高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

Ok, so the rotation doesn't do the same 2 prefectures every 3 years. This year Kyoto and Wakayama were the odd ones out.

Shiga
Well, it wound up being an all-Oumi final as both Oumi and Oumi Kyoudaisha shutout their opponents soundly to reach the final.  And in the final, Oumi Kyoudaisha claimed their first fall title defeating Oumi yet again 5-3!

What was the stunner was that Youkaichi claimed the 3rd spot, defeating Hikone Higashi 3-2 in an upset!

Kyoto
Nishi-Jyouyou indeed was the odd team out as they were mercy-ruled 11-1 by Ryuukokudai Heian in 6 innings.  The other semifinal wound up not being competitive either as Fukuchiayama Seibi eliminated Ritsumeikan Uji 7-2.

And in the final, Fukuchiyama Seibi seemed to take control with a 5-run 5th to take a 5-1 lead, but Heian just completely wiped that out with 9 unanswered runs in the 7th & 8th innings to win 10-5 and claim their 24th title and first in 6 years.

Nara
I wonder if Chiben Gakuen read my remarks, because after I mentioned that they seemed to be struggling, they outscored their opponents 19-0 to reach the finals.  On the other side, Naradai Fuzoku also had no problems mercy-ruling Heijyou before holding on to defeat Kashihara Gakuin 4-2 to reach the finals as well.

Naradai Fuzoku appears to be making a solid bid to be the 3rd team in the prefecture, and held in there against the favorites.  Not until a 3-run 8th for Chiben Gakuen did they finally seal their title, winning 11-7.

Kashihara Gakuin at least got into the Super-regionals as they ran circles around Kashiba 9-3.

Wakayama
Looks like winning the first tournament does mean something it seems as only Kinkidai Shinguu was the only one who advanced from the teams that played the 2nd tournament, holding off a charge from Shinguu to win 6-4.

Shiritsu Wakayama and Kainan had no problems with their opponents, but Chiben Wakayama struggled with Arita Chuo, using a 3-run 7th to finally separate themselves for the 6-3 win.

Chiben Wakayama continued to struggle, but basically outlast their opponents.  Against Shiritsu Wakayama, they need 3 in the 9th to win 6-3 to advance to the finals.  And against Kainan (who traded runs every half-inning until the winning margin of 3-2 over Kinkidai Shinguu), they scored 4 runs in the 6-7-8th innings to overcome a 5-2 deficit to claim the title.

Osaka
PL Gakuen and Riseisha continued to run roughshot over the field, though both teams had a hiccup along the way.  PL's game was against Uenomiya Taishi where they survived a 1-0 win, while Riseisha in the semifinals only defeated Kansai Hokuryou 4-1.

The final was pretty much as advertized.  Riseisha broke a 1-1 tie with 3 in the 4th, then clung on to the lead as PL launched a 9th inning rally that fell just short as they lost 4-3.

In the 3rd place game. the narrow loss by Kansai Hokuryou was not a fluke as they pulled away from the other semifinal loser Osaka Kaisei Gakuen (fka as Konohana Gakuin until 2013) outscoring them 9-3 in the final trimester to win 11-4.

Hyogo
Yeah, Ichikawa had no chance against Houtoku Gakuen, as back-to-back 4-run innings were all they needed to win 8-0.  The other semifinal was much closer as Sanda Shousei scored the only run of the game in the lucky 7 to defeat Yashiro.

Houtoku closed it out against Sanda Shousei, taking advantage of the free pass to outscore them 9-2 to win the title.  Meanwhile Ichikawa bounced back from the loss to Houtoku to defeat Yashiro 5-3 to claim the final spot.

Super-Regionals
3 of the 4 quadrants have played so far, and it's been not close for the most part:

• Oumi (Shiga 2) was shutout by Ryuukokudai Heian (Kyoto 1) 5-0.
• Youkaichi (Shiga 3) was also blanked by Chiben Gakuen (Nara 1) 8-0 in 7 innings.
• Kainan (Wakayama 2) proved to be a very worthy opponent, holding Riseisha (Osaka 1) to just 2 runs. Problem was, that second run in the bottom of the 8th was the difference...
• Sanda Shousei (Hyogo 2) showed Kashihara Gakuin (Nara 3) that they still had a ways to go. 10 unanswered runs in 4 consecutive innings meant a 7-inning 10-2 win.
• It's hard to say who this game makes a statement for. With Oumi Kyoudaisha's (Shiga 1) 1-0 loss to Naradai Fuzoku (Nara 2). Does it mean that Shiga as a whole is down considering no representative scored even a run?  Does it mean that outside of Oumi Kyoudaisha, Shiga was very weak considering that Naradai played Chiben Gakuen close? Does it mean that both Shiga and Nara are both weak considering Kashihara's loss as well?
• And finally Ichikawa (Hyogo 3) was just outclassed by a Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama 1) squad 10-1 in 7.

Still left to play next weekend will be PL Gakuen (Osaka 2) vs. Fukuchiyama Seibi (Kyoto 2) and Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo 1) vs. Kansai Hokuryou (Osaka 3).

Once again, Kinki is in a big state of flux, and if the rotation holds true, Osaka and Hyogo will be short a representative this time around!

Shiga
Shiga has the basic single elimination system, and it has gone for the most part surprisingly scratch as they move onto the semifinals and finals this weekend.

Not surprisingly Hikone Higashi is back on the warpath again, and score-wise looks the best of the rest remaining with 2 mercy rule wins.  They will face Oumi, who survived a 12-inning game against Hieizan - certainly not a pushover, but could put the team's strength into question.

On the other half could be Hikone Higashi's biggest threat - Oumi Kyoudaisha.  Admittedly, they too had a close call against Shiga Gakuen in the quarterfinals (much like Oumi), and they showed promise in the summer too, but they defeated Oumi in the summer and the offense seems stronger.

Interestingly, Oumi Kyoudaisha's opponent will be a rematch of their 1st round game in the summer - Youkaichi.  The offense surely looks strong, but the pitching seems the weakest of the lot and they haven't played really tough competition.

Kyoto
Aw... Kyoto Gaidai Nishi can't get up for the Super-regionals again...

Kyoto too is in the semifinals, and there is one outlier who will be trying to fight for a spot in the Super-regionals - Nishi-Jyouyou.  They didn't face much competition and has not dominated them either.  To secure a spot they will have to defeat Ryuukokudai Heian who most recently annihilated Kyoto Seishou 11-2.

On the other side, Ritsumeikan Uji was challenged by Ritsumeikan proper then had to outslug the aforementioned Kyoto Gaidai Nishi 10-5.  They will face the other long school name (see what I mean about scratch?) Fukuchiyama Seibi.  An uncharacteristic 11-8 game against Nissei puts up a red flag, but settled down afterwards for 4-0 and 5-1 wins.

Nara
Sakurai not surprisingly couldn't duplicate their success in the summer.

However, this time around (so far anyways), Chiben Gakuen is still alive - though a 2-0 and 11-5 wins against no-name teams do not bode well.  They should have no trouble with Nara Tousen... maybe.  They will face the winner of Kashiba (who narrowly lost to Sakurai in the summer) and Kansai Chuo.

Yamato Kouryou's been inconsistent, but gets to face a Kashihara Gakuin team who too has failed to live up to expectations.  Naradai Fuzoku, who was one game away from reaching Natsu Koushien, will look to get to Haru Koushien with unknown Heijyou immediately standing in the way.

Wakayama
Wakayama has the weird thing of having a tournament just to advance 4 into the quarterfinals, then having the remaining teams later compete in blocks for the other 4.  Chiben Wakayama obviously took the time to qualify the first time around, cruising comfortably until they qualified where they might have send out the reserves so as to not tip off the competition. Still, they got to the finals where they lost to Shinguu 6-3, though that result doesn't matter.  Also advancing was Kainan and Shiritsu Wakayama.

The rest would have to battle it out again, and the ones that climbed out of the ruckus were:

• Kinkidai Shinguu, who will have an intercity battle with Shinguu
• Tanabe, who will face Kainan to start
• Arita Chuo, who drew the short straw and will face Chiben Wakayama leaving
• Kouyasan to play Shiritsu Wakayama.

Osaka
With only 2 bids up for grabs in the major prefectures, it's all out for all the schools from Osaka and Hyogo - and that generally doesn't bode well for the non-powerhouse schools...

But there was a small victory for them as Riseisha and Osaka Touin would have to play in the round of 32.  Surprisingly, Riseisha mercy ruled Osaka Touin 13-1 in 5 innings!  Guess they have a bit of rebuilding to do.

Still though, that means that Riseisha has the inside rail at one of the two spots, and with PL Gakuen obliterating teams on the other half, it is a steep climb for the other 14 schools.

Hyogo
I don't know if it is a down cycle in Hyogo, but the powerhouse teams seem to be on the same part of the cycle.

I say this because in the quarterfinals, only one powerhouse managed to survive and they barely got away.  Houtoku Gakuen edged out Akashi Shougyou 3-2 and will face an Ichikawa team who beat Suma Gakuen 2-1 in 12.

The other side was supposed to be a Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku vs. Touyoudai Himeji affair, but both teams wound up losing!  Sanda Shousei would beat Kobe 3-2 in 10 innings, while Yashiro had the largest margin of victory in the quarters - a 4-2 win over Himeji.

This bodes well for Houtoku as they should advance to the Super-regionals (sorry Ichikawa), while Sanda Shouei and Yashiro will battle it out for a rare spot in the Super-regionals.

Hokkaido Super-Regional
Finishing up the first round, Hakodatedai Hakuryou edged out Obihiro Kita 2-1, while Towa no Mori San-ai continues to struggle on the big stage, mercy ruled by Hokushou.

The quarterfinals went almost as quietly.  Komadai Tomakomai mercy rules Hakodate LaSalle 8-1 in 8, Kushiro Kouryou was shutout 3-0 by Sapporo Nichidai, and so was the aforementioned Hakodatedai Hakuryou against Hokushou.

The only team tested was Komadai Iwamizawa, who trailed early 2-0, then 6-3 against Kitami Hokuto.  But even in weaker prefectures, either the teams who have been there before exert their experience or the teams facing them cave under pressure.  Komadai Iwamizawa rallies for 4 late to defeat Kitami Hokuto 7-6.

This left the possibility of an all-Komadai final.  Tomakomai obliged, keeping Sapporo Nichidai at arms length in a 7-4 win.  However, while Iwamizawa was able to take an early 3-1 lead, Hokushou would score in 5 of the final 6 innings to run away with a 10-4 win.

So the final once again featured two well-known teams.  Komadai Tomakomai took the first advantage with a 2-0 lead, Hokushou would level the score eventually in the 4th.  Tomakomai would pull away soon thereafter, scoring 5 unanswered runs to win 7-2 for their 4th spring title.

