It's actually been a great day of games, even with the late blowout by Shuutoku. We now finish the day with two schools accustomed to Koushien - Hokushou and Jyousou Gakuin.
Hokushou may have blown out Komadai Tomakomai in the finals, but on the way there there were several close calls that almost sent Oogushi and the team from Otaru home. Oogushi doesn't throw hard at all, and as a result will be on eggshells the entire game.
Jyousou Gakuin had a strong Ibaraki taikai until the final where they trailed Kasumigaura with just 2 innings to go before cracking their defenses and advancing to Natsu Koushien.
Considering how average Oogushi is velo wise (though with plus control), Jyousou Gakuin has the advantage unless shown otherwise. I'd like to see the boys from Otaru do well, but it's hard to see them getting far.
Hokushou (Minami Hokkaido)
SS Tomita Kaito
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
LF Sawada Takumi
1B Domon Kanata
RF Murakami Kaito (#18)
P Oogushi Kazuya
3B Kaneko Yuuki
Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki)
CF Takashima Shouta
C Yoshinari Yuusuke (#9)
1B Ishii Daiki
3B Uchida Yasuhito (#2)
2B Shindou Suguru
SS Yoshizawa GakushiLF Ikezawa Kouhei
P Iida Harumi
RF Ganryuu Tatsuya (#15)
____________________________________________________________
15:45 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
First pitch is a flyout to right by Tomita.
Iida again a "regular" ace - fasball in themid 130's, slider and change in the 110s.
Igarashi work the count full before grounding out to 3rd. Yoshida also gets to 3 balls, but fouls out to Uchida for the 3rd out.
Bottom 1st
Oogushi begins his campaign by getting Takashima to ground to short. Yoshinari grounds out to the opposite side.
And in a bit of trickery, Obata starts outside and the pitch goes over the plate. Ishii makes good hard contact, but right to Igarashi for the 3rd out.
Top 2nd
Hokushou continuing to work the count. Obata goes 2-2 before being able to get around on a change inside for strike 3. Sawada works the count full but is way ahead of a changeup for Iida's 2nd K.
Domon also gets ahead of Iida 2-0, but goes after a pitch out of the zone and grounds to Uchida for the 3rd out. Looks like while Iida falls behind in counts, he doesn't give in with an easy strike.
Bottom 2nd
Uchida gets the first hit for both sides with a single back up the middle.
Shindou with the bunt, but Oogushi quickly is on it and fires a strike to 2nd to get the leadoff runner!
Yoshizawa up as the Jyousou ouen-dan plays a Waseda cheer song.
Oogushi paying a lot of attention to Shindou at 1st, the count runs full. But while Sasaki-kantoku goes for the hit and run, Yoshizawa hits it back up the middle where both Tomita and Igarashi are converging. Tomita flips to Igarashi and his throw to 1st, completes the double play!
Top 3rd
For a student body of 235, Hokushou has a good ouen-dan.
Murakami with a hard liner, but right to Uchida.
Oogushi hits a grounder to 2nd, but Shindou misplays the high hop and it trickles behind him. Kaneko with the sac bunt, but while it's off to his left, Iida falls off to the left and quickly gets to it, fires to Yoshizawa who goes back to Ishii for the double play!
Bottom 3rd
Ikezawa with a solid single though the left side, and Iida bunts him along to 2nd for last batter Ganryuu. Oogushi gets him to ground back up the middle. Tomita goes to 1st for the 2nd out, but now the opening run stands 90 feet away as the order flips back to the top and Takashima.
...who promptly screws himself into the ground on a slider down and away for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Hokushou still looking for a base hit, and Tomita fouls a pitch off his knee... ouch.
Hokushou ouen-dan playing "Train-Train", as he is jammed inside twice and fouls it back twice. And again...
He's straightening it out though as he hits one about 20 feet foul past the pole... And a hard liner that is about 15 feet foul down the 3rd base side. Iida tries a slider, but he just gets a piece of that one.
So Iida goes even further out... and Tomita flails for strike 3.
After a 1 pitch flyout by Igarashi, Yoshida follows that up with a solid single to left center!
And then takes off way too early and is run down by Yoshizawa for the 3rd out. But at least they have their first hit.
Bottom 4th
Yoshinari trying to get the offense started with a safety bunt, but fouls it off. Instead, he gets Oogushi's 1st walk and a small opening shows up
Bunt down the 3rd base line, Kaneko to Domon, AH!
I wonder if the shadows had something to do with it, because it's like he didn't see it at all and the shadows are halfways between the first base line and the line from 2nd to 3rd.
あ。。。。
Oogushi tries to go inside to Uchida, but he turns it right around to center! Yoshida running back... He stops!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder if Koushien is using the juiced balls, because there has been a f&@#ton of HRs early. Uchida adds to that total as he gives Jyousou Gakuin the 3-0 lead.
And after 2 quick outs thereafter, Oogushi gets himself into trouble again. He walks his 2nd batter this inning in Ikezawa, then Iida singles past Tomita.
Fortunately, Oogushi gets Ganryuu to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning, but down 3 will be a lot to ask for from Hokushou.
Top 5th
Cleanup batter Obata chases another ball outside and goes down for the 2nd straight AB. Not wanting to suffer the same fate, Sawada singles back up the middle.
Only to be a tick late getting back to 1st on a pickoff throw. 2 outs and Domon grounds to 3rd for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Takashima with a gapper to left center for a leadoff double. Sasaki-kantoku playing add-on has Yoshinari bunt the runner along...
And a pitch from Ooguchi goes 5-hole on Obata allowing Takashima to score making it 4-0 Jyousou.
Oogushi retires Ishii on a infield fly, and Uchida goes down swinging on a slider to end the inning. But Jyousou looks to be in control of this game as we head to the break,
Top 6th
Murakami gives Hokushou their 3rd base hit with a single back into center. Kawakami-kantoku will play for the single run as Oogushi lays down the bunt.
After a quick flyout from Kaneko, Murakami is picked off 2nd to end the inning. That's 3 pickoffs so far and we're only in the 6th!
Bottom 6th
#17 Gotou in the game now for Murakami and in RF.
Shindou with a single to right, and Sasaki-kantoku continuing to put pressure as Yoshizawa bunts him along.
Ikezawa with a blast to right over new RF Gotou and he's easily into 3rd with an RBI triple to make it 5-0.
Iida following with a well-executed squeeze and it's 6-0. Ganryuu flies out to end the inning, but Jyousou well on their way to the 2nd round.
Top 7th
Hokushou pretty much folding their tents now. Yoshida does connect for a 2-out double off the fence, but otherwise they go with a whimper.
Bottom 7th
And Oogushi's day is done. #11 Saitou Kouki comes in relief for the embattled ace.
Jyousou Gakuin looking to get out of the afternoon heat, goes down quickly in order well in control with a 6 run lead.
Top 8th
Yep, tents folded. Not much fight left from the boys up north as they go quickly in order.
Bottom 8th
#15 Nishiya comes in for Domon at 1B. He immediately has to try and pick a throw from Kaneko but can't. After a flyout to center from Shindou, he gets picked off. Saitou issues his first walk to Yoshizawa, but it's inconsequential as Saitou gets Ikezawa to end the inning.
Top 9th
Kawakami-kanoku empties the bench in the bottom of the order. #9 Takayama comes in for Saitou, and hits a liner back to Iida for the first out. #13 Kawabata comes in for Kaneko, but strikes out swinging.
Tomita's last AB as a HS player goes down on a check swing as Jyousou Gakuin advances with a 6-0 win.
There's not really a lot to say about this one. Oogushi looked okay early, but after the 3-run HR it didn't feel like they thought they were in it. A rather disappointing effort from Hokushou - I really thought they might have had more fight, but I guess not.
For Jyousou Gakuin, Iida faces one more than the minimum despite giving up 4 hits. (There were a lot of pickoffs). Might want to get some more practice in all things considered.
Notable Players
Iida Harumi (Jyosou Gakuin) - CG, SHO, 4 H, 7 K, 0 BB
Uchida Yasuhito (Jyosou Gakuin) - 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
Ikezawa Kouhei (Jyosou Gakuin) - 2-3, 3B, R, RBI, BB
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2B
Sawada Takumi (Hokushou) - 1-3
Murakami Kaito (Hokushou) - 1-3
Showing posts with label Hokushou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hokushou. Show all posts
Friday, August 9, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Day 10, Quarterfinal #2 - Hokushou (Hokkaido) vs. Urawa Gakuin (Saitama)
So Tsuruga Kehi has once again survived and advanced (though it was just more advancing and less surviving this time around). Who will be their opponent in 2 days?
Urawa Gakuin has yet to put a complete game together, but has still limited their opposition to just 1 run. First it was execution issues at the plate against Tosa, then versus Yamagata Chuo it was just an offense in malaise until the 2nd half of the game.
About the only thing that has been close to solid has been their ace Ojima, and even he has his own issues. Yet time and time again he manages to find a way out of the jam he and his team is in. I'm not sure I understand how because when you depend on contact as much as he generally does, balls are going to sneak through and find the open gaps.
So despite a 4-0 and 11-1 victories, I am still skeptical on their overall prospects.
And while it may not be a top-level team giving them a challenge, Hokushou is probably the best competition out there they've faced.
Hokuhsou has taken care of business against fairly weaker competition and now find themselves with a chance to reach the Best 4.
But something continues to bother me really. Ace Oogushi has put up rather strong strikeout numbers albeit against the aforementioned weaker competition. However, Oogushi barely touches 130 on the gun (for you mph guys that's 80 mph). That's certainly not fast and eventually it should catch up to you. The problem is that he's going to be tested immediately against the Kanto champions.
The Hokushou offense has put up decent run production, but it has been thanks to one big inning in each case. Otherwise, the offense has been rather limited. Facing Ojima should give them a fighting chance since he's not perhaps a fireballer that you'd see from a Kanto champion - but it's still rather sketchy.
Does Hokushou have a better shot than in most years? Sure. But I don't like their chances against Urawa Gakuin despite my doubts about the team.
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
1B Domon Kanata
RF Takayama Daisuke
P Oogushi Kazuya
LF Sawada Takumi
Urawa Gakuin (Saitama) - Kanto Champions
SS Takemura Haruki
2B Nie Hayato
CF Yamane Yuuta
3B Takada Ryouta
1B Kigure Naito
RF Saitou Ryousuke
P Ojima Kazuya
C Nishikawa Genki
RF Watanabe Takeru (#16)
____________________________________________________________
13:40 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, as the siren blares, Igarashi swings and grounds right to Kigure who steps to the bag and there's 1 down.
Nishiya after fouling a couple off, hits an infield popup. Takemura shifts to his left and makes the catch.
And Ojima makes a quick inning as Yoshida swings on the first pitch and grounds to Nie.
Bottom 1st
Good start for Oogushi as he gets ahead 0-2 on leadoff batter Takemura, who grounds back to him for out #1.
He turns around though and falls behind 3-0 to Nie and eventually walks him
Yamane with a grounder to the right side, but it hits Nie! He's out but Yamane is credited with a hit.
あ.
Takada crushes a pitch from Oogushi. And just like I thought, Urawa Gakuin takes advantage of Oogushi and immediately takes a 2-0 lead.
Kigure with a hard hit, but right to Yoshida for the 3rd out. But already Urawa Gakuin has taken the battle to Hokushou.
Top 2nd
I'm still a bit puzzled as to how Ojima continues to stifle his opposition despite not throwing hard.
About the only thing I can reason is that his control in general is so good that when the opposition puts the ball in play, it's almost never hard hit, and generally results in easy fielding plays.
Case in point here in the 2nd, after Obata flies out to right, Tomita goes after a pitch down in the zone and golfs it up to left, while Domon does get around on an inside pitch, but can't put enough oomph on it and flies out to center.
Bottom 2nd
Nishikawa with a grounder to the left side where Tomita almost looks like he ole's the ball as it goes into left. Sawada actually oles on the ball himself and Nishikawa takes off for 2nd! Throw from Yoshida was not nearly in time.
And I doubt Oogushi's plans were to create a DP opportunity by walking Ojima, but after getting ahead 1-2, that's exactly what he did.
Hattori tries the safety bunt, but pushes it foul. He shows it again, but this time pulls it back.
Now Mori-kantoku goes for the hit-and-run! Hattori grounds to 2nd, but it works as Igarashi's only play is to 1st, advancing the runners.
And it's back to the top of the lineup and Takemura, but Oogushi gets him to first pitch swing and ground to short to end the threat.
Top 3rd
Hokushou's batters continue to be baffled by Ojima. Sawada catches the ball on the inside part of the bat and pops out to Nie. For Oogushi, despite being ahead 3-0 the count runs full and then he does a half-hearted swing and grounds to Kigure.
Okamoto fouls 2 consecutive balls off himself, which has to hurt, then takes a ball inside to fill up the count. And the grittiness pays off as he lines one over a leaping Takemura into left.
Back to the top of the order and Igarashi, but Kawakami-kantoku tries to press the initiative by sending Okamoto! Throw from Nishikawa is on line and Okamoto has no shot. Inning over, but finally someone was make good contact on an Ojima offering.
Bottom 3rd
Well, Oogushi is back it seems. He makes Nie look awfully bad reaching out and chasing a slider away for the 1st out.
Yamane makes contact, but it's a ball right back to Oogushi who has the flip to 1st for the easy out.
And Takada has several good hacks on Oogushi's pitches, but they go all foul.
On the 9th pitch of the AB, he hits a ball back up the middle, but Igarashi makes a nice smothering grab and flip to 1st for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Igarashi back up to start the 4th tries to bunt his way aboard, but pops it foul. He manages to get ahead 3-1, but Ojima runs it full and a pitch up and in gives Hokushou a leadoff runner! Nishiya with the bunt up the 1st base line puts the runner in scoring position.
