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Saitama - Urawa Gakuin (12th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
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Kanagawa - Yokohama (15th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
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Aichi - Aikoudai Meiden (11th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
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Shizuoka - Tokoha Kikugawa (4th appearance, 1st in 5 years)
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Osaka - Osaka Touin (7th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
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Hyogo - Nishiwaki Kougyou (1st appearance)
Oh my god.  First of all, can Hyogo figure out a better way to reschedule games than the current system?  Teams were reassigned to different stadiums, some who were playing before other teams originally got rescheduled for after those same teams.  It can't be that hard can it?

Yet despite rain-outs and bonkers rescheduling, 75% of the 16 block seeds actually advanced out of the block.  The 4 that failed was Block 4 Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku (!), Block 9 Himeji Kougyou, Block 10 Houjyou, and Block 15 Kakogawa Kita (!).  Of the seeds that advanced only Shiritsu Amagasaki and Yashiro actually blew through the block field.  Everyone else seemed to struggle:

• Block 2 Houtoku Gakuen? They had an 11 inning affair against Shiritsu Himeji.
• Block 5 Defending Champion Takigawa Dai-ni?  Ooh, not so good.  Two low scoring affairs versus Ikuno and Hyogo Shougyou.
• Block 8 Touyoudai Himeji? 2-1 over Touban Kougyou in their 2nd game.

The redraw for the round of 16 went rather smoothly.  None of the strong team wound up drawing each other.

However, our first major casualty from the Round of 16 was Takigawa Dai-ni.  They never led against Shiritsu Amagasaki, and despite a 2-run 8th fell 4-3.  Houtoku Gakuen tossed a 4-hit shutout over Suma Shoufuu, and Touyoudai Himeji despite just 3 hits defeated Sanda Shousei 2-1 (How??!).

The other surprising things was that 3 of the 4 no-seeds to advance to the Round of 16 advanced to the Best 8.  Though admittedly Block 4 Rokko Island has been an above average team.

The redraw for the Best 8 again had the powerhouse teams avoiding each other.

Mukonosou Sougou had the unfortunate draw of Houtoku Gakuen, and promptly were shutout - but not mercy ruled, which is good.  Shiritsu Amagasaki's run ended at the hands of Touyoudai Himeji.

Rokko Island met fellow no-seed Ikuei... and were mercy ruled.

And then there was the curious case of Nishiwaki Kougyou. Never heard of them, never been to Koushien before.

In block play they started strong with a mercy-rule win over Aboshi.  After that though, things got really hairy for them.  Starting off with a 14 inning 4-3 win over Awaji Mihara, they broke a scoreless draw in the 7th over Ichikawa with 4 runs to advance out of the block.  Then against Kakogawa Nishi, the fell behind 5-0, immediately clawed back to within 1, took the the lead late only to blow it in the bottom of the 9th - then won with 2 in the 10th.

If that wasn't enough, against Akashi Shougyou in the Best 8, they trailed 2-0 before rallying to win in the bottom of the 9th 3-2.

The cardiac kids decided comebacks were a bit too much, and while they gave up 2 runs in the first, quickly recovered and used a 5-run 7th to hold on for a 10-7 win.  Quite nuts.

Meanwhile, Touyoudai Himeji and Houtoku Gakuen actually had a more normal game, but Houtoku Gakuen couldn't recover from a 2-run deficit falling 4-3.

So realistically, it looked like Touyoudai Himeji would ascend to the throne, because surely Nishiwaki Kougyou couldn't pull off the upset...

Right?

Not so fast there.  In the 5th, Takami and Murakami would actually give Nishiwaki Kougyou a 2-0 lead.  Ace Outa (翁田) would give up back-to-back timely hits to tie the game.

But bottom 9, LF Murakami starts off with a base hit to left center.  He books it to 2nd and just beats the throw.  After a sac bunt, Nishiwaki Kougyou has the sayonara run 90 feet away.  They have no choice but to intentionally walk Nishizawa and Hieda to load the bases.  That would bring up last batter Ishii.  Nishiwaki would try the squeeze bunt, but Ishii popped it up and C Uraoka scampered back and made a great diving catch for two outs.

That left it up to leadoff batter Imai who was just 1-4 on the day.  Two foul balls meant he was behind quickly.  But on the very next pitch he'd hit a blooper to the right side.  2B Nishida would scramble back, dive.. but it would just be out of his reach!  It falls in for the sayonara RBI as Nishiwaki Kougyou heads to their first Koushien tournament!

Okay, more prefectures here below:

Ishikawa - Seiryou (16th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
In recent years, Seiryou has surged back into the discussion of teams in Ishikawa.  To a bit of a surprise, I noticed that Ishikawa in 8 of the last 10 years has been represented by either Kanazawa or Yuugakukan (4 times each).  Nihon Koukuu Ishikawa and Seiryou make up the other 2 appearances.

Yet, Matsui Hideki's alma mater has been on the precipice of reaching Koushien having reached the semifinals and finals the last 2 years eliminated by - yup, you guessed it, Kanazawa and Yuugakukan.

And so the big 3 started on their journey, and to Seiryou's benefit, the twin threats to their title run were on the other side of the bracket.  That allowed Seiryou a straight shot to the title game - so long as they didn't trip themselves up.  And for the most part they didn't.  They weren't mercy-rule dominating, but they still weren't really challenged.

Surprisingly though the other two did have some difficulty.  In #2 Yuugakukan's first game, they briefly held the lead after a 3-run 4th versus Komatsu, but were either tied or trailing otherwise.  In fact, they were down to their last 3 outs before scoring 2 runs to advance.  #3 Kanazawa looked rather mortal versus Komatsu Shougyou and #5-8 seed Komatsu Ootani.  Which had to be good for Seiryou.  Even better was that in the semifinal, the pair would go 13 innings with both sides emptying their bullpen before 2B Fujiguchi for Yuugakukan would decide things with a sayonara home run!

In the final, Yuugakukan's pitching staff was indeed depleted as Seiryou would take a 1-0 lead in the 2nd and never relinquish it.  Seiryou would use their own trio of pitchers (Iwashita, Muroki and Hatakenaka) to secure the 5-2 win and their 16th trip to Koushien on the year that their famous player retired from baseball.

Shiga - Hikone Higashi (1st appearance)
Shiga is kind of the same way as many other rural prefectures - a handful of teams control the bids to Natsu Koushien.  In this case, there are 4 repeat winners who account for 9 of the last 10 titles - Oumi (4), Kita-Ootsu (3), and Hachiman Shougyou (2) with the other being Shiga Gakuen.

So here, too many of the other schools are looking up at a select few who decide amongst themselves who goes - generally.

This year though, only Oumi was seeded out of the "Big 3".  Instead, it would be Hieizan (who was better in the 2000's), Hachiman Kougyou, and Hikone Higashi.

And when both Hachiman Shougyou and Kita-Ootsu eliminated early on, and Oumi playing fairly strong, perhaps they would claim yet another title.

But out of the best 4, one seeded team did not make it.  Hieizan would be ousted by unknown Oumi Kyoudaisha 3-1, behind a 10 strikeout performance by ace Sasaki.  Another win put them in the semifinals to face Oumi. In that semifinal, Oumi quickly got to Sasaki for 3 runs, only to see Kyoudaisha fight back with 3 in the 3rd off Oumi ace Kikubayashi.  It would stay that way until the 9th when Horii would give Oumi the 4-3 lead.  Kyoudaisha though, somehow didn't get the memo that weaker teams fold at the end, because down to their last out Naka delivers the douten run with a single to right, and with the bases loaded Noguchi would single to right center for the gyakuten sayonara win!

So Oumi was gone, which was a great relief to the other semifinalists.  Sadly, while Hachiman Kougyou did manage to reach the semis, they didn't look all that impressive.  And paired against Hikone Higashi - who probably is one of the better 2nd tier teams in Shiga, and had defeated Kita-Ootsu earlier, it would be a disaster.  A 5-inning mercy-rule win later and Hikone Higashi would be one step away from their first ever Natsu Koushien bid.

Oumi Kyoudaisha's intimidation factor continued to be 0 as they actually scored right off the bat in the top of the 1st.  And while Sasaki would relinquish the lead one inning later, he performed very will.  Unfortunately, Hikone Higashi got timely hits from Yamanaka and Takeda later on and would win 3-2 for their first title.

Hats off to Oumi Kyoudaisha though.  I don't know if we'll ever see them again, but man it was a great run they had... just a bit short.

Kyoto - Fukuchiyama Seibi (4th appearance, 1st in 5 years)
Kyoto has been the same as Shiga.  3 teams have gone to Koushien in the last 10 years - Kyoto Gaidai Nishi (4), Ryuukokudai Heian (4, one as Heian in 2003), Fukuchiyama Seibi (2).  Lately though Heian has been the representative with 3 of their 4 appearances happening in the last 4 years.

So to see another team breakthrough would be a rarity.  And it would probably be prudent to see how each of the teams progressed.

Well, first my favorite powerhouse in the prefecture - Kyoto Gaidai Nishi... lost in their first game to Tounan 10-5.  There goes that.

Fukuchiyama Seibi struggled in their first game against Rakutou.  Despite just getting 1 run on 2 hits they somehow won 1-0.  After that was smooth sailing to the Best 8.  Ryuukokudai Heian had no such trouble getting to the Best 8, but was paired with the Kyoto representative in Senbatsu - Kyoto Shouei.  And despite their lackluster performance at Koushien, ace Enomoto limited them to just a run on 6 hits in a 3-1 victory.

They would play a Fukuchiyama Seibi squad who survived a Kita-Saga game where they blew a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 9th, then in the 11th almost blew another 2-run lead winning 4-3.

In that blockbuster semifinal (which could have easily been a final), offense was at a premium with Enomoto and Seibi's ace Nakamura combining to give up just 9 hits.  But a timely hit by Sano for Seibi would be the only run in the game as they would move to the finals.

Now, since all 3 of the powerhouses were on one side of the bracket, it was just a matter of who would try to challenge them for the title.

Kyoto Kougakkan was able to slip their way through the field, including a 4-1 win over Kyoto Subaru (I'm only mentioning them because they're my irrational cheering team) to setup a quarterfinal match versus Ritsumeikan Uji - a team that could be considered 2nd tier.  A 3-run 8th would help them pull off the upset.

They'd play a Toba squad (who back in 2012 went to Senbatsu) who breezed through the field.  Sadly for Kyoto Kougakkan, their run ended here in a mercy-rule loss.

So that meant Toba would be the last barrier between Fukuchiyama Seibi and their 3rd title in the last 8 years.  Toba sadly would not be up to the task as 5 errors would lead to a 5-0 loss.

All right, for all the remaining prefecutures (well part of them anyways):

Fukushima - Seikou Gakuin (10th title, 7th consecutive)
With Chiben Wakayama's loss, the longest current consecutive streak to reach Koushien belongs to Seikou Gakuin who had 6 straight coming into this year.

The interesting thing is, despite Fukushima not necessarily being known as a strong prefecture, Seikou Gakuin has been able to hold their own at Koushien (even to my surprise).  If we looked at their last 8 appearances over the last 9 years, they have reached the Best 8 twice, and only exited after their first game just one in 2009.  They actually have a winning record (11-8) during that time span.

With that in mind, we enter the taikai.  But it so came to pass that one of the seeded teams would fail to reach the Best 8.  #7 seed Shouin Gakuen Fukushima would lose to Hobara 7-6 in their very first game.

