高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

With less than 2 weeks to Natsu Koushien, we get a flurry of teams qualifying for Koushien.  Here's what happened yesterday:

Fukushima - Nichidai Tohoku v. Seikou Gakuin
In this year where it seems like the underdog is finally giving the powerhouse teams their comeuppance, Nichidai Tohoku had a similar opportunity versus the king of the prefecture, Seikou Gakuin.

And it really looked like Nichidai would be able to pull off the upset.  Seikou went from pitcher to pitcher to stem the tide, but couldn't as Nichidai Tohoku put run after another on the board to build a 6-2 lead.  By the time the game hit the 9th, I was dead certain they would be able to do it.

And they were just one out away from doing it.  But with runners on the corners and 2 out, Seikou put 3 hits together, and that 6-2 lead turned into a 6-6 ballgame.

Any time you have the underdog giving up a lead like that, especially in the final, usually the collapse is complete in regulation, or even if they survive into enchousen they can't regain momentum.

2 innings later, Seikou got runners on 1st and 2nd with no out, #3 batter Yananuma delivered the final blow to send Seikou to Koushien for another year.

Chiba - Toukaidai Bouyou v. Senshuudai Matsudo
After the melee in Chiba, 2 Tier 3 schools found themselves in the finals.  As one of my twitter follows is wont to mention, Senshuudai Matsudo in prior years kept on losing late in the tournament in enchousen.

But in the round of 16, perhaps they exorcised the demons when they won a 3-2 win in 10 against Shiritsu Funabashi. That seemed to give them momentum as they put away Kisaradzu Sougou early, and then scored 5 early against Kashiwa Nittai to reach the finals.

Toukaidai Bouyou was the forgotten Toukai school in the prefecture - to Toukaidai Urayasu (they had defeated Narashino earlier).  But they were always a respectable squad and always made a modest run.

This year was different.  This time around they got some breaks.  In their 2nd game, they had to walkoff Seibudai Chiba 3-2.  Then was a very uncharacteristic 2-0 win over Sodegaura.  And instead of facing Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku, they faced Kokubun instead and shut them out 5-0.

Wouldn't you know it, they would have to face sister school Toukaidai Urayasu in the semifinals.  And you had to think that Bouyou's run would end here.

Nope, not even close.

In fact the scoreline would have you believe Bouyou was the dominant Toukai school.  12-2 in 5 innings!!

And holy crap, it's like Toukaidai Bouyou was just saving themselves for the stretch run, because in the final, Senshuudai Matsudo was absolutely no match. 6 runs in the 2nd to demoralize them, and the 6 in the 8th for the finishing blow, and they punch their first ever ticket to Natsu Koushien with authority in a 13-2 win.

Toyama - Toyama Shougyou v. Takaoka Shougyou
Sadly for those of us who loved Toyama Dai-ichi's run last year (the prefecture's deepest in 30 years), they showed some cracks early, and went down in the semifinals to Takaoka Shougyou.  And outside of a 2-0 win in their 1st game over Toyama Kougyou, the run looked rather solid.

The same could not be said for Toyama Shougyou.  Yes, they had some easy games to start, but then in the quarterfinals against Takaoka, they would go scoreless through regulation before wining in 10.  And the semifinals against Fujikoshi Kougyou, they managed to keep them at arms length, but an 8-5 win going into the finals doesn't necessarily portend great things.

And early on, it looked like they would be had.  After a couple scoreless, Takaoka Shougyou built a 3-0 lead.  But that completely collapsed when Toyama Shougyou scored 6 in the 6th.  And just for good measure they added 3 more in the 9th to avoid possible drama, and Toyama Shougyou makes their 1st trip in 10 years with a 9-3 win!

Gifu - Oogaki Nichidai v. Gifu Kougyou
Gifu Kougyou admittedly got some help to reach the finals.  No Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou to deal with, and the other main players were on the other half of the bracket.

But they had earned their finals appearance with their performance, soundly defeating those in front of them with the exception of the semifinals where they had to use all 9 innings to defeat Gifu Sougou Gakuen 3-2.

But the prefecture was Oogaki Nichidai's to lose.  Despite a narrow 3-0 win over Motoshi Shouyou, they easily manhandled their opponents up until defeating Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou 3-1.

The finals were no match. Oogaki Nichidai claimed their 2nd consecutive title with an 11-2 win.

Kyoto - Kyoto Subaru v. Ryuukokudai Heian
I thought maybe this might be Kyoto Subaru's year.  Fukuchiyama Seibi fell, Kyoto Gaidai Nishi too.  They almost didn't make the finals after coming back to defeat Katsura 8-7 after falling behind 5-0 after the first inning.  A 10-0 win the semifinal over Yamashiro perhaps meant good momentum going into the finals.

But on the other side loomed the senbatsu champs Ryuukokudai Heian...

And let's just say that it wasn't pretty. 2 in the 1st and 3 in the 2nd and the rout was on.  When it was all said and done, Heian will have a chance to go haru-natsu with a 10-0 win over Kyoto Subaru.  Maybe next year guys...

Wakayama - Chiben Wakayama v. Shiritsu Wakayama
Chiben Wakayama has dominated the prefecture for a long time now.  In the last 27 years, they have relinquished the natsu title just 7 times.  For all the other schools in the prefecture that's rather frustrating knowing that the road to Koushien goes through them.

So it seemed this year too.  Outside of a 4-1 win over Touin, it was double digit runs the rest of the way to the finals.

The team to try and slay the monster this year was Shiritsu Wakayama.  They almost didn't even make it out of their first game, giving up a 2-0 lead to Wakayama Tousen before winning in 10.  It got easier after that, culminating in a 4-1 over Wakayama Shougyou to reach the finals.

Still, it's not like they were lighting the world on fire, and it was Chiben Wakayama after all.

But in the finals, Shiritsu kept Chiben off the board after giving up a run in the 1st.  That kept them in the game until the 7th, where it did indeed prove to be lucky for them.  Ooshima would deliver the game-tying RBI and the game would remain tied at 1 into enchousen.

In the 11th, Chiben would take the lead again 2-1, but Shiritsu found a response in PH Abe who hit another clutch single to center.

The unbelievable happened one inning later, when with runners on 1st and 2nd, Setoguchi would drive a ball to left center, scoring the sayonara run giving Shiritsu Wakayama the 3-2 victory!!

Shimane - Taisha v. Kaisei
Taisha has been that model Tier 3 school in Shimane.  Always good, never great.  This year though was completely different, scoring double digits against all opponents until the semifinals where they trailed Yasugi 4-0 going into the bottom of the 9th.  Yasugi's ace Saneshige couldn't close out the gae, and Taisha rallied for 4 in the 9th to tie the game.  And in the 10th, Shimizu's base hit would complete the comeback to reach the finals.

Kaisei's road was a bit more rockier, but then again it was a bit more difficult as well.  First was a 4-2 win over Risshoudai Shounan.  Then down 6-0 to Iwamichisuikan, they scored 11 unanswered runs to advance to the semifinals. And then against unknown Daitou, they were in an old-fashioned brawl where after a scoreless 2 innings there were multiple ties and lead changes and 4 ties, but the decisive blow was a 5-run 6th by Kaisei to take a 10-7 lead.  They would hold off a final charge by Taisei in the 9th, but they could only score 2 of the 3 runs needed to extend the game, falling 12-11.

In the final, Taisha would fight their best, but in the end another big inning by Kaisei would do them in.  Kaisei wins 9-4 and heads back to Koushien.