Yoshida rips one but foul down the 3rd base line.
But Yoshida chases a change low for the 2nd out. 2 down with cleanup batter Obata up.
Ojima though gets him to ground to 3rd! Takada with the ball and goes to 1st for the 3rd out!
That ball looked good for Obata, but again, not good contact for the Hokushou batters.
Bottom 4th
Kigure gets frozen on a slider inside for Oogushi's 2nd K.
It's a quick inning thereafter as Kigure grounds to Igarashi and Nishikawa hits a routine grounder to Tomita to retire the side.
Top 5th
Ojima doing his best Oogushi impression, throwing just as slow and getting just as good results.
In fact, he retires the side in just 8 pitches without a ball leaving the infield none of them being hit hard. All contact was made on pitches inside on the batters.
Bottom 5th
Ojima with a grounder past a diving Tomita into left and Uragaku has their first leadoff batter on base. Hattori immediately showing bunt.
But Oogushi can't find the strike zone! He falls behind 3-0 and walks him on 4 straight! Now there's runners on 1st and 2nd with no out! Worse yet, the lineup turns back over to Takemura!
Mori-kantoku actually has him bunt the runners over to set the table for Nie.
And now he calls for the safety squeeze, but Nie fouls it off!
What's this? After a pitch outside, Ojima is caught in between?! Missed sign perhaps as he's run down for the 2nd out! Hattori does advance to 3rd, but that's a pretty bad mixup for Uragaku!
Nie still trying to get the run home, checks his swing at 2-2 to fill up the count.
Nie goes down and drives one to right center! It splits the outfield and goes all the way to the wall! Hattori scores on the 2-out triple by Nie to make it a 3-0 game!
Wow, outfield was in and CF Yoshida was shaded to left, which was disastrous for that particular hit.
Oogushi not out of the woods yet falls behind 3-1 to Yamane.
Grounder to short, AHH!!!!
Tomita completely flubs on the ball and it trickles behind him! That means that Yamane reaches safely and it's a 4-0 ball game!
Takada flies out to right to end the inning, but a well placed hit to defeat the shift and an error cost Hokushou 2 more runs right before the break. While it's only 4 runs with 4 innings to go, it doesn't look good at all for the champions for Hokkaido.
Top 6th
With Hokushou up to bat, #13 Yamada is warming up in the bullpen. Will Oogushi not be able to finish the game?
Hokushou meanwhile is either pressing or completely lost. Oogushi first pitch swings and grounds to 2nd. Okamoto, who has the only hit so far gets under a slider and pops out to Hattori. And Igarashi is jammed and softly lines out to Hattori to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
Oogushi continues to struggle finding the zone. And after a couple of foul balls, he loses Kigure on a full count ball.
And now Obata lets a low ball deflect off his glove and towards the backstop! Kigure advances to 2nd. And now a sac bunt by Saitou advances him to 3rd.
SQUEEZE!!!
Mori-kantoku puts on the squeeze, but the pitch is outside and a diving Nishikawa can't make contact! Kigure is run down for the 2nd out and it looks like Oogushi will get out of the inning unscathed!
Nishikawa grounds to short and Tomita this time secures it for the 3rd out.
Top 7th
Hokushou swinging away at anything in the zone it seems. It's another 1-2-3 inning for Hokushou as this time Ojima takes just 6 pitches to retire the side.
Bottom 7th
After getting Ojima to reach on a pitch and pop out to Nishiya, he winds up walking Hattori for the 2nd time this game.
Uh oh. Back to Takemura, and Oogushi falls behind him 3-0... and walks him on 3 straight.
#13 Yamada continues to warm up in the bullpen as Kawakami-kantoku calls time.
Things continue to look worse for Oogushi as he continues to miss the zone. He falls behind Nie 2-0 before firing his first strike. But Uragaku isn't chasing and the balls aren't finding the strike zone.
And despite throwing a strike in this AB, he walks Nie as well to load the bases!
It's manrui, and at the worst possible time as Yamane steps in.
Oogushi finally gets a first pitch strike on the outside corner.
Oh dear... Yamane goes down and drives one to left! Sawada running back, but that is easily over his head! It bounces once before hitting the wall! It's a bases clearing double by Yamane to make it a 7-0 ballgame, effectively making Hokushou DOA.
Oogushi looks done, he continually misses low to Takada and walks him. That's the 4th one just this inning. Yet Kawakami-kantoku leaves him in.
And Kigure with a base hit to left. Oh...
Sawada whiffs on the ball and it 5-holes hiim all the way to the wall. Yoshida chases it down at the wall but by that time both runners have scored. And Kigure is waved in! Throw comes in and Kigure slides in ahead of the tag to make it 10-0.
That will put an end to Oogushi's day. Yamada comes in from the bullpen to take over. Also, Sawada is pulled and replaced by #17 Gotou.
Well, this is odd. After taking strike 1, #17 Maeda comes in to hit for Saitou.
Yamada seems to have trouble settling in, running the count full to Maeda. But he finally gets him to foul out to Domon near their dugout.
Nishikawa flies out to Yoshida to end the inning, and it's all elementary from here on out
Top 8th
Now we see why Mori-kantoku made the late PH change. #10 Yamaguchi comes in for PH Maeda and takes the hill. Ojima goes to RF.
Yamaguchi can pitch a touch faster than Ojima - upper 130's, with a slider in the 120s and curve in the 100s.
Tomita chases a slider down and away for the first out. Domon first pitch flies out to center, and Yamaguchi climbs the ladder on Gotou for a quick inning.
Bottom 8th
Ojima is retired for the 2nd straight AB as Yamaguchi handcuffs him for the first out.
Yamada doesn't look all that bad - all things considered.
I say that and Hattori hits a ball to left. New LF Gotou charges in, and plays it on a dangerous hop.
Oh, and then Takemura gets his first hit, a slicing single back up the middle. Perhaps I jinxed him?
Now Mori-kantoku pulls Nie back in and sends in #13 Itou to hit.
Yamada fights back to freeze Itou on a curve for the 2nd out. Still, that brings up Yamane...
And he singles to center. Looks like Mori-kantoku is pulling back a little as Hattori is not sent home.
Well, despite loading the bases Yamada records all 3 outs via the K as Takada is frozen on a slider inside for the 3rd out. Now if he could just avoid those base hits...
Top 9th
#14 Kawai comes in for PH Itou and comes in to play 2B.
#11 Murakami comes in to hit for reliever Yamada to start the inning. He makes contact, but grounds out to Takemura.
Okamoto first pitch fouls out to Takada and Igarashi first pitch grounds to Kigure to end the game. Urawa Gakuin advances to the semifinals for the first time since 1992!
And without really noticing it, Urawa Gakuin not only pitches a shutout, but Ojima and Yamaguchi 1-hit Hokushou! It really puts into context how outmatched Hokushou was this game.
Not to diminish their accomplishments though, they did reach the quarterfinals and that does count for something. But Oogushi was a bit of a glass ace in the sense that his foundation seemed more fragile than others. He did well all things considered, but Urawa Gakuin was just too much.
I guess I should start believing in Uragaku, but I still have my doubts on Ojima. He's proven me wrong so far though, and probably will if I continue to doubt him.
Notable Players
Ojima Kazuya (Urawa Gakuin) - W, 7 IP, 0 ER, H, K, BB
Yamane Yuuta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Takada Ryouta (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Nie Hayato (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-2, 3B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
Hattori Masamitsu (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB
Yamada Hiromu (Hokushou) - 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K
Okamoto Hyuuga (Hokushou) - 1-3
Urawa Gakuin has yet to put a complete game together, but has still limited their opposition to just 1 run. First it was execution issues at the plate against Tosa, then versus Yamagata Chuo it was just an offense in malaise until the 2nd half of the game.
About the only thing that has been close to solid has been their ace Ojima, and even he has his own issues. Yet time and time again he manages to find a way out of the jam he and his team is in. I'm not sure I understand how because when you depend on contact as much as he generally does, balls are going to sneak through and find the open gaps.
So despite a 4-0 and 11-1 victories, I am still skeptical on their overall prospects.
And while it may not be a top-level team giving them a challenge, Hokushou is probably the best competition out there they've faced.
Hokuhsou has taken care of business against fairly weaker competition and now find themselves with a chance to reach the Best 4.
But something continues to bother me really. Ace Oogushi has put up rather strong strikeout numbers albeit against the aforementioned weaker competition. However, Oogushi barely touches 130 on the gun (for you mph guys that's 80 mph). That's certainly not fast and eventually it should catch up to you. The problem is that he's going to be tested immediately against the Kanto champions.
The Hokushou offense has put up decent run production, but it has been thanks to one big inning in each case. Otherwise, the offense has been rather limited. Facing Ojima should give them a fighting chance since he's not perhaps a fireballer that you'd see from a Kanto champion - but it's still rather sketchy.
Does Hokushou have a better shot than in most years? Sure. But I don't like their chances against Urawa Gakuin despite my doubts about the team.
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
1B Domon Kanata
RF Takayama Daisuke
P Oogushi Kazuya
LF Sawada Takumi
Urawa Gakuin (Saitama) - Kanto Champions
SS Takemura Haruki
2B Nie Hayato
CF Yamane Yuuta
3B Takada Ryouta
1B Kigure Naito
RF Saitou Ryousuke
P Ojima Kazuya
C Nishikawa Genki
RF Watanabe Takeru (#16)
____________________________________________________________
13:40 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, as the siren blares, Igarashi swings and grounds right to Kigure who steps to the bag and there's 1 down.
Nishiya after fouling a couple off, hits an infield popup. Takemura shifts to his left and makes the catch.
And Ojima makes a quick inning as Yoshida swings on the first pitch and grounds to Nie.
Bottom 1st
Good start for Oogushi as he gets ahead 0-2 on leadoff batter Takemura, who grounds back to him for out #1.
He turns around though and falls behind 3-0 to Nie and eventually walks him
Yamane with a grounder to the right side, but it hits Nie! He's out but Yamane is credited with a hit.
あ.
Takada crushes a pitch from Oogushi. And just like I thought, Urawa Gakuin takes advantage of Oogushi and immediately takes a 2-0 lead.
Kigure with a hard hit, but right to Yoshida for the 3rd out. But already Urawa Gakuin has taken the battle to Hokushou.
Top 2nd
I'm still a bit puzzled as to how Ojima continues to stifle his opposition despite not throwing hard.
About the only thing I can reason is that his control in general is so good that when the opposition puts the ball in play, it's almost never hard hit, and generally results in easy fielding plays.
Case in point here in the 2nd, after Obata flies out to right, Tomita goes after a pitch down in the zone and golfs it up to left, while Domon does get around on an inside pitch, but can't put enough oomph on it and flies out to center.
Bottom 2nd
Nishikawa with a grounder to the left side where Tomita almost looks like he ole's the ball as it goes into left. Sawada actually oles on the ball himself and Nishikawa takes off for 2nd! Throw from Yoshida was not nearly in time.
And I doubt Oogushi's plans were to create a DP opportunity by walking Ojima, but after getting ahead 1-2, that's exactly what he did.
Hattori tries the safety bunt, but pushes it foul. He shows it again, but this time pulls it back.
Now Mori-kantoku goes for the hit-and-run! Hattori grounds to 2nd, but it works as Igarashi's only play is to 1st, advancing the runners.
And it's back to the top of the lineup and Takemura, but Oogushi gets him to first pitch swing and ground to short to end the threat.
Top 3rd
Hokushou's batters continue to be baffled by Ojima. Sawada catches the ball on the inside part of the bat and pops out to Nie. For Oogushi, despite being ahead 3-0 the count runs full and then he does a half-hearted swing and grounds to Kigure.
Okamoto fouls 2 consecutive balls off himself, which has to hurt, then takes a ball inside to fill up the count. And the grittiness pays off as he lines one over a leaping Takemura into left.
Back to the top of the order and Igarashi, but Kawakami-kantoku tries to press the initiative by sending Okamoto! Throw from Nishikawa is on line and Okamoto has no shot. Inning over, but finally someone was make good contact on an Ojima offering.
Bottom 3rd
Well, Oogushi is back it seems. He makes Nie look awfully bad reaching out and chasing a slider away for the 1st out.
Yamane makes contact, but it's a ball right back to Oogushi who has the flip to 1st for the easy out.
And Takada has several good hacks on Oogushi's pitches, but they go all foul.
On the 9th pitch of the AB, he hits a ball back up the middle, but Igarashi makes a nice smothering grab and flip to 1st for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Igarashi back up to start the 4th tries to bunt his way aboard, but pops it foul. He manages to get ahead 3-1, but Ojima runs it full and a pitch up and in gives Hokushou a leadoff runner! Nishiya with the bunt up the 1st base line puts the runner in scoring position.
Yoshida rips one but foul down the 3rd base line.
But Yoshida chases a change low for the 2nd out. 2 down with cleanup batter Obata up.
Ojima though gets him to ground to 3rd! Takada with the ball and goes to 1st for the 3rd out!
That ball looked good for Obata, but again, not good contact for the Hokushou batters.
Bottom 4th
Kigure gets frozen on a slider inside for Oogushi's 2nd K.
It's a quick inning thereafter as Kigure grounds to Igarashi and Nishikawa hits a routine grounder to Tomita to retire the side.
Top 5th
Ojima doing his best Oogushi impression, throwing just as slow and getting just as good results.
In fact, he retires the side in just 8 pitches without a ball leaving the infield none of them being hit hard. All contact was made on pitches inside on the batters.
Bottom 5th
Ojima with a grounder past a diving Tomita into left and Uragaku has their first leadoff batter on base. Hattori immediately showing bunt.
But Oogushi can't find the strike zone! He falls behind 3-0 and walks him on 4 straight! Now there's runners on 1st and 2nd with no out! Worse yet, the lineup turns back over to Takemura!