But the remaining teams needed to see if Seikou Gakuin would falter.  And against #8 Gakkouhoujin Ishikawa it looked like they might.  Starter Ishii was rocked for 8 runs in just 1.1 innings and Seikou trailed 8-4.  The lead however would be short-lived as Seikou would respond with 5 unanswered runs to overtake.  Reliever Ima would shut the door (just) to win 10-9.

In comparison the #5 seed Odaka Kougyou was a breeze advancing to the finals yet again.

Their opponent would be #6 Nichidai Tohoku.  They had relatively little opposition in reaching the finals, including an 8-2 win over #2 Fukushima Higashi.

Seikou Gakuin would actually be in jeopardy again.  Nichidai Tohoku got out to a 2-0 lead, and then when Seikou leveled the score in the 6th, Nichidai would score a pair in the top of the 8th to perhaps seal the upset.

But as is the case when you are dealing with a dynasty of any sort in kokoyakyu, the team trying to break through has not learned how to win the big game (because if they did, well... there'd be no dynasty, right?).

And so it was that in the 8th, Seikou would claim one of those runs back.  Bottom 9, yep, you guessed it - they tied the game.

Once you lose the lead, the underdog is pretty much doomed unless they can immediately reply.

Nichidai Tohoku did not, and Seikou bid farewell to them just one inning into enchousen.

*One thing I did want to note, there has been a combined team consisting of the players from Futaba, Haramachi and Souma Nougyou borne out of the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.  Referred to as Sousou Fukushima (相双福島), they successfully won their first game, a 6-4 win over Adachi Higashi.  In their next game against #5 seed Odaka Kougyou, they went 12 innings before the pitching finally gave up in the 13th as they fell 4-1.  But it was a rather great effort in my opinion and wanted to give them their due credit.

Miyagi - Sendai Ikuei (24th title, 2nd consecutive)
Sendai Ikuei felt like a disappointment in the Haru Koushien.  Having won the Meiji Jingu Tournament and earning their super-region an extra bid, they looked rather average up until their quarterfinal loss to Kochi.

Did that wake them up?  Well, they won the Spring Tohoku Super-Regional tournament, though in their Miyagi taikai , had a real close call versus Shibata, then later was in a brawl versus Rifu.

Now in the Natsu taikai, they continue to soldier forward.  Yes, there was a quick scare when they spotted Oosaki Chuo 5 runs in the 1st during their quarterfinal game, but they quickly recovered and went on to win 9-5.

Before we proceed though, I want to give credit to Kesennuma.  Considering what their city has had to deal with since the 2011 earthquake & tsunami, the fact that they got to the quarterfinals - while defeating Tohoku (yes, I know they're not as good nowadays, but still) is an accomplishment to be proud of.  I hope for future success for their school in the years to come.

Remember I mentioned Shibata earlier, in that they gave Sendai Ikuei a scare in the Haru Taikai?

Well, what do you know, they worked their way through the bracket.  An enchousen game against Tohoku Gakuin did scare them, but otherwise they reached the finals in a revenge match against Sendai Ikuei - but this time it really mattered.

Shibata made a statement right off the bat, battering relief starter Baba for 5 runs in the 1st inning.  I was watching other games, but thought that perhaps Sendai Ikuei were getting their just desserts. But when I checked the score again it was 5-3 after 6 and now we were in the danger zone where the underdog could collapse due to the pressure. (see Fukushima)

Next thing I know I see that Uebayashi has hit a HR, I switch to the game just to see Sendai Ikuei tying the game in the bottom of the 8th.

Shibata ace Iwasa looked done.  But after a scoreless top of the 9th, he'd be sent out again for the 9th.

Leadoff batter Kumagai would get on base.  Kikuna would bunt him along, but in a complete lapse of judgement there was no one covering 3rd and Kumagai would take it outright.

Iwasa and Shibata had no choice but to put Kikuna and Uebayashi on to create the force.  Any successful sac fly or squeeze would end the game.  PH Abe would come in, but Iwasa induced a foul fly up the 1st base line that would be caught for the 2nd out.

That would bring up C Kobayashi Ryou.  Iwasa would fight, but the count would run full.  The payoff pitch... would be thrown high.

An oshidashi sayonara walk would end Shibata's season - perhaps one of the saddest, most heartbreaking ways to lose.

Nishi Tokyo - Nichidai-san (16th title, 4th consecutive)
Ugh, I refuse to recap in detail this taikai.  Nichidai-san outscores their opponents 75-9 and are not contested.

AT ALL.

Hino reached the finals looking really good, and had a statement game in the semfinals.  In the same manner as Nichidai Tohoku, Hino blows a 6-1 lead in the final 2 innings, but unlike Nichidai Tohoku scores 3 in the 10th to defeat Kokushikan.  But they get 2-hit in the finals, and it's all for naught.

Ugh.

Nagano - Ueda Nishi (1st appearance)
Nagano is another random place where I have an interest in.  Now, they're not known for their baseball.  In the last decade, representatives from Nagano have won a total of 3 games - Matsushiro one in 2009, and a pair for Nagano Nichidai in 2009.

But I take an interest because I've traveled there several time thanks to anime.  As a result of being there and how beautiful it is, I root for the area.  Specifically, I root for both Ueda-Chikuma and Ueda Nishi because they're near where my friends runs a ryokan.  Both are actually above average teams, but neither have been to Koushien despite the fact that only Matsushou Gakuen has been the only team in the past decade to have gone to Natsu Koushien more than once.

Nonetheless, Ueda Nishi was the #1 seed, while Ueda-Chikuma was a 5-8 seed.

Now, despite the fact that there has been generally a lot of flux in the Nagano representative, of the 8 seeded teams, only 5-8 seeds Ina Yayoigaoka and Nagano Higashi would fall before the Best 8 to Tagawa and Iida OIDE Osahime respectively.

However, the roads for almost all of the seeded teams were not without some games a bit too close for comfort.  Ueda Nishi almost lost in their first game against Matsumoto Dai-ichi if not for a 3-run 9th.  After that was a 1-0 nail-biter against Anan.  Interestingly, after that the games were actually a little easier for him, even against #4 Chikyuu Kankyou in the semifinals - and they probably looked like one of the more impressive teams up until the loss.

Interestingly their finals opponent would be someone they would be very familiar with.  Defending champs and #3 seed Saku Chousei actually was scheduled to be the game after Ueda Nishi up until the quarterfinals.  As Ueda Nishi progressed, so did Saku Chousei, which included a mercy rule win over Ueda-Chikuma.  Yet in the semifinals, against unknown Nagano Shougyou, they somehow managed to win despite scoring just 1 run on 4 hits.

The finals would be just as offense starved.  However, Ueda Nishi would make the most of their 6 hits, scoring 3 runs while the tandem of Yanagaizawa and Urano combine for a 4-hit shutout - thus securing their first ever title!

Mie - Mie (11th appearance, 1st in 4 years)
Mie has been a rather chaotic prefecture over the past decade.  No school has claimed the title more than twice (Mie, Komono, Uji-yamada Shougyou), and as a result of no team dominating has done rather poorly at Natsu Koushien.  Ujiyamada Shougyou would be the only team to not initially lose to Saga Kita (they played to a 4-4 draw), and Mie had defeated Kumamoto Kougyou in extras back in 2009 before being wiped out by Miyakonojyou Shougyou.

And yet even still, the 3 schools that had the most success wound up in the Best 4.  Mie went off to a slow start in a 2-0 win over Matsusaka Shougyou, then were able to upset seeded Inabe Sougou Gakuen 2-1 in the very next round.  It was smooth sailing after that to the semifinals.  Komono had a similar stumble edging Yokkaichi Minami 4-3, but was fine otherwise.  Uji-yamada Shougyou had no such hiccups, incurring 4 mercy rule wins - even one against seeded Kinkidai Koutousen.

The final team to make it was seeded Tsu Shougyou.  They wound up playing one less games after Ishiyakushi forfeited to them in the first round, then broke ties in the 9th against Shiroko and Kaisei to get to the semis.

Mie's Wakabayashi would shut down Uji-yamada Shougyou in their game cruising to a 6-0 win.  Komono would score 5 straight unanswered runs in the middle innings to reverse a 3-0 deficit as Yamanaka made the lead stick winning 5-4.

The final however would be a bit of a letdown.  Mie scored 5 in the 4th to put the game into an eventuality as they would win 7-1.

Nara - Sakurai (1st appearance)
So I'll just remind you anyways that in Nara, Tenri (7) and Chiben Gakuen (5) have claimed the title the last 12 years.  Being a school from Nara looking up at these two behemoths must be rather discouraging.

But if there seemed to be a chink in the twin towers, it was this year.  It was Yamato Kouryou, not either of the stalwarts, who represented Nara in senbatsu, and Tenri wasn't even seeded for the natsu taikai! So the rest of Nara probably had one eye on their game and another to see if the two would fall and finally open the gates for someone else to walk through.

Tenri would be the first to fall, losing 12-4 to Naradai Fuzoku in the 3rd round.  Only Chiben Gakuen remained, and perhaps in a bit of irony, lost in sayonara fashion to senbatsu representative Yamato Kouryou 4-3 in the quarterfinals!

Which meant that the spell would be broken and all would be up for grabs!  But by the time Chiben Gakuen lost, just 3 other teams would remain - Sakurai and Yamato Kouryou who already advanced, and soon thereafter the only seeded team left in Naradai Fuzoku, and Nara Suzaku who soundly defeated seeded Kashihara 7-2.

You'd think that Yamato Kouryou would be the favorite now -they did go to Senbatsu after all.  But before that Chiben Gakuen upset, they had endured two 11 inning games.  And so it was against Sakurai that C Shimada would deliver the sayonara hit in the 10th inning to send them home.  In the other semifinal, Naradai Fuzoku would keep Nara Suzaku at bay long enough to wear out Suzaku's ace Iwaki to score 6 runs late winning 11-6, guaranteeing that we would have a first time winner out of Nara.

The final would not be dominated by Sakurai as the triumvirate of Takeno, Kinoshita and Kaji would clamp down the 4-1 and claim their first title!

Hiroshima - Setouchi (2nd appearance, 1st in 13 years)
Hiroshima, for most of the past decade has been dominated by either Jyosuikan or Kouryou.  They account for 7 of the last 10 titles.  It's not to the level of say a Chiben Wakayama or a Tenri/Chiben Gakuen, but it's pretty impressive nonetheless.

Last year Hiroshima Kougyou was able to break through.  Could a team breach the twin towers for the 2nd straight year?

Well, both were one of the 8 seeded teams assigned by the baseball federation.  And once we had reached the Best 8 where if all went scratch it would be populated by seeded teams, they were still around.  Jyosuikan did need late runs to defeat Shiritsu Kure in their first game, while Gion Kita kept the game close against Kouryou in the 2nd round.

There were 3 casualties.  Onomichi (who I'm guessing will need to reload now to make another run at Koushien), Kouyou Higashi, and Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin.  The former 2 were eliminated in their very first game.

Replacing the three were (in order), Eishin (who isn't a bad team at all), Kinkidai Fukuyama (which is out of my friend's city, but he's teaching in Daimon), and Gokou.

Oddly enough, while Gokou looked the best score-wise getting to the Best 8, they were the worst routed, losing 12-0 in 5 to Hiroshima Kougyou.  Eishin didn't play bad, but lost 4-1 to Hiroshima Shinjyou.  And Kinkidai Fukuyama did best of all, actually holding a 6-4 lead over Jyosuikan... until they scored 5 in the 6th to take the lead for good.

The only fully seeded matchup was Setouchi and Kouryou.  Kouryou was having a devil's of a time, and when Setouchi took a 3-1 lead with a pair in the top of the 8th, Kouryou was done for!  They'd fall 3-2 and one of the pillars had fallen.

