高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

Ok, quite a bit has happened since Minami Hokkaido got the Natsu Qualifying started. The coverage here won't be as extensive, and I'll leave a lot of coverage on teams that had good runs, but fell short for another post. But this weekend, all but Shimane and Kochi have started play.

Kita Hokkaido - Regional Play & Round of 16 draw completed
Here's who advanced out of regional play:

Kushine

• A - Kushiro Kougyou (who gave up a 5-3 lead in the 9th to Kushiro Koryou and eventually won in 12.
• B - Kushiro Hokuyou
• C - Bushuukan (11-4 and 7-0? Still got it, so far at least)

I'm going to make this short because the results depress me.

In Miyagi, Sanuma gives their best effort at Rakuten Kobo Stadium against Rifu, and actually rally to tie the game at 2 in the 5th.  But Rifu edges ahead with a run in the 6th, and Sanuma can't find the equalizer.  They fall just short 3-2.

Yamanashi was more heartbreaking for me.  Trailing 3-1 in the 7th, Nihon Koukuu scores 7 runs to lead 8-3.  But they can't hold it.  2 in the 8th makes it a 8-5 game.  Then an error by their 2B extended the game, and allowed Toukaidai Koufu to not only tie the game, but take the 9-8 lead.  Nihon Koukuu winds up the bridesmaids yet again, falling this time to Toukaidai Koufu 9-8...

I get to go to bed depressed.

More prefectures have entered the round of 16 (and some who were already there have gone further):

Kita Hokkaido - Best 8 (en route)
With the taikai wide open as it is, teams remaining know they have a chance to head to Koushien.

Bushuukan, no stranger to the stage (though not in the end successful), did enough at the beginning and end to defeat Fukagawa Nishi 4-1.  They will be a tough test for Teshio, who finds them in unknown territory having used 2 big innings and holding off a 9th inning rally to defeat Rumoi 8-5.

Engaru got no favors drawing Shirakaba Gakuen right off the bat.  7 runs in the 3rd and 4th innings suddenly found themselves clear.  Shirakaba would not go quietly of course, and a 4-run 6th pulled them within 3.  They further culled that deficit to 2 after 2 in the 8th.  But time would run out as Engaru would win 9-7.  While it won't get any easier facing Asahikawadai in the next round, they got a surprising challenge in Kouryou.  They were shutout for most of the game, and it wasn't until a 2-run 7th that they cleared the way to the quarterfinals.

In an unfortunate battle between two Kushine regional schools, Kushiro Kougyou beat Kushiro Hokuyou 7-3. They will face an Iwamisawa Higashi squad that shutout Shibetsu Shouun 2-0.

The final 2 games of the round of 16 will be played today.

Minami Hokkaido - Best 4 (en route)
Unlike Kita Hokkaido, there was no drama at all in the first round of the prefectuals.  Urakawa, Eniwa Minami, Otaru Chouryou, Sapporo Dai-ichi, Sapporo Dai-ichi and Komadai Tomakomai all advanced.  The one surprise was Hakodatedai Yuuto who certainly was facing a tried and tested team in Toukai Dai-yon, was mercy ruled 7-0!

We had 2 of the quarterfinals yesterday, and the bye almost helped Sapporo Sousei.  Leading for most of the game, ace Hirose just needed 3 more outs to send his team past Urakawa to the semifinals.  By the time he recorded those 3 outs though, Urakawa had plated 4 runs and his team found the tables reversed.  They couldn't come back, falling 6-4.

Otaru Chouryou continues to defy the odds.  After defeating Hokushou back in the prefecturals, they managed to keep Shiriuchi at arms length in the latter innings to win 9-4.  The run perhaps looked to be at a close after they gave up 5 in the first 2 innings.  But they rallied back with 5 unanswered in the middle innings, and made it stand up for an 8-6 win.  Urakawa stands between them and a shot at the title.

Today the heavy hitters step in.  Toukai Dai-yon's trip will look familiar now as they must fight through Sapporo Dai-ichi.  Meanwhile, Komadai Tomakomai must go toe-to-toe with Sapporo Nichidai for the right to advance.