Tohoku Super-Regional
Tohoku perhaps went as planned, but perhaps questions still remain.

In Noshiro Shouyou's (Akita 1) fka Noshiro Shougyou's bracket, they easily handled a Morioka Dai-yon (Iwate 3) squad who earlier managed just two hits but defeated Sendai Dai-san (Miyagi 3) 1-0.  That set them up against a Fukushima Higashi (Fukushima 2) squad who surprisingly upset Rifu (Miyagi 2) 6-3.

And in a bigger surprise, Fukushima Higashi scores 3 in the first after giving up 2.  They'd score one more and held on to defeat Noshiro Shouyou 4-3!!

In Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate 1)/Aomori Yamada (Aomori 1) quadrant, both teams easily advanced via mercy rule over their opponents - Odaka Kougyou (Fukushima 3) and Kunori Gakuen (Yamagata 2).  But when push came to shove, Aomori Yamada once again falls flat, mercy ruled themselves 8-1 in 7 innings.

The only 1 seed to not advance past their first game?  My boys from Haguro (Yamagata 1).  In fact Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi (Aomori 2) dispatched them easily 8-2.  I won't make excuses, but to be fair, Haguro had the hardest 1st game.

Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi would face the dreaded Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima 1).  Apparently Honjyou (Akita 2) just can't catch a break.  Seikou Gakuin would easily pass through the Aomori squad with a 7-0 mercy win.

And finally, in Sendai Ikuei's bracket (Miyagi 1), they had no issues with Akita Chuo (Akita 3) with a 9-1 victory.  Their quarterfinal game would be against none other than Sakata Minami (Yamagata 3) who had no problems with Hachinohe Kougyou (Aomori 3) 8-2, then against Senshuudai Kitakami (Iwate 2) trailing 6-1, scored 9 answered runs then survived a 3-run 9th to win 10-9.

Sakata Minami couldn't pull one more upset, and was mercy ruled 9-1 in 8 innings.

So while we had a possibility of an all-Fukushima final, the chances were slim as Fukushima Higashi needed to upset Moriokadai Fuzoku, while Seikou Gakuin must face Sendai Ikuei - who is in all likelihood trying to redouble their efforts after a poor Haru Koushien showing.

Since we're all familiar with the other schools, I tried to find something on Fukushima Higashi.  All I could find were videos on their oen-dan, which aren't bad.

Indeed, both Fukushima teams lost rather handily.  Fukushima Higashi did score the first run against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but couldn't make it last after the 5th inning break as Moriokadai scored 6 runs afterwards.  Sendai Ikuei led wire-to-wire in a 6-2 win over Seikou Gakuin.

And in the final Sendai Ikuei had no trouble with Moriokadai Fuzoku, cruising to a 5-1 win for their 11th title - and 1st in 14 years.

So Sendai Ikuei wins another Super-Regional.  But the poor showing at Senbatsu still raises questions on their abilities outside of the Tohoku region.  It also could raise questions on the Tohoku region as a whole come time for Natsu Koushien.

Hokushinetsu Super-Regionals
In the Hokushinetsu Super-Region things did, and didn't go as planned.  Big statement, I know.

The draw for the super-regionals wound up as follows and did not necessarily play favorites:

• Seiryou (Ishikawa 1) vs. Winner of Harue Kougyou (Fukui 2)-Shibata Chuo (Niigata 2)
• Toyama Dai-ichi (Toyama 1) vs. Winner of Kanazawa Gakuin Higashi (Ishikawa 3/4)-Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri (Nagano 2)
• Ueda Nishi (Nagano 1) vs. Winner of Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui 1)-Kanazawa (Ishikawa 3/4)
• Murakami Sakuragaoka (Niigata 1) vs. Winner of Yuugakukan (Ishikawa 2)-Toyama Shougyou (Toyama 2)

That's right, Tsuruga Kehi got the short end of the stick, and drew Kanazawa - who isn't a powerhouse per se, but is definitely one of the upper level teams in the region.

In the opening round, Harue Kougyou continued to disappoint.  After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd, they quickly let Shibata Chuo level the score in the 4th, then a bases loaded walk in the 6th opening a 3-run inning from which they could not recover, falling 5-3.  Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri with the help of a 3rd inning, 3-run homerun by RF Ishihara.  Tsuruga Kehi went all out against Kanazawa, sending out ace Kishimoto.  CF Mine then helped out with a leadoff HR.  And while Kanazawa would tie the game in the 1st, hits by Asai, Hiranuma and Iwata gave the cushion they needed as Kishimoto struck out 10 in a 4-1 win.  And finally, Yuugakukan did what it normally does, mercy ruling Toyama Shougyou 10-1 in 7 innings.

Onto the quarterfinals where all 1 seeds are in play, and it was a mixed bag.  Seiryou expectedly had no trouble with Shibata Chuo mercy ruling them in 7 innings.  Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri tried a 9th inning rally, but could only cut the deficit in half, losing 5-3.  I truly wanted Ueda Nishi to succeed, but it will have to wait for the summer.  After fighting back to tie the game at 2 in the 7th, they would play 7 more as Tsuruga Kehi scored one in the 14th for the 3-2 win.  Also of note is that Kishimoto was not used in the game at all - which sadly may be a bigger notch against Ueda Nishi.  And while Murakami Sakuragaoka may have won Niigata, they were no match for the veteran Yuugakukan mercy ruled in 7.

So the semifinalists were well-known names.  Results though, were a bit surprising.  Seiryou continues to hit a ceiling, losing to Toyama Dai-ichi.  After taking a 2-0 lead, they give up the lead, only to fight back in the bottom of the 8th to tie it at 3... only to have Toyama score 5 in the 9th to wipe out the Ishikawa champions.

And Tsuruga Kehi?  Let's just say it wasn't a good day for Kishimoto.  He gives up 5 runs early, and while the team pulls within one, reliever Mosome couldn't keep his team in it, giving up a 3-spot in the 8th as Yuugakukan moves on with the 9-5 win.

Yuugakukan looked to be the favorite in the super-regional final, but it was Toyama Dai-ichi who scored first with a pair in the opening frame.  They couldn't hold the lead though for long as Yuugakukan struck back with 3 in the 3rd, and opened the lead to 5-2.  Toyama could only manage one run the rest of the game as Yuugakukan takes just their 3rd title, but first in two years.

Kinki Super-Regional
The Kinki Super-Regional is rather small given the prefectures involved.  Only host prefecture Nara qualifies more than just 1 team.  So it really is win and advance for most teams in the spring.

Oumi advances out of Shiga, but had to survive many close games against not so well known teams such as Oumi Kyoudaisha and Yasu, and some we have heard of such as Shiga Gakuen before rallying in the bottom of the 9th against Hachiman Kougyou for a gyakuten sayonara 3-2 victory.

In Kyoto, there were no surprises in the 1st stage of play as teams such as Kyoto Subaru, Ritsumeikan Uji, Kyoto Gaidai Nishi, Kyoto Seishou, Toba, and Fukuchiyama Seibi joined Senbatsu participants Ryuukokudai Heian and Kyoto Shouei.

It was almost amazing then that the aforementioned 8 teams were almost all separated.  The only exception was Kyoto Shouei and Kyoto Gaidai Nishi.  In that matchup, the Kinki fall champions routed Kyoto Gaidai Nishi 13-3 in 7 innings.  Other than that, all other teams had relatively little problems, except for Kyoto Seishou who gave up a 4-spot to Kita-Saga in the 3rd inning in a 5-3 loss.

Kita-Saga continued their run, and in rather shocking fashion.  I need to go back and see if I can't pull up particulars, but the game was tied 1-1 going into extras.  Kyoto Shouei scored 4 in the 13th and seemed to have the game in hand.  But much like the White Sox-Mariners game, Kita-Saga mounted a comeback.  Instead of tying the game though they score 5 to completely shock the fall champions 6-5!!

Elsewhere, Ryuukokudai Heian had no problems with Otokuni 6-4, Fukuchiyama Seibi surprisingly was nowhere to be seen against Toba, and Ritsumeikan Uji routed Kyoto Subaru in 7.

It would be a surprise for the finals as Toba defeated Ryuukokudai Heian 4-1, while Kita-Saga continued their surprising run, once again rallying late after giving up the lead in the bottom of the 8th for a gyakuten win against Ritsumeikan Uji.

In the final, Kita-Saga held a lead against Toba, but Toba would tie it up in the 6th at 3.  The game would go into enchousen, but not for long as Toba scores one in the 10th.  There would be no rally this time though as Toba would take it 4-3.  I would say though that Kita-Saga has surprised me here in the spring.  All I know so far is their pitchers are Katabuchi Wataru(?) (潟淵 亘) and Komori Naoki (小森 直己).

In Osaka, despite the large field, it was predominantly business as usual.  Despite 172 teams in the field, the Best 4 were all well-known names - Riseisha squaring off against Osaka Touin, and Konkou Osaka versus Daishoudai (aka Osaka Shougyoudai).  In the blockbuster semi, Riseisha had led right from the get-go until Osaka Touin's lucky 7 where they scored 3 to tie the game at 5.  The game would head to enchousen, but for just one inning as Riseisha scored 4 on starter Amimoto for the win.  They would play Konkou Osaka, who had little difficulty with Daishoudai.  And in the final, Konkou Osaka would give Riseisha all they could handle as Sakashita and Honno would limit them to a 1st inning run by Okita.  Unfortunately, that's all Riseisha would need as ace Higashino would spread out 9 hits in a complete game shutout to take the title.

Moving on to Hyogo, they only sent in 36 teams - no Nishinomiya Kita for me (sorry Haruhi).

Anyways, the main players were there, but the first to fall is the always precarious Touyoudai Himeji.  After uncharacteristically getting through their first game easily, they lost another low-scoring affair to Shiritsu Amagasaki 3-2.  Amagasaki's run didn't last much longer sadly as they found themselves on the wrong end of the 3-2 score in the next game versus Yashiro.  Looking back, they've gone to just one Koushien, the 2004 Haru where they got to the semifinal game, losing to Aikoudai Meiden.  Interestingly, they used a two pitcher system in Oomae and Tsuboi.  This time around, it looks like the same thing, with dual aces Niimi and Hirauchi.

Joining Yashiro would be Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Houtoku Gakuen - though Houtoku had to come back against Takigawa Dai-ni.  The final semifinalist would be Akashi Shougyou, who literally outlasted Suma Shoufuu (who apparently has a radio station) with 5 runs in the 15th for a 7-2 victory.

What was more interesting was that both semifinal games would head to enchousen.  For Akashi Shougyou, that would be bad news - especially against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku.  After fighting back to tie the game in the 8th, they would lose 4-3 in 11.