The 2nd pillar would fall unceremoniously as Jyosuikan went through 7 (yes 7!) pitchers as they flailed for 7 runs in a 7-2 loss to Hiroshima Shinjyou!  In fact, only 2 pitchers actually went over 1 inning, and 3 of them actually just recorded 1 out!

So we would have a first time winner in Hiroshima Shinjyou, or Setouchi going for just their 2nd time.

But something happened on the way to the title.  Setouchi's Yamaoka would pitch a one-hit shutout, striking out 15 batters while walking 3.  Hiroshima Shinjyou's ace Taguchi would give up 13 hits while striking out 19.

The only problem?  He also gave up no runs!

That's right, somehow with all the opportunites Setouchi had, and the performance their ace gave them, the teams actually played to a 0-0 draw!  And so the game would have to be replayed - though the game was not scheduled for the next day, but the day after.

Certainly, in the replay the pitchers would not be as sharp, and they werent.  Both aces did take the hill to start the game, and Yamaoka struck out just 6 while Taguchi only 3.  Both aces gave up just 5 hits, though Yamaoka offered 3 free passes to Taguchi's 0. And as the game progressed, I bet the attendees were wondering if they were watching the same game - because the game was again deadlocked at 0 through 7!

In the bottom of the 8th though C Oomachi would actually drive in a run with his only hit of the game.  Yamaoka managed to record the final 3 outs to finally claim the title.

Yamaguchi - Iwakuni Shougyou (4th appearance, 1st in 27 years)
For as few teams as there are in Yamaguchi, the top teams dominated the field once again (well, almost).

1-4 seeds Hayatomo, Iwakuni Shougyou and Takagawa Gakuen all advanced to the semifinals without much resistance.  The only exception was Ube Kougyou who had played several low scoring affairs before being unable to rally against 5-8 seed Iwakuni falling 3-2.

Iwakuni would try to give Takagawa Gakuen a run for their money with a 5-run 3rd.  However, ace Azuma would soon fritter that lead away, and with their own 5-run inning, Takagawa would take a 9-5 lead and never relinquish it. That would actually be the close game of the bunch as Hayatomo was completely railroaded by Iwakuni Shougyou.  10 runs, and a 3-hit shutout later, Iwakuni Shougyou was in the finals.

The final was delayed a day due to rain, but Takagawa Gakuen, looking for their first Natsu title, surely gave Iwakuni Shougyou a run for their money.  Ace Hamamoto struck out 11, and only gave up a pair of runs in the 4th.  However, his offense could fare no better as they could just claim back one of those runs 2 innings later.  Iwakuni Shougyou would be able to follow up their senbatsu appearance with a return here in the summer.

And now for those that happened on the 27th:

Higashi Tokyo - Shuutoku (5th title, 1st in 9 years)
I realize I'm cheating in covering Higashi Tokyo, but for a reason.

Almost no one (Teikyou) was able to stop Shuutoku.

No one.

How bad was it for the field?  Well, Shuutoku in their 8 games had 2 non-mercy rule games - their 4-2 defeat of Teikyou, and the final (which has no mercy rule).

But Teikyou did have the best shot at Shuutoku.  In fact, they had the 2-1 lead through 6 innings.  But as is the case - and will always be the case until they prove me otherwise - until they can develop an ace, they will never win Koushien.  And so it was that Teikyou would give up 3 runs in the final 3 innings to fall 4-2.  That would be the best shot any team would have at stopping them.

Credit should be given though where credit is due.  All of the other seeded teams at the edges of the bracket advanced to the semifinals.  #2 Nishougakushadai Fuzoku did not dominate at all, save for the semifinal where they defeated #3 Kanto Dai-ichi who save for a narrow win over Adachi Gakuen did dominate the field  (Hope you caught all that).  And finally, Tokyo Jitsygyou who out of nowhere won their 4 games as the #4 seed location on the bracket to reach the semifinals where they, like many, got mercy ruled.

Chiba - Kisaradzu Sougou (4th title, 2nd consecutive)
Chiba breaks my heart so hard, I really don't want to talk about it.  Not that it probably wasn't expected, but that my hopes were brought up really high, only to have them crushed like a spider on the heel of someone's shoe.

Despite 171 teams playing in the Chiba taikai, out of the 16 seeded teams, 10 were able to advance to the Round of 16.  Some of the notable casualties? Choushi Shougyou, Shigakukan, and Kashiwa Nittai.

Now, the reason why I cannot be unbiased really regarding Chiba is the fact that I am unapologetic in rooting for Narashino. They're a public school who consistently does well and has been good enough to break through and get to Koushien on several occasions.

However, despite my homerism, I'm still a realist at heart (okay, pessimist).  I knew Narashino wasn't as good this year, and was a B (5-8) seed for the summer taikai.  But, they did make it into the round of 16 and that was a start.  A solid 5-2 win over unseeded Nichidai Narashino wasn't convincing, but they were still alive.  Next up was C (9-16) seed Narita.  I remember seeing the end part of that game, Narashino trailing 5-3.  Somehow, and I still can't believe it, Narashino comes back to score a pair of runs to tie the game. 3 innings later, they win the game and I'm running around at home hooting and hollering.  Perhaps it may still be their year after all.  And when they soundly defeat a Toukaidai Bouyou squad who was a bit inconsistent but still cut their way through the field, it was just one more game.  One more game to win and Narashino will get back to Koushien!

On the other side, things did not as clear.  Only Senshuudai Matsudo, Kisaradzu Sougou and Takushokudai Kouryou were left of the seeded teams.    The former and latter would meet in the quarterfinals, and A seed Senshuudai would win... 1-0.  That would put them in a matchup against Kisaradzu Sougou who had easy games versus unseeded Ryuukeidai Kashiwa and Keiyou.

In that semi Kisaradzu Sougou held the 2-1 lead going to the top of the 9th.  But top seed Senshuudai failed to give in scoring the douten run to send it into extras.  As the innings ticked off, it became clear that Matsudo's ace Takahashi looked finished.  In the 11th inning the sayonara run stood at 2nd, in the 12th he fought off a sanrui, 1 out pinch.  Then in the 13th, after yet again facing sanrui, 1 out pinch then intentional walks to load the bases (again), Takahashi almost gets out of the pinch, but with 2 down it's a full count oshidashi sayonara walk to send Kisaradzu Sougou to the finals yet again.  For Senshuudai Matsudo, it's their 3rd straight year being eliminated in enchousen.

So the finals were B seeds Narashino and defending champion Kisaradzu Sougou.  I wound up missing the game because I forgot about the early start time.

Perhaps it would have been a good thing.

See, Narashino jumped out to a 4-1 lead after a 3-run 2nd.  Things looked good, and my earlier concerns about Narashino's pitching (from the Narita game) were waning.

But ace Matsuyama (who came in the 2nd inning) to reliever relief starter Matsumoto, faltered.  Kisaradzu would sclore 4 in the 4th to take the lead and then 1 more an inning later for a 6-4 lead.  Narashino would be scrambling after that, reclaiming one back in the 7th.

That's as close as they'd get as Chiba would be able to finish the game giving his team their 2nd straight title (and breaking my heart).

Yamanashi - Hikawa (4th title, 1st in 3 years)
Oh how I longed for Nihon Koukuu (aka Japan Aviation Academy) to return to Koushien.  But since their appearance in 2008, have kind of fallen off the map, despite being seeded several times.

This year, they were not only unseeded, but buried in the bottom of the bracket.

The early leader in the clubhouse was Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku, who won 2 of the last 4 Natsu titles and posted double digit wins in their first two games.  All the other teams at least had one game where they were tested - even the other 1-4 seeds.  Toukaidai Koufu had to hold off Koufu Shougyou 7-6, Hikawa despite getting just 8 hits against Tsuru won 2-1, and Fujikawaguchiko flat out lost giving up a 4-2 lead in a 5-4 loss to Koufu Jyousai.

The only other team to have any type of blowout was actually Nihon Koukuu!  But they're not the pretty type of blowouts.  They're the ones where they just decide to outscore you, pitching be damned.  For after an innocent looking 7-3 win over Shirane, they go 13-7 and 13-6 (8 inn) there after.  Certainly a valid strategy, but one that generally doesn't work as you move up.

But, when faced with Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku, they were able to get out to a 5-1 lead!  With just 3 outs to go, the Nihon Koukuu kantoku elects to move ace Tanaka off the mound for Nakano to get the last 3 outs.

Except he doesn't. He gives up 4 runs tying the game! He would get bailed out big time by cleanup batter Ishida whose 2nd hit of the game is of the sayonara variety.  Headed to the semifinals, they'd face the other top seed in their half of the bracket, Toukaidai Koufu who had to rally from down 5-2 to defeat Minobu.  Despite that close game, Toukaidai would build a 7-3 lead... only to see Nihon Koukuu score a gyakuten 6 runs in the 7th for a 9-7 win and a chance for the Yamanashi title!

Going back to the other half, upset minded Koufu Jyousai's run lasted just one more game as they fell 5-0 to Sundai Koufu.  Meanwhile, Koma was giving Hikawa fits as they led 3-0.  Hikawa though would fight back like quality teams would and win 4-3.  And in the semifinals it was a rare 9-1 blowout to move to the finals.

And so it was that Nihon Koukuu would play Hikawa for the Yamanashi title.  In the end, Nihon Koukuu outrun strategy would fail as their offense struggled against ace Yamada, only putting up more than 1 run in an inning in the 9th, when the game was already out of reach.  Hikawa wins 8-5 to claim the title.

Wakayama - Minoshima (8th title, 1st in 29 years)
With Wakayama it was always was going to be a question of how Chiben Wakayama was going to win their nth straight title (9th in this case).

Or was it?  During Chiben Wakayama's run at Natsu Koushien, they reached the semifinals once and the Best 8 three times.  However, all but one occurred in the first 3 years of that run.  In more recent years, Chiben Wakayama has seemed to weaken, even failing to win their first game 2 of the last 3 years.  It's really attributed to growing weaknesses both at the plate and on the mound.  Last year, 3 of their 5 games to the title were decided by 2 runs or less - hardly the mark of a dynastic team.

So perhaps it was no surprise then when in the 2nd round Kihoku Kougyou, behind the HR from Horita and a solid outing from ace Nakai, would dethrone the 8-time defending champions 2-1 (though perhaps the school performing the feat may have been a surprise).

Now the question was, who would take their place?

It wasn't going to be Kihoku Kougyou.  Despite handing the ball off to Nakai with a 3-2 lead through 4, he would give up 4 runs (most importantly 2 in the 9th) to fall 6-5 to Wakayama Higashi in the block final (remember that Wakayama has 4 blocks which then redraw for the semifinals).

Realistically, the team that has risen most to challenge Chiben Wakayama in recent years has been Minoshima.  In first started in their first appearance in any Koushien in 19 years, where they went to the quarterfinals of the 2009 senbatsu before losing to eventual champions Seihou.

Of course, that was 4 years ago and they haven't been back since.  The team has suffered through fits of inconsistency, but over the past year split a series with them with both games going by the final of 2-1.

Some inconsistency remained as put up a rather average 4-1 win over Kenritsu Wakayama Shougyou in the 2nd round.  But they still advanced out of their block.

The other would-be contenders would be seeded Minabe out of Block B, and surprise team Hidaka Nakatsu who after a strong 2 games upset seeded Kinkidai Shinguu then held off Minabe Ryuujin 9-6 to advance out of Block C.

The semifinal draw would not be kind for Wakayama Higashi as they drew Minoshima and proceeded to fall 8-0.  For Minabe, a 5-run first helped provide a cushion for starter Matsuda as they would defeat Hidaka Nakatasu 8-5.