Aomori - Best 4 (en route)
The top 4 advanced to the Best 8 with mostly no problems.  Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei mercy-ruled Aomori Kita 9-0 in 7, Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi went just 5 to defeat Hirosaki Jitsugyou.  Those that needed a little more help, Aomori Yamada needed 4 pitchers to defeat Mutsu Kougyou 5-1 and Seiai needed a 4-run 7th to defeat Goshogawara 7-3 to setup the following matchups:

• Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei v. Hirosaki Kougyou
• Hirosaki Chuo v. Seiai
• Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi v. Aomori
• Goshogawara Shougyou v. Aomori Yamada

The first two games were played yesterday, and to no surprise they did not go the full 9.  Kousei won 14-1 and Seiai won 8-0, both in 7 innings.  That will be a must-see semifinal.

Akita - Best 8
The top 4 seeded teams were first up in the round of 16.  Oomagari Kougyou and Akita Minami both advanced with double digit wins.  Nishime had a tough test against Akita Shougyou but held off a 9th inning rally to win 3-2.  Yokote was the first seeded team to fall, falling to unknown Yuri Kougyou 5-1.

Oomagari Kougyou catches a break as Akita's run with close games catches up to them, shutout by Oomagari Nougyou 3-0.  Oomagari couldn't make it 3 schools from the city, but can't be blamed for losing 7-1 to Noshiro Shougyou.  Nishime better have their A-game ready.

Now here's a surprise - Yuzawa, more know for their onsen, sees their baseball team beat a well-known baseball school in the prefecure in Oodate Houmei 6-1!  With a matchup against Yuri Kougyou next, there is a prime opportunity to advance at such a late stage.

Finally, Kakunodate put Noshiro away early in the game ton win 7-3 and will need to get past 2nd seed Akita Minami.

Iwate - Best 8 (en route)
I suppose it would come as no surprise to anyone that Hanamaki Higashi as the top seed has given just 1 run in each of their 3 games so far.  They will play 5-8 seed Kuji Higashi, whose only real scare was a 8-5 win over town rival Kuji.

Oofunato had a great story going as a 5-8 seed.  3 years after the earthquake, they reached the round of 16 after rallying twice against Ibonai and then giving up a 2-run lead, to finally advance in 13.  Despite the long game, they came back and gave Senshuudai Kitami a challenge despite trailing for most of the game.  Sadly they would fall 4-3.  They will play a Mizusawa team defeated another disappointing Ichinoseki Gakuin team 2-1.

The other round of 16 games will be played today with Morioka Dai-san and Moriokadai Fuzoku taking the field.  Both have shown their opposition no mercy so far.

Yamagata - Best 8
Nichidai Yamagata appears to be back on track, recording a 13-0 win over Kaminoyama Meishinkan.  Next up will be Sakata Kouryou who have scored 4 runs in each of their games so far.

Sakata Minami still doesn't seem to be hitting their stride just yet, as it wasn't until a 6-run 8th that they distanced themselves over Kunori Gakuen 11-2.  Yamagata Jyouhoku is up next after they rallied with 3 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Yamagata Shougyou 7-6.

Tsuruoka Minami has played nothing but close games so far, including their 3-2 upset over 2nd seed Yamamoto Gakuen.  A well-respected Yamagata Chuo will be on the other side of the field next.

The other, more well-known Tsuroka team, Tsuruoka Higashi has yet to yield a run, and will play Nagai next.

Miyagi - Best 4
The prefecture is probably Rifu's to lose.  Tohoku trailed twice against the, but when Rifu put the 3rd run up in the 6th, Tohoku could find no answer and lost 3-2.  The feel good story for Kesennuma continues as a 5-run 5th put them clear of Ishinomaki 5-3.  However, it is very hard to see them making it past this round.

Tohoku Gakuin's run didn't last long after the upset win over Sendai Ikuei.  They couldn't plate a run against Sanuma and will have to wait until next year.  Meanwhile, Shiogama's magical run continues.  After tying the game at 2 in the 6th versus Izumi Shougyou, it isn't until 7 innings later that they are able to put up 3 runs to win and advance 5-2.

More prefectures are now into the round of 16 or later, here's where they stand:

Aomori - Round of 16
Well, the top 4 seeds - Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei, Seiai, Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi and Aomori Yamada have all won their first two games to reach the round of 16 with perhaps the weakest link being Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi.  Especially when in their first game they narrowly beat Goshogawara Nourin 4-2.