As for Yashiro, they and Houtoku Gakuen would go 15 innings without a winner.  In the replay the next day, Yashiro's kantoku would go into their bullpen and started Nagao (永尾).  That didn't work out as Houtoku would score 3.  Another Nagao (長尾) and Niimi held down the fort, but the offense couldn't muster a run as they fell in the replay 3-0.

To add insult to injury perhaps, while the game didn't count for qualification for the super-regional, the 3rd place game between Akashi Shougyou and Yashiro would also go into enchousen.  14 innings in fact before Akashi Shougyou finally ended it 4-3.

As for the final, Houtoku Gakuen's 4th game in 4 days took its toll against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku as they fell behind quickly and lost 8-2.

Chiben Wakayama's hold on Wakayama prefecture may be waning.  Despite breezing through to the semifinals, Minoshima's triumvirate of Ueshiba, Takagawa and Susami defeated them 2-1.  They would go on to defeat Kinkidai Shinguu in the final despite blowing a 6-0 lead 11-7.

And as for host Nara, the prefectural tournament was a mess - if you were a big name.  Tenri was unceremoniously ousted 5-2 by Nara Suzaku in the first round.  Haru Koushien participant Yamato Kouryou had the unfortunate task of playing Chiben Gakuen right off the bat, and were routed 10-1 in 7 innings.

So Chiben Gakuen remained the big name remaining and their title to lose.

And they did.

In uncharacteristic fashion, they let Naradai Fuzoku score in 5 consecutive innings with the nail in the coffin a 5-run 7th which led to them winning 11-10!  In the 3rd place game, Kashihara Gakuin defeated Kashihara 4-3 to take the final spot in the super-regionals.

Onto the Super-Regionals, and it's no surprise that of the 3 Nara teams that qualified, only veteran Chiben Gakuen advanced to the semifinals.  However, they blew a 4-1 lead to Minoshima in the top of the 9th before Nakanishi delievered the sayonara manrui hit to win 5-4.  Naradai Fuzoku actually gave Riseisha a challenge though tying the game a 2-2 in the 8th before Okita delivered the sayonara hit for Riseisha.  Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Toba had no problems in their games.

The semifinals were no-contests as both Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Riseisha breezed through Chiben Gakuen and Toba respectively.

The finals were a completely different story.  After taking a 3-0 lead early, Kobe Kokusaidai yielded 5 runs in the 3rd, only to claw back in the 5th.  The teams traded a run in the 8th, and then Takahashi for Kobe would blast his 2nd HR of the game, giving his team the 7-6 lead.  But like the 8th they couldn't hold it as Inoue delivered the sayonara 2-run double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th for the sayonara gyakuten victory.  Interestingly, this is Riseisha's 1st ever Haru title.

(Chuugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu recaps to come shortly)

All Super-Regionals are now complete, and there are a couple of surprises mixed in with some of the usual suspects:

Tokyo (1 bid + 1 floating with Kanto)

• Champion - Yasuda Gakuen - Sumida-ku (First title!)
• Floating Bid - Waseda Jitsugyou

 As expected, the Yasuda Gakuen-Nittai Ebara game was an all-out war.

Nittai Ebara fired the opening salvo in the bottom of the 1st as Tomosato hit a 2-run HR to left.  Back-to-back RBI hits by the battery of Kasahara and Minami no less made it a 4-1 game.  And then ace Kasahara in his next AB would hit a home run of his own making it 5-1!

But after back-to-back walks by Kasahara, Motohashi-kantoku would replace him with Furukawa.  Much to his dismay, Furukawa would hit cleanup batter Takami Shunsuke (深見 俊介) and then give an oshidashi walk to Koyama Shinjirou (小山 新次郎).  He'd get out of the inning, but not after yielding another run to make it 5-3.

Things only got worse for Nittai Ebara as the pitching fell apart the very next inning as Yasuda would put a 5-spot on the board taking an 8-6 lead.

Nittai Ebara would mount a rally in the bottom of the 9th.  PH Seki would walk, and Tanaka would hit a double to put the tying run in scoring position with just one down.  Minami (now pitching) would hit a sac fly to make it a 1-run game.

That brought up Tomosato, who was 4-4 on the day.  But Oogane Shintarou (大金真太郎) would finally retire him with a grounder to 2nd to end the game and give his team a chance at Senbatsu!

In the other semifinal Souka ace Uchino collapsed in the 5th inning, giving up 6 runs to Soujitsu.  Those 6 runs would wind up being the final margin as they won 11-5.

So Soujitsu would be a likely candidate for the floating bid should they lose (as long as they had a good showing), while Yasuda Gakuen would in all likelihood need to win to get in.

In the 2nd inning of the final, Yasuda gets the benefit of good luck.  Takami would reach 2nd on an error by Soujitsu's LF Suzuki.  After a bunt and walk, Motomiya Keita (本宮 佳汰) would lay down a successful safety squeeze to give them the first run.  They'd continue to press the initiative as Koyama Takuya (小山 拓哉) would try to steal 3rd.  But the throw from Toshimitsu Kensaku (利光健作) would actually hit Takuya on the helmet and deflect into left, allowing him to score making it 2-0.

Toshimitsu would get a run back with a HR in the 5th, but that would be all the scoring they could muster as Oogane would shut Soujitsu down to earn Yasuda Gakuen's first ever title!


Kanto ex Tokyo (4 bids + 1 floating with Tokyo)

• Champion - Urawa Gakuin - Saitama-shi, Saitama (3rd consecutive title!, 4th overall)
• Runner-Up - Hanasaki Tokuharu - Kazo-shi, Saitama
• Semifinalist - Jyousou Gakuin - Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki
• Semifinalist - Utsunomiya Shougyou - Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi

*No other teams probable to be considered

So when the draw came out, the 4 brackets were as follows (A & B, C & D)

• A - Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki 1) vs. Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi (Gunma 2)
• A - Sano Nichidai (Tochigi 1) vs. Toukaidai Koufu (Kofu 1)
• B - Narashino (Chiba 1) vs. Kiryuu Dai-ichi (Gunma 3)
• B - Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama 1) vs. Yokohama Hayato (Kanagawa 2)
• C - Toukaidai Sagami (Kanagawa 1) vs. Kasumigaura (Ibaraki 2)
• C - Hikawa (Yamanashi 1) vs. Utsunomiya Shougyou (Tochigi 2)
• D - Urawa Gakuin (Saitama 2) vs. Choushi Shougyou (Chiba 2)
• D - Maebashi Ikuei (Gunma 1) - Bye

Right off the bat there were a couple of surprises.  Kendai had a relative poor showing against Jyousou Gakuin, losing 5-2.  Yokohama Hayato stumbled out of the blocks immediately going down 6-0.  They'd rally, but lose 7-5.

The biggest upset was in block C where Kasumigaura (while not a slouch by any means) never trailed and defeated Toukaidai Sagami 5-3!

The quarterfinals went more scratch.  Narashino, who barely got by Kiryuu Dai-ichi, suffered the same problems Yokohama Hayato faced, but were unable to rally at all, getting mercy ruled 12-0 in 6 innings! (awww....)

Sano Nichidai, down 5-0 to Jyousou Gakuin gets all of the runs back in the lucky 7 to send the game into enchousen.  However, outside of that one inning outburst, they couldn't muster any other offense and lost 6-5 in 12.  Kasumigaura tried to continue their cinderella run as it were, but after taking the 4-2 lead in the bottom of the 6th, relinquished it right back in the lucky 7 to Utusunomiya Shougyou, losing 5-4.

The games (final score-wise) were much closer, but were not competitive.  Both Saitama schools advanced wire-to-wire, setting up a rematch of the prefectural final.  In that final, a 4-run first gave Hanasaki Tokuharu all the cushion it needed.

This time around they did not get such a cushion, but did lead 2-0 going into the latter innings.  But without the cushion, Urawa Gakuin's rally allowed them to tie the game in the 8th and send it into enchousen.  One inning later, Urawa's SS Kigure Naito (木暮騎士) would hit a 2-out double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd.  After an intentional walk, C Nishikawa Genki (西川元気) would deliver the sayonara hit to give Urawa Gakuin their 3rd straight Kanto Fall title!!

With 4 bids, it seems apparent that the Best 4 participants will get the bids.  Kasumigaura, the strongest team of the quarterfinalists will probably not get in because (a) the team they would replace would probably be Utsunomiya Shougyou who defeated them and (b) even if they wanted to make Kasumigaura the 4th team that would put 2 teams from Saitama and from Ibaraki into Senbatsu, which is highly doubtful.

And with Soujitsu losing in the finals to Yasuda Gakuen, the committee will certainly pick them as the floating bid.  Had they won, the floating bid may have come back to Kanto.

As it stands, for Kasumigaura to get to Koushien, Yasuda Gakuen or Urawa Gakuin have to win the Meiji Jingu Fall Tournament (If Yasuda Gakuen wins, Soujitsu earns the Meiji Jingu bid and the floating bid shifts back to Kanto.  If Urawa Gakuin wins, Kasumigaura earns the Meiji Jingu bid outright).  But as you will see later, that will be difficult.

Tokai (3 bids)

• Champion - Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou - Gifu-shi, Gifu (4th title, 1st in 51 years)
• Runner-up - Komono - Komono-machi, Mie
• 3rd Bid - Tokoha Kikugawa - Kikugawa-shi, Shizuoka

The issue of the all-Gifu Shougyou final was averted in the first game when Komono placed an 8-spot in the 4th to mercy-rule Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou 10-2 in 7 innings.

And in fact, there was a possibility that neither team would make it as Tokoha Kikugawa had tied the game at 1 in the 8th.  Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou though would guarantee that at least one team would make it, making a Tokoha-style finish in the bottom of the 9th to win 2-1.

Komono had done well to make it to the finals, but were boat-raced by Kengifushou falling quickly behind 6-0 and losing 9-3.

This normally would put Komono in a bad situation.  As the runner-up, they are first in line to receive the 2nd bid.  However, the poor showing would have given the selection committee pause.  But with 3 teams advancing, they should be safe.


Kinki (6 bids)

• Champion - Kyoto Shouei - Uji-shi, Kyoto (First title!)
• Runner-up - Houtoku Gakuen - Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo
• Semi-finalist -Ryuukokudai Heian - Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
• Semi-finalist - Osaka Touin - Daitou-shi, Osaka
• 5/6 selection - Riseisha - Toyonaka-shi, Osaka
• 5/6 selection - Yamato Kouryou - Kouryou-machi, Kita-katsuragi-gun, Nara
• Other considerations - Tenri - Tenri-shi, Nara

So Tenri and Osaka Touin finished up the 1st round with wins, though Tenri only defeated Kouyasan 2-0.  That was foretelling of the upcoming matchup between the two, won handily by Osaka Touin 8-1 in 7 innings.