And so Minabe would be the final opponent standing between Minoshima and their first appearance in almost 3 decades. Sadly for Minabe, they were not able to put up a fight and lost 10-1.  A bit of a sad way to lose in the final, but congrats of course go out to the new champions Minoshima!

Tottori - Tottori Jyouhoku (3rd appearance, 2nd consecutive)
Despite just having 25 teams, it was not good to be a seeded team.

Why?

Because 3 of the 4 seeded teams - Yonago Kita, Iwami, and Kurayoshi Sougou Sangyou, all lost in their first games!  Yonago Kita was soundly defeated by defending champs Tottori Jyouhoku (who wasn't seeded!), Iwami was done in by a sole RBI from Yonago Shouin's Tsuchie, and despite more chances for Kurayoshi Sougou Sangyou thanks to walks from Tottori Nishi's ace Mastuoka,  Tottori Nishi would get to reliever Sawada as he entered in the 10th for the sayonara victory.

Tottori Jyouhoku's only challenge on their way to the final was in semifinal opponent Kurayoshi Higashi.  Ace Uehara struggled in the game, giving up 3 runs after his team had just taken a 2-0 lead.  But reliever Fukuiwa would clamp things down for Tottori Jyouhoku as they would eventually get to Higashi ace Tamagawa for 3 more runs, knocking him out of the game.  Itou would clamp things down there after, and Kurayoshi Higashi would get a run off of Fukuiwa in the 8th... but Uehara would come back in the 9th and close it out for the 5-4 win and a spot in the finals.

On the other half, the 2 prior champions to Tottori Jyouhoku wound up advancing through the brackets.  2010 champion Yazu had no problems reaching the semis with 2 sound victories.  Conversely, 2011 winner Tottori Shougyou needed 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Tottori Ikuei 3-2, and then after blowing a 3-0 lead to aforementioned Tottori Nishi, scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-3.

Perhaps playing from the lead was something Tottori Shougyou was unable to do this year, because in the semifinal, they had a 4-1 lead over Yazu heading to the top of the 9th.  There Yazu would score 5 runs to take a 6-4 lead, leaving Tottori Shougyou almost no time to rally.  Indeed they would fail to come back and Yazu would be in the final.

In the final, Yazu and Tottori Jyouhoku would trade blows several times, leaving the teams tied at 2 after the first 3, then again at 5 after 7.  However, reliever Kamatani for Yazu would break down in his 5th inning of work giving up 3 runs in the 8th inning.

That would prove to be too much as Tottori Jyouhoku would claim their 2nd consecutive title.

Tokushima - Naruto (8th title, 2nd consecutive)
In Tokushima there seemed no clear front-runner for the title.  Even the top tier teams struggled at some point in the tournament.

Defending champion Naruto even suffered from it as well.  Despite the first round bye and 6-2 opening win over Tomioka Nishi, they played a Tokushima Kagaku Gijyutsu squad who blew a 5-run lead to Awa only to win 10-8, then down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th, came back to tie off Jyounouchi ace Yanagimoto and then win in 10.

In that game Bandou would be stung for 4 runs in the 7th, falling behind 4-2.  However, Naruto would recover quickly scoring 3 in their 7th and 2 more for good measure in the 8th to win 7-4.

The next challenge would be Naruto Uzushio, who blew past their first 2 opponents before hitting resurging Ikeda.  They slowly were able to overcome a 5-run 3rd, getting to every one of Ikeda's 4 pitchers they would throw out there, winning 6-5.

Both pitching staffs would be rocked early, with Naruto taking a 6-5 lead after 2.  From then on though, Bandou would keep Uzushio at bay just enough to make that lead stick winning 8-7 for a spot in the finals.

On the other side, many teams were under the banner of survive and advance.  For Seikou Gakuen, after an easy first round, ace Tokuda almost let a 4-1 lead slip away against Anan Tousen, but won 4-3.  After that, they trailed Aratano 5-2 before scoring 4 runs in the final 2 innings to tie the game up at 6.  Aratano reliever Fukuzumi was anything but, relinquishing the 5-1 lead then giving up 5 more in the 10th for an 11-6 loss.

They would face a Kawashima team who beat Tokushima Kita in the opening round 3-1, upset powerhouse Tokushima Shougyou 3-2 in the next round, and then if that weren't enough, outlasting Komatsushima 4-3 in 13 innings!

Interstingly enough, the semifinal game would be a cakewalk compared to their previous games.  Ace Ueda would make a 4-run 4th stick, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits for a 5-3 win.

But for Kawashima, facing Naruto for their first title would be a lot to ask.  Indeed, after giving up 5 runs in the first two innings, it was a formality thereafter.

Ehime - Saibi (4th title, 1st in 5 years)
All eyes in Ehime would be on Saibi and ace Anraku.  Given his performance at Senbatsu, many were eager to see him at Natsu Koushien.

Jyoukou-kantoku continued to take no chances, throwing Anraku out there in every game save for the last two outs of their win against Matsuyama Chuo.  Saibi would outclass their opponents early with Anraku giving up just 1 run on 11 hits while striking out 29 in 20.1 IP.

So the question would be, who could challenge them?

Well, #4 seed Tanbara actually got shutout by Imabari Kita 5-0.  Filling the gap would be Kawanoe, who themselves had 3 mercy rule games to meet Yawatahama in the quarterfinals.  And despite just 1 run on 5 hits, the tandem of Oonishi and Doi would give up just 3 hits and strike out 16 Yawatahama batters to win 1-0 to meet Saibi.

In that semifinal, a timely hit by Takahara and an error from Saibi gave Kawanoe a 2-0 lead.  Meanwhile, Oonishi and Doi were shutting down the Saibi offense and things started to look bleak.

But Kawanoe's kantoku had pulled Oonishi after 2.2 IP, and Doi was trying to finish the game.  But Yamashita blasted a HR in the 8th to pull them within 1.  And in the 9th, he would relinquish the lead with RBI hits from Kaneko and Hayashi Kanya.  Senba would get the last 2 outs of the inning, but the damage had been done.  Anraku closed it out for the win.

So, who would be the last barrier between Anraku and Natsu Koushien?

Well, despite Tanbara's loss, both #2 Imabari Nishi and #3 Matsuyama Seiryou both marched towards the semifinals.  Both though faced a different challenge in the quarterfinals.  Imabari Nishi played Touon and despite getting just 4 hits, won 2-0.  As for Matsuyama Seiryou, instead of a pitching affair they were in a brawl with Niihama Higashi using 5 runs in the 6th and 7th to win 13-9.

So #2 and #3 would meet to face Saibi.  Ace Kanno for Imabari Nishi would give them a 1-0 lead with his only hit of the ballgame.  But it would be all he would need as he pitches a 3-hit shutout to move to the finals.

Imabari Nishi would try to implement a rotation of Kanno and Ishigaki on the mound for the finals, but Kanno was rocked right off the bat for 4 runs in 1+ innings of work.  While the rotation would give up just 1 run thereafter, it was too late.  Anraku would allow Imabari Nishi to pull within 2, but that would be as close as they would get, meaning that Saibi and Anraku would return to Koushien once again!

Kochi - Meitoku Gijyuku (15th title, 4th consecutive)
It was not business as usual in Kochi, despite the 2 teams who wound up in the final.  Not sure what is going on, but it almost signifies a loss of talent among the upper teams.

Why do I say that?  Well, Tosa lost right off the bat to Kochi Minami 6-0.   Now, one might say, "that's not terrible, Tosa was a decent team sure, but not one who was one of the powerhouses."

Sure, I could go with that, but following that Kochi Shougyou lost in the 2nd round after ace Uemoto collapses in the 8th inning, giving up 3 runs to Kochi Nougyou and losing 3-2.

"Okay, Kochi Nougyou got lucky in one inning.  Still not necessarily a big deal."

Well, what about the fact that while Kochi and Meitoku Gijyuku did manage to advance, their victories were not as sweeping as one might think?

Kochi's 2nd round win over Kochi Nishi 7-1 was helped by a 4-run 8th.  Meitoku actually trailed Kochi Kougyou before a 5-run 6th distanced themselves enough to win 7-3.  Move onto the quarterfinals, and Kochi started reliever Sakai against Sukumo Kougyou.  Having just gone up 4-0 through 7, Sakai falters almost giving up the entire lead.  Ace Sakamoto has to come in to shut the door advancing 4-3.  Meitoku had no such luxury facing Okou, who is probably on the same level as Tosa.  Kishi though gives up 2 early runs leaving them to chase.  And while a 2-run 5th would be enough, it would be just enough as Okou would keep it close falling by the same 4-3 score.

Now, both teams would actually win their semifinals with relative ease (at least compared to the games above).   Nakamura would fall to Kochi 5-1, while Kochi Chuo (who in their 2nd round game against Yusuhara trailing 3-0 going into the final 3 innings would score 10 runs to send the game into enchousen, winning 1 inning later!) would be shutout by Kishi & Ogata 6-0.

Kochi would turn to Sakai again to start the game against Meitoku Gijyuku and ace Kishi.  And while he was able to go head-to-head for a little while, he would give up a run in the 5th and another in the 7th.  That would be all Kishi would need, though he survived the 9th to win 2-1 and give his team their 4th consecutive Natsu title!

Fukuoka - Jiyuugaoka (1st appearance)
When block play finally ended on the 14th, the likes of Jiyuugaoka, Kurume Shougyou and Teikyou Dai-go all joined the field in the 2nd stage.

In the second stage, the story early on was Moji Gakuen.  Facing unknown Fukushou, they fritter away a 3-1 lead in the last 2 innings, head into extras, and down 4-3 in the 10th they score 2 to win.  Then against Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou this happened.  Talk about comeback kids.

It perhaps looked like they'd do it again in the semifinals against Nanchiku, tying the game late and going into extras.  Nanchiku for their part, had just upset Higashi-Fukuoka.  But when Doi gave up a run in the 11th, Moji couldn't find anything left in the tank as they fell 3-2.

On the other half, everyone who advanced had blowouts save for Jiyuugaoka who had to play Kurume Shougyou and escaped with a 5-3 win.  After that was a quarterfinal game against Jiyuugaoka.  And much like Moji Gakuen had done in the 2nd stage, they staged a comeback in the bottom of the 9th for 2 runs to send Teikyou Dai-go home falling short yet again.  Their opponent in the semifinals would be Kyusandai Kyushu who mercy-ruled Tobata and Yuusei to get there.  Still, against a upper level team, they would fall short losing 6-1, setting tup the final matchup.

And perhaps as expected Nanchiku would give up quick runs early and was not in contention.  Jiyuugaoka would go on to win 9-1.  What surprised me the most was that it was their first ever title!

(My apologies about the prefecural final updates, life and excel are getting in the way of me finishing this quickly.  Rest assured, I will have them up before Natsu Koushien begins.)

Without further ado, the field of 47.  Couple of notes:

• 10 newbies this year
• With Chiben Wakayama eliminated the longest streak of Natsu Koushien tournaments belongs to Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) at 7.  Next would be Meitoku Gijyuku (Kochi) at 4.
• Minoshima has the longest gap between appearances (29 years) followed by Iwakuni Shougyou (27).
• Urawa Gakuin will look for yet another haru-natsu renzoku yuushou, while Saibi and Anraku think revenge.

Ok, 17 champions have been crowned the last 2 days.  Let's see who has advanced to Koushien:


7/26 Title Games
Iwate - Hanamaki Higashi (7th title, 1st in 2 years)

After a rainout on the scheduled day, Moriokadai Fuzoku and Hanamaki Higashi finally clashed.