Things get a bit more wacky as we start heading south and west...

Ibaraki
Regional play has been completed, and 29 teams moved on to prefectural play.  Jyousou Gakuin got a free pass and is probably expected to go deep into the tournament. Kasumigaura, who was just 6 outs away from winning their first title, is also present - but the question will be has their time passed them by? If they do get their revenge matchup it will be in the finals, but in the haru format does not guarantee them a spot in Koushien.

However, the other seeded teams are Meishuu Hitachi, Suijyou and Fujishiro - the latter 2 being familiar names.

Tochigi
Tochigi has no such regionals, all 61 teams are just thrown into a bracket and they beat each other up. So far, Sakushin Gakuin looks to be the front-runner with mercy-rule wins in their first two games and advancing into the quarterfinals.

Joining them are 5 other "seeded teams" including Sano Nichidai, Hakuoudai Ashikaga and Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku. Only the former has had mercy-rule wins throughout.

Gunma
Sadly, when it comes to the one-time winners, it kind of follows that they are unable to follow it up.

Such was the case with Maebashi Ikuei, who couldn't get past their first game losing to Oota Kougyou 4-3...

As a result, the mainstays have been able to reassert themselves within the prefecture at least - sort of.

Kendai Takasaki has made the semifinals, in Kendai fashion, with not one, not two, but three 1-run ballgames. They will face Kitoku, who is definitely a solid C team, for an automatic bid into the Super-Regional.

On the other side, Kiryuu Dai-ichi is back once again and will face unknown Takasaki Shoudai Fuzoku.

Saitama
The struggles for Urawa Gakuin continue... Ojima cannot get them past their 2nd game of the prefecturals, falling to Honjyou Dai-ichi 3-2.  They will face Yashio Minami for a spot in the semifiinals.

Elsewhere, familiar names Saitama Sakae and Hanasaki Tokuharu after eking out 4-3 sayonara wins will face each other... there's an all-Kawagoe matchup as Kawagoe Higashi and Shiritsu Kawagoe meetup...

...and can Kasukabe Kyouei finally get to Koushien please? Two shutout wins pit them now against Matsuyama for a spot in the semis.

Chiba
Kisaradzu Sougou had the unfortunate draw to face Toukaidai Bouyou right off the bat in the prefecturals... and lost 2-1.  Oddly enough they then lost to unknown Abiko in the very next game 3-1!

There were even more early strong matchups as Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku defeated Toukaidai Urayasu 3-1.  Senshuudai Matsudo has been given no favors having to face Chiba Keiai and now Narita.

Narashino is still alive, but two close games so far do not instill confidence in the team's strength early despite having an easy road so far.

And don't forget about Kashiwa Nittai, they're always in the mix and may not have a challenge until a possible matchup with Chiba Reimei in the quarterfinals.

Kanagawa
Toukou Gakuen look to make it back to the Super-Regionals having defeated Nichidai Fujisawa and Yokohama Sougakukan.  They should have no trouble against a Nichidai squad despite them giving up their first runs of the taikai in the last round in a 5-4 win over Busou.

The bigger matchup is Toukaidai Sagami (who has just beat the heads in on all opponents - including Touin Gakuen) all without giving up a run, versus a Yokohama squad who once again does not look all that impressive though they did have to face Yokohama Hayato and Keio Gijyuku.

Yamanashi
We could be in line for a rematch of the natsu final as both Hikawa and Nihon Koukuu are on opposite sides of the bracket and are on a collision course. In their way immediately right now are Koufu Kougyou and Koufu Shougyou respectively.  After that, it could be fellow powerhouses Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku and Toukaidai Koufu. So while the rematch may happen, there's still some obstacles left to go.

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!

By the time I have come back to the Kanto region, we're pretty much approaching the finals in all prefectures. Such is the price of me trying to update every single bracket and trying to blog it while holding a regular 9-5 job. There's got to be a better way of doing it, but I need to book up on excel, access or something to figure out how...

Gunma
As the rounds progressed from the 3rd (which is what they were starting last I recapped), the lower seeded teams such as #7 Maebashi Ikuei, started falling by the wayside. In their case it was a shutout to Oomama (Please, no jokes here).

Also in the 3rd round, Shiritsu Isesaki, held scoreless for 6 innings and down 8, score 11 runs in the final 3 innings for the gyakuten win over Takasaki Keizaidai Fuzoku.

But the first real shoe to drop came in the quarterfinals. Top seed Maebashi Shougyou broke out to a 6-1 lead over Maebashi Kougyou before Maekou scored 4. Then when Maeshou extended the lead back to 3, Maekou got all those runs in the 9th to send it into extras. And in 12, Maekou would score the eventual winning run for the upset!

And if that weren't enough, in the very next game Takasaki Kenkoufukushi scores a run in the 9th to break a 4-4 tie with Jyutoku (who never led), to send the #2 seed home 5-4!

In a more milder upset, #5 Takasaki Shougyou scores 7 in the 8th to defeat #4 Takasaki 7-4.

The semis were not blowouts, but you seemed to know who was in control early. Takasaki Shougyou and Takasaki Kenkoufukushi advance to the finals, with one looking for their first Natsu Koushien appearance in over 2 decades, and the other looking for their first ever.

The final got off to a roaring start. Each team scored in the first two innings. The difference however is that Takasaki Kenkoufukushi continued scoring. For each of the next 5 innings. Takasaki Shougyou couldn't keep up with the scoring and as a result Takasaki Kenkoufukushi earns their first ever appearance with a 10-6 win!

Tochigi
Tochigi has gone from wrapping up the 2nd round to the semifinals (which is still going).

Finishing up Round 2, we had Ashikaga Minami scores 5 in the 8th to defeat Kurubane 5-3.

Round 3 saw another seeded team fall in Oyama who lost to Ashikaga Koudai Fuzoku 3-2 in 13.

But for the most part, things have gone as "planned" with the seeded teams advancing on. So the semifinals had Sakushin Gakuin defeating Bunsei Keidai Fuzoku 5-3 to reach the finals. But their opponent is not yet determined.

That's because the last remaining unseeded team in Utsunomiya Shougyou and Kokugakuin Tochigi battled to a 4-4 draw! This after Kokugakuin had to stave off elimination twice, down 2 in the 10th and down 1 in the 12th.

In the replay, seeded Kokugakuin Tochigi struggled. Despite giving up just 7 hits, Utsunomiya Shougyou made the most of those hits scoring 5 runs en route to a 5-1 win. So it's heavily favored Sakushin Gakuin versus the underdog Utsunomiya Shougyou, whose last Natsu Koushien appearance was in 1923. That's 88 years ago!

Ibaraki
Wrapping up the 2nd round, some of the seeded teams had trouble with their very first game. Tsuchiura Kohoku barely beat Tamataukuri Kougyou 1-0, and Mita Kiryou edging Ina 3-2 in 11.

Sadly for one of those teams, their run wouldn't last much longer. Mita Kiryou loses in the next round 6-4 to Tsukuba Shuuei.

In the round of 16 there were some close calls. #4 Fujioka almost got upset by Ishioka Dai-ichi, but won 2-1 in the bottom of 9th. Tsuchiura Kouhoku gets another scare as they were in a scoreless draw with Hasaki Yanagawa. In the 14th, Hasaki would score 2 putting a ton of pressure on the 7 seed. But I'm not sure how, but they found enough strength to rally for 3 runs and the win!