In other games, Yamato Kouryou played Ryuukokudai Heian close, but couldn't get a run on the board losing 2-0.  Osaka Shoudai Sakai lasted only 5 innings against Houtoku Gakuen losing 13-0.  And finally, Riseisha was fighting for their lives against surging Kyoto Shouei down 1-0 late before tying the game in the 8th.  The game would go into enchousen when reliever Sakamoto would finally fail, giving Kyoto Shouei the 3-1 win in 12!

That setup an all-Kyoto final on one side, and a powerhouse matchup on the other.

Kyoto Shouei and Ryuukokudai Heian were up first.  Kyoto Shouei didn't have to face Heian in the prefecturals as Heian was paired with Fukuchiyama Seibi.  Early on, the teams traded runs with Kyoto Shouei emerging with a 3-2 lead.  It stayed that way until the 7th where Heian would get to Enomoto (who came in in relief) for a pair of runs to lead 4-3.  However, their reliever Minami fell apart in the next half-inning.  He hit back-to-back batters sending in a run, and then ace Enomoto would redeem himself, blasting a manrui home run to blow the game wide open.

Kyoto Shouei seemed to be in full control up 9-4, but Enomoto seemed to be out of sorts coming in relief.  He struggled with his control as Heian came back to within 1 with a 4-run 8th!  He'd somehow get in together just in time, closing the game out in the 9th to win 9-8!

In the other semi, it was a shocker in that Osaka Touin was not competitive at all against Houtoku Gakuen.  In fact they were blanked 8-0 in 7 innings!

So Houtoku Gakuen and ace Inui Youhei (乾 陽平) were the final obstacle in Kyoto Shouei and Enomoto Kazuki (榎本 和輝) bid for their first ever fall title.

There were opportunities for both teams throughout the game as Inui yielded base hits almost every inning, while Enomoto's control issues persisted as he issued free passes.  Yet the score was at 1-1 after regulation.  Eventually it would become a matter of who would make the first mistake.

And that finally was made by Inui as he yielded 2 runs in the 13th.  They still had the bottom half of the inning, and Enomoto was approaching his limit too.  He would give up one run, but again found a way to shut the door, win 3-2, and claim Kyoto Shouei's first title!!

Looking at the field for the selection of the half-dozen bids, it almost winds up being as listed above by default.  Kyoto Shouei is definitely in, as well as Houtoku Gakuen.  While Heian is in the same prefecture as Kyoto Shouei, they didn't play each other in the prefecturals and held their own in the semifinals - so they're in.  Those are the definites.

Osaka Touin was uncharacteristically blown out by Houtoku Gakuen.  And their wins prior against Kousen and Tenri do not inspire confidence.

But then you look down at the quarterfinalists.  Tenri was blown out by Osaka Touin.  Daishoudai Sakai too was annihilated.  That leaves Riseisha who played Kyoto Shouei close as well and should get in, and Yamato Kouryou who had a nondescript win over Shiga Gakuen before being shutout 2-0 to Heian.

So Osaka Touin now appears safe, as does Riseisha.  The question becomes the last bid.

And that boils down to Yamato Kouryou and Tenri.

Tenri in name had the harder opponent in Osaka Touin, but Heian can easily be considered a quality opponent for Yamato Kouryou.

If the committee wants to go by name, then Tenri will go.  But I think if they go by play, it may fall to Yamato Kouryou.

Chuugoku (3 bids)

• Champion - Kanzei - Okayama-shi, Okayama (6th title, 1st in 2 years)
• Runner-up - Kouryou - Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima
• 3rd Bid - Iwakuni Shougyou - Iwakuni-shi, Yamaguchi

With 5 prefectures and 4 quadrants, the bracket breaks out such that the 1 & 3 seeds of each prefecture wind up in the same quadrant.  For 2 prefectures, they inhabit one quadrant:

• A - Hamada (Shimane 2) vs. Ube Kougyou (Yamaguchi 4)
• A - Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi 1) vs. Tamashima Shougyou (Okayama 2)
• B - Soutoku (Hiroshima 1) vs. Tottori Jyouhoku (Tottori 3)
• B - Yonago Kita (Tottori 1) vs. Kouryou (Hiroshima 3)
• C - Kanzei (Okayama 1) vs. Jyosuikan (Hiroshima 2)
• C - Yonago Shouin (Tottori 2) vs. Kurashiki Shougyou (Okayama 3)
• D - Hayatomo (Yamaguchi 2) vs. Shimane Chuo (Shimane 3)
• D - Masuda Shouyou (Shimane 1) vs. Iwakuni (Yamaguchi 3)

The side-effect is that prefectures can be shutout after the first round.

It turns out that not just one, but two prefectures would be eliminated!

So, all else being equal, who has the advantage?

Well, the home team.  And that happens to be Yamaguchi-ken.

In fact, all 4 entrants advanced into the second round.  Iwakuni Shougyou, Iwakuni and Ube Koujyou all won via the shutout.  Hayatomo was able to advance, but only after striking back for a pair of runs right after they gave up the lead in the 7th.

With that alone, Shimane was wiped off the board.  Who would be the other prefecture?

In B quadrant, Tottori Jyouhoku started off well against Soutoku, but fell apart in the 2nd half of the game, losing 8-4.  Yonago Kita went just 7 innings before they waved the white flag, losing 9-1.

That left 2nd place Yonago Shouin as the last representative.  But against Kurashiki Shougyou, that was a tough task.  They kept it close, even in fact tying the game at 1-1 in the top of the 5th.  Kurashou struck back with 2 in their part of the frame and held on to the 3-1 win.

A valiant effort, but both Japan Sea prefectures were eliminated.

And what appeared to be a blockbuster matchup in the first round wound up being anything but.  Jyousuikan would give up after 7 innings, losing to Kanzei 10-0!

This created a bizarre quarterfinal setup:

• A - Ube Kougyou (Yamaguchi 4) vs. Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi 1)
• B - Soutoku (Hiroshima 1) vs. Kouryou (Hiroshima 3)
• C - Kanzei (Okayama 1) Kurashiki Shougyou (Okayama 3)
• D - Hayatomo (Yamaguchi 2) vs. Iwakuni (Yamaguchi 3)

Yes, that's right, all 4 quarterfinals were intraprefectural matchups!  Interestingly though, only the Okayama matchup was a rematch of a prefectural semifinal.

In the Yamaguchi matchups, Iwakuni Shougyou proved that they were the cream of the crop, as they defeated the only Best 4 team they haven't played - Ube Kougyou, in a shutout 5-0.  Iwakuni showed that their 3rd place finish was a product of just being in the wrong half of the bracket.  The struggling Hayatomo was unceremoniously upended in a 10-0 defeat in 5 innings.

Soutoku probably wasn't happy to see Kouryou in their crosshairs.  They managed to avoid them in the prefecturals, but now when it really matters... it was all Kouryou in a 7-1 win.

That leaves the rematch of Kanzei and Kurashiki Shougyou.  Kanzei wouldn't leave anything to chance, scoring 6 runs in the 3rd en route to an 8-4 win.

Another byproduct of the 1st round was that Yamaguchi pretty much guaranteed themselves a team at Senbatsu, especially since due to the 85th tournament, Chuugoku gets an extra bid.

And that would prove key this year as Iwakuni was routed 11-1 by Kanzei, and while Iwakuni Shougyou held with Kouryou, they still lost 2-0.

So we're left with Kouryou and Kanzei in the finals, two teams used to the big game.  The game was a low-scoring affair early, then blown open in the span of 2 half-innings where Kouryou scored 3 in the 6th to lead 4-2, only to give up 5 in the lucky 7 to trail 7-4.  They'd win 8-5 to take the title.

And on the basis of the semifinal matchups, expect Iwakuni Shougyou to receive the 3rd bid.


Shikoku (3 bids)

• Champion - Kochi - Kochi-shi, Kochi (6th title, 1st in 6 years)
• Runner-up - Naruto - Naruto-shi, Tokushima
• 3rd Bid -  Saibi - Matsuyama-shi, Ehime

Shikoku's draw looked like this:

• Kochi (Kochi 1) vs. Imabari Kougyou (Ehime 2)-Marugame (Kagawa 3) winner
• Eimei (Kagawa 1) vs. Tokushima Shougyou (Tokushima 2)-Tosa (Kochi 3) winner
• Naruto (Tokushima 1) vs. Kochi Shougyou (Kochi 2)-Matsuyama Seiryou (Ehime 3) winner
• Saibi (Ehime 1) vs. Takamatsu Shougyou (Kagawa 2)-Ikeda (Tokushima 3) winner

Oddly, only one of the 2 seed teams would advance out of the opening round.  That would be Tokushima Shougyou who finally got to Tosa in the 6th inning with a 3 spot and would win 4-1.

In the other games, Imabari Kougyou had a chance to survive as they were deadlocked 1-1 for a long time.  Marugame though would bid sayonara to the Ehime representative 2-1.   Kochi Shougyou was having a heck of a time in their game, but at 3-3 in the 7th Matsuyama Seiryou scored 6 to pull away.  Kochishou would score 3 in the 9th, but it wasn't enough.  And Ikeda finally made progress, winning 3-1.

With so many 3 seeds advancing, it would be expected that most if not all of the 1 seeds would advance.  And in fact, all did... except for the one team that faced the only #2 seed left.

Nartuo and Kochi had no problems.  Ikeda almost got to the semifinals and rallied late, but lost to Saibi 4-3.  Tokushou was in another close game.  They and Eimei were tied at 2 when Eimei scored a run in the 7th to take the lead.  But in the bottom of the 9th they get to ace Akagawa scoring 2 runs for the gyakuten sayonara victory.

Tokushou would try to extend their run against Kochi, and early on the semifinals they held a 2-run lead, even after swapping 3-run innings.  But Kochi would put up 2 runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings to win 11-7.  In the other semifinal, Saibi was in full control, getting 2 insurance runs in the final 2 innings to lead 4-1.  Saibi ace Anraku though didn't get the memo that he and his team needed to close out the game.  Naruto would rally for 4 runs and win 5-4.

To the final where Kochi would try to preempt the deficit by getting ahead early.  Naruto would have none of it and came back to level the score at 6 in the 6th.  Kochi though would score 2 in the 8th giving Naruto no time to stage a rally.

The extra bid will probably go to Saibi, who had Naruto dead to rights, right until the bottom of the 9th.