Mori-kantoku actually has him bunt the runners over to set the table for Nie.
And now he calls for the safety squeeze, but Nie fouls it off!
What's this? After a pitch outside, Ojima is caught in between?! Missed sign perhaps as he's run down for the 2nd out! Hattori does advance to 3rd, but that's a pretty bad mixup for Uragaku!
Nie still trying to get the run home, checks his swing at 2-2 to fill up the count.
Nie goes down and drives one to right center! It splits the outfield and goes all the way to the wall! Hattori scores on the 2-out triple by Nie to make it a 3-0 game!
Wow, outfield was in and CF Yoshida was shaded to left, which was disastrous for that particular hit.
Oogushi not out of the woods yet falls behind 3-1 to Yamane.
Grounder to short, AHH!!!!
Tomita completely flubs on the ball and it trickles behind him! That means that Yamane reaches safely and it's a 4-0 ball game!
Takada flies out to right to end the inning, but a well placed hit to defeat the shift and an error cost Hokushou 2 more runs right before the break. While it's only 4 runs with 4 innings to go, it doesn't look good at all for the champions for Hokkaido.
Top 6th
With Hokushou up to bat, #13 Yamada is warming up in the bullpen. Will Oogushi not be able to finish the game?
Hokushou meanwhile is either pressing or completely lost. Oogushi first pitch swings and grounds to 2nd. Okamoto, who has the only hit so far gets under a slider and pops out to Hattori. And Igarashi is jammed and softly lines out to Hattori to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
Oogushi continues to struggle finding the zone. And after a couple of foul balls, he loses Kigure on a full count ball.
And now Obata lets a low ball deflect off his glove and towards the backstop! Kigure advances to 2nd. And now a sac bunt by Saitou advances him to 3rd.
SQUEEZE!!!
Mori-kantoku puts on the squeeze, but the pitch is outside and a diving Nishikawa can't make contact! Kigure is run down for the 2nd out and it looks like Oogushi will get out of the inning unscathed!
Nishikawa grounds to short and Tomita this time secures it for the 3rd out.
Top 7th
Hokushou swinging away at anything in the zone it seems. It's another 1-2-3 inning for Hokushou as this time Ojima takes just 6 pitches to retire the side.
Bottom 7th
After getting Ojima to reach on a pitch and pop out to Nishiya, he winds up walking Hattori for the 2nd time this game.
Uh oh. Back to Takemura, and Oogushi falls behind him 3-0... and walks him on 3 straight.
#13 Yamada continues to warm up in the bullpen as Kawakami-kantoku calls time.
Things continue to look worse for Oogushi as he continues to miss the zone. He falls behind Nie 2-0 before firing his first strike. But Uragaku isn't chasing and the balls aren't finding the strike zone.
And despite throwing a strike in this AB, he walks Nie as well to load the bases!
It's manrui, and at the worst possible time as Yamane steps in.
Oogushi finally gets a first pitch strike on the outside corner.
Oh dear... Yamane goes down and drives one to left! Sawada running back, but that is easily over his head! It bounces once before hitting the wall! It's a bases clearing double by Yamane to make it a 7-0 ballgame, effectively making Hokushou DOA.
Oogushi looks done, he continually misses low to Takada and walks him. That's the 4th one just this inning. Yet Kawakami-kantoku leaves him in.
And Kigure with a base hit to left. Oh...
Sawada whiffs on the ball and it 5-holes hiim all the way to the wall. Yoshida chases it down at the wall but by that time both runners have scored. And Kigure is waved in! Throw comes in and Kigure slides in ahead of the tag to make it 10-0.
That will put an end to Oogushi's day. Yamada comes in from the bullpen to take over. Also, Sawada is pulled and replaced by #17 Gotou.
Well, this is odd. After taking strike 1, #17 Maeda comes in to hit for Saitou.
Yamada seems to have trouble settling in, running the count full to Maeda. But he finally gets him to foul out to Domon near their dugout.
Nishikawa flies out to Yoshida to end the inning, and it's all elementary from here on out
Top 8th
Now we see why Mori-kantoku made the late PH change. #10 Yamaguchi comes in for PH Maeda and takes the hill. Ojima goes to RF.
Yamaguchi can pitch a touch faster than Ojima - upper 130's, with a slider in the 120s and curve in the 100s.
Tomita chases a slider down and away for the first out. Domon first pitch flies out to center, and Yamaguchi climbs the ladder on Gotou for a quick inning.
Bottom 8th
Ojima is retired for the 2nd straight AB as Yamaguchi handcuffs him for the first out.
Yamada doesn't look all that bad - all things considered.
I say that and Hattori hits a ball to left. New LF Gotou charges in, and plays it on a dangerous hop.
Oh, and then Takemura gets his first hit, a slicing single back up the middle. Perhaps I jinxed him?
Now Mori-kantoku pulls Nie back in and sends in #13 Itou to hit.
Yamada fights back to freeze Itou on a curve for the 2nd out. Still, that brings up Yamane...
And he singles to center. Looks like Mori-kantoku is pulling back a little as Hattori is not sent home.
Well, despite loading the bases Yamada records all 3 outs via the K as Takada is frozen on a slider inside for the 3rd out. Now if he could just avoid those base hits...
Top 9th
#14 Kawai comes in for PH Itou and comes in to play 2B.
#11 Murakami comes in to hit for reliever Yamada to start the inning. He makes contact, but grounds out to Takemura.
Okamoto first pitch fouls out to Takada and Igarashi first pitch grounds to Kigure to end the game. Urawa Gakuin advances to the semifinals for the first time since 1992!
And without really noticing it, Urawa Gakuin not only pitches a shutout, but Ojima and Yamaguchi 1-hit Hokushou! It really puts into context how outmatched Hokushou was this game.
Not to diminish their accomplishments though, they did reach the quarterfinals and that does count for something. But Oogushi was a bit of a glass ace in the sense that his foundation seemed more fragile than others. He did well all things considered, but Urawa Gakuin was just too much.
I guess I should start believing in Uragaku, but I still have my doubts on Ojima. He's proven me wrong so far though, and probably will if I continue to doubt him.
Notable Players
Ojima Kazuya (Urawa Gakuin) - W, 7 IP, 0 ER, H, K, BB
Yamane Yuuta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Takada Ryouta (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Nie Hayato (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-2, 3B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
Hattori Masamitsu (Urawa Gakuin) - 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB
Yamada Hiromu (Hokushou) - 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K
Okamoto Hyuuga (Hokushou) - 1-3
Friday, March 29, 2013
Day 8, Game 1 - Shoushikan (Kagoshima) vs. Hokushou (Hokkaido)
Onto our first full day of action to determine our Best 8 pits two teams from across the country.
Shoushikan in their first appearance waited until the last minute to defeat fellow first-timers Yamato Kouryou 2-1. Thanks to a manrui 2-run double by Seki, they advance to the next round.
And yet, he's rewarded by being demoted to the #9 spot in the order - go figure.
The problem for Shoushikan is that a lot of their hits against Yamato Kouryou were actually from the bottom of the lineup with the table setters recording 0 hits. In fact, their best hitter was Seki, which makes the decision to send him to the bottom doubly questionable.
As for ace Yoshikuni, outside of a shaky 1st inning he looked pretty good - but at the same time the Yamato Kouryou batters didn't look good themselves. So it's really hard to give him a whole lot of credit. He gets some for sure, but he will have a tougher time here in the 2nd round.
That's because they're facing off against Hokkaido champs Hokushou. Now, being champions of Hokkaido hasn't really meant much in recent years. In fact, mostly it's been a "congratulations, thanks for playing" type of deal with the sole exception being the 2004-2006 seasons for Komadai Tomakomai.
They'll try to break it this year once again with ace Oogushi. But he's no different than any other pitcher out there right now really. And that's their problem.
Because while the offense did put up 7 runs against Komono, there was a lot of timely hits, but not a lot of power behind them. That's ok, as long as you continue to execute and get those timely hits. In a single game tournament format, that is a lot to ask of a team time and time again.
Still, having experience is better than having none, and Hokushou does have that over Shoushikan. They probably are the favorites to advance given the team makeup.
Shoushikan (Kagoshima) - Kyushu 3/4 seed
LF Nakamura Haruki
3B Sakanoue Masashi (#15)
CF Takeyama Masahiro
1B Imayoshi Kouhei
RF Hangeishi Yoshitsune
SS Hazeyama Ryouta (#16)
C Matsuura Hidehiko
P Yoshikuni Takuya
2B Seki Takuya
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
RF Takayama Daisuke
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
1B Domon Kanata
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
P Oogushi Kazuya
LF Sawada Takumi
____________________________________________________________
09:01 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Nakamura up and swinging, but fooled really badly on Oogushi's slow curves. Then gets "blown away" by a 125 kph fastball.
Sakanoue tries the safety bunt, but fouls it off.
Oogushi records his 2nd K as Sakanoue chases a slider down and away.
Takeyama reaches out and pokes a ball off the end of the bat into right for a base hit.
But the Shoushikan batters look rather lost at the plate, as if they've never seen someone throw like this. Imayoshi chases a screwball away and goes down for Oogushi's 3rd K already!
Bottom 1st
Takayama chases a high outside fastball and hits it right to Imayoshi. He has some trouble picking it up, but he manages to toss to Yoshikuni for the out.
Igarashi with a ball back up the middle past Yoshikuni and into center for a base hit!
But Yoshikuni has Igarashi caught breaking towards 2nd early! He tosses to Seki, but loses the ball in his tag attempt! He's safe!
It all seems odd because Yoshikuni took extra time to throw to 2nd, then threw it to Seki instead of Hazeyama who was covering the bag.
Yoshida up, and gets the count full after the Shoushikan battery call for an out pitch. And then Yoshikuni loses him!
Obata with a liner through to right! It's right at Hangeishi though and Igarashi has to hold at 3rd! Manrui for Hokushou early!
Yoshikuni hangs one! Tomita with a liner into left center! The outfield is in and has no chance for it! Takemura chases it all the way back to the wall as Tomita clears the bases with a triple! 3-0 Hokushou!
Things are not looking good for Shoushikan as Yoshikuni walks Domon on 4 straight.
Nishiya with a fly ball to right, but it's too short and Tomita can't advance.
But Hangeishi's throw is short and bounces past Imayoshi and dribbles towards home! Tomita charges home and scores on the error! 4-0 Hokushou!
The disastrous inning continues! Yoshikuni has his 2nd batter cheating off 1st! He throws to Imayoshi to start the rundown, but throws to 2nd too late and Domon slides in safely!
Finally Shoushikan gets out of the inning as Oogushi grounds to 3rd, but it's about as bad of a start as one could get.
Top 2nd
The comedy of errors continue, this time for Hokushou! Slow roller up the 1st base line and Domon can't pick it up! By the time he does it's too late!
Oy. Shoushikan gives it right back as Hangeishi is picked off 1st. All Ayukawa-kantoku can do is sigh.
Hazeyama has to chase a ball on the outer half and grounds to 2nd.
Oogushi has a little trouble pitching to Matsuura, but comes back to strike him out looking on a fastball down the middle.
Bottom 2nd
Sawada tries to bunt for a hit, but is easily retired by Yoshikuni.
Back to the top of the order, and Takayama hits a comebacker to Yoshikuni for his 2nd assist.
Hokushou oen-dan playing a faster version of Touch.
Igarashi with a grounder to the left side, Sakanoue dives but can't get it. Hazeyama backing up the play has it go off him and towards the foul line for a base it.
Now the oen-dan is playing Train-Train for Yoshida.
And the battery, so concerned about Hokushou stealing bases winds up walking Yoshida.
Obata with a solid liner, but right at Hangeishi for the 3rd out.
Top 3rd
Yoshikuni goes after the 1st pitch and fouls out to Domon near the bullpen.
Seki finally up, but he hits one back to Oogushi for the 2nd out.
And in a 5-pitch inning Nakamura grounds to 3rd!
Bottom 3rd
Tomita with a hard ball to 3rd, and it takes a high hop over Sakanoue into left for a base hit! Boy, when things don't go your way..
Domon is called by Kawakami-kantoku to bunt the runner over leaving it to Nishiya to get the runner home.
But all he can do is fly out to center.
Oogushi grounds to short and that's the inning.
Top 4th
The difference really between the two aces is that when Oogushi misses, it's in a safe place for the most part. Yoshikuni's missed over the plate and that's hurt him.
Sakanoue battling with Oogushi, but gets jammed and hits a soft popup to Igarashi in front of 2nd.
Takeyama doing the same, getting some decent cuts in, but fouling them all off. But Oogushi goes up and in and there's nothing Takeyama can do but miss and strike out.
Also what seems odd is that Oogushi isn't hitting 130, yet it looks like the batters can't catch up to it.
And Imayoshi is frozen on a fastball down the middle for Oogushi's 6th K!
Bottom 4th
Sawada with a good swing, but Takeyama races back from his moved up position to make the catch.
Sakanoue with a great smother of a short hop and throw to 1st for the 2nd out.
Yoshikuni can't get his first 1-2-3 inning as he walks Igarashi on 4 straight.
And that costs him! On the very next pitch, Yoshikuni again misses inside over the plate and Yoshida drives it to left center! That's over everyone's heads and that means Igarashi will score from 1st on the double to make it 5-0!
Obata just gets under one and flies to left for the 3rd out, but Hokushou continues to extend their lead!
Top 5th
Hangeishi making good contact, makes Takayama back up a bit to make the catch for the first out.
Hazeyama chases a screwball outside for Oogushi's 7th K.
And Matsuura pops out to Igarashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Tomita is retired for the first time has Yoshikuni gets him to swing and miss at a ball inside.