And finally there was Shimotsuma Dai-ni who had to stave off elimination in the 9th with 3 runs before defeating Tsuchiura Nichidai 8-7 in 12.

Remarkably, the entire bracket with the exception of Mito Kiryou went chalk. All higher seeds won their quarterfinal games and while not blowouts, they weren't in stressful situations either.

And yet for some reason, after going scratch for pretty much the entire tournament, it decides that the semifinals is a good time to turn everything on its head.

First, Fujishiro, despite being outhit 9-6 and committing 2 errors, find a way to upset top seed Jyousou Gakuin 2-0! Then Kasumigaura's ace Itou limits Suijyou to just 4 hits as they beat them 2-1!

So the top 2 seeds are gone, and it's the 4 and 6 seeds battling for the title! Kasumigaura had never been to Natsu Koushien (they did have a spring appearance in 1990), and Fujishiro went back in 2005 (plus 2 spring appearances in the early 2000's).

It was a back and forth battle as Kasumigaura came out to a 2-0 lead after 2, then Fujishiro came back with 2 in the next 2. Kasumigaura with 3 in the 5th retake the lead, but 2 in the 6th make the deficit 1. Fast forward to the bottom of the 9th, and Fujishiro is still down 1. #16 Yamaguchi had taken over for ace Itou on the hill and had gotten himself into some messes, including a bases loaded jam that he got out of with no damage.

3 outs to go and Fujishiro leadoff batter starts it off with a base hit. Needing only one run, they bunt the runner along. After a grounder to 1st, there were one out away. Cleanup batter Nakamura would step in. Yamaguchi gets strike 2 and gets excited. But on a full count, Nakamura walks! The sayonara run now was on base! Mitsu now stood in and once again Yamaguchi gets ahead 0-2, and again he's fired up. But then Mitsu hits one to left! The LF comes in but then pulls up! The ball falls in and Fujishiro ties the game! The LF didn't want to risk a miss on a diving catch and allowing the sayonara run to score! So it was now 5-5!

Satou up now and on any base hit they're sending the runner home...

2-0 pitch and the ball hits Satou. It's originally called a strike, but the umpire has to go over and call it a ball.

So 3-0 now and the risk of a manrui situation...

But Satou takes the pitch the other way into the right center field gap! Neither of the outfielders can get to it and it falls in! Nakamura scores as Yamaguchi falls to the ground. What was on the verge of excitement and joy was completely reversed for Yamaguchi and Kasumigaura... Whether it may have been the extra delay to get the count right, or the excitement that Yamaguchi may have felt being just 1 pitch away, it slipped away. And as much as we should congratulate Fujishiro for not giving up, Kasumigaura and more importantly Yamaguchi should be consoled for their loss.

Saitama
We were wrapping up the 3rd round in Saitama, and today are the finals.

Rounding up the 3rd round, Honjyou Dai-ichi down 3 scores 4 in the bottom of the 9th for the win over Fukaya Dai-ichi. They continued it in the next round winning in 10 over C seed (5-8) Shiritsu Kawagoe 3-2.

Kawagoe Higashi scores 4 in 9th reverse 2-run deficit to crush Kawagoe Nishi's hopes 4-2.

Just to show how hard it can be to win a prefecture, of the 16 seeds (2 A, 2 B, 4 C, 8 D), 8 advanced to the round of 16. 1 B seed , 2 C seeds and 5 D seeds all fell before then.

And just because you got here, doesn't mean you're there yet. Ageo though reaching the round of 16 was upset by Sayamagaoka 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th! Oomiya Higashi and Washimiya were fall here as well - along with powerhouse Seibou Gakuin who were defeated by Kasukabe Kyouei 4-2.

In the quarterfinals, all teams were in play on the 24th instead of on 2 separate days. Hanasaki Tokuharu, the only A seed remaining left, advanced without issue, much like the other games. Kasukabe Kyouei, thanks Sayamagaoka for defeating Ageo by letting them enjoy their summer with a 4-1 win. Urawa Gakuin, a faux D Seed mercy rules C Seed Oomiya Higashi. And unseeded Honjyou Dai-ichi upsets their 2nd seeded team in B seed Urawa Jitsugyou 4-2!

We had quite the semifinal battle early between Hanasaki Tokuharu and Urawa Gakuin. But tied at 2-2 after 5, Hanasaki pulls away with 4 runs in the next 3 innings for the 6-2 win. Battling them for the title would be Kasukabe Kyouei who had no trouble with Honjyou Dai-ichi 5-2.

The finals were set, and it slated to be a great matchup. And it was. The game was scoreless for the first 3 innings before C seed Kasukabe opened the scoring with a run. But an inning later, Hanasaki Tokuharu would respond with 2 runs to take the lead! It would be up to ace Kitagawa to hold it down for the top seed, and in the end he would, shutting down the Kasukabe offense and given Hanasaki Tokuharu their 2nd Natsu Koshien appearance, and 1st in 10 years!

Chiba
As Chiba was going into the Round of 16, when in theory all seeded teams could be remaining, we had our biggest upset of this tournament this year when Senshuudai Matsudo, an A seed, was upset by unseeded Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu 3-2!

More C & D seeds fell going into the round of 16, but in some cases it was unseeded vs. unseeded. Such was the case between Chiba Kokusai versus Chiba Shougyoudai Fuzoku. Shougyoudai had a 1-0 lead early, but the pitching couldn't hold Kokusai scoreless forever. As they started scoring from the 7th inning on, it seemed like Shougyoudai was lost. But they scored 4 in the 8th to comeback and win the game 5-4!

In another unseeded match last year's representative Narita went the distance against Tateyama Sougou before losing 3-2 in the bottom of the 15th.

Needless to say though, that the 2nd day of action to determine the round of 16 was much more kinder to the very top seeds. All in all, only 1 A seed (1-4) and 1 B seed (5-8), were lost.

In the round of 16, Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu in another unseeded game, fell behind 5-0 in the 1st 3 innings then came back to score a pair of runs in each of the next 3. Add an insurance run in the 9th and they were in the quarterfinals with a 7-5 win. Other than that everything went as expected though B seed Shigakukan was blitzed by C seed Kashiwa Nittai 6-1.

The quarterfinals began with an scare for A seed Narashino. Up 2 in the 9th against Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku, reliever Kimura squandered the lead allowing Keizaidai to tie the game! Luckily for Narashino though, they were able to regroup one inning later and score the sayonara run.

Toukaidai Urayasu though wasn't as fortunate. Takushokudai Kouryou would score 6 in the middle innings and take a commanding 6-0 lead. The A seed would try to make a comeback late, but there just wasn't enough time. 3 runs in the 9th were not enough as they fell 6-4!

And finally, Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu would upset their 2nd seeded team in Awa by a comfortable margin of 5-1!

The semifinals saw more of the usual with Narashino as Takushokudai Kounan was mercy ruled in 7. But the 2nd semifinal was another shocker in the making. Right out of the gate, Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu would build a 5-0 lead on the A seed Ryuukeidai Kashiwa. Ryuukeidai would score 4 in the 4th to pull within 1. They kept the deficit at 1 after trading a pair of runs later on. And then in the 9th, they'd finally pull level with Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu. It seemed like perhaps the tide was changing.

But in the bottom of the 9th, TGU would open the inning with a ball over the outfielder's head for a leadoff triple! Instead of loading the bases, they elect to pitch to the next batter... who hits a single for the sayonara walk-off! Unseeded Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu upsets their 2nd A seed this tournament and 3rd seeded team overall and found themselves in the finals!