Moriokadai jumped on Hanamaki in the first inning with an RBI by ace Matsumoto to score Saitou.  Matsumoto would hold that lead until the 5th when back to back hits by Motegi and Hosokawa would give Hanamaki Higashi the 2-1 lead.  One inning later, it would all fall apart for Matsumoto as Tadano and Motegi (who ended up going 2-3 on the day) would tally 3 more runs to put it out of reach.  Hosokawa would scatter 1 run on 5 hits giving Hanamaki Higashi the title!

We know them for their grittiness.  Will we see it again this year?

Yamagata - Nichidai Yamagata (16th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
The Yamagata final was also rained out.  It perhaps allowed Yonezawa Chuo to contemplate rallying for the final against Nichidai Yamagata.

One day however, would wind up making little difference.  For Nichidai Yamagata would put the game out of reach early.  Takeda would start with squeeze bunt in the 2nd for a run.  In the 3rd Mineta would deliver a 2-run HR to right in a 3-run 3rd.

It was all Nichidai Yamagata after that, as ace Shouji and Aoki would later add HR's of their own in a 7-3 rout for the title.

Yamagata has been winless in the last 6 Natsu Koushien tournaments.  If there is any hope, they did to go the Best 8 in 2006.  But does such a run exist for them?

Toyama - Toyama Dai-ichi (1st appearance!)

Toyama Dai-ichi was looking for their first title against Sakurai who was looking for their 5th.

Ace Miyamoto would help his own cause opening the scoring for Toyama Dai-ichi in the 2nd with a sac fly to center.  3 innings later Fukui would extend the lead with a base hit to left.

Sakurai would pull within 1 in the bottom of the 5th, but Terazaki and Miyamoto would drive in 2 more runs in the lucky 7th.

That would be enough for Miyamoto as Kuroda-kantoku would finally celebrate his schools first ever title!  Now, can they parlay that into a win?  Over the last decade, teams from Toyama have advanced to the next round just 40% of the time.

Fukui - Fukui Shougyou (22nd appearance, 1st in 2 years)
So Fukui Shougyou (though not a no-name team by any means), was on the verge on a unique double upset.  If they managed to defeat Harue Kougyou in the final, they will have won the Fukui tournament defeating both Hokushinetsu senbatsu representatives!!  And with Tsuruga Kehi looking the stronger of the two representatives, it looked certainly possible.

Cleanup batter Ooishi would open the scoring against ace Tsubota with a timely hit to center.

And, that's all that Fukushou would need!  Nakamura Fumihide (中村 文英) would completely stifle the Harue offense giving up just 3 hits while striking out 9 in a 2-0 win to give Fukui Shougyou the title and completing the double upset!

Gifu - Oogaki Nichidai (2nd appearance, 1st in 6 years)
Despite having more Natsu Koushien title, Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou looked to be facing an uphill battle against Oogaki Nichidai.

Indeed, 3 straight hits ending with Naitou's 2-run triple followed by a sac fly from Takino would give Oogaki Nichidai a very quick 3-0 lead.  Starter Nagano for Shiritsu Fukushou would be pulled after just 1/3 of an inning giving way to Koedo.  Oogaki would add a run in the 3rd to make it a 4-run lead.

Starter Takada for Oogaki however would be unable to hold it.  Over the next 3 innings, Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou would come back to tie the game.

But just when Shiritsu Gifushou got back into the game, it would slip away yet again.  2 on, and the new Oogaki pitcher Hashimoto would come up big with a 2-run double to right.  One more run for good measure in the 7th, and Oogaki Nichidai would defeat Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou 7-4.

Shimane - Iwami Chisuikan (8th appearance, 1st in 8 years)
Iwami Chisuikan, formerly known as Gonokawa, would be looking for their first title since the name change.  In their way was Risshoudai Shounan.

It did look like Iwami Chisuikan would be pulling off the rout jumping out to a 5-0 lead early.  Ace Tanabe though would let Risshoudai get back within 1 over the next two innings.

But Risshoudai Shounan seemed to have troubles on the mound the entire game.  After pulling starter Shimozono after just 2.1 innings, Yoshihara would give up just one run until the 7th when he was pulled after letting the leadoff runner on.  Yoshimura would come in, but wound up giving up 4 runs (1 charged to Yoshihara), and that pretty much ended it for Risshoudai as Iwami Chisuikan would win 10-6 to claim their first title in 8 years!

Okayama - Tamano Kounan (3rd appearance, 1st in 11 years)
My dear Kanzei was just one game away from making it to Koushien.  And with 4 quick runs early on, it seemed like perhaps they'd get there.

But in the 5th errors would plague Kanzei.  4 runs would come in, giving Tamano Kounan the 5-4 lead.  Tamano ace Hoshi settled down after the shaky first 2 innings and would wind up striking out 7 and giving Tamano Kounan the title.

Kagawa - Marugame (4th appearance, 1st in 13 years)
To claim the title, Marugame would have to defeat the defending champions Jinsei Gakuen.  It wound up being easier than anyone expected as they would break to a 3-0 lead over the 1st 3 innings, then blow it open late all while ace Miyazaki would give up just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 9 in a resounding 8-1 victory.

Sorry, a headache pretty much KO'd me during games so I wasn't able to do an update.

Anyways, we're in crunchtime now as the number of teams qualifying by the day starts to ramp up hard.

First our qualifiers.  The established guard ruled the day on the 25th.

Ibaraki - Jyousou Gakuin (15 appearance, 2nd consecutive)

There were very few surprises in Ibaraki this year.

Top seed Kasumigaura almost stumbled out of the block, sort of expected for a team newly in the upper ranks, in a 2-1 win over Hokota Dai-ichi.  That would wake them up as they would outscore their opponents 22-2 thereafter to reach the semis.  That shouldn't take away from their quarterfinal opponent Meishuu Higashi who had defeated Fujishiro in the prior round as flurries of runs were scored in the final innings.

On the other part of their half was Kashima Gakuen who clawed their way through the quadrant, which included a late game pull away from #5 seed Tsuchiura Kohoku 6-4, and Hitachi Dai-ichi who survived Tsuchiura Dai-san 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th then an upset of #4 seed Ishioka Dai-ichi 7-5.  The two teams would be tied at 1 until Kashima Gakuen broke out for 4 runs in the 9th for the win.

In the other half of the quadrant, #2 Jyousou Gakuin breezed through their games, and in the quarterfinals continued to roll with a mercy rule win over Mito Kougyou who respectfully got through the bracket.

Meanwhile, both #3 Shimotsuma Dai-ni and #4 Suijyou were methodically working their way through.  Suijyou after a pair of mercy-rule games, took an early lead over Tsuchiura Dai-ichi 5-0 then held off to win 5-3.  Shimotsuma Dai-ni you could say slowly warmed up.  After a 4-3 win over Tsuchiura Dai-ni, had a better 5-2 win over Mito Sakuranomaki before blowing away Taga. The warming up though wouldn't be enough as Suijyou's RBI by cleanup batter Hayashi Ryou (林 涼) would be enough to send them to the semis.

Both semfiinals wound up being one-sided.  Both Kasumigaura and Jyousou Gakuin cruised through to the finals.

Kasumigaura had a chance this year to finally breakthrough.  In 2011, they lost in the bottom of the 9th against Fujishiro, and last year they fell in the quarterfinals.  Now, prefectural stalwart Jyousou Gakuin stood in the way.

But much like 2011, Kasumigaura took the early lead with a run in the top of the first, and then even added a run in the 8th for good measure.

The pitching side seemed to be holding.  Starter Ueno went short of  5 innings but didn't allow a run.  Ichige came in relief and continued to shut down the favorites...

Until the 8th.

Ichige would be tagged with back to back RBI hits by Yoshizawa and Ikezawa and before you knew it the game was tied.  Katano, who was part of that 2011 game, came in relief and got out of the inning.

But something was probably in the back of Kasumigaura's minds.  Perhaps the shades of 2011 haunted them.  Perhaps my theory of what the schools just below the "powerhouse" tiers holds true - that teams need to learn how to win the big game, to not be intimidated by their history or the history of the other teams.  To just play with no abandon regardless of the opponent.

Because with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Kasumigaura would suffer the same fate as 2011.  Cleanup batter Uchida would blast a sayonara 2-run HR off Katano to give Jyousou Gakuin their 2nd consecutive title... and leave Kasumigaura broken for 2 of the last 3 years.

Niigata - Nihon Bunri (7th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
This year may have been Murakami Sakuragaoka's best chance to win the title.  Constantly exiting either in the 3rd round or the semifinals, they finally got to the title game.  But Nihon Bunri stood in the way of them and the title.

Murakami Sakuragaoka looked really good in the title game, pinging Nihon Bunri for a run in the first 2 innings.  And even after ace Shiina gave up a 3 spot in the 4th, Murakami pocked ace Ooyanai? Yoshinori (大谷内 睦規) for another run in the 5th and 6th innings to take the lead.  However, Shiina's downfall would be the big inning.  Nihon Bunri would score 4 in the 7th knocking Shiina out of the game and giving themselves a lead that just forced their opponents to get a run an inning.  After a scoreless bottom of the 7th, it was all but over as Nihon Bunri won the title 7-5.

Kumamoto - Kumamoto Kougyou (20th appearance, 1st in 4 years)
Buntoku had been to Koushien twice before, both summer appearances.  And they performed very well in recent years, losing in the 3rd round or the quarterfinal game.  This year though they would have to defeat Kumamoto Kougyou, who had been to Koushien quite often in the 2000's, but was quiet so far in this decade.  Still, they have a much bigger history at Koushien than Buntoku.

Once again, it was the underdog who jumped out ahead with a run in the bottom of the first.  Kumamoto Kougyou would respond quickly tying the game in the 2nd.  Forward to the 5th inning and an error would help Buntoku take a 4-1 lead.  Ace Honda seemed to make that lead stick... that is until the 8th where with 2 down and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Nishiyama and ace Yamashita would deliver back to back hits to tie the game.

The game would stay tied until the 10th where Kudou, who entered the game as a PH earlier, would deliver what would end up being the game winning RBI to give Kumamoto Kougyou their first appearance in Koushien this decade.


And now for our final games today.

Iwate
When play finally started in Iwate it became clear that being a seeded team didn't mean a whole hill of beans. 3 seeded teams failed to get past their first game! Kurosawajiri Kougyou, Touno and Morioka Shiritsu all fell flat.  Even Moriokadai Fuzoku narrowly beat Morioka Nougyou 5-3 in their opener.  Senshuudai Kitakami fell one round later to Kuji Kougyou 6-4.

With one exception (Fukuoka), the schools who upset the seeded teams joined the remaining seeds (who had no trouble at all) in the Best 8.

Oddly enough, all 4 seeded teams were facing no seeds in the quarterfinals.

Morioka Dai-yon and Hanamaki Higashi handled their games easily over Fukuoka and Kuji Kougyou respectively, Ichinoseki Gakuin not surprisingly struggled with Kamaishi Shoukou but won 5-4, and in a bit of a surprise Mizusawa played to a 2-2 draw with Moriokadai Fuzoku!  However, a replay generally favors the favorite and true to form Moriokadai won 8-3 in the replay.

So the semifinals would feature Moriokadai Fuzoku facing Ichinoseki Gakuin, and Morioka Dai-yon squaring with Hanamaki Higashi.  Ichinoseki Gakuin fell flat once again, providing little resistance to Morioka Dai-ichi, while Hanamaki Higashi gritted their way with a 2-run 8th to get past Morioka Dai-yon and ace Nagasuzu 4-3.