Kyushu (4 bids)

• Champion - Okinawa Shougaku - Naha-shi, Okinawa (2nd title, 1st in 15 years)
• Runner-up - Seiseikou - Chuo-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto
• 3rd Bid - Shoushikan - Shibushi-shi, Kagoshima
• 4th Bid - Souseikan - Isahaya-shi, Nagasaki
• Other Consideration - Kumamoto Kougyou, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto

 Early on, the games were rather competitive.  In the two opening round games, Kanzaki Seimei (Sage 2) were shutout by Souseikan (Nagasaki 3) 3-0.  Sasebo Jitsugyou (Nagasaki 2) lost it late against Miyazaki Nichidai (Miyazaki 3), falling 2-1.

Now all 8 top seeds would be in play, but by the end of the first round over half would go home.  But not the half you may have thought.

• Kagoshima Jyouhou probably lacked experience and became Souseikan's 2nd shutout, losing by the slim margin of 1-0. (who by the way is looking to get an invitation this year after being snubbed).
• Miyazaki's Nisshou Gakuen can't be faulted for losing their game, they had to play Okinawa Shougaku.  Down 4-0, they rallied late but still lost 4-2. 
• Saga Kita reached the Super-Regionals again, but Shoushikan picked up the flag for Kagoshima and used a 5-run 5th to advance 7-3.
• Seiseikou wanted to prove that their appearance last year wasn't just a fluke.  To that end they struck early and pulled ahead late, defeating Oita's Youshikan 6-2.
• And Miyazaki Nichidai would pull the upset on Okinawa's Ginoza, shutting them out 5-0!

In fact, almost all top seeds struggled.  Kumamoto Kougyou scored the only run in their game, beating Isahaya 1-0.

Nagasaki Nichidai should have been dead to rights.  Enchousen, tied at 1 in the 10th, Moji Gakuen scores 4 runs and should have the game wrapped up.  Except they don't close it out!  Nagasaki Nichidai scores 4 and extends the game further!  I'd like to see what happened in that 10th inning.  It wouldn't be until the 13th inning where Nagasaki Nichidai would score the sayonara run to win 6-5!

The only non-contested game was surprisingly Kurume Shougyou vs. Meihou.  Kurushou scored 4 in the 1st inning and cruised to a 5-2 win.

The reprieve for the top seeds though wouldn't last.  All 3 remaining would lose in the quarterfinals.  Kurume Shougyou only went 7 against Souseikan losing 9-0.  Kumamoto Kougyou had to face Okinawa Shougaku, and narrowly lost 3-2 in 10 innings.  And Shoushikan used a 4-run 4th to defeat Nagasaki Nichidai 6-2.  The fourth team to advance would indeed be Seiseikou as they shutout the last Nichidai team as Miyazaki would fall 3-0.

That put Souseikan in the crosshairs of Okinawa Shougaku, while Shoushikan and Seiseikou would square off in the other semi.

And neither game was close.

In fact, both would last just 7 innings and both due to a big inning.  For Okishou, it was a 4-run 1st in an 8-1 win.  For Seiseikou, it was a 5-run 6th in an 8-0 win.

So it'd be Okinawa Shougaku and Seiseikou in the finals, and both pretty much guaranteed a spot in Senbatsu.  It would be just a matter now of who would represent Kyushu at the Meiji Jingu Tournament.

And boy was it a pitchers' duel.  Seiseikou's Ootake Koutarou (大竹 耕太郎) versus the tandem of Ura Jyun (宇良 淳) and Higa Kenichirou (比嘉 健一朗).  Okishou certainly had more opportunities throughout the game, but the game remained scoreless through 8.  But in the top of the 9th, it all unraveled for Seiseikou.  Okinawa Shougaku would put up 5 runs in the 9th and claim just their 2nd ever fall title!

Rounding out the projected 4 bids are in all probability the two semifinalists - Souseikan and Shoushikan.  Yes, they still lost badly in the semifinals, but they had shutout their competition beforehand (though the quality of the opposition can be argued).  Shoushikan defeated both Saga Kita and Nagasaki Nichidai and despite their blowout loss, should get in.

The only other team who could make a case would be Kumamoto Kougyou, who was the only team to actually play Okinawa Shougaku close.  And bad news for Souseikan, they would probably be the team on the bubble if there were other considerations.

Tokai (2 bids)
Tokai is in the semifinal stages, and we could very well be in the same situation as in the Hokushinestu Super-Regionals!

• Shizuoka (Shizuoka 1) vs. Winner of Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu 2)-Tsu Shougyou (Mie 3)

Tsu Shougyou was probably not very happy to face Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou right off the get-go.  They fought hard, but wound up being shutout 4-0 setting up a matchup with Shizuoka champs Shizuoka. Shizuoka got off to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st, but couldn't make that lead stick.  Shigifushou would take the 3-2 lead in the 8th before scrambling in the bottom half to level the score.  The game would go to 12 innings before Shigifushou would advance 4-3.

• Komono (Mie 1) vs. Winner of Toyokawa (Aichi 2)-Hiryuu (Shizuoka 3)

In a battle of unknowns to start, Toyokawa had the better of Hiryuu.  But a 4-run gyakuten 8th inning gave them the 5-3 lead.  They'd hold on to win 5-4. Komono though would put an end to that in their quadrant, mercy-ruling Hiryuu 7-0 in 7.

• Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu 1) vs. Winner of Inabe Sougou Gakuen (Mie 2)-Aichi Keisei (Aichi 3)

Inabe Sougou Gakuen and Aichi Keisei scored a flurry of runs in the first 3 innings capped off by a 3-run 3rd to take a 4-3 lead.  That would end up being the final score.  Unfortunately they had to face the other commercial school from Gifu.  Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou dispatched them 8-0 in 7 innings.

• Touhou (Aichi 1) vs. Winner of Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka 2)-Oogaki Nichidai (Gifu 3)

This probably was the toughest all-around of the 4 brackets.  Tokoha Kikugawa and Oogaki Nichidai, two schools who are seemingly on the rebound squared off first.  But early on it was all Tokoha as they built a 4-0 lead.  They'd add on two more in the 8th to take a 6-1 lead.  But when Oogaki scored 3 in the bottom half, it was suddenly a new ballgame.  Ace Horita would barely close the game out for a 6-5 win.

Next was a game against Touhou.  A 3-run 2nd inning helped put them into the lead, but Horita would squander the lead making it 3-3 going into the final third of the game.  His offense would have his back scoring 3 runs yet again.  Horita wouldn't give it away again, and Tokoha Kikugawa would win 6-4.

So our semifinal matches are:

• Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu 2) vs. Komono (Mie 1)
• Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu 1) vs. Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka 2)

I think you can see where the problem lies.  If Shigifushou and Kengifushou both win, we have an all Gifu final.  And there's two bids at stake...

The selection committee may full one Super-Regionals with teams from one prefecture - but two?  No way.  Never going to happen.

So if that situation arises, you better bet that both teams will pull out all the stops to win, because that would get them a guaranteed bid while the loser may not be invited at all.

Komono and Tokoha Kikugawa better be prepared for the fight of their lives this Saturday.


Kinki (6 bids)
I'm not sure why all 8 games aren't played all on the same weekend, but oddly enough this will hurt two of the possibly favored teams:

• Shiga Gakuen (Shiga 2) vs. Yamato Kouryou (Nara 2)

Huh.  I wonder about Yamato Kouryou.  They're a combination of Kouryou and Takada Higashi in 2005.  They held their own (supposedly, who knows if Tenri gave them a break), losing to Tenri 5-1 in the final.  But there has to be something, because their super-rookie, 1st year Tatsuda Shouta gave up just one run in the 1st inning.  His offense would quickly get that run back and more as they advanced 3-1.  Things will get much harder as they will face the winner of...

• Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama 1) vs. Ryuukokudai Heian (Kyoto 3)

Chiben Wakayama's struggles continue.   Despite winning the prefecture, the offense disappears yet again against Ryuukokudai Heian.  Ace Yoshikawa keeps the team in it holding them to 2 runs, but their offense could only manage 1.

• Riseisha (Osaka 1) vs. Kansei Gakuin (Hyogo 3)

Kansei Gakuin, much like Tsu Shougyou, didn't exactly draw a great team to start. But they held tough against the Osaka champs, and have nothing to be ashamed about in a 1-0 loss.

• Kyoto Shouei (Kyoto 1) vs. Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku (Hyogo 2)

This has to be the shock of the Kinki taikai so far.  Under another rookie - Enomoto Kazuki, he made 2 runs stick against the former Koushien participants.  He'll have to step up his game even more now with Riseisha up next.

• Shiritsu Wakayama (Wakayama 2) vs. Osaka Shoudai Sakai (Osaka 3)

In a battle of relative unknowns the "other" team from Wakayama - Shiritsu Wakayama and Osaka Shoudai Sakai fought back-and-forth with the lead changing 3 times - the last one when Daishoudai Sakai scored 1 run 3 of 4 consecutive innings to win 5-4.

• Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo 1) vs. Fukuchiyama Seibi (Kyoto 2)

Fukuchiyama Seibi is finally back in the mix after self-imposing sanctions due to violence within the club.  But they still have a long ways to go apparently as they are held to just one run in a 3-1 loss.  They should be the easy favorites to defeat Daishoudai Osaka.

As for the last 2 games, they will be played on Saturday with the winners playing the next day:

• Tenri (Nara 1) vs. Kouyasan (Wakayama 3)
• Kousen (Shiga 1) vs. Osaka Touin (Osaka 2)

Tenri and Osaka Touin (should they win) will play on 0 days rest.  Don't know who that will benefit.

The Kinki region is so big, and with 6 bids at stake, probably deserve their own post (though I'll be having to blow through these to get the rest of the recaps done)

With 16 teams going to the super-regional, the prefectures rotate the extra 4 bids amongst themselves.  This year Kyoto and Wakayama would be short-changed with just 2 bids.

Shiga
Shiga had some excitement last summer when Hachiman Shougyou shocked Teikyou with 5 runs in the top of the 9th for an unbelievable upset.

Sadly though, they may have been a one-hit wonder (no pun intended).  They'd lose in their 1st game 6-4 to Hino.

Looking elsewhere, Cinderella Shiga Gakuen looked to make another run and had the entire half to themselves once Hachiman Shougyou was eliminated.  But Yasu spoiled the party defeating them 2-0 in the quarterfinals.  They were one win away from a guaranteed spot in the super-regionals, but Minakuchi proved to be a more than formidable opponent.  Tied at 1 in the 4th inning, the game would head into extras.  But in the 11th, Minakuchi's Ikemoto would deliver the sayonara hit to punch their first ticket in 44 years to the super-regionals.

The two stalwarts in the prefecture - Oumi and Kita-Ootsu occupied the other half of the bracket.  But when Kita-Ootsu lost to Ishiyama in their very first game 3-2, the path to the super-regionals was wide open.  They didn't hesitate, defeating Ishiyama in the semifinals 14-4 to punch their ticket.