In the finals though, stood a stout and formidable Narashino squad, who mercilessly opened the game with runs in the first 3 innings to get a 4-0 lead. TGU was unable to get any timely hits to narrow the deficit. While the relief staff was able to stop the bleeding, the offense was unable to make any ground.

Eventually the relief corps would break down, first with a run in the 7th, then 5 in the 8th and 4 in the 9th. And while Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu would prevent the shutout in the bottom of the 9th, Narashino would win their 8th summer title and go to Koushien for the first time in 10 years with a 14-2 win!

Nishi Tokyo
When it comes to prefectures, or in case part of a prefecture, where there are a lot of teams, it takes a while for the good teams to emerge. I always wonder if it's worth it to mention those teams that will in all likelihood never make it, but pull off comeback victories and the like because at that time it continues their summer.

For instance, Eimeikan versus Kodaira Minami down 3-1 tie the game in the 8th and go into extras. Threatened with elimination again in the 12th, they score a run to extend the game. Then in the final inning, the bottom of the 15th, they score the winning run to advance.

But as we approached the Best 8 is when the good teams (or perhaps lucky) started to shake out. 2 instances were Kokugakuin Kugayama blowing a 4-run lead in the 9th to Toukaidai Sugao before winning 6-4 in the 11th on a 2-run HR by ace Kawaguchi. The 2nd was Horikoshi who down 1 in the bottom of the 9th tied, then scored the sayonara run with 2 down.

Meanwhile Oberlin, despite 2 HRs from 3B Yamaguchi, were only able to hold the lead of a half-inning before Eimeikan took the lead for good winning 7-5. On a similar note, Shouwa, who may not be long for the tournament after this game (as they're facing Waseda Jitsugyou aka Soujitsu), down 1 in the 9th to Meijidai Meiji, scores 2 for the walkoff win.

And while I could say, "and so it was" since Soujitsu did indeed beat them, but despite getting 10 hits and 6 free passes, they managed just a 2-1 win. Nichidai-san (aka Sanko), had some trouble with Hino... for a while. Up 7-0, Hino started chipping into the lead. 2 in the 4th, 3 in the 5th, and one more in the 7th off Yoshinaga (who came in part-way through the 5th), meant that Sanko's lead was just 1!

Then Sanko decided to floor it. 8 runs later and Hino was threatened with the mercy rule. 3 runs against ace Yoshinaga in 1 inning was too much to ask, and that was that. Waseda Gakuin reached the round of 8 again, with a 9-7 win over Kougakuindai Fuzoku that was less competitive than the score indicated, and Kousei Gakuen who has submariner Mizoguchi.

In an odd turn, and I'm not sure if it was to prevent games possibly running late, or of it was due to not wanting both Waseda schools at the stadium, but Waseda Gakuin's game versus Nichidai Tsurugaoka was moved to Hachiouji Municipal. The game was close early, as Waseda quickly closed a 2-run deficit early. But Tsurugaoka started pulling away late, capped off with 4 in the 9th for an 8-2 win.

The other quarterfinals, were just not competitive at all. In fact, Soujitsu, Sanko and Kousei combined shut out their opponents to the tune of 34-0, and all but Kousei went 5 (Kousei played just 1 inning more).

Higashi Tokyo
Higashi Tokyo, also had similar stories. For instance, Nittai Ebara bids sayonara to Sumida Kougyou right after Sumida scored a run in the 9th to tie the game up. Nichidai Buzan rallied with 2 in the the 8th and 9th innings to wipe out a 3-run deficit incurred after giving up 7 in the 7th to Sundai Gakuen.

In what could be considered a quarterfinal-type matchup, Kanto Dai-ichi survives against Yukigaya in the 3rd round 3-2.

And in perhaps an example of needing those extra vowels, Shutoku wins their game over Tokyo Shidai Todoroki and will play Shuutoku (the more well-known school) who shut-out Shouin.

Going to the round of 16 we had teams like Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku who scored 3 in the top of the 9th to defeat Tokyo Jitsugyou 4-2 interdispersed with quite a few regulars.

I think what's been surprising about the Tokyo tournaments is that the quarterfinals have been so lopsided. All 4 games ended via the mercy rule. That leaves us Teikyou v. Seiritsu Gakuen, and Nishogakushadai Fuzoku v. Kanto Dai-ichi.

Kanagawa
Kanagawa had some good stories in the beginning. Yamakita scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Seya 7-6. Course, they faced Yokohama next. But they put a good fight against Yokohama. In fact, ace Dotemoto limited Yokohama to just 3 hits. 3! And Yamakita out-hit Yohohama 5-3! But it's the final score that matters, and that was 2-0 Yokohama.

Keiou oddly had trouble with their 3rd round opponent Yurigaoka. The final score was 3-2 and they managed just 7 hits. Nichidai Fujisawa would be next. And in that game, Keiou just didn't look the same. No offense, no pitching, and no win. Nichidai Fujisawa moves on with a 5-2 win.

Chigasaki Nishihama had a sayonara homerun from no other than their ace Furumura to win 6-3! And in the next round they almost did the same thing against Touin Gakuen. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th they once again made their push. But it fell one run short as they lost 3-2.

In a bit of a surprise, Hosei Dai-ni advances to the round of 16 with a 4-0 win over Kamakura Gakuen. I don't think I can recall a time when I really mentioned a Hosei team.

The round of 16 saw my dream of a back-to-back haru-natsu renzoku yuushou disappear. An early HR from Usuda wasn't enough for them as Yokohama scores 3 to end Toukaidai Sagami's bid. Next up would be Tachibana Gakuen (立花学園 - that one) who handled Nichidai 5-0.

Koujyou would have to wait one more day to figure out their opponent. Yokohama Sougakukan and Yokohama Ouyou both scored a run in the 6th, both aces - Sueyoshi and Sawada went the full distance, and the teams combined for just 11 hits in a 1-1 draw. Possible note for the replay, Ouyou batters struck out 19 times.

So onto the next day of games, and I don't think I had talked about Toukou Gakuen in years past, but here they are in the round of 16 beating Nichidai Fujisawa 2-1! Next up would be Hosei Dai-ni and ace Asano who shutout Sagamihara Sougou 1-0.

Touin Gakuen is looking to make a deep run yet again, and perhaps not get disappointed as in years past. They draw Busou next.

And finally, in the replay of the 1-1 tie, Yokohama Ouyou did indeed have problems, though they only struck out twice. Yokohama Sougakukan alone had 14 hits, more than the 1st game in total. And it would be Yokohama Sougakukan who would advance with a 3-0 win.

To the quarterfinals and Tachibana Gakuen gave Yokohama yet another challenge. Behind 3-0 they score 3 in the 7th to tie the game! Yokohama though would eventually win the game with a run in the 8th. But they've had some very close calls throughout the tournament. Yokohama Sougakukan would give it a crack next as Koujyou fell to them 5-1.

On the other side, Hosei Dai-ni's run ended rather flat against Toukou Gakuen 10-3 in 7. Touin Gakuen would be their opponent, though it required 12 innings to do so. One letter kanji difference between the two schools. Just a random observation.

To the semifinals and yet again, Yokohama gets a scare. Scoreless for the first 5 innings, they score 4 in the 6th. Despite that, Yokohama Sougakukan would start a comeback. Down 0-4, to 1-4, 1-5, 2-5, then 2 in the bottom of the 8th to make it just a 1 run ball game! Ace Souma retakes the hill in the 9th for the win, and they're in the finals - though perhaps not necessarily in the manner perhaps we were expecting.