Domon first pitch grounds to 3rd, and then shortly thereafter Nishiya flies out to left! Yoshikuni has his first 1-2-3 inning of the game, but that's little consolation as his team finds themselves down a 5-spot to the Hokkaido champions as we hit the break!
Top 6th
Yoshikuni goes after the first pitch and grounds to short.
Seki finally gets on base, but by getting hit, not getting a hit.
Back to the top of the lineup and Nakamura. Behind by 5 runs, Ayakawa-kantoku is not bunting for a one-shot at a run.
That seems to backfire when he chases a screwball for the 2nd out.
Sakanoue takes a ball the other way into left for the teams 2nd hit of the game!
Takeyama with a ball to shallow center. Yoshida charging in, slides, but it falls in front of him! Seki comes in to score and Shoushikan is on the board at 5-1!
Sadly Imayoshi's struggles at the plate continue. He swings over another screwball for his 3rd K. But Shoushikan has finally started to cut down the deficit.
Bottom 6th
It finally looks like Yoshikuni has settled down as he gets Oogushi to ground to 1st.
But then Sawada turns around and hits one past a diving Sakanoue. Hazeyama backs up the play, but the throw isn't nearly in time.
Kawakami-kantoku tries the hit and run with Takayama, but he fouls out to Hazeyama.
Kawakami-kantoku continues to push the action as Sawada takes off for and steals 2nd!
But Yoshikuni finally retires Igarashi, though it's a hard liner to center.
Top 7th
Hangeishi starts off the Lucky 7 with a ball back up the middle for a leadoff single!
This time around though Ayakawa-kantoku does have Hazeyama bunt the runner along.
Matsuura though goes down swinging for the 2nd out. That's 10 K's for Oogushi!
Yoshikuni with a ball at 3rd, and it's just out of Nishiya's reach into left! Hangeishi has to hold up at 3rd as Kawakami-kantoku calls for time.
That brings up Seki for a timely hit.
He does it! On Oogushi's 100th pitch he scorches one past a diving Domon into right to score Hangeishi! It's 5-2! Looks like Shoushikan is finally making inroads!
But Nakamura still can't get a hit. He flies out to right to end the inning. 1 run is nice, but that won't get it done.
Bottom 7th
Yoshida with a high shallow popup down the left field line. Hazeyama and Takamura converge, but neither is calling for it! It falls in!! Yoshida, running all the way, reaches 2nd on the misplay!
Obata gets ahead on Yoshikuni, but winds up grounding to short unable to advance the runner.
Tomita with a grounder to the left side. Hazeyama with a great diving stop!! Throw to 3rd... and they get Yoshida! Nice play by the defense!
But Matsuura can't handle a pitch from Yoshikuni and Tomita advances to 2nd!
The unforced error hurts Shoushikan once again! Domon with a ball back up the middle, gets by a diving Seki into center! The throw home is cutoff and Hokushou extends the lead back to 4 at 6-2!
Nishiya grounds to short, but giving back a run kills the momentum that Shoushikan was building.
Top 8th
Down 4 with 2 innings to go means that Shoushikan will have to go for it and not sacrifice outs.
And Oogushi helps Shoushikan out here to start as he walks Sakanoue on 4 straight. Takeyama hits a chopper in front of the plate. Obata fields it up the 1st base line, fair! He quickly fires to first and just gets a sprinting Takeyama.
Imayoshi with a ball to center, Yoshida coming in and it drops in front! Sakanoue holds up at 3rd.
Ayukawa-kantoku, needing all he can get, pinch runs for cleanup batter Imayoshi. #6 Niihara comes in to run for him.
Hangeishi with a ball up the 1st base line. Domon with it, gives up the run for the out as he tags Hangeishi. 6-3 Hokushou.
Hazeyama chases another ball outside and hits it back to Oogushi for the 3rd out. One run not enough for Shoushikan at this rate.
Bottom 8th
#13 Maruyama comes in for PR Niihara to take over at 1B.
Hokushou fine to go down in order at this point as Oogushi looks poised to close it out.
Top 9th
7-8-9 batters due up for Shoushikan.
Matsuura goes down swinging on 3 straight for Oogushi's 11th K.
#18 Beppu will come in to hit for Yoshikuni.
Oogushi going after the batters with a 3-run lead. Beppu behind 0-2 pops out to Igarashi.
Seki with no chance to tie the game, swings on the first pitch and pops out to Nishiya to end the game! Hokushou advances to the Best 8 for the 2nd time in 4 years!
Hokushou was in control for most of the game as Shoushikan ace Yoshikuni stumbled out of the blocks. He finally settled down while the offense finally got going in the 2nd half of the game, but by then it was too late.
Meanwhile, the Shoushikan batters had the hardest time with Oogushi as he racked up 12 K's in the game - and we know he's probably one of the slowest pitchers out there which makes it all the more curious.
Things will not get any easier for them though as in all likelihood they will face Urawa Gakuin barring an amazing upset by Yamagata Chuo. The Kanto champions may be too much for Oogushi and the boys from Otaru to handle.
Notable Players
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - W, CG, 3 ER, 7 H, 12 K, BB, HBP
Tomita Kaito (Hokushou) - 2-4, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 2-2, 2 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB
Igarashi Ryuutarou (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2 R, BB, SB
Takeyama Masahiro (Shoushikan) - 2-4, RBI, K
Seki Takuya (Shoushikan) - 1-3, R, RBI, HBP
Shoushikan in their first appearance waited until the last minute to defeat fellow first-timers Yamato Kouryou 2-1. Thanks to a manrui 2-run double by Seki, they advance to the next round.
And yet, he's rewarded by being demoted to the #9 spot in the order - go figure.
The problem for Shoushikan is that a lot of their hits against Yamato Kouryou were actually from the bottom of the lineup with the table setters recording 0 hits. In fact, their best hitter was Seki, which makes the decision to send him to the bottom doubly questionable.
As for ace Yoshikuni, outside of a shaky 1st inning he looked pretty good - but at the same time the Yamato Kouryou batters didn't look good themselves. So it's really hard to give him a whole lot of credit. He gets some for sure, but he will have a tougher time here in the 2nd round.
That's because they're facing off against Hokkaido champs Hokushou. Now, being champions of Hokkaido hasn't really meant much in recent years. In fact, mostly it's been a "congratulations, thanks for playing" type of deal with the sole exception being the 2004-2006 seasons for Komadai Tomakomai.
They'll try to break it this year once again with ace Oogushi. But he's no different than any other pitcher out there right now really. And that's their problem.
Because while the offense did put up 7 runs against Komono, there was a lot of timely hits, but not a lot of power behind them. That's ok, as long as you continue to execute and get those timely hits. In a single game tournament format, that is a lot to ask of a team time and time again.
Still, having experience is better than having none, and Hokushou does have that over Shoushikan. They probably are the favorites to advance given the team makeup.
Shoushikan (Kagoshima) - Kyushu 3/4 seed
LF Nakamura Haruki
3B Sakanoue Masashi (#15)
CF Takeyama Masahiro
1B Imayoshi Kouhei
RF Hangeishi Yoshitsune
SS Hazeyama Ryouta (#16)
C Matsuura Hidehiko
P Yoshikuni Takuya
2B Seki Takuya
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
RF Takayama Daisuke
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
1B Domon Kanata
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
P Oogushi Kazuya
LF Sawada Takumi
____________________________________________________________
09:01 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Nakamura up and swinging, but fooled really badly on Oogushi's slow curves. Then gets "blown away" by a 125 kph fastball.
Sakanoue tries the safety bunt, but fouls it off.
Oogushi records his 2nd K as Sakanoue chases a slider down and away.
Takeyama reaches out and pokes a ball off the end of the bat into right for a base hit.
But the Shoushikan batters look rather lost at the plate, as if they've never seen someone throw like this. Imayoshi chases a screwball away and goes down for Oogushi's 3rd K already!
Bottom 1st
Takayama chases a high outside fastball and hits it right to Imayoshi. He has some trouble picking it up, but he manages to toss to Yoshikuni for the out.
Igarashi with a ball back up the middle past Yoshikuni and into center for a base hit!
But Yoshikuni has Igarashi caught breaking towards 2nd early! He tosses to Seki, but loses the ball in his tag attempt! He's safe!
It all seems odd because Yoshikuni took extra time to throw to 2nd, then threw it to Seki instead of Hazeyama who was covering the bag.
Yoshida up, and gets the count full after the Shoushikan battery call for an out pitch. And then Yoshikuni loses him!
Obata with a liner through to right! It's right at Hangeishi though and Igarashi has to hold at 3rd! Manrui for Hokushou early!
Yoshikuni hangs one! Tomita with a liner into left center! The outfield is in and has no chance for it! Takemura chases it all the way back to the wall as Tomita clears the bases with a triple! 3-0 Hokushou!
Things are not looking good for Shoushikan as Yoshikuni walks Domon on 4 straight.
Nishiya with a fly ball to right, but it's too short and Tomita can't advance.
But Hangeishi's throw is short and bounces past Imayoshi and dribbles towards home! Tomita charges home and scores on the error! 4-0 Hokushou!
The disastrous inning continues! Yoshikuni has his 2nd batter cheating off 1st! He throws to Imayoshi to start the rundown, but throws to 2nd too late and Domon slides in safely!
Finally Shoushikan gets out of the inning as Oogushi grounds to 3rd, but it's about as bad of a start as one could get.
Top 2nd
The comedy of errors continue, this time for Hokushou! Slow roller up the 1st base line and Domon can't pick it up! By the time he does it's too late!
Oy. Shoushikan gives it right back as Hangeishi is picked off 1st. All Ayukawa-kantoku can do is sigh.
Hazeyama has to chase a ball on the outer half and grounds to 2nd.
Oogushi has a little trouble pitching to Matsuura, but comes back to strike him out looking on a fastball down the middle.
Bottom 2nd
Sawada tries to bunt for a hit, but is easily retired by Yoshikuni.
Back to the top of the order, and Takayama hits a comebacker to Yoshikuni for his 2nd assist.
Hokushou oen-dan playing a faster version of Touch.
Igarashi with a grounder to the left side, Sakanoue dives but can't get it. Hazeyama backing up the play has it go off him and towards the foul line for a base it.
Now the oen-dan is playing Train-Train for Yoshida.
And the battery, so concerned about Hokushou stealing bases winds up walking Yoshida.
Obata with a solid liner, but right at Hangeishi for the 3rd out.
Top 3rd
Yoshikuni goes after the 1st pitch and fouls out to Domon near the bullpen.
Seki finally up, but he hits one back to Oogushi for the 2nd out.
And in a 5-pitch inning Nakamura grounds to 3rd!
Bottom 3rd
Tomita with a hard ball to 3rd, and it takes a high hop over Sakanoue into left for a base hit! Boy, when things don't go your way..
Domon is called by Kawakami-kantoku to bunt the runner over leaving it to Nishiya to get the runner home.
But all he can do is fly out to center.
Oogushi grounds to short and that's the inning.
Top 4th
The difference really between the two aces is that when Oogushi misses, it's in a safe place for the most part. Yoshikuni's missed over the plate and that's hurt him.
Sakanoue battling with Oogushi, but gets jammed and hits a soft popup to Igarashi in front of 2nd.
Takeyama doing the same, getting some decent cuts in, but fouling them all off. But Oogushi goes up and in and there's nothing Takeyama can do but miss and strike out.
Also what seems odd is that Oogushi isn't hitting 130, yet it looks like the batters can't catch up to it.
And Imayoshi is frozen on a fastball down the middle for Oogushi's 6th K!
Bottom 4th
Sawada with a good swing, but Takeyama races back from his moved up position to make the catch.
Sakanoue with a great smother of a short hop and throw to 1st for the 2nd out.
Yoshikuni can't get his first 1-2-3 inning as he walks Igarashi on 4 straight.
And that costs him! On the very next pitch, Yoshikuni again misses inside over the plate and Yoshida drives it to left center! That's over everyone's heads and that means Igarashi will score from 1st on the double to make it 5-0!
Obata just gets under one and flies to left for the 3rd out, but Hokushou continues to extend their lead!
Top 5th
Hangeishi making good contact, makes Takayama back up a bit to make the catch for the first out.
Hazeyama chases a screwball outside for Oogushi's 7th K.
And Matsuura pops out to Igarashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Tomita is retired for the first time has Yoshikuni gets him to swing and miss at a ball inside.
Domon first pitch grounds to 3rd, and then shortly thereafter Nishiya flies out to left! Yoshikuni has his first 1-2-3 inning of the game, but that's little consolation as his team finds themselves down a 5-spot to the Hokkaido champions as we hit the break!
Top 6th
Yoshikuni goes after the first pitch and grounds to short.
Seki finally gets on base, but by getting hit, not getting a hit.
Back to the top of the lineup and Nakamura. Behind by 5 runs, Ayakawa-kantoku is not bunting for a one-shot at a run.
That seems to backfire when he chases a screwball for the 2nd out.
Sakanoue takes a ball the other way into left for the teams 2nd hit of the game!
Takeyama with a ball to shallow center. Yoshida charging in, slides, but it falls in front of him! Seki comes in to score and Shoushikan is on the board at 5-1!
Sadly Imayoshi's struggles at the plate continue. He swings over another screwball for his 3rd K. But Shoushikan has finally started to cut down the deficit.
Bottom 6th
It finally looks like Yoshikuni has settled down as he gets Oogushi to ground to 1st.
But then Sawada turns around and hits one past a diving Sakanoue. Hazeyama backs up the play, but the throw isn't nearly in time.
Kawakami-kantoku tries the hit and run with Takayama, but he fouls out to Hazeyama.
Kawakami-kantoku continues to push the action as Sawada takes off for and steals 2nd!
But Yoshikuni finally retires Igarashi, though it's a hard liner to center.