Perhaps showing the lack of depth in the prefecture, only 2 of the 4 B seeds have advanced - Hirosaki Kougyou and Goshogawara Minami.

Good luck to the rest of the field.  Kousei will generally be strong, Seiai at least seems to be riding the momentum from their appearance.  Aomori Yamada hasn't been to Koushien in a while but has been surging in recent years.  And Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi isn't a slouch either though they seem to be the weaker of the bunch.

Akita - Round of 16
Akita has not been known as a strong prefecture, and this year quite a few of the regulars aren't even seeded.  In fact, none of the top 4 - Oomagari Kougyou, Akita Minami, Yokote and Nishime have really been considered consistent contenders.

Despite that all 8 of the seeded teams have at least won their first game to reach this point.  One of those teams is Kakunodate, and I will be rooting hard for them to make it this year after their heartbreaking loss last year.  Noshiro Shouyou (fka Noshiro Shougyou) easily won their first game and in what seems like a really weak tournament this year should be a strong contender.

Akita and Akita Shougyou are still around, though Akita almost lost to Meiou in their first round (3-2 win in 10 innings).

Yamagata - Round of 16
Nichidai Yamagata, who would like to prove that they're not a 1-year wonder like back in 2006 is still in the running, but an opening 3-1 victory over Kahoku doesn't instill much confidence.

If there is any consolation, it's that the other strong schools in the prefecture are struggling as well...

#4 seed Sakata Minami also struggled in their opening game, defeating Yonezawa Shougyou 2-0.  #6 seed Haguro survived a 9 round fight against Yamagata Kougyou 8-7.

This could open the door for other schools to break through such as Yonezawa Chuo and Kunori Gakuen and make the trip to Koushien.

Miyagi - Best 8
Miyagi has been a bit muted in recent years obviously the 東日本大震災 hasn't helped them at all.

Top seed Sendai Ikuei, looking to return back to Koushien had 2 strong outings, but against Tohoku Gakuin actually trailed 3-0 for most of the game before putting up a 3-spot in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game.  However that's all they would score as Tohoku Gakuin would score in the 13th to send them home 4-3.

I've said it many times before, but Tohoku really hasn't done much in recent times.  They do hold the #2 seed and despite a shaky 3-2 win over Sendai Higashi have looked solid otherwise.

Rifu is surprisingly unseeded, and not surprisingly dominating their competition.  Even after having drawn one of the 10 extra games, they have won 3 of their 4 games in 7 innings, and the other was an opening 6-0 shutout over Oogawara Shougyou.  They'll get their biggest test in Tohoku next.

Outside of those schools, it's generally been a free-for-all.  #3 seed Furukawa Gakuen is the only seeded team to fall, losing in their opening game 5-1 to Kesennuma.  It's kind of sad though that they will have to play Ishinomaki to advance to the semifinals.  Things still aren't right in those areas and it would have been nice to see both teams advance in some manner.  Ishinomaki for their part has looked really good so far with 2 mercy-rule wins.

#4 seed Shiogama has managed to advance, but 2 of their 3 games so far have been decided by 2 runs including their last against Sendai Shougyou.

Onto the Tohoku Super-Regionals...

Aomori
Draw is set in Aomori, teams qualified are as follows:

Aomori Regionals

• Block winners - Aomori Kita & Aomori Yamada
• Repechage winners - Aomori Shougyou & Aomori Kita

 Goshogawara Regionals

• Block winners - Kidzukuri & Goshogawara
• Repechage winner - Goshogawara Shougyou

 Hirosaki Regionals

• Block winners - Hirosaki Higashi & Touou Gijyuku
• Repechage winner - Hirosaki Chuo

 Towada Regionals

• Block winners - Misawa Shougyou & Misawa
• Repechage winner - Sanbongi

 Hachinohe Regionals

• Block winners - Hachinohe Kita & (Hachinohe) Kousei Gakuin
• Block runner-ups - Hachinohe Nishi & Hachinohe
• Repechage winner - Takko

 Mutsu Regionals

• Block winner - Oominato
• Repechage winner - Mutsu Kougyou

Seiai joins the rest of the field in where the draw spreads out the major teams. Aomori Yamada and Kousei Gakuin are all in different quadrants. Should be interesting!