And the other semifinal was a tug of war between Toukou and Touin, with neither side really able to break free from the other. That was until Kubota hit a 2-run HR in the 6th to give Toukou a 5-3 lead. But that wouldn't last either as Touin brought the deficit to 1 again. Though they had their chaces, Touin couldn't get that equalizer and as such Toukou advances to meet Yokohama!

Covering Kanto will be tough considering the sheet number of games that will be played. But we got to cover them, so いくよ！

Gunma
Gunma actually gets a break after games on the 12th. Well, it was supposed to be anyways.

At Isesaki, Tsumagoi used a 4-run 8th to pull a reversal on Oota Kougyou 6-4. Nishioura held a 3-0 lead over Oota, but watched as the lead slipped away. Oota would tie the game and force extra innings. In the 11, Nishioura scored a run, but couldn't close out the game as Oota got a run on ace Morie. Onto the 12th and once again Nishoura scored a run, and once again Morie couldn't hold. But after that neither team could mount another charge. And thus the game ends in a 5-5 draw!

Moving on to Kiryuu, and Haruna uses a 4-run bottom of the 8th to beat Maebashi Nishi 5-2. Tatebayashi Shoukou scores 7 in the 6th to win 8-0 in 7 against Shibukawa Kougyou.

Takasaki Jyounan is our next stop and Oota Shougyou and Takasaki Kenkoufukushi advance via the mercy rule. In the 3rd game, Takasaki Higashi retakes the lead right after Annaka Sougou scores 3 to take a 1 run lead. They would go on to win 4-3.

Finally at Shikishima, Tokiwa has no problem with Maebashi Minami, while Maebashi Kougyou and Isesaki Shougyou throw 4-0 shutouts.

Nishoura and Oota would come back the next day for their replay, and both aces retook the hill. However, Oota's ace Tajima couldn't keep up the 2nd time around and was knocked out in just 2 innings. By that time, Nishioura was up 6-0 and went on to win by that margin at 13-7.

Tochigi
Tochigi is well into their 2nd round now. So let's see what's happened since the 11th:

Round 1

• At Kanuma, Utsunomiya Kita levels the score at 3 in the 9th then gets the gyakuten run in the 10th to beat Kaminokawa. The 2nd game on the 12th saw Hakuoudai Ashikaga slide by 2-1 on Seiran Taito. And in the last game scheduled for the stadium, Kanumi Minami goes the minimum on Nasu Kaijyou.
• Prefectural Tochigi saw seeded Ootawara have to rally from down 6-0 to Utsunomiya Shougyou to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th. All that work though went for naught when Utsunomiya scored a run in the 10th for the upset! Fellow seed Kokugakuin Tochigi proceeded to the next round though only by a 5-2 margin against Sano.
• Tochigi Municipal on the 12th had 2 blowouts with Kuroiso Minami and seeded Mooka Kougyou winning easily while Ashikaga Kougyou had to forfeit to Kanuma Shoukou. The next day was more competitive as Kurubane scored 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Utsunomiya Higashi 4-3 while Motegi survived a 9th inning rally to defeat Mibu 4-3.

Round 2

• Utsunomiya Minami started off Round 2 with a 7-4 win over Tochigi Kougyou. Their next opponent will be Utsunomiya who beat Imaichi 14-2. Also at Prefectural Tochigi, seeded Sakushin and Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku both won by the mercy rule. Bunsei will play Sakura Seishuu after beating Mooka 4-2.
• Nasu Seihou will be Sakushin Gakuin's opponent in the round of 16 after just getting by Oyama Hokuou 2-1. Yaita Chuo and Kanuma will meet up in the round of 16 after both shut out their respective opponents, Sano Nichidai and Utsunomiya Seiryou.

Ibaraki
Ibaraki had completed 1st round play by the 13 and was off until the 16th.

Kasama

• Tokiwadai scores the only run in its game against Koga Dai-san, while Yuuki Dai-ichi gets the last laugh with its 4 runs in the 9th reversing the 4 Sowa Kougyou scored in the 1st to win 6-5.

Mito Municipal

• Souwa and Ushiku Eishin will square off in their next round after winning their respective games. Hasaki and Ibaraki, who played on the 13th, will too face each other after winning their games, though Ibaraki almost blew a 4-run lead in the bottom of the 9th.

Tsuchiura

• Tamataukuri Kougyou's reward for beating Tsukuba Kouka will be a matchup against #7 Tsuchiura Kohoku while Ina will face #3 Mito Kiryou. Shimodate Dai-ichi after getting the sayonara victory against Ryuugasaki Minami will play Tsuchiura Dai-san.

Hitachi

• Midorigaoka led Katsuta Kougyou 3-2 before Katsuta scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead. But then Midorigaoka scored 2 of their own to re-take it. And then Katsuta scored 2 more to... well... win. Mito Kougyou will meet #6 Kasumigaura after mercy ruling Hitachi Dai-ichi

Saitama
In notable games from the 2nd round:

• Yashio scores 1 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to beat Yashio Minami 5-3.
• Almost all seeded teams advanced with little opposition. 3-4 seed Okegawa gave up 4 runs to Matsuyama in the 5th to take a 5-2 lead. An insurance run in the 7th proved to be the difference as Okegawa would score 3 in the bottom half of the inning to close within 1.
  
• Fudouoka, down 7-4, rally in the last 2 innings to tie it at 8 versus Kawagoe. The game goes 5 more innings before Fudouoka completes the comeback to win 9-8 in 14.
• Unseeded Seibou Gakuen moves on with a 6-1 win over Hanyuu Jitsugyou.
• In the 11th, Oomiya Kita would score 2 right after Kitamoto scored 1. Of course that means that Oomita Kita scored the winning run.
• Honjyou Dai-ichi scores 3 in the bottom of the 8th to make a reversal on Koshigaya Nishi 4-3.
• Sakae Kita has a lucky 7 as 5 runs propel them to a 7-5 win over Kumagaya Nishi.
• Finally, Shiritsu Urawa and Wakou do all their scoring in the last 2 innings, but it was the 2-1 margin that Urawa had that was the difference.

Round 3 is where we start seeing a lot of the seeded teams (though there are 16 of them).

• 9-16 seed Sayamagaoka shuts out Fukaya Shougyou 4-0.
• Omiya Prefectural is where the major seeded teams go. 1-2 seed Hanasaki Tokuharu and Rikkyou Niiza both win handily. However Ageo struggled with Kumagaya Shougyou. Only able to build a 3-0 lead, Kumashou mounted a 2-out comeback in the bottom of the 9th. They made a pitching change and recorded the last out.
• 9-16 seed Kawaguchi needed runs in the 8th and 9th to defeat Shouhei 4-3.
• Tokorozawa Kita's advancement by forfeit showed a bit as they had to rally twice, once in extras, to defeat Namegawa Sougou 3-2 in 11.
• 5-8 seed Kasukabe Kyouei has a smoother 2nd round as they beat Kodama 10-0 in 6 innings.
• Seibou Gakuen faced their first tough game against Tokorozawa Chuo going 12 innings before winning 4-3.
• It was a crazy 11th inning between Sakae Higashi and Asaka. Sakae Higashi scored 2 and looked to advance, but it was Asaka who had the last laugh scoring 3 to finish the game!