Minakuchi actually put up a good fight early against heavily favored Oumi, taking a 2-run lead.  Oumi wiped that completely out with a 3-run 4th and would go on to win 7-2 for their 9th title and 1st in 2 years.

Yasu's good run would be spoiled by Ishiyama, who deservingly earned a spot in the super-regionals with a 2-1 victory in the 3rd place game.

Kyoto
Kyoto has been largely dominated by the 5-kanji schools - Ryuukokudai Heian (龍谷大平安), Fukuchiyama Seibi (福知山成美), and Kyoto Gaidai Nishi (京都外大西).

But while all 3 qualified for the prefectural finals, all 3 were eliminated in quarterfinal play.  Fukuchiyama Seibi falls 8-6 to Toba, Ryuukokudai Heian lost a close one 8-7 to Ritsumeikan, and Kyoto Gaidai Nishi had the worst loss (deficit-wise anyways), 6-2 to Kyoto Ryouyou.  Kyoto Shouei joins the three in the semifinals.

Now, with only 2 spots available this year, winning the semifinals becomes crucial.  Toba grabs one of the two spots after breaking a 3-3 tie with Kyoto Shouei with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th.  Ritsumeikan takes the other one as ace Itou limits Kyoto Ryouyou to just 1 run in a 2-1 win.

The final was a bit nuts.  Despite being the underdog, Toba breached the 0-0 deadlock with a run in the 6th.  Such a slim margin would be hard to maintain against a team such as Ritsumeikan, and indeed in the 8th they scored 3 to take the lead.  But in the bottom of the 9th, Toba found a way to take back every single run to win their 3rd fall title (1st in 11 years), 4-3!

Nara
Chiben Gakuen has supplanted Tenri as the premier team in the prefecture.  That after Tenri has frittered away opportunity after opportunity at Koushien.

The teams though were on the same half, so you were almost guaranteed that one would take the title, and the other the 3rd place spot.  So any team on that half would have little to no shot to make it.  Go to the other side and if Kooriyama could be knocked off, Nara's 2nd seed could be up for grabs.

Chiben Gakuen would get the best of the rivalry yet again and in impressive fashion.  Tenri would be relegated to the 3rd place match with an 8-0 mercy rule loss.

The de facto final qualifying spot would go to Naradai Fuzoku.  After relinquishing an early 3-0 lead to Ichijyou, they rallied in the late innings to win 6-5.

But Naradai Fuzoku wasn't done!  After giving up 2 runs in the 1st to Chiben, they immediately struck back with 4 runs Chiben would narrow the lead to 1 and keep it that way until the 8th when they successfully pulled level at 6.

Naradai Fuzoku would claim their first ever fall title in spectacular fashion as Kudou delivers a sayonara hit to right, winning 7-6!

Wakayama
Wakayama too would only get 2 bids, but assuming that Chiben Wakayama and Kouyou were on opposite sides of the Best 4, there may be no room for anyone else, save for maybe Minabe or Minoshima.

So apparently, Wakayama has changed their qualifying methods.  Instead of grandfathering in the Best 4 from last year's they now hold a "newcomers tournament" (高校野球新人戦) right after Natsu Koushien ends, in which the best 4 from that tournament get a pass to the Best 8 of the fall prefecturals.  The rest would have to play again in pool play for a spot.

The 4 teams that got a free pass were Naga, Touin, Kainan and of course Chiben Wakayama.

So the remaining 36 teams were in for another grueling single elimination bracket less than 3 weeks later.

Those that were able to endure the 2nd go around were Shiritsu Wakayama (who shut out Minabe 4-0 in the block final), Kokawa (who ended Kouyou's bid with a 2-1 victory), Kenritsu Wakayama Shougyou, and Minoshima.

Chiben Wakayama and Minoshima wound up on different sides of the bracket, so it seemed likely they would be the two entrants.

Nope.

Minoshima bowed out in the very first game 3-2 to Kainan who would eventually reach the finals after a win against Touin.  Chiben Wakayama, after barely beating out Shiritsu Wakayama 4-3, was blitzed by Naga to the tune of 8-1!

So it would be a newcomer in Naga, and a forgotten team (last appearance 26 years ago) in Kainan.  The question would be who would take the coveted title.  Both aces, Kusunoki and Fukui respectively, would be in a pitcher's duel.  Naga would claim their first ever fall title with a 1-0 win.

Osaka
Osaka's tourney is basically one bracket, save for a redraw in the best 4.

Block A was dominated by Riseisha.  Block B was won by Natsu representative Higashi-Osakadai Kashiwara thanks in part to Toukaidai Gyousei eliminating PL Gakuen 7-0 in the first round and a 3-1 win over Osaka Sangyoudai Fuzoku.  Osaka Taiikudai Nami Shougyou (aka Daitoudai Namishou) took Block C after escaping with a 4-3 win over Kansai Souka.  Finally, Osaka Touin blew through most of Block D though Osaka Shoudai Sakai did limit them to 3 runs in a 3-0 loss.

The semifinal draw had Higashi-Osakadai Kashiwara looking to prove their trip last summer wasn't a fluke with a 5-1 over Riseisha.  Meanwhile, Osaka Touin looked to regain the top spot in Osaka with a 8-3 win over Daitoudai Namishou.

Eventually, Osaka Touin would reassert themselves with a 6-0 shutout win over the summer representatives for their 3rd consecutive and 5th overall fall title.

Joining the pair would be Riseisha as they denied Daitoudai Namisho with a 5-1 win in the consolation game.

Hyogo
Hooray!  Nishinomiya Kita made it to the prefecturals after qualifying through the repechage of the Nishi-Hanshin regionals 2-0 against Takaradzuka Kita!  By the way, Kansei Gakuin would take top honors in that regional.  Yay for improvement!

Joining that pair of teams would be the likes of Houtoku Gakuen, Shinkou Gakuen, Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku, and Kakogawa Kita.  Touyoudai Himeji immediately got a free pass to the prefecturals being the Natsu Koushien representative.

The prefectural draw had Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku in their own quadrant.  But Sumoto wrecked the party, eliminating them 13-6 in the round of 16 and taking their spot in the Best 4.  Houtoku Gakuen, Kakogawa Kita and Touyoudai Himeji were in the other quadrant.  And despite the offensive output shown early in the brackets, Touyoudai Himeji's offense would go astray against tougher competition.  Houtoku blanked them 5-0 for a spot opposite Sumoto.

Nishinomiya Kita's time in the prefecturals was cut short in a 5-1 loss to Awaji in the 1st round.  Awaji would actually make a deep run before being offed by Ikuei 7-1 in the quarterfinals.  So I guess it wasn't a bad loss for the fightin' Haruhi's.  Maybe this summer?  (No.  Probably not.)

Rounding out the field would be Kansei Gakuin, who continues to have a penchant for low-scoring close affairs.  Their largest margin of victory?  2.

Despite Sumoto's upset, they were no match for battle-tested Houtoku Gakuen as there were shutout to the tune of 6-0.  On the other side, Kansei Gakuin and Ikuei would trade blows in the latter half of the games.  Ikuei was actually 3 outs from advancing, but Kansei would tie the game with a clutch run.  Ikuei tried once again to leave Kansei behind with a point in the 13th, but Kansei wound up doing one better, bidding Ikuei sayonara 6-5!

That extra inning game may have taken the air out of Kansei as in the final they could only muster 1 run as Houtoku Gakuen would go on to win 3-1 and claim their 10th title (1st in 3 years).  Ikuei would be the final qualifier taking their frustrations in losing out on Sumoto 9-2.

Super-Regionals
The draw for the super-regionals put a lot of the strong teams in 1 quadrant.

On the upper left, the winner of the Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo 1) v. Riseisha (Osaka 3) would definitely reach the semifinals and a projected bid to Koushien.  Same goes to the Higashi-Osakadai Kashiwara (Osaka 2) v. Chiben Gakuen (Nara 2) matchup in the lower left.

The upper right was the hell draw.  Tenri (Nara 3) v. Ritsumeikan (Kyoto 2) and Osaka Touin (Osaka 1) v. Kansei Gakuin (Hyogo 2).  Oumi's (Shiga 1) only competition would be Ikuei (Hyogo 3) in their first game.  Win that and they're pretty much guaranteed a bid.

Riseisha allowed 2 runs in junk time as they eliminated Houtoku Gakuen 9-2 and had a quick 6 inning affair against Minokuchi.  Meanwhile Chiben Gakuen may be taking the flag even from Chiben Wakayama when comparing the two schools as they blank Higashi-Osakadai Kashiwara 5-0 and they advance to the semis.

Tenri once again struggled in the big lights, going into extras but defeating Ritsumeikan 3-1 in 10.  They'd have a familiar opponent as Kansei Gakuin couldn't keep up with Osaka Touin's offensive output lasting just 7 innings in a 9-0 loss.  Tenri though was able to take advantage over Touin's eternal weakness - pitching depth as a 4-spot in the 7th proved to be the final margin of victory 8-4.

And lastly, Oumi almost squandered a 6 run lead in the 9th, but won 7-5, then got a strong challenge against a surprisingly strong Naradai Fuzoku squad 2-1.

So all 4 teams were likely to receive a bid.  Question would be who would definitely get an invite.  Chiben Gakuen's Ono would give up a run to open the game, but the team would come back to take the lead and never trail again winning 4-2.  And it would be a grudge match final as Tenri dispatched Oumi 11-1 in 6.

In that grudge match, Chiben Gakuen emphatically put their stamp on the title with a 3-run 1st.  And as to add insult to injury, despite Tenri scoring 3 in the 8th to pull within 1, Chiben Gakuen would win their first ever super-regional title not having used their ace Aoyama in the semifinal nor championship game!

Automatic Bid - Chiben Gakuen (Nara) - 8th appearance, 1st in 11 years
Projected Bid - Tenri (Nara) - 22nd appearance, 4th consecutive
Projected Bid - Riseisha (Osaka) - 4th appearance, 2nd consecutive
Projected Bid - Oumi (Shiga) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 9 years
Projected Bid - Osaka Touin (Osaka) - 5th appearance, 1st in 2 years
Projected Bid - Toba (Kyoto) - 4th appearance, 1st in 7 years

The 5th and 6th bids are best guesses.  I doubt Minakuchi will earn a bid after losing 15-3 to Riseisha.  And as much as Naradai Fuzoku may have earned a bid with a 2-1 loss to Oumi, (a) I doubt the committee will award 3 Nara teams a bid, and (b) Oumi went on to lose to Osaka Touin 11-1.

Remember when I said the Daishoudai Sakai-Minoshima game wouldn't be competitive?

Yeah, me neither.

Although the game did start like I thought it might. After just 3 innings, Osaka Shoudai Sakai held a 9-1 lead.