Akita
Akita regionals are completed and they are in the quarterfinals of the prefecturals. Missing from the list is Natsu representative Akita Shougyou who did not even make the prefecturals losing in the 2nd round of the Chubu regionals 8-4 to Nishime.

And the power vacuum was filled in by teams who were more resourceful than the other powerhouse teams. Oomagari Kougyou rallied from down 5-1 to defeat Oodate Houmei 6-5. Akita Chuo mercy ruled Noshiro Shougyou 9-0! Oomagari won a 13-12 bloodbath versus Akita Minami, and Akita was walked off by Kakunodate 7-6.

For Kakunodate's sake I hope they get to the super-regionals and more. They were so close in the summer.

Iwate
Iwate's regionals are done and the teams to advance are as follows:

Kuji Regionals

• Winner - Kuji Kougyou
• Repechage winner - Kuji

Ninohe Regionals

• Winner & Runner-up - Fukuoka & Ibonai
• Repechage winner - Kuzumaki

Morioka Regionals

• Winner & Runner-up - Moriokadai Fuzoku & Morioka Chuo
• Semifinalists - Morioka Dai-yon & Iwate
• Repechage winners - Morioka Dai-san & Morioka Shiritsu

Hanamaki Regionals

• Extra winner - Hanamaki Higashi (they played the block winner and won 12-0)
• Block winner & Runner-up - Touno & Hanamaki Kita
• Repechage winner - Hanamaki Nougyou & Hanakita Seiuun

Hokuou Regionals

• Winner & Runner-up - Senshuudai Kitakami & Mizusawa
• Repechage winners - Kurosawajiri Kougyou & Mizusawa Dai-ichi
• 2nd Repechage winner - Mizusawa Kougyou

Ichinoseki Regionals

• Winner & Runner-up - Ichinoseki Gakuin (Again...) & Daitou
• Repechage winner & runner-up - Ichinoseki Dai-ni & Ichinoseki Dai-ichi

Engan Minami Regionals

• Winner - Oofunato
• Repechage winner & Runner-up - Takada & Kamaishi

Engan Kita Regionals

• Winner & Runner-up - Yamada & Miyako Kougyou
• Repechage winner - Miyako Shougyou

Yamagata
Nichidai Yamagata plus several others got a free pass to the prefecturals, and has reached the finals only having to face Tsuruoka Higashi. Their finals opponent is Yamamoto Gakuen who rallied to defeat Sakata Minami 3-2.

In the 3rd place game the aforementioned Sakata Minami will probably have an easy time against Sakata Kouryou.

Miyagi
Sendai Ikuei will head to the Super-Regionals as the Miyagi champion... just. They escaped with a 3-2 10 inning win over Matsushima in the quarterfinals, then edging Touryou 2-1 in the finals.

Surprisingly, Rifu did not win the 3rd place game. Instead they lost 6-5 to Shibata.

Fukushima
There was a bombshell in Fukushima, well, sort of.

I say sort of because Seikou Gakuin still advanced out of the prefecture. However, they had to get in through the backdoor after losing 5-1 to Nichidai Tohoku in the semifinals. Nichidai Tohoku would win the prefecture with a convincing 6-2 win over Sukagawa.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AT ALL.

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

Ugh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The only problem?  He also gave up no runs!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...at least for the Tohoku region.

Kita Hokkaido
So, Kita Hokkaido restarts on the 13th.  And perhaps surprisingly, mostly blowouts.  Obihiro Ootani and Asahikawa Ryuukoku both advanced via mercy rule, Takikawa Nishi passed by Kitami Hokuto by the score of 3-1.

Aomori
The rain had prevented games from being held at Haruka Yume Stadium for 2 days.  And on the 11th, the final games at Aomori Municipal and Hachinohe Nagane were rained out.

All stadiums were able to hold games on the 13th, and for Hirosaki who had to wait 2 days they needed one more inning at Maple to defeat Touou Gakuen 3-2.