Chiba
July 12th

• Senshuudai Matsudo and Chiba Meitoku were involved in a late scramble. Down by 1, Chiba Meitoku scores 2 to take a 4-3 lead over the top 4 seed. Matsudo scrambling in the bottom of the 9th ties it up! And then in extras Meitoku once again puts the pressure on the top seed with 2 more runs! Yet Matsudo proves their mettle by once again scoring enough to tie the game! And after a scoreless 11th, the game is called a draw (much to my surprise).
• Toukaidai Bouyou, a strong non-seeded team was hanging in there against Ryuukeidai Kashiwa. But things went horribly wrong in the bottom of the 8th, and Kashiwa separated themselves with 4 runs for a 9-5 win.
• 5-8 seed Shigakukan had opportunity after opportunity against Kokubun. 9 hits, 16 walks, and yet it took until the bottom of the 10 for them to score the one and only run of the game.
• 9-12 seed Sakura Nishi was completely blindsided by Matsudo Kokusai, falling 8-0 in 8 innings.
• Yakuendai emphatically states it doesn't want to play extras, breaking a 4-4 tie with 4 in the top of the 9th over Mobara Shougyou.
• Chiba Kougyou blows a 2-0 lead to Tougane, but manages to tie it up and win in the bottom of the 10th.
• Nagasa shocks Shiritsu Matsudo as they score 4 in the top of the 9th. This after Matsudo had scored 2 the prior half inning to lead 4-2.
• 5-8 seed Kisaradzu Sougou in deep trouble against Kemigawa, score 6 in the bottom of the 8th to win 8-5.

July 13th

• Narashino 3-hits Chiba Minami in 7, advancing with a 7-0 win.
• 5-8 seed Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku was in a lot of trouble against Chuo Gakuin. In fact after 5 innings they trailied 5-0! But Chuo Gakuin couldn't stand the pressure of holding the lead. Immediately they started giving back runs - 2 in the 6th, then 1... 2.... 3... 4 runs in the 7th meant that Chuo would have to come from behind. But as is generally the case you get one shot and Chuo sadly wasted it. 7-5 Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku advances.
• 9-12 seed Awa handles Chiba Kita easily in their 1st game 11-4 in 7 innings.
• And in the replay of the Senshuudai Matsudo-Chiba Meitoku game, Chiba Meitoku couldn't repeat their performance. Matsudo advances 5-2.

July 14th

• 13-16 seed Keiai Gakuen in their first game manages just 3 runs, but shuts out Shuumei Yachiyo.
• 5-8 seed Takushokudai Kouryou goes into extras against Kisaradzu, and manages to win in the 10th inning 4-2.
• A lot of the lower seeds are having difficulties in their opening games and 9-12 seed Choushi Shougyou is no different, beating Shounan Takayanagi 3-0.
• 13-16 seed Makuhari Shougyou does fall, 4-1 to Chiba Shoudai Fuzoku.
• Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu is one of the teams to start 3rd round play and advance 6-3 over Funabashi Keimei.
• Ryuukeidai Kashiwa is taken to the limit against Funabashi Higashi, scoring the sayonara run in the bottom of the 9th.
• Narita moves onto the 3rd round, though by only a 5-1 margin over Nagareyama Ootakanomori.
• And in their 3rd game in 3 days, Senshuudai Matsudo moves on with a 6-2 win over Chiba Kougyou.

June 15th

• Kisaradzu Sougyou is one of the first major teams to fall. Playing against Yachiyo, the teams plated at least 1 run in each of the first 3 innings. Combine that with a run for Kisaradzu and it was a 6-5 lead. But then in the lucky 7, Yachiyo scores 7 for a 12-6 lead! Then in the 8th, Kisaradzu fighting for its life scores 6 to tie the game! Surely this would break Yachiyo. But thir 5th pitcher, SS Nakayama couldn't build on the momentum. He gives up 3 runs in the 9th. Kisaradzu tries to make one more rally, but can only manage 1 as they fall 15-13!
• Meanwhile Awa has trouble of their own against Narita Kokusai. Down 3-1, they score 2 in the 8th, then down 4-3 they score 2 in the 9th for the win.
• 9-12 seed Kashiwa Nittai needed 2 in the 7th to beat Funabashi Futawa 6-4.
• 5-8 seed Shigakukan defeats Abiko Higashi, but only pulled away late with 8 runs in the last 2 innings.
• Former participant Yachiyo Higashi advances with a 6-4 win over Kashiwa, though the game was tenuous in the middle innings.
• Narashino up against Kashiwa Chuo in the 3rd round advances with a 6-2 win. And I can't tell what they were doing because they used 5 pitchers in the game!
• Kamagaya moves on, coming from down 4-1 to win 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th to send Oohara home.
• Toukaidai Urayasu also got a scare from Sodegaura. After falling behind 2-0, they score 4 in the 6th and eventually won 5-3.
• Tokyo Gakkan will be Awa's next opponent after shutting out Tsudanuma 3-0.
• Amaha tries to rally against Chiba Nishi, but falls one run short. Chiba Nishi will face Yachiyo who mentioned earlier defeated Kisaradzu Sougou.
• Yotsukaidou is the next 13-16 seed to fall, losing to Shounan 3-2.

Nishi Tokyo
Kami-Yugi

• 1st round - Kodaira Minami holds off 9th inning rally by Nerima Kougyou, win 2-1.
• Waseda Jitsugyou dispatches Keimei Gakuen 12-1 in 5.
• Meiji Gakuin Higashi-Murayama needs 10 innings to plate their runs, but beat Yamazaki 2-0.
• Meijidai Nakano-Hachiouji defeats Taisei 7-1. Y'know it's a wonder how the Big 6 schools aren't better represented here.
• Hino, who reached the Best 4 not too long ago, defeats Meisei 7-0 in 8.

Tama Ipponsugi

• Chuodai Fuzoku had taken the lead 3-1 over Tanashi Kougyou with 3 in the 8th, but gave up 3 in the bottom of the 9th for the loss.
• In a bizarre called game, Touhou and Nerima were in a 10-8 game after Nerima scored a run in the top of the 7th. Three pitchers pitch the 7th for Nerima, but combined they cannot record 3 outs. Touhou scores 9 to call the game at 17-10!!
  
• Teikyou Hachiouji beats Fuchuu Higashi 3-1.

Hachiouji Municipal

• Round 1 - Hinodai gets the go-ahead run in the 9th on Toyotama to win 4-3.
• Teikyoudai falls 7-0 in 8 to Mitaka.
• Souka easily beats Musashi Murayama 10-0 in 7.
• Round 2 - Toukaidai Sugao easily defeats Takushoudai Dai-ichi 13-4 in 7.

Fuchuu Municipal

• Round 1 - Fuchuu and Kokubunji win their respective games via mercy rule and will play each other next round.
• Round 2 - Nichidai-ni continues their run with a 7-0 win over Kunitachi while Meijidai Nakano scored 4 in the 8th to separate themselves in a 7-3 win over Machida Kougyou.

Tachikawa Municipal

• Dai-yon Shougyou rallies to tie the game against Tamadai Hijirigaoka, but can't respond when Tamadai scores the go-ahead run in the 8th.
• Kousei Gakuen (not to be confused with Kousei Gakuin), handles Mizuho Nougei 15-0 in 5.

Akiruno Municipal

• Machida can't erase a 3-run deficit to Higashi-Yamato Minami and fall 4-3.
• Hamura breaks the deadlock with Itsukaichi in the 10th to win 4-3.
• Wako did one better the next game (if you consider how long extra inning games a good thing) by going 11 after giving up a 2-ru lead to Tama Kougyou to win... yep 4-3.
• The next day Toua Gakuen had to rally down 3-0 to Jissen Gakuen and tied the game in the 8th. They scored the sayonara run in the 9th to win... 4-3.