Top 7th
Hangeishi starts off the Lucky 7 with a ball back up the middle for a leadoff single!
This time around though Ayakawa-kantoku does have Hazeyama bunt the runner along.
Matsuura though goes down swinging for the 2nd out. That's 10 K's for Oogushi!
Yoshikuni with a ball at 3rd, and it's just out of Nishiya's reach into left! Hangeishi has to hold up at 3rd as Kawakami-kantoku calls for time.
That brings up Seki for a timely hit.
He does it! On Oogushi's 100th pitch he scorches one past a diving Domon into right to score Hangeishi! It's 5-2! Looks like Shoushikan is finally making inroads!
But Nakamura still can't get a hit. He flies out to right to end the inning. 1 run is nice, but that won't get it done.
Bottom 7th
Yoshida with a high shallow popup down the left field line. Hazeyama and Takamura converge, but neither is calling for it! It falls in!! Yoshida, running all the way, reaches 2nd on the misplay!
Obata gets ahead on Yoshikuni, but winds up grounding to short unable to advance the runner.
Tomita with a grounder to the left side. Hazeyama with a great diving stop!! Throw to 3rd... and they get Yoshida! Nice play by the defense!
But Matsuura can't handle a pitch from Yoshikuni and Tomita advances to 2nd!
The unforced error hurts Shoushikan once again! Domon with a ball back up the middle, gets by a diving Seki into center! The throw home is cutoff and Hokushou extends the lead back to 4 at 6-2!
Nishiya grounds to short, but giving back a run kills the momentum that Shoushikan was building.
Top 8th
Down 4 with 2 innings to go means that Shoushikan will have to go for it and not sacrifice outs.
And Oogushi helps Shoushikan out here to start as he walks Sakanoue on 4 straight. Takeyama hits a chopper in front of the plate. Obata fields it up the 1st base line, fair! He quickly fires to first and just gets a sprinting Takeyama.
Imayoshi with a ball to center, Yoshida coming in and it drops in front! Sakanoue holds up at 3rd.
Ayukawa-kantoku, needing all he can get, pinch runs for cleanup batter Imayoshi. #6 Niihara comes in to run for him.
Hangeishi with a ball up the 1st base line. Domon with it, gives up the run for the out as he tags Hangeishi. 6-3 Hokushou.
Hazeyama chases another ball outside and hits it back to Oogushi for the 3rd out. One run not enough for Shoushikan at this rate.
Bottom 8th
#13 Maruyama comes in for PR Niihara to take over at 1B.
Hokushou fine to go down in order at this point as Oogushi looks poised to close it out.
Top 9th
7-8-9 batters due up for Shoushikan.
Matsuura goes down swinging on 3 straight for Oogushi's 11th K.
#18 Beppu will come in to hit for Yoshikuni.
Oogushi going after the batters with a 3-run lead. Beppu behind 0-2 pops out to Igarashi.
Seki with no chance to tie the game, swings on the first pitch and pops out to Nishiya to end the game! Hokushou advances to the Best 8 for the 2nd time in 4 years!
Hokushou was in control for most of the game as Shoushikan ace Yoshikuni stumbled out of the blocks. He finally settled down while the offense finally got going in the 2nd half of the game, but by then it was too late.
Meanwhile, the Shoushikan batters had the hardest time with Oogushi as he racked up 12 K's in the game - and we know he's probably one of the slowest pitchers out there which makes it all the more curious.
Things will not get any easier for them though as in all likelihood they will face Urawa Gakuin barring an amazing upset by Yamagata Chuo. The Kanto champions may be too much for Oogushi and the boys from Otaru to handle.
Notable Players
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - W, CG, 3 ER, 7 H, 12 K, BB, HBP
Tomita Kaito (Hokushou) - 2-4, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 2-2, 2 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB
Igarashi Ryuutarou (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2 R, BB, SB
Takeyama Masahiro (Shoushikan) - 2-4, RBI, K
Seki Takuya (Shoushikan) - 1-3, R, RBI, HBP
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Day 3, Game 2 - Hokushou (Hokkaido) vs. Komono (Mie)
Our sandwich game of the day features 2 schools whose numbers on the surface look gaudy, but may not be as great as it seems.
First of all is Komono, the Tokai Runner-up. Out of the 8 games in the prefecturals, they were only challenged in 2 of them - against Ujiyamada Shougyou in the quarterfinals, and Inabe Sougou Gakuen in the finals, then breezed through to the finals where they were soundly defeated by Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou.
Southpaw Yamanaka Kyougo is the ace for Komono. A quick worker, he doesn't throw particularly hard (low 130s). He still manages 8 K/9, and a WHIP of 1.15. Toda-kantoku doesn't really trust anyone else on the mound, so it'll be Yamanaka or bust with this team.
Offensively, the numbers look impressive. Komomo as a team had a slash line of 0.391/0.440/0.542. But again, about 75% of their games were not against top-tier competition. The telling line is the Tokai final against Kengifushou. They managed just 5 hits, struck out 10 times, and lost 9-3.
If you could focus on some batters, it would be leadoff batter Kobayashi, cleanup batter Yoshitomi, and ace Yamanaka. But it's hard to think this team hits as well as the numbers say.
Hokushou is back at Haru Koushien once again after winning the Hokkaido super-regional for the 2nd straight year. Their notable games were against Engaru and Komadai Tomakomai in the super-regionals, then Kyoto Shouei-Okinawa Shougaku-Sendai Ikuei in the Meiji Jingu taikai.
Oogushi Kazuya was covered last year, so I won't go into too much detail. But he has improved his strikeout numbers striking out 6.86 batters per 9. However, he still allows more baserunners than he should - especially as they hit the upper levels of the taikais. Kawakami-kantoku did go to reliever Saitou, who did keep Sendai Ikuei scorless for 2 innings (albeit in a blowout), and carries good peripherals for a small sample size (12.2 IP).
Hokushou's slash line also looks gaudy. At a stellar 0.369/0.432/0.506, they too look like they can storm the field. But again a lot of those numbers were probably put up early. Move on to the Meiji Jingu taikai and they score a mere 6 runs in 3 games. So it's hard to take the overall stats at face value.
So I guess it's a matter of which team is less of a pretender than the other. But I can't really tell.
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
RF Takayama Daisuke
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
LF Sawada Takumi
1B Domon Kanata
P Oogushi Kazuya
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
Komono (Mie) - Tokai Runner-up
SS Kobayashi Teruya
RF Akizu Kouki
CF Uchida Michihisa
1B Yoshitomi Daiki
3B Ogawa Arashi
P Yamanaka Kyougo
LF Jinno Hayato
2B Nishiya Keisuke (#14)
C Oono Takahiro
____________________________________________________________
11:30 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Yamanaka looks good to start, striking out Takayama and getting a first pitch out from Igarashi. Yoshida ruins the vibe as he lines a ball to center for a base hit.
Then promptly steals 2nd easily.
Yamanaka is apparently in a bit out of sorts as he then proceeds to walk Obata.
Yamanaka has a bit of a wider selection of pitches, including a 2-seamer and a shuuto.
He gets out of the jam as Tomita swings on a curve and hits a routine grounder to Nishiya for the out.
Bottom 1st
Well, it's a good start for Oogushi. After a quick flyout from leadoff man Kobayashi, he chets both Akizu and Uchida to chase balls in the dirt for 2 strikeouts..
Top 2nd
Sawada starts off the 2nd with a ball back up the middle. Kobayashi sprinting towards 2nd dives, but can't reach it. Man on with no outs, and Domon promptly bunts him along for Oogushi.
Ahead in the count 3-1, Oogushi swings away but pops it up to Kobayashi for the 2nd out.
Nishiya does the same on his AB as Yoshitomi catches it in foul territory for the 3rd out.
Bottom 2nd
For some reason I thought Komono's jerseys were different. Also I don't think I've had a game where each team had a player of the same name. Same team, sure (Saitou Yuuki).
Holy crap Yoshitomi is huge. 181 cm, 112 kg??!!
And the ping from the bat is LOUD. Though all it is is a comebacker to Oogushi.
Ogawa gets Komono their first hit, a scooter past a diving Domon into right.
Yamanaka swinging away, hits a grounder to 3rd. Nishiya goes to 2nd and barely gets the lead runner.
Jinno takes the 1-0 fastball and singles through the left side! Small opportunity here for Komono!
Nishiya reaches down and hits a short fly to left center! Sawada sprinting over, makes the leaping catch to retire the side! Nice play by Sawada!
Top 3rd
Takayama comes up for his 2nd AB, and once again he battles with Yamenaka. He fouls off several pitches before blooping one over Kobayashi into left.
Igarashi lays down the bunt, but it's right at Yamanaka! He goes to 2nd, but the runner is safe! The ball got there in time, but the replays show that Kobayashi wasn't on the bag!
Yoshida up and even with the extra runner he's not bunting. But he grounds to short who flips to Nishiya and that's all they can get.
Obata with a hard liner, it goes off Yoshitomo's glove and deflects high in the air into right! Takayana rounds 3rd and he scores! Hokushou opens the scoring here in the 3rd to lead 1-0!
Yamanaka retires the next two batters, but they take the lead!
Bottom 3rd
Oono looks to get the run back quickly as he lines one to left for a base hit. Kobayashi bunts him over.
Akizu can't get a base hit, but does the next best thing and moves him over again after grounding to 1st.
Uchida with a liner to right, but Takayama playing in sprints to his right and makes the catch! Komono threatens, but can't bring the run home!
Top 4th
Domon gets his bat around on a high pitch and bloops it into right for a leadoff single!
Oogushi tries to lay down the bunt, but falls behind 0-2. Kawakami-kantoku asks him to three bunt, and he does, but right at Yamanaka! He goes to 2nd for one, but Domon's takeout slide forces a bad throw that gets away from Yoshitomi allowing Oogushi to take 2nd.
So it's pretty much the same.
But neither Nishiya nor Takayama can do anything, flying out to end the inning.
Bottom 4th
Yoshitomi steps in again, and hits a hard grounder to 3rd. Nishiya makes the diving stop, and makes a quick throw to first that beats a diving Yoshitomi.
Man, he's pretty fast for such a big guy.
Ogawa hits a fly to deep left center, Sawada and Yoshida converge on it and it's Yoshida who makes the catch.
And Yamanaka goes down swinging on an offspeed pitch in the dirt to end the inning.
Top 5th
Igarashi with a base hit to right to start off the 5th.
Yoshida with a drive to right center! Akizu sprinting back to the fence and it's out of his reach! Igarashi rounding 3rd, heading home, and the ball it cut off! Yoshida gives Hokushou the 2-0 lead! Looks like Yamanakai left that one in the zone.
Oobata with a ball through the infield to left and there's runners at the corners now for Hokushou! Oono comes out to have a small chat with Yamanaka.
Tomita with a fly to shallow right. Akizu charges in, slides, and just makes the catch! Runners hold at their bases.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Kawakami-kantoku calls for the squeeze, but it's a ball in the dirt and Sawada can't make contact! Yoshida is left to dry and is run down. Obata does advance to 2nd on the play. It doesn't matter though as Sawada soon after grounds out to 2nd. Nishiya makes a great charge and throw for the 3rd out. But Hokushou extends their lead thanks to a great hit by Yoshida.
Bottom 5th
Huh, I think this is the first time I've heard Cruel Angel's Thesis this tournament for a batter as Komono's Nishiya Keisuke steps in.
Anyways, Oogushi was making quick work of Komono here in the 5th with two quick groundouts to Igarashi. And while Oono makes it a little more difficult working the count full, Oogushi blows a ball by him to retire the side.
So we hit the break with Hokushou leading 2-0. Oogushi doesn't look all that different as he's getting mostly weak contact from his batters, while Hokushou's batters are getting solid knocks in against ace Yamanaka. Too many balls in the wrong parts of the zone have led to the 2 runs on the board.
Top 6th
Domon with a hit off the end of the bat, bloops one over Nishiya into right, and is dutifully moved along.
Nishiya with a hard hit up the 3rd base line, and Ogawa makes a great stop. But the throw to first is way high and goes to the fence! Nishiya advances to 2nd on the error!
No bunting again with Takayama up, but he grounds out to short. Runners go back to their bases.
Igarashi with a grounder to 2nd. Nishiya makes a great pick, but double cluches! He loses the ball! Makes a desparate throw and it's not in time! Everyone's safe, Domon scores, and Hokushou leads 3-0!!
After a ball, Toda-kantoku calls time.
On the next pitch Kawakami-kantoku sends Igarashi! The throw is cutoff by Kobayashi!
And it looks like with first open, they'll walk Yoshida and pitch to Obata. Which isn't that much of a benefit except for the force play.
The Komono battery is careful, but pitch themselves into a corner when they run the count full.
Obata hits a slider to the left side! Ogawa and Kobayashi both dive, but the ball goes right between them into left! 2 runners come in to score and Hokushou has opened the flood gates here in the 6th! It's 5-0!
They also go full on Tomita, and he hits a ball by Ogawa into left! Yoshida is sent home from 2nd, and the throw from Jinno isn't in time! Obata heads to 3rd on the throw and just beats the return throw. It's now 6-0.
Sawada the 9th batter up for Hokushou. Kawakami-kantoku has Tomita try to steal 2nd, but he stops halfway! Will they try and sneak Obata home?
Yes! But the throw from Nishiya is in time to get Obata to end the inning. Still, Hokushou puts up a 4-spot after the break and Komono is in a lot of trouble.
Bottom 6th
Kobayashi treis to get the offense started with a base hit back up the middle.
And afrter running the count full, Akizu pulls a ball through the left side and Komono has their first good chance since the 3rd!
Kawakami-kantoku calls for time.
Uchida tries for the safety bunt, but it goes foul!
The bunt sign is taken off, but Uchida swings and misses for strike 2.