And while they had to wait a day due to rain, familiar foes in Moriokadai Fuzoku and Hanamaki Higashi will face off for the Iwate title.

Yamagata
As much as Tenri has disappointed me over the years, so has Haguro in Yamagata.  In fact, they stooped to a new low.  Earning the #1 seed, they promptly lost their first game 3-1 to Tsuruoka Higashi.

The 4 seeded teams to reach the semifinals may not have been high seeds, but they are established strong teams within the prefecture.

With top seed Haguro out of the way, #6 Nichidai Yamagata was able to easily win their 3 games to reach the semis.  They will play #3 seed Sakata Minami who needed no help, outscoring their opponents 37-3.

On the other half, #2 seed Kunori Gakuen has been better as of late, but doesn't have the experience it seems losing in the 3rd round 2-1 in 14 innings to Shinjyou Higashi.  They would face #5 Yamagata Chuo for the right to be in the semis.  And while they made a great rally, a 7 run deficit was just too much to overcome as they fell 7-6.  #4 seed Yonezawa Chuo was in dire straits after ace Satou surrendered 3 runs to Toukaidai Yamagata in the final 2 innings.  But amazingly down 7-5, his team rallies for 3 runs for the comeback victory!

So two veterans on one side of the bracket and two hopefuls on the other.  Both semifinal games  expected to be very close affairs.

But interestingly, the game between Sakata Minami and Nichidai Yamagata almost was a blowout!  After a 5-run 1st by Nichidai it looked rather bad for the defending champs.  But they were not defending champions, nor representative 5 of the last 10 years for nothing.   They would claw back to within 2 runs by the 4th inning.  However, that would be as close as they would get as Nichidai would put up a pair in the 7th to put the game out of reach winning 8-5.

In the battle of Chuo schools, Yamagata Chuo was marked as the favorite - especially since they were able to reach senbatsu earlier this year.  But Yonezawa Chuo was not fazed at all.  For each time Yamagata was able to get to ace Satou early on, his offense would come right back to level the score.  Finally in the 8th, Yonezawa was able to pull ahead as Kusano delivered a timely hit on reliever Ishikawa.  Satou was almost able to close it out, but gave up the douten run in the bottom of the 9th.  Yonezawa brought them on the precipice of the finals again with a run in the 10th over ace Takahashi (who returned back to the mound), but once against Satou was not able to keep the lead.

Wouldn't you know it though, Yonezawa would do it again in the 11th.  Kouchi, easily the man of the game, got his 3rd RBI with his 3rd hit of the game.  This time, Satou would finally pitch a clean inning to win the game and send the team to the finals.

Toyama
Toyama went surprisingly smoothly if you were a top seeded team.

Well, almost.

1-2 seed Toyama Shougyou was actually upset by Himi in their 2nd game 4-2 in 12 innings.  Himi almost pulled off the double upset, but Jige was unable to hold, resulting in a 2-1 loss to Sakurai.  The only other seeded team to lose prior to the quarterfinals was Takaoka Shougyou who fell 6-4 to Takaoka Dai-ichi.

Otherwise, fellow 1-2 seed Toyama Dai-ichi, and 3-4 seeds Tonami Kougyou and Shin-Minato were able to reach the semis.  Toyama Dai-ichi blowing through the field, Tonami Kougyou having a little resitance, and Shin-Minato just getting by Tonami Kokusaidai Fuzoku 2-1.

Shin-Minato would narrowly lose to Sakurai 3-2, while Toyama Dai-ichi would mercy rule Tonami Kougyou in 5 innings.  Suffice it to say that the title appears to be Toyama Dai-ichi's to lose.

Fukui
So, the final shouldn't have been a surprise really.  The Hokushinetsu region was represented by 2 teams from Fukui, so why wouldn't Tsuruga Kehi and Harue Kougyou reach the finals?

Well, for Tsuruga Kehi, their draw included possible games against Fukui Koudai Fukui and Fukui Shougyou, and that is no easy task.  They got through Fukui Koudai Fukui 5-1, but wound up stumbling against Fukui Shougyou 5-1.  With the major competition out of the way, a routine 5-1 win over Fukui Nourin put them in the finals.

What about Harue Kougyou?  They were admittedly the weaker team it seemed despite winning the Hokushinetsu region last fall.

Well, they've survived by the skin of their teeth.  Literally.

First up, Keishin.  Tied 1-1 going into the 9th, they get the sayonara run off reliever Kitada to advance.  Then was Sabae.  Despite getting out to a 3-0 lead in the first, Sabae would tie it at 4 by the 6th inning.  This game would go into extras before Harue Kougyou would again deliver the sayonara blow in the 11th by cleanup batter Ono.

Finally, Tsuruga Kougyou. Ace Hirata was able to limit their opponent for 4 hits through 10 innings as Kinoshita finally delivered the game winning sac fly to send them to the finals 1-0.

So, despite being at Koushien this spring, Harue Kougyou looks to be the underdog against Fukui Shougyou.

Gifu
Gifu was rather scratch as well.  The top 8 seeds advanced to the block finals with the only exception being C Block top seed Mashita Seifu.  With their early exit, Chuukyou breezed through to the block finals to face Nagara.

In A Block, Oogaki Nichidai continued their roll through by defeating a surely depleted Teikyoudai Kani squad who needed a sayonara 2-run HR by to rally to defeat Seki Shoukou 6-4 in the bottom of the 9th.

Moving on to B Block, and Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou got a big scare as they trailed Gifu Dai-ichi 2-1.  But they get to ace Koshikawa with a run in the 8th, then the sayonara run in the 9th to advance to the block finals.  They would face a Minokamo squad who like Teikyoudai Kani, rallied for down 6-3 with 7 unanswered runs in the 7th and 8th off off Kanou ace Gotou for the win.

Yet Minokamo was game for the vaunted Kengifushou.  They jumped out to a 2-0 lead right off the bat.  Ace Asano would try to hold the lead for the rest of the game, but would surrender the lead after giving up a run in the 4th and 5th.  The final blow would be in the 7th as cleanup batter Takenaka would deliver the gyakuten timely hit to win 3-2.

As mentioned in Block C, Chuukyou breezed through to face a Nagara team that had two close calls.  Nagara would put up a fight, but found themselves playing a game of catchup they couldn't win following a 3-run 5th.  Chuukyou would advance out of the block 7-5.

And finally in Block D, both Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou and Toki Shougyou would actually have a little difficulty getting through the block.  Both only had one mercy rule victory, and both needed to survive a close game against a no-name opponent (sorry Hida-Takayama and Oogaki Minami).

The block final would go to Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou as they would put up at least a run in 8 of the 9 innings defeating Toki Shougyou 14-8.

In the semifinals, Block D and Block C would play, leaving Blocks A & B to play in the other semi.

Chuukyou was game for Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou, taking the lead in the 6th with a timely hit from 2nd pitcher Takagi.  However, his lead would not last long as he would relinquish runs in the 7th and 8th innings giving Shigifushou the 2-1 win.

The other semifinal was not as competitive.  As much as perhaps people wanted an all-Gifu Shougyou final, ace Fujita just did not have it against Oogaki Nichidai.  A pair of runs in the 1st turned out to be enough as they pulled away 5-1.

So it will be Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou and Oogaki Nichidai in the final.

Shimane
Shimane looked to have two powerhouses barreling towards the final.  One one side Kaisei, who barred through their 3 games going just 17 innings.  On the other, Risshoudai Shounan, who wasn't as dominant, still got through their 3 games with relative ease (though against Matsue Kita in their 3rd game they had just one outburst in the 7th for the 3-0 win).

Standing in Kaisei's way to the finals was Iwamichisuikan.  They worked their way through the bottom of the bracket all the way to face seeded Hamada.  In that quarterfinal game, Iwamichisuikan would put Hamada behind the 8-ball early and often.  Despite Hamada tying the game in the 5th, the constant pressure on ace Miura would be too much.  4 runs in the final 3 innings sealed Hamada's fate.

In the semifinal, Iwamichisuikan's Tanabe would outpitch Kaisei ace Onda with cleanup batter Nishida delivering the fatal blow with a HR in the bottom of the 8th.  Iwamichisuikan would advance to the final game with a 2-1 win.

Risshoudai Shounan's opponent would be Matsue Shougyou.  Having upset Masuda Shougyou, ace Masumoto would outlast Matsue Nourin's Aoyama and and Kadowaki to win 8-5 in 13 innings.  An easy win over Masuda Higashi set up the semifinal matchup.

While taking the early lead, Masumoto would get rocked in the middle innings leaving Matsueshou trailing 4-1.  His offense would rally in the next 2 innings to tie the game, but bottom 9 Shimozono would deliver the sayonara hit for Risshoudai Shounan to move on to the finals where Iwamichisuikan awaits.

Okayama
Oddly enough, it was better to be a lower seeded team than a higher seeded team this year.

1-4 seed Okayama Jyoutou was the first to fall, being shutout by Kouyou 4-0.  Okayama Rikadai Fuzoku would be next to fall one round later, with a 6-2 loss to Kurashiki Kougyou.

However, neither would advance to the best 4.  5-8 seed Kanzei, who was not challenged up until that point, would pull away from Kouyou late to win 5-2.  As for Kurashiki Kougyou, while Koujyoukan did suffer a scare from Takahashi Nisshin,  ace Fukushima would throw a 4-hit shutout to eliminate the challengers.

In the other 2 quadrants, 1-4 seed Kurashiki Shougyou would face a surely tired 5-8 Okayama Higashi Shougyou squad.  They wound up playing Mizushima Kougyou to a 6-6 draw, then just survived in the replay 2-1, then won another 1-run game against Sakuyou.

Perhaps the close games helped Okayama Higashi Shougyou because ace Nogami made a 3-2 2nd inning lead stick to advance the team to a semifinal match versus Kanzei.

And finally, 5-8 Okayama Kyousei was no match for 1-4 Tamano Kounan.  Despite a small hiccup versus Mimasaka, where they just managed 1 run on 8 hits, they blew out Kyousei 10-0.

In the semifinals, the bottom of the order would stake Kanzei ace Kodama to a 2-0 lead as Tobe and Ichihara get back-to-back timely hits.  Kodama would make that lead stick winning 3-2.

The other semifinal was rather bizarre.  First Koujyoukan would go out to a 3-1 lead.  Fukushima would hold that score until the 7th and 8th when Tamano pulled within 1, then tied the game.  Reliever Satake would come in to try and keep the game level, but wound up giving up the gyakuten run to send the top seed to the finals.

What's so strange about that?  They did it on just 4 hits.

Kagawa
Kagawa's top 4 seeds this year did not seem like the usual suspects (with the exception of top seed Jinsei Gakuen).  #2 Kotohira and #3 Tadotsu both were teams that had not fared well, but for some reason had success in the spring.  Only #4 Marugame Jyousei made some sense as they have been one of the betters teams in prefecture.

And things played out like you expected.  Sort of.

Kanonji Chuo gave Jinsei Gakuen a proper fright, but reliever Nakayama kept the score at 4-3 in the final 6 frames. After that Kagawa Tousen Takamatsu actually led Jinsei into the 2nd half of the game, but reliever Yoshinari couldn't maintain the 3-1 lead.  A pair of runs in the 7th and 8th spelled their downfall.

So Jinsei Gakuen as a seeded team made the semifinals.  They would wind up being the only seeded team to do so.

After getting by a tough 1st round draw in Sangawa, Marugame Jyousei slid past Iiyama to reach the quarterfinals.  There they would face an Eimei team who had beaten an unknown Shido team 1-0, then jumped on reliever Matsumoto for Sanbonmatsu who proceeded to fritter away a 7-2 lead and then take the loss in the 10th.  Eimei wound up being up for the task, routing Marugame Jyousei 8-1 in 8 innings.