Akishima Municipal

• Kogakuindai Fuzoku allows Houseidai to get back into the game, but 2 runs in the 7th prove to be the final margin. The finals score is not 4-3. It's 5-3.
• Shouwa, down 3-0 to Hachiouji Kita in the top of the 9th finds a way to tie the game and send it to enchousen. There they score the winning run to win... 4-3. (Hah!)
  
• Waseda Gakuin, who seems to play 2nd fiddle to Waseda Jitsugyou when it comes to baseball beats Musashigaoka 5-2.

Higashi Tokyo
Round 2
Edogawa-ku Stadium

• In a matchup that I thought should have been later, it wound up being lopsided as Kanto Dai-ichi mercy rules Kokushikan 8-0 in 7.
• Some home-cooking does the trick for Edogawa as they score the winning run against Kaisei in the top of the 8th to win 7-6.

Akiruno Municpal

• Teikyou continues to plug along quickly with a 7-0 win over Shouwa Tetsudou in 7.

Meiji Jingu Stadium

• In another game that seemed a bit of a surprise, Shouin scores 10 in the 5th on their way to mercy ruling Kokugakuin 14-7.

Meiji Jingu Dai-ni Stadium

• Nishogakushadai Fuzoku beats Sougou Kouka's 3 runs in the middle innings with 5 of its own in a 5-4 win.
• Tokyo Jitsugyou cancels a quick 2-0 lead by Keika Shouyou then scores 4 in the 8th for the victory.
• Kaijyou slops a little after building an 8-0 lead on Tsukubadai Fuzoku Komaba, but hold to won 8-5.

Oota Stadium

• Daidou Bunkadai Dai-ichi defeats Risshoudai Risshou 16-0 in 5.

Komazawa Stadium

• Kuritsu Kudan watches Itabashi level the score at 1 in the 6th, but replied with a run of their own to retake the lead. That would hold as they win 2-1.
  
• In almost a replay of the first game, Shibaura Koudai recovers after Higashi scores the equalizer in the 6th to win 2-1.
  

Fuchuu Municipal

• Shinjuku was one step behind Ikubunkan the entire game, scoring runs the inning after they did. Sadly, they ran out of innings to come back and fell 10-9.
• Momijigawa tried to make a 2-run first stick, but Ryuugoku would scratch away to tie the game in the 8th. Momijigawa would have the last laugh though as they scored in the bottom of the 10th.

Meiji Daigaku

• Nihon Wellness jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, and led 5-3 after 4. 2 more in the 6th and they looked comfy over Tokyo Shidai Todoroki. However, Todoroki would score 5 in the bottom of the inning shocking Wellness. 3 more in the 8th spelled the deathknell for the team.
• Also showing the ranking on the totem pole (in baseball anyways), Waseda falls to Shuutoku 9-0 in 7 innings proving that yes Waseda may have the brains, but Waseda Jitsugyou has the balls. (Boy, that sounded wrong)
• And not to be mistaken for the aforementioned team, Shutoku edges out Tokyo Seitokudai Fuzoku 5-4.
• Earlier, I had mentioned that I thought I had seen the strangest called game. I was wrong. This one was. Kaetsu Ariake vs. Hinode. Hinode had just scored 3 in the 4th to take a 6-5 lead. Innocent enough. Then Kaetsu scores 7 and then 6 to take a commanding 18-6 lead. But before they could eliminate them, Hinode scores 3 to keept the game going, but just. After one run from Ariake in the 7th, Hinode needed 4 to avoid a called game. They scored 5 and were trailing 19-14! That's when Ariake stepped on the gas, scored 8 and seemed to put the game out of reach. In fact it was. Hinode could only muster 3 as they lose 27-17 in 8 innings!
  

Round 3
Edogawa-ku Stadium

• Teikyou continues to cruise along defeating Jyoutou 14-2 in 7.
• Houyuu Gakuen gives up a 2-0 lead to Risshisha, but scores the sayonara run in the 9th.

Meiji Jingu Stadium

• Hongou and Kinjyou Gakuen get involved in a barn-burner, though it didn't start out that way. Kinjyou led 4-1 through 5 before Hongou scored 4 in the 6th to take the lead. Kinjyou retook the lead one inning later with a pair of runs. Then after Hongou tied it at 6 in the 8th, Kinjyou once again took that run back. Hongou then tried to end it in the 9th with 5 runs, but then Kinjyou scored 4 and they went into extras tied at 11! It would be the 11th inning where Kinjyou would finally finish Hongou off, but not before the teams 37 hits and 13 walks in this marathon!
• Jyousaidai Jyousai staves off a rally by Koyamadai to win 4-3.

Meiji Jingu Dai-ni Stadium

• Komaba's run to the title ends in the 3rd round to Adachi Gakuen when they score 3 in the top of the 9th to break a 2-2 tie.
  

Oota Stadium

• Adachi Gakuen continues to chug along with a 12-0 win over Oomori Gakuen.
• Tsukubadai Fuzoku stays with Katsushika Shougyou coming back twice before scoring the sayonara run in the 9th.

Komazawa Stadium

• Adachi Kougyou held a comfortable 7-2 lead heading into the late innings. But for some reason or another, the team imploded in the 8th. Shiba scores 7 runs to take a 2-run advantage. Adachi cannot rally and thus make an early exit.

Kanagawa
Round 1 (July 12~14)

• Ayase and Zama Sougou were involved in a close match which went into extras. It continued as each team tallied a run in the 12th. But in the last inning, Zama broke through against Ayase's 3rd reliever Harada. 4 runs later and Ayase would be eliminated.
• Seya down 1 in the top of the 9th to Kanazawa Sougou ties the game, and like Zama scored 4 to win the game.
• At Yokohama Baystars Stadium, we had yet 2 more extra inning games. Kenritsu Shoukou let a 5-2 lead slip late to Tana, but win 6-5 in 10. Meanwhile, in the battle of "comprehensive" schools, Hadano Sougou was behind, took the lead, lost it, then won in 10 against Tsurumi Sougou 5-3.
  
• The first of two Tachibana Gakuen teams to play (立花学園) has no problem with Oohara 11-0 in 5.
• Koumyou Sagamihara and Shounan match each other inning for inning from the 4th inning on. Problem was that Koumyou scored 8 in the first 3, Shounan just 3. But to show how Shounan at least continued fighting, after Koumyou scored 5 in the 7th Shounan scored 5 of their own.
• Kanai breaks Kouhoku's heart by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th to win 2-1.
• Zushi scores 5 in the bottom of the 8th for a gyakuten victory over Yokohama Gakuen 6-3.
• The other Tachibana Gakuen (橘学苑) played at Yokohama Stadium on the 13th, and scored a run in each of the 6th-8th innings for a 4-3 win over Yokohama Shoukadai.
• The game after that saw Asahi do the exact same thing to Kanagawa Sougou Sangyou 8-5.
• As much as I rail on the university schools not doing well, I will give credit as Houseidai Dai-ni mercy rules Shounandai 9-0 in 7.
• Kanazawa makes a 1-0 lead stick defeating Hiratsuka Kouka.
• It'd be nice to see a school like Yokohama Science Frontier make a deep run, much like I like Nihon Koukuu (Yamanashi) because they're a pilot's academy, and they did rally twice to send it into extras, but Asano scores the winning run in the top of the 11th. Maybe next year.
• Miura Gakuen gives up a run in the 7th and 8th to Ebina tying the game, but scores 3 in the 9th for the win.
• Yokohama Hayato, the miracle from a couple of years ago begins their run on the 14th with a mercy win over Kashiwagi Gakuen at the scene of their championship, Yokohama Stadium.
  