Two innings later though, the score was 10-9!

Say again?

Minoshima was able to claw to within just 1 run! And every time Daishoudai tried to pull away. Minoshima would get those runs right back!

Problem was, they could never get that one extra run...

And so Daishoudai Sakai does advance thanks to a late drop goal, 13-12. Just kidding. About the drop goal that is.

In the other game of that side of the bracket, after some early scoring that left Ritsumeikan Uji up 2-1 the score remained that way until the 9th where Ritsumeikan scored 4 to seemingly put the game away only to see Osaka Touin roar right back. However, they only managed 3 runs, and thus fell 6-4!

Moving along to the opposite side, Tenri's offense was held at bay by Oumi and ace Ishida limiting them to just 3 runs. However, opposing ace Nishiguchi was one better. Well, 2 actually as Tenri advances to the semis with a 3-1 win.

And in the last matchup between relative unknowns Han-ai and Akashi Shougyou, the Kyoto champions shut down the triumvirate staff of Han-ai 7-2.

Onto the semis and Tenri decided to sit ace Nishiguchi and instead send out Nakatani and Oonishi. No matter though, as Tenri goes to another final with a 4-1 win.

Perhaps the biggest surprise though was the other semifinal. Daishoudai Sakai facing Ritsumeikan Uji opened the game with 6 unanswered runs. Ritsumeikan immediately went into scramble mode to find a way to get back into the game. Slowly but surely they started to get those runs back, yet by the end of the 8th inning they still trailed 6-4.

Daishoudai Sakai would not let this go on any further and responded by putting up a 6-spot in the 9th to put the game out of reach. A 12-4 win later, and the #3 seed from Osaka was in the final!

In the final, Daishoudai looked to continue the theme putting up a run in the top of the 1st. Tenri found the tying run in the 4th, and then the teams traded runs in the 5th. After that though, the bats fell silent as the game got deeper and deeper into regulation. Eventually, the game would go into extras.

But not for long though. The game goes just one more inning as Tenri scores the sayonara run to take their 6th spring title and first in 16 years!

All prefectures have completed play and the draw has been determined for the super-regionals. But before that, let's go see what happened:

Kyoto
In the semis, Tounan actually got off to a quick start against Fukuchiyama Seibi, getting 2 runs in the top of the 1st. However, in the next 3 innings, Seibi went 1-3-1 to take a 5-2 lead and won 6-3. Their opponent in the finals would end up being Ritsumeikan Uji as Kyoto Gaidai Nishi collapsed in the 2nd inning, giving up 6 runs en route to a 9-2 loss.

In the final, Ritsumeikan and Seibi would be wrapped in a closely contested match. No team ever led by 1 run, and while Ritsumeikan Uji led 1-0 and 2-1, Fukuchiyama Seibi scored a pair to take a 3-2 lead late. It all collapsed in the 9th though as the bullpen couldn't hold it down. Uji scores 2 to win their 3rd title and first in 29 years.

Nara
The 4th team joining the Big 3 would be Kansai Chuo who defeated Ikoma (I remember passing by that station quite often) 3-2.

Kooriyama found themselves with their hands full against the "outsider" and could only manage 1 run. That was 1 run more than Kansai Chuo could manage though, and Kooriyama was in the final.

Now Chiben Gakuen and Tenri also had a close game... kinda...

After trading a pair of runs in the 1st, Tenri would score 7 unanswered to take a commanding 9-2 lead.

And then the pitching staff proceed to blow all of it. Facing a called game in the 7th, Chiben Gakuen scores 4 in the 7th and 8th innings to take a 1-run lead!

Tenri, suddenly finding themselves behind, manages something they haven't been able to do at Koushien.

Rally.

They score a run in the 8th, and a sayonara run in the 9th to send Chiben Gakuen home.

Even with that high-stress game just to show that Kooriyama, while a Top 3 team, is still miles behind the Top 2, Tenri scores 8 runs in the first 5 innings of the final and run away with it 8-3 for their 23rd title, and 2nd consecutive.

Osaka
Sadly for Han-ai, they were not able to keep up with Osaka Touin, although perhaps most thought that they didn't have a chance anyways. Osaka Touin wins 8-1 for just their 6th title and first in 3 years.

In the more important 3rd place game, Osaka Shoudai Sakai edges out fellow university school Osaka Gakuindai 3-2 to win the last spot.

Wakayama
Kouyou indeed did Chiben Wakayama fits in their game, hopefully indicating that there may be a chance that they're in some ways here to stay in the prefecture.

For now though, Chiben Wakayama scores 3 in the top of the 9th to break a 2-2 tie to advance to the finals. Minoshima would be their opponents as Minabe had no chance losing 11-2 (no mercy rules here).

Minoshima has also been another team that has cracked the ceiling recently, and they did so once again scoring 4 runs between the 2nd and 3rd innings to take a 4-2 lead. Chiben got a run back in the 4th, but perhaps the pitching-minded tack now has hurt Chiben Wakayama as they couldn't find that equalizer. Minoshima wins 4-3 and earns their 10th title and 1st in 19 years!

Prefecturals
So the draw for the prefecturals go as follows:

Akashi Shougyou (Hyogo) vs. Han-ai (Osaka 2)
Oumi (Shiga) vs. Tenri (Nara)

and...

Osaka Shoudai Sakai (Osaka 3) vs. Minoshima (Wakayama)
Osaka Touin (Osaka 1) vs. Ritsumeikan Uji (Hyogo)

I think all of the game should be competitive with perhaps the exception of the Minoshima game. I like Minoshima and I hope they have a resurgence (not to take anything away from Kouyou which I like too).

Tenri and Osaka Touin should have the inside track to the title, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that someone else takes it as well.

As we head eastward, there are still prefectures with games going on, but by this time most have concluded.

Shiga
Shiga had no seeded teams, yet most of the well-known teams were split up across the board.

The last senbatsu team from Shiga, Hikone Higashi, and Hachiman Shougyou were in one quadrant, Kita-Ootsu and Oumi found themselves in their own quadrants, and Shiga Gakuen (2009 surprise natsu representative) and Hieizan (who came on in the late 90's) were in the final quadrant.

Perhaps expectedly, the first two notable teams to fall were the last two mentioned. Both Shiga Gakuen and Hieizan lost in the 3rd round by the score of 3-1 to Zeze and Ayaha respectively. All other teams continued to advance without incident in their respective brackets until they started to face each other.

That began when Hachiman Shougyou and Hikone Higashi faced off in the quarterfinals. That battle wound up being won by Hasshou 2-1 which set them up for a match against Kita-Ootsu in the semis. That unfortunately did not go as well for Hasshou as they wound up being mercy-ruled 7-0 in 7 innings.

Oumi wound up facing Ayaha in the semifinals, and while Ayaha took a 1-0 lead after 1, they ground their way to a 4-1 win.

And in the final, it was all Oumi (I love their powder blue unis by the way). They jumped out to a 7-1 lead before winning 7-4 giving them their 8th title and first in 2 years.

Kyoto
Kyoto plays their spring taikais in 2 stages, with pool play determining who advances to the main bracket. Kyoto Seishou got a free pass to the 2nd stage with their senbatsu appearance.

As is the case, the usual suspects advanced out of pool play - Kyoto Gaidai Nishi, Ritsumeikan Uji, Ryuukokudai Heian, Ritsumeikan and Fukuchiyama Seibi advanced along with some other known schools such as Otokuni and Tounan. An irrational favorite of mine - Kyoto Subaru had the unfortunate draw with Ritsumeikan and lost 2-1 in the pool final.

Tounan got their own quadrant and promptly handled Doushisha and Ootani to advance to the Best 4. Otokuni was the odd team out in a quadrant with Fukuchiyama Seibi and Ryuukokudai Heian. Those two then squared up against each other. Interestingly, Fukuchiyama Seibi took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then had both sides put up a 3-spot before Heian came back with 2 runs to tie the game. However, after 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th by Seibi would be the final difference in a 7-5 victory. So Tounan will have their hands full (it would have been either way really) with Fukuchiyama Seibi who is probably itching to get back into things after being suspended by the JHBF.

Ritsumeikan wound up being railroaded by Nishi-Jyouyou 8-0 who in turn got into a shootout against Kyoto Gaidai Nishi. That wound up being won by KGN 10-8. Kyoto Seishou wound up facing Ritsumeikan Uji and while they held their own, it wasn't enough as they lost 6-5.

Nara
Nara is in their Best 8, but in reality it's all about 3 schools - Tenri, Chiben Gakuen and Kooriyama. I'll let you know when something surprising happens or when these teams face each other.

Wakayama
In Wakayama, it's pretty much the same. Chiben Wakayama dominates the scene, although there are secondary players now such as Kouyou, Minoshima and Minabe, all of whom have joined Chiben Wakayama in the Best 4. Kouyou gets the first crack while the winner of Minoshima-Minabe will get the second one assuming Kouyou can't get the job done.

Osaka
Osaka maintains its 4 regional sets with the 4 winners being put into semifinal play.

Region A didn't have any major players which left the field wide open. Han-ai and Daishoudai both advanced to the final with ease with Han-ai advancing with a 11-4 win.

Region B had PL Gakuen, who stumbled but survived against Kinkidai Senshuu 5-4 then faced Daishoudai's cousin Daishoudai Sakai in the final. Sakai had 1-run games against Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan and Uenomiya Taishi. And perhaps that first game that PL had was a warning of hidden problems because they resurfaced again against Daishoudai Sakai, and they actually wound up getting mercy-ruled 7-0 in 7 innings!

Region C was dominated by Osaka Touin. Their closest games were in the semis and finals where they won 6-3 against Taishi Gakuindai and Higashi-Osakadai Kashiwara.

Region D was wide open as well, leaving Osaka Gakuindai to reach the final although they did have a close game against Kansai Souka. Joining them was Yao Suishou who only had one close game against Osaka Taiikudai Nami Shougyou aka Daitaidai Namishou. The final itself was not close as Osaka Gakuindai won 10-3.

Osaka Touin should be the favorite and that was shown in their 9-1 win against Osaka Gakuindai. Han-ai defeated Daishoudai Sakai in the semifinals 7-4 and will get a crack at the vaunted squad. Han-ai has shown some promise before, and I think it's nice they have a chance to win a title.

Hyogo
Hyogo breaks up its prefecturals into 17 regionals with each winner advancing to prefectural play with Houtoku Gakuen and Kakogawa Kita, senbatsu representatives this year, joining them.

Kansei Gakuin, the darlings in 2009, advanced from the Nishi-Hanshin region. Other notable teams joining them was Shinkou Gakuen, Ikuei (who upset Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku 8-6!), and Touyoudai Himeji.