He hits one hard to 1st, but Domon maks a great pick and goes to the bag for the 1st out. That brings up Yoshitomi. Will they go after him with 1st base open?
It looks like it.
And they get Yoshitomi in front of an off-speed pitch! He makes contact, but it's a fly to center for the 2nd out! That'll leave it to Ogawa to try and get Komono their first run.
He just misses one and fouls it straight back!
And he chases a high pitch and grounds it to 2nd! Igarashi with the pick and throw for the out, and Komono is still shutout!
Top 7th
#14 Akao comes in to hit for Sawada to start the inning. And he earns a walk, as #10 Urashima warms up for Komono.
Domon tries to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 1-2. Swinging away, he does the same thing as Kobayashi's only play on the grounder is to 1st.
Oogushi tries to bloop a ball in to shallow right, but Nishiya sprints back to make the catch.
And a comeback to the mound by Nishiya ends the inning.
Bottom 7th
#17 Gotou comes in for Akao and takes over in LF.
Yamanaka hits a ball in the inside part of his bat, but with enough oomph to get into center for a base hit. Down 6, Toda-kantoku will not be bunting.
Jinno hits a hard ball to 3rd, Nishiya makes a good stop, looks to 2nd, but goes to 1st for the sure out.
Nishiya with a grounder to 2nd, but it will not advance the runner. So runner on 2nd still with two outs for #9 batter Oono.
And once again, a Komono batter chases a ball in the dirt for strike 3. Side retired.
Top 8th
Yamanaka almst geta a clean inning, but Yoshida collects his 3rd hit of the day, a nice single up the middle.
And perhaps to get some practice, Kawakami-kantoku sends Yoshida to 2nd and he's in safely.
Ow. Obata is hit on the arm by Yamanaka. Though considering how he's hit, that may not be a bad thing.
But Tomita puts an end to that though with a base hit to center, scoring Yoshida to make it 7-0.
#11 Murakami comes in to hit for Gotou, and Yamanaka has to defend his life on a comebacker. He makes the play though and the side is retired.
Bottom 8th
Murakami stays in to play RF, Takayama shifts to LF.
Kobayashi gets his 2nd hit, a ringing single to right. Akizu not bunting here, earns a walk as Oogushi can't find the strike zone!
Uchida with a hard liner to right, but Murakami is there to make the catch.
One down and Yoshitomi steps in.
He knows he won't get anything to hit, and that's evident by the fastballs away and the off-speed pitches in the dirt. Still, he works the count to 2-2 and fouls off a pitch.
But Oogushi wins the battle as he locates a fastball inside for strike 3!
Ogawa grounds to 2nd on the next pitch and Komono is denied once again.
Top 9th
#10 Urashima comes in for Jinno and takes over on the mound as Yamanaka shifts to LF.
And right away, he hits 142 and 143 on the gun.
Domon grounds to 1st and there's one away.
Looks like the main problem with Urashima, and why he probably wears #10 is that despite hitting 145 just now, his control is not that good at all.
Oogushi finally collects his first hit, a solid single to right.
Nishiya also makes solid contact, but right at his namesake who starts the 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom 9th
Komono not giving up in preventing the shutout at least. Yamanaka lifts one into center for a base hit. He's lifted for #13 Tokimitsu while #4 Saji hits for Urashima.
After falling behind 0-2, he lays off a couple of pitches outside, but can't hold off a change in the dirt for strike 3.
Toda-kantoku emptying his bench as #11 Niimi hits for Nishiya, but he grounds into the 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
So Hokushou advances to the next round to face Shoushikan behind a great performance from Oogushi. For Komono, its another one and done appearance for their team. Pressure was put on Yamanaka and the defense right from the get-go and they just couldn't get enough traction at the plate.
Notable Players
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - CG, W, SHO, 8 H, 7 K, BB
Obata Hiroki (Hokushou) - 3-4, 3 RBI, BB, HBP
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 SB
Yamanaka Kyougo (Komono) - 2-4, K
Kobayashi Teruya (Komono) 2-3
First of all is Komono, the Tokai Runner-up. Out of the 8 games in the prefecturals, they were only challenged in 2 of them - against Ujiyamada Shougyou in the quarterfinals, and Inabe Sougou Gakuen in the finals, then breezed through to the finals where they were soundly defeated by Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou.
Southpaw Yamanaka Kyougo is the ace for Komono. A quick worker, he doesn't throw particularly hard (low 130s). He still manages 8 K/9, and a WHIP of 1.15. Toda-kantoku doesn't really trust anyone else on the mound, so it'll be Yamanaka or bust with this team.
Offensively, the numbers look impressive. Komomo as a team had a slash line of 0.391/0.440/0.542. But again, about 75% of their games were not against top-tier competition. The telling line is the Tokai final against Kengifushou. They managed just 5 hits, struck out 10 times, and lost 9-3.
If you could focus on some batters, it would be leadoff batter Kobayashi, cleanup batter Yoshitomi, and ace Yamanaka. But it's hard to think this team hits as well as the numbers say.
Hokushou is back at Haru Koushien once again after winning the Hokkaido super-regional for the 2nd straight year. Their notable games were against Engaru and Komadai Tomakomai in the super-regionals, then Kyoto Shouei-Okinawa Shougaku-Sendai Ikuei in the Meiji Jingu taikai.
Oogushi Kazuya was covered last year, so I won't go into too much detail. But he has improved his strikeout numbers striking out 6.86 batters per 9. However, he still allows more baserunners than he should - especially as they hit the upper levels of the taikais. Kawakami-kantoku did go to reliever Saitou, who did keep Sendai Ikuei scorless for 2 innings (albeit in a blowout), and carries good peripherals for a small sample size (12.2 IP).
Hokushou's slash line also looks gaudy. At a stellar 0.369/0.432/0.506, they too look like they can storm the field. But again a lot of those numbers were probably put up early. Move on to the Meiji Jingu taikai and they score a mere 6 runs in 3 games. So it's hard to take the overall stats at face value.
So I guess it's a matter of which team is less of a pretender than the other. But I can't really tell.
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
RF Takayama Daisuke
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
LF Sawada Takumi
1B Domon Kanata
P Oogushi Kazuya
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
Komono (Mie) - Tokai Runner-up
SS Kobayashi Teruya
RF Akizu Kouki
CF Uchida Michihisa
1B Yoshitomi Daiki
3B Ogawa Arashi
P Yamanaka Kyougo
LF Jinno Hayato
2B Nishiya Keisuke (#14)
C Oono Takahiro
____________________________________________________________
11:30 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Yamanaka looks good to start, striking out Takayama and getting a first pitch out from Igarashi. Yoshida ruins the vibe as he lines a ball to center for a base hit.
Then promptly steals 2nd easily.
Yamanaka is apparently in a bit out of sorts as he then proceeds to walk Obata.
Yamanaka has a bit of a wider selection of pitches, including a 2-seamer and a shuuto.
He gets out of the jam as Tomita swings on a curve and hits a routine grounder to Nishiya for the out.
Bottom 1st
Well, it's a good start for Oogushi. After a quick flyout from leadoff man Kobayashi, he chets both Akizu and Uchida to chase balls in the dirt for 2 strikeouts..
Top 2nd
Sawada starts off the 2nd with a ball back up the middle. Kobayashi sprinting towards 2nd dives, but can't reach it. Man on with no outs, and Domon promptly bunts him along for Oogushi.
Ahead in the count 3-1, Oogushi swings away but pops it up to Kobayashi for the 2nd out.
Nishiya does the same on his AB as Yoshitomi catches it in foul territory for the 3rd out.
Bottom 2nd
For some reason I thought Komono's jerseys were different. Also I don't think I've had a game where each team had a player of the same name. Same team, sure (Saitou Yuuki).
Holy crap Yoshitomi is huge. 181 cm, 112 kg??!!
And the ping from the bat is LOUD. Though all it is is a comebacker to Oogushi.
Ogawa gets Komono their first hit, a scooter past a diving Domon into right.
Yamanaka swinging away, hits a grounder to 3rd. Nishiya goes to 2nd and barely gets the lead runner.
Jinno takes the 1-0 fastball and singles through the left side! Small opportunity here for Komono!
Nishiya reaches down and hits a short fly to left center! Sawada sprinting over, makes the leaping catch to retire the side! Nice play by Sawada!
Top 3rd
Takayama comes up for his 2nd AB, and once again he battles with Yamenaka. He fouls off several pitches before blooping one over Kobayashi into left.
Igarashi lays down the bunt, but it's right at Yamanaka! He goes to 2nd, but the runner is safe! The ball got there in time, but the replays show that Kobayashi wasn't on the bag!
Yoshida up and even with the extra runner he's not bunting. But he grounds to short who flips to Nishiya and that's all they can get.
Obata with a hard liner, it goes off Yoshitomo's glove and deflects high in the air into right! Takayana rounds 3rd and he scores! Hokushou opens the scoring here in the 3rd to lead 1-0!
Yamanaka retires the next two batters, but they take the lead!
Bottom 3rd
Oono looks to get the run back quickly as he lines one to left for a base hit. Kobayashi bunts him over.
Akizu can't get a base hit, but does the next best thing and moves him over again after grounding to 1st.
Uchida with a liner to right, but Takayama playing in sprints to his right and makes the catch! Komono threatens, but can't bring the run home!
Top 4th
Domon gets his bat around on a high pitch and bloops it into right for a leadoff single!
Oogushi tries to lay down the bunt, but falls behind 0-2. Kawakami-kantoku asks him to three bunt, and he does, but right at Yamanaka! He goes to 2nd for one, but Domon's takeout slide forces a bad throw that gets away from Yoshitomi allowing Oogushi to take 2nd.
So it's pretty much the same.
But neither Nishiya nor Takayama can do anything, flying out to end the inning.
Bottom 4th
Yoshitomi steps in again, and hits a hard grounder to 3rd. Nishiya makes the diving stop, and makes a quick throw to first that beats a diving Yoshitomi.
Man, he's pretty fast for such a big guy.
Ogawa hits a fly to deep left center, Sawada and Yoshida converge on it and it's Yoshida who makes the catch.
And Yamanaka goes down swinging on an offspeed pitch in the dirt to end the inning.
Top 5th
Igarashi with a base hit to right to start off the 5th.
Yoshida with a drive to right center! Akizu sprinting back to the fence and it's out of his reach! Igarashi rounding 3rd, heading home, and the ball it cut off! Yoshida gives Hokushou the 2-0 lead! Looks like Yamanakai left that one in the zone.
Oobata with a ball through the infield to left and there's runners at the corners now for Hokushou! Oono comes out to have a small chat with Yamanaka.
Tomita with a fly to shallow right. Akizu charges in, slides, and just makes the catch! Runners hold at their bases.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Kawakami-kantoku calls for the squeeze, but it's a ball in the dirt and Sawada can't make contact! Yoshida is left to dry and is run down. Obata does advance to 2nd on the play. It doesn't matter though as Sawada soon after grounds out to 2nd. Nishiya makes a great charge and throw for the 3rd out. But Hokushou extends their lead thanks to a great hit by Yoshida.
Bottom 5th
Huh, I think this is the first time I've heard Cruel Angel's Thesis this tournament for a batter as Komono's Nishiya Keisuke steps in.
Anyways, Oogushi was making quick work of Komono here in the 5th with two quick groundouts to Igarashi. And while Oono makes it a little more difficult working the count full, Oogushi blows a ball by him to retire the side.
So we hit the break with Hokushou leading 2-0. Oogushi doesn't look all that different as he's getting mostly weak contact from his batters, while Hokushou's batters are getting solid knocks in against ace Yamanaka. Too many balls in the wrong parts of the zone have led to the 2 runs on the board.
Top 6th
Domon with a hit off the end of the bat, bloops one over Nishiya into right, and is dutifully moved along.
Nishiya with a hard hit up the 3rd base line, and Ogawa makes a great stop. But the throw to first is way high and goes to the fence! Nishiya advances to 2nd on the error!
No bunting again with Takayama up, but he grounds out to short. Runners go back to their bases.
Igarashi with a grounder to 2nd. Nishiya makes a great pick, but double cluches! He loses the ball! Makes a desparate throw and it's not in time! Everyone's safe, Domon scores, and Hokushou leads 3-0!!
After a ball, Toda-kantoku calls time.
On the next pitch Kawakami-kantoku sends Igarashi! The throw is cutoff by Kobayashi!
And it looks like with first open, they'll walk Yoshida and pitch to Obata. Which isn't that much of a benefit except for the force play.
The Komono battery is careful, but pitch themselves into a corner when they run the count full.
Obata hits a slider to the left side! Ogawa and Kobayashi both dive, but the ball goes right between them into left! 2 runners come in to score and Hokushou has opened the flood gates here in the 6th! It's 5-0!
They also go full on Tomita, and he hits a ball by Ogawa into left! Yoshida is sent home from 2nd, and the throw from Jinno isn't in time! Obata heads to 3rd on the throw and just beats the return throw. It's now 6-0.
Sawada the 9th batter up for Hokushou. Kawakami-kantoku has Tomita try to steal 2nd, but he stops halfway! Will they try and sneak Obata home?
Yes! But the throw from Nishiya is in time to get Obata to end the inning. Still, Hokushou puts up a 4-spot after the break and Komono is in a lot of trouble.
Bottom 6th
Kobayashi treis to get the offense started with a base hit back up the middle.
And afrter running the count full, Akizu pulls a ball through the left side and Komono has their first good chance since the 3rd!
Kawakami-kantoku calls for time.
Uchida tries for the safety bunt, but it goes foul!
The bunt sign is taken off, but Uchida swings and misses for strike 2.
He hits one hard to 1st, but Domon maks a great pick and goes to the bag for the 1st out. That brings up Yoshitomi. Will they go after him with 1st base open?