• But Yokohama seems to have more close game than blowouts and Yokosuka Kougyou continues that trend with a 3-2 win in 10 over Odawara.
• Chigasaki Nishihama prevents extra innings with a run in the top of the 9th for a 2-1 win over Yamato Nishi.

Round 2 (July 14~)
With all teams in play, games are generally played in twos with the winners at each stadium meeting up in the next round.

• Yokohama starts round 2 play against Hakusan at Thirty-Four Sagamihara. Looks good for their first game with a 10-0 win in 6. Their next opponent would be Yokohama Shougyou who outlasted Yamato Minami 2-1 in 11.
• Seya and Yamakita won their respective games at Isehara and will play each other next round (you get the idea by now).
• Yokohama Hiranuma comes from behind with 2 in the 9th to defeat Fujisawa Nishi 6-5 and will play Nichidai next.
• Moto-Ishikawa, down 5-1 to Atsugi, scores 5 unanswered runs, 2 of them in the bottom of the 9th for the win.
• Toukaidai Sagami gets underway against Fujisawa Shouryou and actually found themselves behind 3-1. But a 4-run 7th helped given them the 6-4 win. Not very impressive to start their haru-natsu run.
• 立花学園 continues their run with a 7-2 win over Tourei Fujisawa, though only after score 5 in the 7th and 8th innings.
  

The tour continues...

Chiba
Chiba was fairly quiet on the 1oth save for a couple of games at Funabashi.

Funabashi Higashi continually had to play from behind against Abiko Nikaidou. Down to their last 3 outs, and Abiko having scored the previous half inning, Funabashi finds a way to tie the game. And having survived that, they go on to score the go-ahead run in the 10th to win 3-2!

Kashiwa too had to score a run late to send it into extras against Ichikawa Minami. For them, it wouldn't be until the 11th where they would break the impasse with 2 runs.

Narita started their road to Koshien on the 11th facing Ichihara Yawata at QVC Marine Stadium. They had no trouble as they won 10-0 in 6.

In other games, at Ichihara Rinkai, Chiba Minami puts together 3 scoring innings to defeat Shiritsu Chiba 3-1 while Ichihara Chuo scores 2 runs in the 8th to take the lead and eventually defeat Kashiwa Minami 4-3.

Meanwhile, over at Ichihara Kokufudai, Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku and Nichidai Narashino each score in their first 4 innings. When the smoke cleared, Chiba Keizaidai was up 9-6. 3 more in the 7th shut the door.

Interestingly in the recaps, it's actually noted that in the Tousou Kougyou-Shimofusa game that Yamazaki hits a manrui home run to call the game at 13-1 in 6. Probably because the limit normally would be 10, but all runs from the HR count.

Over in Funabashi, Hashiba for Shounan Takayanagi makes 2 runs stick against Kamagaya Nishi winning 2-1, while in the middle game, Segawa for Sawara can't make the same lead stick as he gives up 4 runs to Abiko following his team scoring the first 2 runs of the game.

At Sodegaura, Amaha's Hosaka is able to make his team's 3-run 3rd stick despite giving up a run in the 7th and 8th to Funabashi Shibayama.

And finally at Yachiyo, Mobara ties the game against Shibaura Koudai Kashiwa in the bottom of the 9th, but while they would hang on for 2 more innings, Shibaura Koudai would score 2 in the 12th for the win.

Nishi Tokyo
With Tokyo not initially announcing where games were played on the PDF I used, I'm going to cover games by stadium rather than by day.

Akiruno Municipal
Day 1 saw a barnburner between Jyousui and Nishi. Nishi after going down 3-0 in the top of the first comes back to build a 8-3 lead. That would hold until the 7th when Jyousui mounted a comeback. 7 unanswered runs later and it was Jyousui who once again had the lead at 10-8. Nishi had to score 2 in the bottom of the 9th to send it into extras, which they did! 3 innings later, Jyousui would push across the go-ahead run to win 11-10!

The close games continued at Akiruno as Shouwa Dai-ichi Gakuen stays a step ahead of Haijima 4-2 while Hikarigaoka wins 3-2 over Suginami in 10.

Kami-Yugi Kouen
Games on day 1 were both called early. On day 2, Eimeikan scored 5 runs late to beat Nagayama 5-1. In game 2, Meijidai Nakano scores 2 in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 3, then scores the sayonara run in the 10th to defeat Tamagawa Gakuen!

Tama Ipponsugi
Nichidai-ni continues to try and escape the shadows of Nichidai-san and started their journey with a 15-1 win over Suginami Kougyou in 5.

Meanwhile, Kokugauin Kugayama continues to live a charmed life. Up 4-0 to St. Paolo Gakuen, they squander the entire lead and in fact trail 6-4 going into the top of the 9th...

...and then proceed to score 4 runs to win 8-6. Really??!

Day 2 had Machida Kougyou defeating Kinjyou 3-1 while Oberlin begins their journey by defeating Minami-Tama 15-0 in 5.

Hachiouji Municipal
All games held here were blowouts with Toukaidai Sugao, Fuchuu Kougyou, Nichidai-san and Horikoshi all advancing.

Higashi Tokyo
Edogawa Ward
A couple of close games here where Shouin holds off Aoi 5-4, Risshisha holds off Yasuda Gakuen 3-2, and Seiritsu Gakuen emerges victorious over Nihon Gakuen after a flurry of runs in the middle innings!

Akishima Municipal
It's blowouts here as Kinjyou Gakuen, Keika Shougyou, Komaba, and Kasai Minami all advance.

Meiji Jingu
Katsushika Shougyou pulls one out against Oushuukan with 2 runs in the 7th. Teikyou dispatches Sangyou Gijyutsu 20-1 in 5. And all games in the 2nd day were more blowouts. Azabu, Adachi Gakuen and Jyousaidai Jyousai all advance.

Meiji Jingu Dai-ni
Daidou Bunkadai Dai-ichi is able to respond to a 7-run inning by Jyuuten with 7 of their own in the next 2 innings for a 11-9 win. Jyoutou and Ueno Gakuen advance on day 2.

Oota Stadium
Toukaidai Takanawadai survives a barnburner 11-8 over Tokyo Noudai Dai-ichi. Edogawa scored 3 in the 8th to beat Arakawea Shougyou. 2 blowouts highlight the 2nd day.

Komazawa Stadium
Nichidai-ichi is the first of the numbered Nichidai schools to fall, losing to Kokushikan 2-0. Not something to be ashamed of for sure. Meanwhile, Seiryou defeats Sugamo 5-4 in 11 innings.

Fuchuu Municipal
All blowouts here with Nichidai Sakuragaoka being the prominent team to lose from the games played here.

Meiji Daigaku
Same goes for here where all games played were blowouts.

Tachikawa Municipal
4 runs in the 8th give Chiyoda Kuritsu Kudan the win over Kyouei Gakuen, while Higashi gets the last word in versus Hiro-o winning 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th. On day 2, Sundai Gakuen and Yukigaya advance with little resistance.

Kanagawa
In the opening game played at Baystars Stadium, Hakusan led early only to see Tachibana come back to tie it up at 5. However, Hakusan had all of the opportunities, including the one that scored the sayonara run to win 6-5.