Things were even worse on the other half.  Tadotsu, despite just 5 hits, was able to defeat Takamatsu Nishi 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th.  But against Takamatsu Shougyou in the next round?  Annihilated in 5 innings 10-0.

And Kotohira?  Don't even ask. Takamatsu Minami limits them to just 1 run on 3 hits as they "upset" the #2 seed 4-1.

So who would jump on the opportunity?  Well, Takamatsu Kita game Takamatsu Minami a job well done, defeated them 5-3, and then 4-hit Shoudouhima to advance to the Best 4.  Marugame, despite needing to comeback against Ootemae Takamatsu's relief corps in game 2, took out Takamatsu Shougyou 5-2 to move themselves on the hill.

Semifinal 1 pitted the two heavyweights Jinsei Gakuen and Eimei.  The aces traded donuts for the longest time before Nakayama caved and allowed the first run in the 7th for Eimei.  Doi would come in relief for the 8th, but gave up 2 more runs.  All seemed lost for Jinsei, but Eimei's ace Akagawa cracked in the bottom of the inning.  A 2-run timely hit by SS Nishimaru, and another RBI from Oonishi tied the game at 3.  Fast forward to the 9th, and Nishimaru would get one more crack at Akagawa.  Sure enough, he delivered the sayonara hit to score Shinohara and send Jinsei Gakuen to the finals.

The 2nd semifinal was not exciting at all sadly.  Takamatsu Kita was definitely the odd man in the bunch, and well... Starter Horie would not even finish the first inning as Marugame scored 11 runs in the 1st inning.  They would win 11-0 on 5 hits and 8 walks...

So it's Marugame and Jinsei Gakuen in the final.

As mentioned, 4 teams crowned their champs, and several went at least to the last out.

Oita - Oita Shougyou (16th appearance, 1st in 15 years)
Oita Uenogaoka was certainly the underdog here against Oita Shougyou despite the gap in Koushien appearances.  And in the first half of the game they built a 4-0 lead.  Uenogaoka would pull within 2 with a run in the 6th and 8th, but perhaps going into the 9th needing 2 runs they were demoralized...

...because Oita Shougyou would score 13 runs in the 9th...

That's pretty much all you need to say...

Akita - Seiai (First appearance)
We were guaranteed a first timer out of Akita.  It was just a matter of who would win the title.

And nerves early on certainly played a part as the teams jumped on the starters.  Ace Hirakawa was tagged for 3 quick runs in the first 2 innings, while starter Ichido would not get a batter out in the 3rd before being taken out for ace Ono.  He too would be charged with 3 runs.

After the 3rd though, the teams settled down and the pressure was put on the offenses to respond.

In the 7th, the tie would be broken.  #6 batter Moriyama would deliver a timely hit giving Seiai the 4-3 lead.  Ono was spectacular out of the bullpen, giving up no runs and scattering 4 hits across the final 7 frames to give Seiai the championship!

Kagoshima - Shounan (18th appearance, 1st in 4 years)
The opposite of Akita happened in Kagoshima.  2 powerhouses in Shounan and Kagoshima Jitsugyou battled for the title.

Kajitsu would get out to an early 2-1 lead, and while reliever Yokota started the game, he only gave up that one run before ace Fukunaga entered the game.  However, Fukunaga would give up a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6th before his team leveled the score in the 7th.  It would remain at 3-3 until the bottom of the 9th when he would crack for the last time.

With runners at 2nd and 3rd, his counterpart Yamashita would hit a grounder to the left side.  3B Nagakura would make the diving stop, but couldn't get the final out as Shounan would win in sayonara fashion 4-3.

Akita - Akita Shougyou (17th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
I wondered if Kakunodate would be a challenge for Akita Shougyou.  A pair of runs in the 2nd after Akitashou scored 1 in the bottom of the 1st answered that question.  Ace Souma was up to the task, limiting the damage Akitashou would deal.  However, he did give up the douten run in the 4th inning then in the 8th after taking the lead gave it back in the bottom of the 8th.

The game would go into enchousen tied at 3 (Boy 3-3 games seem popular yesterday).  Souma would go pitch for pitch with counterpart Sasaki as the game ticked off innings.

But when Kakunodate would fail to score in the 15th, Souma would have to play for a draw.  And I don't know what it is, but knowing that you best case scenario is a replay the following day and you're the underdog, there is a lot of pressure on you because you cannot win the game, just lose it.

And sadly for Kakunodate, that's what happened.  1 out, bases loaded, C Miura would hit a fly to right.  The throw in would not be in time, and Akita Shougyou would break the hearts of the possible first timers 4-3 in 15 innings.

And now for titles to be decided today...

Niigata - Murakami Sakuragaoka vs. Nihon Bunri
Niigata was very scratch up until the Best 8.  The only casualty was #4 seed Niigata Kenou Kougyou as they surprisingly 2-hit by no-seed Shibata in the round of 16.  Now, the 5-8 did struggle a bit, with the exception of Niigata Meikun who I found surprising to be in such a position.

What was more surprising was that even though Murakami Sakuragaoka was a #1 seed and had done well in recent times, ace Shiina 2-hit Niigata Meikun!  That opened my eyes a bit and made me start really considering them a #1 seed.

The next top seeded team to fall would be #2 Shibata Chuo in a very flat 5-2 loss to 5-8 seed Maki where they were never really in it.  #3 Nihon Bunri almost blew it squandering a 4-run lead over Chuuetsu, but recovered to win 6-5.

The finals would be set when Murakami Sakuragaoka made short work for Niigata Kougyou, while Maki made it close for a while before a 5-spot in the 8th put them out of commission.

It goes without saying that Nihon Bunri has been to Koushien many times in recent years, while Murakami Sakuragaoka will be playing for their 1st ever.  They've done well so far., but there's one more game to go.

Kumamoto - Kumamoto Kougyou vs. Buntoku

Despite losing half of the seeded teams early, the remaining half would survive to the best 8 - the top 3 in Kumamoto Kougyou, Seiseikou and Buntoku, and #8 seed Kumamoto Kita.

Seiseikou though would have to endure a frenetical 9th where Senshuudai Tamana would score a run to make it 1-0, then rallied for 2 in the bottom of the 9th for the win.   Also Buntoku would combine for just 9 hits with Kumamoto Kita, but did just enough to win 2-1.

In the quarterfinals, Kumamoto Kougyou would continue to chug along, shutting out Kumamoto Kita 4-0.  Despite giving up just one run though, they only had one mercy rule game and that was their very first one.  Tamana Kougyou would recover from a 2-0 deficit early and defeat Uto 3-2.  On the other half, Seiseikou recovered nicely to defeat Shuugakukan in 7 innings, while Buntoku had to deal with an always scary Luther Gakuin.  Once again though, Luther Gakuin falls just short despite a 2-run bottom of the 9th losing 3-2 in 11.

Kumamoto Kougyou would advance to the finals with their 2nd mercy rule game, while Buntoku would use a 5-run 4th on Seiseikou ace Ootake to hold on for the 5-4 win.

Needless to say with just 1 run given up by Kumamoto Kougyou in their very first game, it looks like an uphill battle for Buntoku.

With 6 teams down, 4 more are in their final stages.

Aomori - Yet another first timer!

Sadly for Aomori Yamada this will not be their year.  Despite giving up just 6 hits to Seiai, they fell behind 3-0.  Reliever Ichido would close it out taking Seiai to the finals, winning 4-2.

In the second semifinal, Hachinohe Nishi did well early against Hirosaki but for starter Satou he would falter in the 5th inning giving up 4 runs.  Hirosaki wouldn't look back though, though ace Hirakawa did give up 7 runs in a 12-7 win.

Both Seiai and Hirosaki will be fighting for their first Natsu Koushien apperance (Hirosaki did appear in Haru Koushien back in 1971).

Akita - A real David vs. Goliath

In the first semifinal between underdog Kanashi Nougyou and favored Akita Shougyou, despite Kiba striking out 9 batters over 7 innings, he would give up the go-ahead run in the 7th.  So Akita Shougyou will move on to the finals as a "no-seed".

For Oomagari and Kakunodate, aces Shibata and Souma would be involved in a pitcher's affair.  But in the 8th inning with 2 down and a runner on 2nd for Kakunodate a fielding error allowed the runner to score.  That lone run proved to be the difference as Kakunodate would advance to the finals where they will have to slay the powerhouse to reach Koushien for their first time.

Oita - The same old story?
So, Oita had many of the same old teams emerging from the brackets towards the finals regardless of seeding.  When 1-2 seed Jyouhou Kagaku fell in their first game, Oita Shougyou was happy to oblige sweeping through their quadrant.  Same in Kitsuki's quadrant.  Oita, after a narrow victory over Mori, defeated both Hita Rinkou and Beppu Aoyama rather handily.

On the other half, Meihou and Yanagigaura both got through their games to face each other (though Yanagigaura narrowly held on over Oita Nishi 6-5).  In the quarterfinal, Yanagigaura held a 4-1 lead, but when the kantoku pulled starter Baba for Shimoike, the reliever was unable to hold the lead, giving up 4 runs (the final 2 in the top of the 9th) to give Meihou the 5-4 win.

In the other quarterfinal were Saiki Kakujyou and Oita Uenogaoka, both of whom upset the seeeded teams in their quadrant.  Certainly while having appearaed in senbatsu recently as a 21st century team it's not much more experience, they certainly haven't been a bad team in the prefecture and were probably the favorites.

But right off the bat, Saiki scored a run.  That run would stick until the 6th when Anami(?) hit a game-tying HR making it an new ball game.  Forward to the 9th and Tajiri would deliver the sayonara hit sending them to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Oita Shougyou wound up blowing a 5-1 lead in the later innings to Oita before #9 batter Emoto would deliver the game winning hit to put their team in the finals.  They will face Oita Uenogaoka who used a 6-run 5th to defeat Meihou 8-6.

Kagoshima - The real folk blues...

(Sorry this is abbreviated for now, will update later)

If you not one of the seeded teams for the most part.

In fact all but 2 seeded teams advanced into the Best 8. First was Shoushikan. In their very first game against Kagoshima Chuo, ace Nakano couldn't hold a 2-0 lead, giving up a pair in the 7th. After being replaced by Yoshikuni in the 8th, he couldn't hold the tie. #3 batter Nishi gets the timely hit to put Kagoshima Chuo up 3-2 as Horikiri closes it out in the 9th for the upset.

Two days later was Kajiki Kougyou. They had a 3rd round matchup with Kawauchi Shoukou. Despite ace Fukukura's average outing, the Kajiki kantoku decided to pull him for Tamoto after 5 innings. That would be costly as Kawauchi would score 2 runs immediately after the reliever entered the game. Kajiki Kougyou immediately went into panic mode as they used the lucky 7 to tie the game at 4 then add on one more to take the lead. But Tamoto just couldn't make it to the 9th. He gives up the douten run in the 8th, then the sayonara run in the 9th with 2 outs.

In the end Shounan would best Kagoshima Jyouhou 5-1, while in the other semifinal, Kanoya Kougyou almost pulled off the upset against Kagoshima Jitsugyou, but ace Hashiguchi couldn't close it out. He would be charged with all 3 runs in the 7th as Kajitsu would pull away 9-4.

Our 3rd-6th bids for Natsu Koushien have been decided, and in some cases, we needed extra time!