It looks like it.
And they get Yoshitomi in front of an off-speed pitch! He makes contact, but it's a fly to center for the 2nd out! That'll leave it to Ogawa to try and get Komono their first run.
He just misses one and fouls it straight back!
And he chases a high pitch and grounds it to 2nd! Igarashi with the pick and throw for the out, and Komono is still shutout!
Top 7th
#14 Akao comes in to hit for Sawada to start the inning. And he earns a walk, as #10 Urashima warms up for Komono.
Domon tries to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 1-2. Swinging away, he does the same thing as Kobayashi's only play on the grounder is to 1st.
Oogushi tries to bloop a ball in to shallow right, but Nishiya sprints back to make the catch.
And a comeback to the mound by Nishiya ends the inning.
Bottom 7th
#17 Gotou comes in for Akao and takes over in LF.
Yamanaka hits a ball in the inside part of his bat, but with enough oomph to get into center for a base hit. Down 6, Toda-kantoku will not be bunting.
Jinno hits a hard ball to 3rd, Nishiya makes a good stop, looks to 2nd, but goes to 1st for the sure out.
Nishiya with a grounder to 2nd, but it will not advance the runner. So runner on 2nd still with two outs for #9 batter Oono.
And once again, a Komono batter chases a ball in the dirt for strike 3. Side retired.
Top 8th
Yamanaka almst geta a clean inning, but Yoshida collects his 3rd hit of the day, a nice single up the middle.
And perhaps to get some practice, Kawakami-kantoku sends Yoshida to 2nd and he's in safely.
Ow. Obata is hit on the arm by Yamanaka. Though considering how he's hit, that may not be a bad thing.
But Tomita puts an end to that though with a base hit to center, scoring Yoshida to make it 7-0.
#11 Murakami comes in to hit for Gotou, and Yamanaka has to defend his life on a comebacker. He makes the play though and the side is retired.
Bottom 8th
Murakami stays in to play RF, Takayama shifts to LF.
Kobayashi gets his 2nd hit, a ringing single to right. Akizu not bunting here, earns a walk as Oogushi can't find the strike zone!
Uchida with a hard liner to right, but Murakami is there to make the catch.
One down and Yoshitomi steps in.
He knows he won't get anything to hit, and that's evident by the fastballs away and the off-speed pitches in the dirt. Still, he works the count to 2-2 and fouls off a pitch.
But Oogushi wins the battle as he locates a fastball inside for strike 3!
Ogawa grounds to 2nd on the next pitch and Komono is denied once again.
Top 9th
#10 Urashima comes in for Jinno and takes over on the mound as Yamanaka shifts to LF.
And right away, he hits 142 and 143 on the gun.
Domon grounds to 1st and there's one away.
Looks like the main problem with Urashima, and why he probably wears #10 is that despite hitting 145 just now, his control is not that good at all.
Oogushi finally collects his first hit, a solid single to right.
Nishiya also makes solid contact, but right at his namesake who starts the 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom 9th
Komono not giving up in preventing the shutout at least. Yamanaka lifts one into center for a base hit. He's lifted for #13 Tokimitsu while #4 Saji hits for Urashima.
After falling behind 0-2, he lays off a couple of pitches outside, but can't hold off a change in the dirt for strike 3.
Toda-kantoku emptying his bench as #11 Niimi hits for Nishiya, but he grounds into the 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
So Hokushou advances to the next round to face Shoushikan behind a great performance from Oogushi. For Komono, its another one and done appearance for their team. Pressure was put on Yamanaka and the defense right from the get-go and they just couldn't get enough traction at the plate.
Notable Players
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - CG, W, SHO, 8 H, 7 K, BB
Obata Hiroki (Hokushou) - 3-4, 3 RBI, BB, HBP
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 SB
Yamanaka Kyougo (Komono) - 2-4, K
Kobayashi Teruya (Komono) 2-3
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Day 4 - Game 1 - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) vs. Hokushou (Hokkaido)
Welcome to morning baseball! With the Takasaki v. Oumi game cancelled due to rain, we're having a NCAA 1st weekend type of day with 4 games on the docket! Get your bento boxes ready, it's going to be a long day...
And in the first game, life at Koushien can be rather unfair at times. In what might be a schedule match between teams during the year due to their close proximity, the Hokkaido and Tohoku champions square off to begin day 4.
Hokkaido hasn't had a successful team at Koushien since Komadai Tomakomai. But that was in 2006 and still counting. Sapporo Dai-ichi, Hokkai, Komadai Iwamizawa have all tried to bring prominence back to the northern territory, and this time around, it's Otaru-shi's Hokushou.
Hokushou actually defeated Hokkai and Sapporo Dai-ichi on their way to the title, though they did need 10 innings to defeat Sapporo Dai-ichi in the title game.
Offensively, on paper the team looks like a juggernaut. I mean, 0.392 batting average? But put it in the context of Hokkaido, and you realize that about the only games you can really count are the ones in the super-regional itself. Unfortunately, I don't have that data.
Pitching-wise Ooguchi may be the ace, but his numbers look rather bad considering they were playing teams in Hokkaido. Despite posting a 1.62 ERA, his WHIP stood at a high 1.36, while almost only striking out one batter every 3 innings. THREE!
Reliever Miura's numbers look a lot better than that, but then again, he wasn't really tasked with the super-regional games outside of Kushiro Kougyou. So again, it's all about context.
And now there's the context of their opponent - Natsu Koushien runner-up Kousei Gakuin.
This fall Kousei Gakuin was out for blood. Or so the scores would suggest. In their 11 games, including the Meiji Jingu tournament, they scores 6 or less runs twice.
That's right, in 9 of 11 games they scored 7 or more runs. One game was the Tohoku Super-Regional final against Seikou Gakuin, and the other was the Meiji Jingu Final against Aikoudai Meiden. Of C Tamura's 24 hits, 9 were doubles and 3 were HR's. That is a slash line of 0.522/0.577/0.913. Yes, there's context in that it's Tohoku. Yes there's context in that they defated Oominato 21-3 in the prefectural final. No mercy rule in the final, Oominato had to take it all.
Still, that's just sick. Why even pitch to him if you were facing him?
The key for Kousei though, like every other team will be the guy on the mound. Kanazawa takes over the reins, and his numbers are... well.... huh?
So, 46 K's in 39.2 IP? Very good. 19 H in the same innings? Even better. 18 BB in those innings... Um... what?
Yes, that's right. He issued almost as many walks as hits. And yet when combined it STILL averages to less than 1 H+BB per inning!
So what does that mean? Well, it could mean he's effectively wild. It could mean that against better competition those walks will come back to bite him. I really have no idea because I've never remembered seeing numbers like this before. And even if Kanazawa is ineffective, Jyouma might be able to come in and not embarrass himself.
Hokushou, I don't envy your position at all. There appears to be very few holes in your opponent. Perhaps be patient and you can get to Kanazawa. Or you'll be sitting on 3 straight. I have no idea.
LF Murase Daijyu
C Tamura Tatsuhiro
SS Houjyou Fumiya
3B Oosugi Akinobu
1B Takeda Toshiki
P Jyouma Ryuuhei (#4)
CF Sekiguchi Takayoshi (#17)
2B Kishigawa Kenta (#14)
RF Takayama Nobuyoshi (#18)
LF Takayama Daisuke
1B Kobayashi Eitarou (#9)
SS Satou Sena
3B Tomita Kaito
C Wada Kouta
P Oogushi Kazuya
2B Nishiya Keisuke
__________________________________________________
08:30 - First Pitch!
The field looks a lot better, and more importantly the sky looks a lot better too. No cancelled games today.
Top 1st
Ameku immediately gets the offensive ball rolling with a deep drive down the right field line! Nobuyoshi runs towards the foul pole and it bounces off the fence for a leadoff double!
Murase trying to lay down the bunt, but instead Oogushi walks him!
Their best batter is up next in Tamura, and he's not swinging away.
And Oogushi throws a pitch wide and the runners advance! Tamura takes full advantage on the next pitch and hits a deep fly to center. Yoshida is easily under it for the catch, and the run is conceded. Kousei quickly on the board 1-0! After cleanup batter Houjyou is retired, Murase tries a delayed steal to 2nd, and well... is out by a wide margin.
Bottom 1st
Not sure what to say about Hokushou's first half inning except that Houjyou got a workout that inning. Three straight assists, and Kousei is quickly on the bats again.
Top 2nd
Oogushi records his first K a little ahead of schedule, freezing Takeda on a curveball no less.
Starting pitcher Jyouma drills a ball to right center, Nobuyoshi runs and makes a dive, but can't come up with it. Jyouma's in with a double.
Sekiguchi grounds out to short and the small threat is over.
Bottom 2nd
Kobayashi continues the whole "working the shortstop" theme by hitting another ball to him.
Satou finally breaks that trend, softly lining out to right. Tomita grounds out to 1st and we're moving right along.
Top 3rd
Ooguchi's fastball must not be as fast as I thought. It's sitting in the mid 120s, with a slider in the low 110s and a curve in the 100s. That would explain the 1 K/3 innings thing.
Kishigawa and Ameku both with routine grounders for the first two outs, but when Murase hits one to the right side, Nishiya runs over, but doesn't slide or dive to make the grab. It leaks into the outfield for a base hit!
Tamura rips a ball past Tomita for a double! Murase stops at 3rd, but Kousei threatens again!
Cleanup batter Houjyou up, and Oogushi gets ahead 0-2! Hm. He hit 129 on that waste pitch.
Meanwhile, Oogushi is challenging Houjyou inside, and he's able to foul off the pitches.
He finally goes outside, and Houjyou hits a short fly to left! Daisuke charges in and dives, but can't make the catch! Houjyou's 2-RBI double makes it 3-0!
Oosugi flies out to center to end the inning, but Kousei extends their lead. That had to go on Nishiya. When you have a pitcher that puts as many balls in play as Oogushi does, you're going to have to play excellent defense. While it was a hard play, he needed to keep that in front of him instead of letting it go. It arguably cost them 2 runs.
Bottom 3rd
Whoops, almost forgout the bottom of the 3rd. This time around, the bottom of the order takes pitches against Jyouma, but unfortunately none are about to get on base. Jyouma with 3 1-2-3 innings to start!
Top 4th
Hard grounder to 1st, bounces off Eitarou! He can't recover and Kousei has a man on yet again!
Jyouma is unable to bunt the runner along, and goes down swinging on a fastball inside! Nakai-kantoku elects to have Jyouma bunt anyways with 1 down for Kishigawa. If he gets a base hit, they probably score. If not, they're back to the top of the order next inning.
But Kishigawa gets under one and pops out to Nishiya to end the inning.
Bottom 4th
Yoshida taking a fastball outside the other way like he should and gets Hokushou their first hit! Nobuyoshi bunts him over for Daisuke. But while he makes good contact, he flies out to left.
That leaves it to Kobayashi. But he strikes out on a slider and Hokushou gets their first hit, but now their first run.
Top 5th
That was quick. Trying to keep myself awake after eating too much, and before I know it, Oogushi retires the side in order for his first stressless inning!
Bottom 5th
Hokushou was quickly on their way to the break before Wada bloops one in down the right field line.
But they try to push the issue with Wada trying to steal 2nd, but it's not close. We hit the break with Kousei able to string hits together for base hits against the light tossing Oogushi.
Top 6th
Oogushi gets Houjyou to fly out to right, but then gives up a gapper to Oosugi. Daisuke can't get a hand on the ball and that allows Oogushi to reach 3rd! Chance for Kousei right after the break!
It looks like the intentionally unintentionally walked Takeda to setup the DP. Kawakami-kantoku calls time as #11 Miura warms up.
Jyouma up and it doesn't look like the squeeze is on here.
But Oogushi pops him up foul! Wada goes back the the screen, and it just gets out of play!
Jyouma instead with a slow nubber back to Oogushi! He catches Oosugi off the bag at 3rd and runs him down, but not before the other baserunners advance to 2nd and 3rd. So Oogushi still in a bit of a pickle here as Sekiguchi is up next.
(Also, does Kousei's band know anything else other than the same 2 rally songs??)
SANSHIN!!
The music stops as Oogushi gets Sekiguchi to swing and miss on a slider away!
Bottom 6th
Ooguchi goes down and gets a base hit to right center! Leadoff man for Oogushi!
Nishiya compounds his effort earlier by striking out bunting...
Yoshida advances the runner along, but when #16 Murakami comes in to PH, he swings on the first pitch and fouls out to Takeda to end the inning.
Top 7th
Murakani stays in the game at RF.
And the lucky 7 comes and passes as quickly as... as quickly as... the sunshine in Seattle. Oogushi needs just 4 pitches to record 3 outs and now it's their turn for the lucky 7.
Bottom 7th
Oh geez, I forgot to mention about Jyouma on the mound. He seems to have a fastball in the mid-high 130s, shuuto in the low 130s, slider in the mid 120s, and change in the 110s.
Cleanup batter Kobayashi with a drive to center! Sekiguchi running back, but it's just over his glove! He's in with a double!
Satou follows that up with a drive to right center! Ameku taking a bit of a jagged route, but runs it down. Kobayashi advances to 3rd, but there's 2 down.
And Tomita grounds out to 2nd. He just is beaten out by the throw, but another key opportunity lost.
Top 8th
Tamura with a big swing, but he just a tick quick and it goes foul. He winds up getting under one and flying out to left.
I thought Oogushi would have a 1-2-3 inning, but instead he walks Oosugi on 4 straight. Takeda makes it not that much longer as he hits one right to Kobayashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 8th
Hokushou is running out of time, but so far have been rendered ineffective by 2B Jyouma.
Wada tries the safety bunt, but it dies right in front and Tamura throws him out.
Somehow, it's Oogushi who's making the hits! He drives one to left center for a stand up double!