(By the way, Haruhi's Nishinomiya Kita lost in the first round of the Nishi-Hanshin Region to Takara Higashi 10-3. When will the draw of Haruhi make a team that will get to Koushien??! Just kidding.)

Once we reached prefectural play though, all hell broke loose...

Houtoku Gakuen was shocked by Yashiro 3-1 in their first game...

Kansei Gakuin lost in their first game as well to Ichikawa 6-3... (see a pattern?)

and Shinkou Gakuen lost to Takigawa Dai-ni 6-1 in their first game.

The only major team left was Toyoudai Himeji and while not an upset, they defeated Kakogawa Kita 4-1.

With Toyoudai Himeji left, who admittedly hasn't been the same recently, the field became wide open. Yashiro shut out an already offensively-starved Mukonosou Sougou 4-0 to reach the finals while Akashi Shougyou used a 2-run 5th to defeat Touyoudai Himeji to reach the final.

In this improbable final, Akashi Shougyou used a 3-run 4th inning to get ahead of Yashiro. They would never look back as they would take their first ever spring title with a 5-3 win!

Okay, we start the wheels again and hit the remaining super-regionals.

Kinki
The final day of 1st round games featured a big upset. Shinkou Gakuen, Hyogo's #3 seed jumped on Shiga's champion Oumi 3-0 before Oumi got on the board with a run in the 5th and went on to win 4-1! Meanwhile there was a titanic matchup between Fukuchiyama Seibi and PL Gakuen to conclude 1st round play. Seibi jumped on PL with 2 runs in the first and played hang-on the rest of the way. PL managed to pull within 1 in the 8th, but couldn't push the douten run across.

Sunday would have possibly 2 possible blowouts. First off was Chiben Wakayama against Ritsumeikan Uji. But after taking the lead 1-0 in the 1st, a run in the 2nd and 3rd for Uji meant that Ritsumeikan had the lead! Chiben fires right back with runs in the 4th and 5th and they pulled back in front!

And then it all went wrong. 2 innings later, Uji explodes for 5 runs and takes a commanding 7-3 lead.

That seemed to wake up the Chiben squad though. But there wouldn't be much time left. A run in the 8th would cut the deficit to 3. Then in the 9th, they score 1 run... then 2! Chiben was within 1! But ace Kawabe would be able to record the final out eliminating the formidable powerhouse from the tournament and a place at senbatsu.

The 2nd game was also much closer than expected as well. Osaka Touin faced off against Ikuei (Hyogo 3) and ace Fukumoto shutout the Ikuei squad. However, Ikuei's ace Horita(?) only allowed 2 runs to the powerhouse in the loss. While they won't get an automatic bid, he sure looked good.

(Here's a video of Horita. 3/4 delivery it seems, a bit of control issues in the video)

Now the other quarterfinal games wouldn't be played until the following weekend, and that meant for those teams they would have to play 3 games in 5 days to win the super-regional. They'd get a day off in between each game, but still.

First off was one of my favorite teams Tenri against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku.

While Kobe Kokusaidai had taken the 1-0 lead in the 5th, Tenri asserted itself with 3 in the 6th. But then in the bottom of the 7th Kobe Kokusaidai takes out ace Nishiguchi with 4 runs of their own. Down 5-3 doesn't seem like a lot for Tenri, but they were unable to recover and fall to Okamoto and Kobe Kokusaidai.

Then there was Shinkou Gakuen versus Fukuchiyama Seibi. Shinkou gets the jump again, taking a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning! But in the 4th, Seibi manages to equalize. And then nothing happens. We head into extras and still nothing from either team. The 13th inning comes and goes and now there's a real possibility that we could have a tie game. But in the end, Shinkou would break through with the sayonara run in the 14th inning to send Fukuchiyama Seibi home and secure a spot at senbatsu!!

Now while the semifinalists are almost assuredly guaranteed a spot in senbatsu, it wouldn't hurt to have a good showing. Unfortunately for Ritsumeikan Uji, ace Kawabe just wasn't on his game, giving up 2 runs in the 1st and 2nd and another 5 in the 5th en route to a 9-1 7-inning loss to Osaka Touin.

And as for Shinkou Gakuen, Kobe Kokusaidai's Okamoto completely shut down their offense. Add sloppy conditions late and an 8-run 8th (and still going) gives the umpires a reason to shut down the game mercifully for Shinkou.

That meant it was down to Osaka Touin and Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku. And in a reversal, it was Osaka Touin that was blanked. Okamoto finishes out the run by his team with a 3-0 shutout. In the fall, Okamoto pitched 78.1 innings with an ERA of 1.15 and we'll see a lot more of him come the spring.


Chuugoku
We had a high quality Best 4 field, but things certainly didn't turn out as exciting as perhaps people though. In the first semi, Kanzei wound up having no trouble with Iwamichisuikan shutting them out 5-0. Meanwhile a 5-spot in the 3rd inning helped Kaisei beat Kouryou 5-3.

So it will be Kanzei and Kaisei who will probably get the bids. But there was the final and a spot in the Meiji Jingu tournament to be had.

Itohara for Kaisei opened the scoring in the top of the 1st with a solo homerun. Kanzei would quickly tie it back up in the bottom half of the frame. Then in the 3rd, Itohara gets another timely hit to put them ahead 2-1. And if that wasn't enough, he induces an error while stealing 2nd scoring 2 runs and extending the lead to 4-1.

But Kanzei would take one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. And in the 5th Yamaguchi gets an inside-the-park homerun for Kanzei pulling within 1. But ace Shirane would not let Kanzei equalize and Kaisei would take the Chuugoku super-regionals with a 4-3 win!


Shikoku
So we hit the semifinals with bids at senbatsu at stake.

Okou certainly was an underdog against Kochi. But they were the ones to open the scoring with a run in the 2nd. However, 6 unanswered runs in the next 3 innings by Kochi pretty much ended the game right then and there.

In the matchup between Ehime teams Saibi also got the jump on the top seeded team Imabari Nishi with a run in the 3rd. Imabari though would tie it up in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th and that would be the end of that.

Kochi and Imabari Nishi will be familiar faces at Koshien, but which one will advance to the national tournament?

Early on, it looked like Kochi would run away with it, building a 3-run lead. However, Imabari Nishi would turn the tables in the 4th, scoring 4 runs. Kochi would equalize in the 5th and it would stay that way, meaning extra innings in the championship game. In the 11th, ace Tsutsui would try to end it right there as his 2-out double put Kochi ahead 5-4.

Imabari Nishi though had other plans. With no out, Tsutsui would hit Nagai. A sac bunt would move him to 2nd, and in a bold move, he steals 3rd! With the tying run only 90 feet away, Sasaki singles to left tying the game! After another sac bunt to put the winning run in scoring position, Aida delivers the sayonara hit to right as Sasaki scores sending the Ehime team to the nationals!


Kyushu
Whoops. I never got around in the other update to cover what had happened to get to the Best 4. Well, now you'll get a recap of everything!

First up are the 3 1st round games that the #3 and #4 seeded teams from Fukuoka and Miyazaki were awarded. And perhaps surprisingly, they held up pretty well. Miyazaki Nichidai (Miyazaki 4) got the lead against Kagoshima Jyousei (Kagoshima 2). But after equalizing in the 6th, Jyousei would put 2 together in the 8th for a late-inning win. The new Imari representative, Imari Shougyou (Saga 2), couldn't keep up with Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou falling 7-0 in 8 innings. The same went for Oita (Oita 2), who gave up 10 runs in the 4th to Miyazaki Shougyou (Miyzaki 3), and were eliminated one inning later.

With those game completed, it was time for the top seeds to take the field. But instead of showing their dominance they instead muddied up the waters even more.

Jiyuugaoka (Fukuoka 1) had no trouble with Kagoshima Jyousei, shutting them out 4-0. Jyouhoku's (Kumamoto 2) ace Nogata gave up a first inning run to Meihou (Oita 1) and new ace Yamano (who struggled against Hanamaki Higashi) made it stick.

But in the bottom half of this side, things were different. Nichinan Gakuen (Miyazaki 1) had a 1-0 lead on Kadena (Okinawa 2), but Nakazaki would not be able to hold it. He would relinquish the lead in the 6th giving up 2 runs, and his team would never recover. And Sasebo Jitsugyou (Nagasaki 2) would get a jump on Saga Shouygou (Saga 1) scoring 2 in the 3rd and another 2 in the 7th while ace Hirakura would yield only 1 run in a complete game effort.

In the other side of the super-regionals, more 1 seeds would fall. Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto 1) would trail from wire-to-wire against Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou losing 6-2. Kagoshima Jitsugyou (Kagoshima 1) would suffer the same fate against Miyazaki Kougyou (Miyazaki 2) as Hamada would yield 1 run.

As for the last 2 games, Kounan's (Okinawa 1) Shimabukuro would continue to lead his team to Koshien yet again with a 3-1 win over Toukai Dai-go, while in the battle of commericial schools Nagasaki (Nagasaki 1) would slip through with a 1-0 win over Miyazaki.

So heading to the crucial quarterfinals, Saga and Kumamoto were already eliminated.

And the first probable bid would go to Jiyuugaoka as they were able to score 2 runs off of Yamano while their ace Ono made it interesting yielding a run in the 9th, but nothing more. Their opponent in the semis would be Kadena, who held a 5-0 lead against Sasebo Jitsugyou but allowed them to make it close with 4 in the bottom of the 9th.

Things were just as close on the other side as well. Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou and Miyazaki Kougyou were tied at 2 for most of the game until Miyazaki put up 3 in the 7th to take the lead for good. And Shimabukuro would continue to dominate in a 2-0 win over Nagashou.

This means that we'll see 2 Okinawa teams at Koshien! I know someone who'll like that!

But back to the super-regionals. Kadena continued to impress, this time against Jiyuugaoka. They shut out the Fukuoka squad 4-0 and secure a spot in the finals! Could it be an all-Okinawa final?

Sure looked like it early! Kounan would score 2 quick runs in the top of the 1st, but Miyazaki would come back with a run of their own against not Shimabukuro, but Sunagawa.

The decision to hold back Shimabukuro would prove costly though as Miyazaki would score 2 runs in the 3rd. Shimabukuro would enter the game, but the damage had been done. Miyazaki's ace Hamada would shut down the Kounan offense and advance to the finals with a 3-2 win.

So it would be a (relieved) Kadena facing not Kounan, but Miyazaki Kougyou. But the home field advantage would not be enough for them. Kadena would get 2 runs in the 3rd against Hamada and then extend that lead to 4. And while Ikehara for Kadena would give up 2 runs in the 7th, he cruised to victory giving his team its first ever Kyushu super-regional win!


Well, the majority of our field for the Spring Koshien is set, as well as our participants for the Meiji Jingu tournament. I'll recap that later today.