Minami Hokkaido
Hokushou and ace Oogushi just had one last obstacle to returning to Koushien and that was Komadai Tomakomai.  Perhaps ready to challenge again, #5 Koyama gave them the 2-0 lead in the 4th inning.

Ishii though couldn't make it last giving up 3 in the 6th and another in the 8th.  Once again though and error plus a base hit from Koyama again would tie the game at 4 apiece.

It was then that the Komadai kantoku replaces Ishii with Yoshio... and it all went sideways.

Yoshio would give up 6 runs in the frame... and that would be that for securing Hokushou's 3rd title, and first in 3 years.

Saga
The pressure was evident for both Waseda Saga and Arita Kougyou as they were fighting for their first title.  Neither pitcher was sharp as both offenses got hits early and often.  Yet through 6, Arita Kougyou had built a 4-2 lead.

That would change when Tsuga delivered for Waseda giving them a 5-4 lead.

Down to their last out and the bases loaded Kuwahara would come through with a base hit to left to tie the game and send it into extras.  One inning later, with the winning run 90 feet away and 2 down, SS Fujikawa would end it with a base hit through the left side giving Arita Kougyou their first title in their long school history!

Nagasaki
In the battle between the prefectural heavyweights, starters Tanigawa (Nagasaki Nichidai) and Yamaguchi (Sasebo Jitsugyou) did not do a terrible job, but neither could go past 6 innings.  By the time Taniguchi had left the mound, Nagasaki Nichidai held the slim 3-2 lead.  Nichidai was 3 outs away from closing it out, but reliever Fukuda couldn't to it.  With one out and runners at the corners Tazaki would deliver the douten RBI.

And in the 11th, it would be reliever Kinoshita who would deliver the sayonara base hit off of Kaneko to give Sasebo Jitsugyou their 2nd consecutive title (and 5th overall).

Okinawa
As highlighted on my twitter feed, Okinawa's final was broadcast on QAB.

Perhaps in an attempt to save the ace a couple of innings, Misato Kougyou's kantoku decided to start #12 Oonaka.  It would be a fateful decision as leadoff batter Moromizato would triple to right center, followed by a base hit by Chinen to give Okinawa Shougaku a quick 1-0 lead.

After a fly to center advanced Chinen, Shibahiki would drive a ball to deep center.  Kamita would catch it, but his throw in would short hop SS Nishikuratou and get by him allowing Chinen to score making it 2-0.

The next inning, ace Nakamine would come in, but it would wind up to be too late.  For no matter how much Misato Kougyou would scrap a run together, Okinawa Shougaku would come right back.  Eventually Nakamine would give in allowing a couple more runs giving Okinawa Shougaku the 5-2 win, and their 6th summer title (1st in 8 years).

So here's where we stand for prefectures either having their finals or semifinal matchups:

Finals
Minami Hokkaido - What's old is new again...
Sadly, it was not a good day if you were from Hakodate.  For Hakodatedai Yuuto, Murata and Kudou would combine to give up just 5 hits and 2 runs to Komadai Tomakomai (both charged to Murata).  However, they would only get 4 hits of their own... and were shutout by their counterpart Ishii.

For Hakodatedai Hakuryou, they had an opportunity (or perhaps a slap in the face) when Hokushou did not start Oogushi.  And indeed a pair of runs in the 5th gave them a 2-1 lead.  Oogushi would come in though in the 6th to clamp things down.  And Kaneda would wilt under the late game pressure as 4 unanswered runs in the final 3 innings would give Hokushou the 5-2 win.

Saga - "Chase the chance!" (extra props to anyone who knows the reference)
The Saga semifinals had teams that had some experience at Koushien, and thus perhaps were favored in their matchups.

First up a matchup with 2 seeded teams in Saga Kougyou and Arita Kougyou.  Ace Furukawa had done well to shut down the former the 1987 representative, but still found themselves down 2-1.  However in the 6th Kusano would tie the game with a base knock and the game would eventually head to enchousen.

Just one inning in, and Arita Kougyou had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.  #3 batter Kishigawa would get his only hit of the game, but it would be a hit that would send his team to the finals for a chance at their first ever title in their 113 year history!

In the 2nd semifinal, it would get off to a terrible start for favored Imari Nourin.  An error in the first inning would lead to 2 runs for Waseda Saga.  They would have to play catchup for the rest of the game, but Waseda ace Kuroiwa would not give them any chance.  Imari would get one last chance with runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs in the 9th, but Kuroiwa would shut the door on a 5-hit shutout sending Waseda Saga to the finals for a chance at their first title... in their 3 year history.

Nagasaki - The same old story... though just.
With 4 seeded teams and all recent Koushien participants, it would be much of the same.

First up, scrappy Senbatsu participant Souseikan and Nagasaki Nichidai.  While Nichidai took the lead 1-0 in the 1st inning, Souseikan would depend on that sticktuitiveness to exchange blows in the middle innings emerging with the 5-4 lead.

But the 9th inning proved to be too tough for ace Oono.  2 outs bases loaded and Nichidai sends up pinch hitter Miyahara.  He delivers a base hit to left, scoring they douten and gyakuten run.  They would not leave anything to chance as Fukuda would come in relief, strike out 2 in a scoreless 9th for the save and a chance for their 6th title since 2000.

In the other game, Sasebo Jitsugyou and Kaisei would be trapped in a defensive standoff with both teams getting opportunities, but unable to convert them into runs.

The decisive blow would come in the 8th inning when with a runner on for Kajitsu, #3 batter Yamaguchi would blast a 2-run HR to give them a 4-2 lead.  Kinoshita would end the game setting up a matchup between Nagasaki Nichidai and Sasebo Jitsugyou.

Okinawa - David vs. Goliath(?)
With most of the well-known teams gone, it seems that the Fall Kyushu champions Okinawa Shougaku would be a breeze to go once again here in the summer.

But before that we had the first semifinal between unseeded Misato Kougyou and seeded Yaeyama, both looking for their first title.

And Yaeyama certainly had the upper hand early building a 3-0 lead after 3 innings.  And while Ikemura wan't exactly in tip top shape, after a double play in the 8th things seemed well...

But a pinch hit single by Naima followed by another from Kanda put two runners on quickly.  Then Nishikuratou's (西蔵當) fly ball to left was botched by Higa allowing both runners to score!  That would be followed by a wild pitch allowing the douten runner to reach 3rd, and then a hit batter putting Shimabukuro on at 1st for the gyakuten run.  2 pitches later, cleanup batter Miyagi Ryouta (宮城 諒太) would single through the left side tying the game up at 3.

No amount of going to the mound would help Ikemura as Matsudou would bloop one into left.  Higa's throw home take a couple of bounces but is on line.  However, Shimabukuro slides around Takara giving Misato Kougyou the 4-3 lead.

And in one final indignity Takaesu (高江洲) blasts one to center, just past the reach of a sprinting Higashinagata (東長田) who stumbles and falls.  As Takaesu rounds the bases, Higashinagata fumbles with the ball allowing Takaesu to round 3rd for a running 3-run HR to make it 7-3.  Iha would come in for Misato Kougyou to close out the game sending them to the finals.

In the other semifinal Mawashi proved to be a formidable opponent for Okinawa Shougaku tying the game at 2 in the top of the 9th inning.  But in the 10th, cleanup batter Shibahiki would deliver the sayonara run to send Okinawa Shougaku to the finals.

So it'll be underdog Misato Kougyou facing the defending fall champs Okinawa Shougaku for the right to head to Koushien.


Semifinals
Aomori
I have no clue how the Aomori HS Baseball Federation decided on rescheduling games because they weren't in chronological order.  Thus seeded teams like Touou Gijyuku wound up playing on back-to-back days in their first two games!  (Though it didn't seem to affect them at the time)

The first major casualty was seeded Hachinohe Kougyou.  A 4-run 8th for Noheji busted their chances at a title as they fell 6-4.

Despite the wacky rescheduling, they were back on schedule by the 16th.

Now, you may not have known this but Kousei Gakuin changed their name to Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei.  This happened back in April.   Was it because of the bad luck they've experienced being the bridesmaid 3 straight Koushien tournaments?  Who knows.  It didn't seem to affect them, getting past 1-4 seed Touou Gijyuku and reaching the best 8.

Next up was Seiai - a team that hasn't gone to Koushien, but can be a real pain in the ass for teams trying to get there.  Still, Kousei led 1-0 heading into the 8th.  But perhaps Nakai-kantoku left ace Satou in there an inning too late as Narita and Sasaki drive in a run each and gave Seiai the 2-1 lead.  Ace Ono would finish it out and end Kousei's chance at the title.

Their opponent would wind up being Aomori Yamada.   After many years of scuffling, it might look like they're on their way back - as denoted by their 1-4 seed.  But perhaps not fully.  After 2 easy wins, they would have to rally from a 6-2 deficit to defeat Hirosaki Minami 7-6.  It might have served as a wakeup call as in their next game against 5-8 seed Goshogawara Shougyou, they would win handily 8-2.

In the other semifinal, we have two upset-minded teams.  First up, Hachinohe Nishi.  After an easy first round, Aomori would plunk 9 runs on them in the 2nd inning.  Yet Hachinohe Nishi would claw their way back to 12-11 with 3 innings to go.  And in the 8th, they would complete the comeback with 2 runs to win 13-12.  Then later in the quarterfinals against 1-4 seed Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, they would fall behind yet again.  And once again they would fight back to tie it in the 8th, then win it with 2 in the 9th for the 6-5 victory.

They will play Hirosaki for the other spot in the finals.  And early on you could have called them the cardiac kids.  Already having survived a 10 inning affair in their first game, they faced off against inter-city rival Hirosaki Kougyou.  They came back to tie the game in the later innings at 3, and would go 14 innings before taking the lead and having Hirakawa hold on for dear life for the win.  If that weren't enough, Noheji in their next game would not let let Hirosaki have an easy game, having an answer for every punch thrown at them.  But when Hirosaki put one more on the board in the 9th, Hirakawa made sure yet again that their opponent would not have a response.

Oddly enough, against their first seeded team in Hachinohe Kita... they mercy ruled them!  Go figure.

Akita
Akita turned out to be a bonafide scramble.  Many of the seeded teams looked rather beatable, and #5 Akita Kougyou was the first to fall thanks to a 4-run 8th by Oomagari.  Next up were top seed Noshiro Shouyou, #2 seed Honjyou and #5 seed Yokote.

And all 4 remaining seeded teams would fall in the quarterfinals!

But within these 4 no-seeds is a fox among the hens.  Yes, Akita Shougyou was a no-seed.  And though perhaps it seemed justified with 2-0, 3-0 and 2-1 wins (including the latter against #1 Noshiro Shouyou) a mercy rule win over #8 Akita Nishi showed everyone that they're still a powerhouse, seed or not.

Kanaashi Nougyou will be tasked next to remove the hidden final seed in the field.  After surviving 10 innings against Araya, they would shutout both #5 Yokote and #4 Akita Chuo by scores of 2-0 and 1-0.

The other semifinal guarantees a team a chance at their first summer title.  The aforementioned Oomagari would go on to narrowly defeat Akita Minami 3-2 then have ace Shibata scatter 5 hits to defeat #3 seed Ootdate Houmei 3-1.

Their opponent will be Kakunodate.  After 2 easy mercy rule games they started off facing #2 Honjyou.  And no offense to Honjyou, but they're probably one of the easier (most hard-luck) high seeded teams to face.  Sure enough ace Souma would give up just 4 hits while striking out 11 in a 2-1 win.  After that would be the other seeded team you'd want to face in Akita - #7 seed Meiou.  This time, Souma would throw a 3-hit shutout striking out 9 to reach the semifinals.