#3 Obata comes in to PH for Nishiya and quickly falls behind 0-2.
Sanshin! But the ball gets away from Tamura! Obata reaches first, goes for 2nd when the ball goes around some equipment on the 3rd base side! The throw goes to 2nd... SAFE!
Chance for Hokushou as #17 Gotou comes to run for Obata.
Now it's the top of the order and Yoshida...
Grounder to short, and Oogushi is heading home! The throw goes home and Oogushi is out by a good margin. 2 down and it's down to Murakami.
But he pops it up! Jyouma walks in front of the mound and make the catch to end the inning!
*sighs* no need to go home on that grounder to short, but I guess it wouldn't have mattered in the end.
Top 9th
Defensive changes for Hokushou as Gotou stays in the game at RF, and #14 Igarashi comes in for Murakami and plays at 2B.
And Oogushi retires the side in order once again. He's done a great job this game, but has received no offensive support.
Bottom 9th
Daisuke quickly flies out to center for the 1st out.
Cleanup batter Kobayashi workes the count full and gets a walk. Going to need a couple more of those as Satou steps in.
Chopper up the middle... Kishigawa and Houjyou bump into each other and neither makes the play! All safe for Tomita! Nakai-kantoku calls time. Satou with a base hit through the right side!
THEY'RE SENDING HOME KOBAYASHI WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????????
Ameku makes the throw home, and Tamura can sit and wait for Kobayashi. 2 down.
And Wada grounds back to Jyouma, and that's game.
Hokushou can blame themselves for losing the final opportunity there. That first run doesn't matter as you're still down 2 even if you score.
But Kousei was the better team today and their march towards the title will continue. You have to give credit to Oogushi for pitching a great game despite his lack of velocity.
Notable Players
Jyouma Ryuuhei (Kousei Gakuin) - CG, 0 ER, 7 H, 2 K, BB
Houjyou Fumiya (Kousei Gakuin) - 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2B
Kobayashi Eitarou (Hokushou) - 1-3, 2B, BB
And in the first game, life at Koushien can be rather unfair at times. In what might be a schedule match between teams during the year due to their close proximity, the Hokkaido and Tohoku champions square off to begin day 4.
Hokkaido hasn't had a successful team at Koushien since Komadai Tomakomai. But that was in 2006 and still counting. Sapporo Dai-ichi, Hokkai, Komadai Iwamizawa have all tried to bring prominence back to the northern territory, and this time around, it's Otaru-shi's Hokushou.
Hokushou actually defeated Hokkai and Sapporo Dai-ichi on their way to the title, though they did need 10 innings to defeat Sapporo Dai-ichi in the title game.
Offensively, on paper the team looks like a juggernaut. I mean, 0.392 batting average? But put it in the context of Hokkaido, and you realize that about the only games you can really count are the ones in the super-regional itself. Unfortunately, I don't have that data.
Pitching-wise Ooguchi may be the ace, but his numbers look rather bad considering they were playing teams in Hokkaido. Despite posting a 1.62 ERA, his WHIP stood at a high 1.36, while almost only striking out one batter every 3 innings. THREE!
Reliever Miura's numbers look a lot better than that, but then again, he wasn't really tasked with the super-regional games outside of Kushiro Kougyou. So again, it's all about context.
And now there's the context of their opponent - Natsu Koushien runner-up Kousei Gakuin.
This fall Kousei Gakuin was out for blood. Or so the scores would suggest. In their 11 games, including the Meiji Jingu tournament, they scores 6 or less runs twice.
That's right, in 9 of 11 games they scored 7 or more runs. One game was the Tohoku Super-Regional final against Seikou Gakuin, and the other was the Meiji Jingu Final against Aikoudai Meiden. Of C Tamura's 24 hits, 9 were doubles and 3 were HR's. That is a slash line of 0.522/0.577/0.913. Yes, there's context in that it's Tohoku. Yes there's context in that they defated Oominato 21-3 in the prefectural final. No mercy rule in the final, Oominato had to take it all.
Still, that's just sick. Why even pitch to him if you were facing him?
The key for Kousei though, like every other team will be the guy on the mound. Kanazawa takes over the reins, and his numbers are... well.... huh?
So, 46 K's in 39.2 IP? Very good. 19 H in the same innings? Even better. 18 BB in those innings... Um... what?
Yes, that's right. He issued almost as many walks as hits. And yet when combined it STILL averages to less than 1 H+BB per inning!
So what does that mean? Well, it could mean he's effectively wild. It could mean that against better competition those walks will come back to bite him. I really have no idea because I've never remembered seeing numbers like this before. And even if Kanazawa is ineffective, Jyouma might be able to come in and not embarrass himself.
Hokushou, I don't envy your position at all. There appears to be very few holes in your opponent. Perhaps be patient and you can get to Kanazawa. Or you'll be sitting on 3 straight. I have no idea.
Kousei Gakuin (Aomori)
RF Ameku ShoutoLF Murase Daijyu
C Tamura Tatsuhiro
SS Houjyou Fumiya
3B Oosugi Akinobu
1B Takeda Toshiki
P Jyouma Ryuuhei (#4)
CF Sekiguchi Takayoshi (#17)
2B Kishigawa Kenta (#14)
Hokushou (Hokkaido)
CF Yoshida YuutoRF Takayama Nobuyoshi (#18)
LF Takayama Daisuke
1B Kobayashi Eitarou (#9)
SS Satou Sena
3B Tomita Kaito
C Wada Kouta
P Oogushi Kazuya
2B Nishiya Keisuke
__________________________________________________
08:30 - First Pitch!
The field looks a lot better, and more importantly the sky looks a lot better too. No cancelled games today.
Top 1st
Ameku immediately gets the offensive ball rolling with a deep drive down the right field line! Nobuyoshi runs towards the foul pole and it bounces off the fence for a leadoff double!
Murase trying to lay down the bunt, but instead Oogushi walks him!
Their best batter is up next in Tamura, and he's not swinging away.
And Oogushi throws a pitch wide and the runners advance! Tamura takes full advantage on the next pitch and hits a deep fly to center. Yoshida is easily under it for the catch, and the run is conceded. Kousei quickly on the board 1-0! After cleanup batter Houjyou is retired, Murase tries a delayed steal to 2nd, and well... is out by a wide margin.
Bottom 1st
Not sure what to say about Hokushou's first half inning except that Houjyou got a workout that inning. Three straight assists, and Kousei is quickly on the bats again.
Top 2nd
Oogushi records his first K a little ahead of schedule, freezing Takeda on a curveball no less.
Starting pitcher Jyouma drills a ball to right center, Nobuyoshi runs and makes a dive, but can't come up with it. Jyouma's in with a double.
Sekiguchi grounds out to short and the small threat is over.
Bottom 2nd
Kobayashi continues the whole "working the shortstop" theme by hitting another ball to him.
Satou finally breaks that trend, softly lining out to right. Tomita grounds out to 1st and we're moving right along.
Top 3rd
Ooguchi's fastball must not be as fast as I thought. It's sitting in the mid 120s, with a slider in the low 110s and a curve in the 100s. That would explain the 1 K/3 innings thing.
Kishigawa and Ameku both with routine grounders for the first two outs, but when Murase hits one to the right side, Nishiya runs over, but doesn't slide or dive to make the grab. It leaks into the outfield for a base hit!
Tamura rips a ball past Tomita for a double! Murase stops at 3rd, but Kousei threatens again!
Cleanup batter Houjyou up, and Oogushi gets ahead 0-2! Hm. He hit 129 on that waste pitch.
Meanwhile, Oogushi is challenging Houjyou inside, and he's able to foul off the pitches.
He finally goes outside, and Houjyou hits a short fly to left! Daisuke charges in and dives, but can't make the catch! Houjyou's 2-RBI double makes it 3-0!
Oosugi flies out to center to end the inning, but Kousei extends their lead. That had to go on Nishiya. When you have a pitcher that puts as many balls in play as Oogushi does, you're going to have to play excellent defense. While it was a hard play, he needed to keep that in front of him instead of letting it go. It arguably cost them 2 runs.
Bottom 3rd
Whoops, almost forgout the bottom of the 3rd. This time around, the bottom of the order takes pitches against Jyouma, but unfortunately none are about to get on base. Jyouma with 3 1-2-3 innings to start!
Top 4th
Hard grounder to 1st, bounces off Eitarou! He can't recover and Kousei has a man on yet again!
Jyouma is unable to bunt the runner along, and goes down swinging on a fastball inside! Nakai-kantoku elects to have Jyouma bunt anyways with 1 down for Kishigawa. If he gets a base hit, they probably score. If not, they're back to the top of the order next inning.
But Kishigawa gets under one and pops out to Nishiya to end the inning.
Bottom 4th
Yoshida taking a fastball outside the other way like he should and gets Hokushou their first hit! Nobuyoshi bunts him over for Daisuke. But while he makes good contact, he flies out to left.
That leaves it to Kobayashi. But he strikes out on a slider and Hokushou gets their first hit, but now their first run.
Top 5th
That was quick. Trying to keep myself awake after eating too much, and before I know it, Oogushi retires the side in order for his first stressless inning!
Bottom 5th
Hokushou was quickly on their way to the break before Wada bloops one in down the right field line.
But they try to push the issue with Wada trying to steal 2nd, but it's not close. We hit the break with Kousei able to string hits together for base hits against the light tossing Oogushi.
Top 6th
Oogushi gets Houjyou to fly out to right, but then gives up a gapper to Oosugi. Daisuke can't get a hand on the ball and that allows Oogushi to reach 3rd! Chance for Kousei right after the break!
It looks like the intentionally unintentionally walked Takeda to setup the DP. Kawakami-kantoku calls time as #11 Miura warms up.
Jyouma up and it doesn't look like the squeeze is on here.
But Oogushi pops him up foul! Wada goes back the the screen, and it just gets out of play!
Jyouma instead with a slow nubber back to Oogushi! He catches Oosugi off the bag at 3rd and runs him down, but not before the other baserunners advance to 2nd and 3rd. So Oogushi still in a bit of a pickle here as Sekiguchi is up next.
(Also, does Kousei's band know anything else other than the same 2 rally songs??)
SANSHIN!!
The music stops as Oogushi gets Sekiguchi to swing and miss on a slider away!
Bottom 6th
Ooguchi goes down and gets a base hit to right center! Leadoff man for Oogushi!
Nishiya compounds his effort earlier by striking out bunting...
Yoshida advances the runner along, but when #16 Murakami comes in to PH, he swings on the first pitch and fouls out to Takeda to end the inning.
Top 7th
Murakani stays in the game at RF.
And the lucky 7 comes and passes as quickly as... as quickly as... the sunshine in Seattle. Oogushi needs just 4 pitches to record 3 outs and now it's their turn for the lucky 7.
Bottom 7th
Oh geez, I forgot to mention about Jyouma on the mound. He seems to have a fastball in the mid-high 130s, shuuto in the low 130s, slider in the mid 120s, and change in the 110s.
Cleanup batter Kobayashi with a drive to center! Sekiguchi running back, but it's just over his glove! He's in with a double!
Satou follows that up with a drive to right center! Ameku taking a bit of a jagged route, but runs it down. Kobayashi advances to 3rd, but there's 2 down.
And Tomita grounds out to 2nd. He just is beaten out by the throw, but another key opportunity lost.
Top 8th
Tamura with a big swing, but he just a tick quick and it goes foul. He winds up getting under one and flying out to left.
I thought Oogushi would have a 1-2-3 inning, but instead he walks Oosugi on 4 straight. Takeda makes it not that much longer as he hits one right to Kobayashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 8th
Hokushou is running out of time, but so far have been rendered ineffective by 2B Jyouma.
Wada tries the safety bunt, but it dies right in front and Tamura throws him out.
Somehow, it's Oogushi who's making the hits! He drives one to left center for a stand up double!
#3 Obata comes in to PH for Nishiya and quickly falls behind 0-2.
Sanshin! But the ball gets away from Tamura! Obata reaches first, goes for 2nd when the ball goes around some equipment on the 3rd base side! The throw goes to 2nd... SAFE!
Chance for Hokushou as #17 Gotou comes to run for Obata.
Now it's the top of the order and Yoshida...
Grounder to short, and Oogushi is heading home! The throw goes home and Oogushi is out by a good margin. 2 down and it's down to Murakami.
But he pops it up! Jyouma walks in front of the mound and make the catch to end the inning!
*sighs* no need to go home on that grounder to short, but I guess it wouldn't have mattered in the end.
Top 9th
Defensive changes for Hokushou as Gotou stays in the game at RF, and #14 Igarashi comes in for Murakami and plays at 2B.
And Oogushi retires the side in order once again. He's done a great job this game, but has received no offensive support.
Bottom 9th
Daisuke quickly flies out to center for the 1st out.
Cleanup batter Kobayashi workes the count full and gets a walk. Going to need a couple more of those as Satou steps in.
Chopper up the middle... Kishigawa and Houjyou bump into each other and neither makes the play! All safe for Tomita! Nakai-kantoku calls time. Satou with a base hit through the right side!
THEY'RE SENDING HOME KOBAYASHI WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????????
Ameku makes the throw home, and Tamura can sit and wait for Kobayashi. 2 down.
And Wada grounds back to Jyouma, and that's game.
Hokushou can blame themselves for losing the final opportunity there. That first run doesn't matter as you're still down 2 even if you score.
But Kousei was the better team today and their march towards the title will continue. You have to give credit to Oogushi for pitching a great game despite his lack of velocity.
Notable Players
Jyouma Ryuuhei (Kousei Gakuin) - CG, 0 ER, 7 H, 2 K, BB
Houjyou Fumiya (Kousei Gakuin) - 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2B
Kobayashi Eitarou (Hokushou) - 1-3, 2B, BB
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