A lot of seeded teams also kicked off on the 13th.  1-4 seed Hachinohe Kougyou needed extras to defeat Towada Nishi, while 5-8 seed Oominato became the first casualty, losing to Aomori 9-4.

Aomori managed just 1 game on the 12th, with is too bad for Hirosaki Jitsugyou as they led Tsuruta 16-0 after Tsuruta's half of the 4th when the game was called due to rain.  In the battle of Hachinohe Koudai schools, it was seeded Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, who defeated their younger counterpart Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ni 16-4... though with games called off elsewhere, I'm betting that the 10-run 5th that put the game on mercy status was partially due to the weather.  Which may have been a shame for the underdog.  Even Maple Stadium succumbed on the 12th, with only the first game finishing as Noheji managed to make a 4-1 lead stick, defeating Goshogawara 4-3.

Only 2 close games back on the 11th and both were at Maple Stadium - Towada Nishi just down 1-0 to Momoishi in the bottom of the 9th ties the game and then wins it 2 innings later.  Takko trailed Misawa Shougyou 3-0 after the 1st inning, but came back to win 4-3.

Akita
Akita was rained out on the last two days, but finally got games in on the 13th.

Mostly blowouts, but 2 games excitingly went into extras.  Akita Hokuryou managed to tie the game at 2 in the bottom of the 9th, however things all went awry in the 12th when Yokote Seiryou scored 5 and put the game out of reach.

In the other game Yashima, trailing Oomagari Nougyou Oota 5-3, mounts 2 rallies in the 7th and 8th after their opponents try to extend the lead, tying it at 8-8!  But they couldn't immediately capitalize and Oomagari would win with a run in the 12th.


Iwate
Iwate meanwhile, has been totally rained out so far.  Who knows when they'll be finally able to get started.

Yamagata
Yamagata opened play on the 12th, and with a 10-run 1st Yamagata Jyouhoku easily got by Oguni.  The 13th saw more blowouts, but games were rained out at Tsuruoka Dream Stadium.

Miyagi
Miyagi opened yesterday at Ishinomaki Municipal with Shiogama defeating Tsukidate 9-2 in 8 innings.

Fukushima
Fukushima opened on the 11th, and while I don't necessarily get to see pictures of opening ceremonies across the prefectures, Fukushima is the first I've seen to have teams march in with their school flags (photo credit Asahi).

And the opening game was a heartbreaker for Iwase Nougyou.  Leading 4-3 with just 3 outs to go, Kiyota for Haramachi hits a running gyakuten 2-run home-run and they win 5-4.

First full day of games followed on the 12, and there are quite a few close 1st rounders.  Fukushima Nishi pulls out the 2-1 win a run in the bottom of the 8th over Nakoso Kougyou.  Aoi breaks a 3-3 deadlock with Sukagawa Touyou with 2 in the 10th.

The theme continued on the 13th with Souma Higashi rallying in the bottom of the 9th with a pair of runs to tie the game at 5.  And when Asaka Reimei scored 3 in the 10th, Souma Higashi almost pulled it off again, but fell short losing 8-7.

It was a relatively good day for the combined teams as well.  Sousou Fukushima (Futaba, Haramachi, Souma Nougyou) held off Adachi Higashi for the 6-4 win.  Aidzu Nishi Rengou (Nishi-Aidzu, Kitakata Higashi, Bange) made a 4-0 lead barely stick with a 4-3 win over Shuumei.  It was not a clean sweep though as the combined team of Nakoso-Toono-Onahama were mercy ruled by Kooriyama Kita Kougyou.

One game was rained out, and that was Aidzu Kougyou vs. Shoushi at Aidzu Stadium - this despite Aidzu Kougyou holding a 3-2 lead after 6 innings.

Rounding out Day 2 showcases the last 21st century team, Ishinomaki Kougyou, who was awarded the bid in part due to the Higashi-Nihon Daishinsai last year.  Unfortunately, much like Memambetsu, they're facing a team from the Kyushu region - and this time it's the champions Kamimura Gakuen.

And that doesn't bode well for them at all...

Ishinomaki Kougyou had the unfortunate fate of facing Natsu Koushien runner-up and Meiji Jingu champion Kousei Gakuin in the Tohoku Super-Regional and was mercy-ruled 8-1.

The team is probably the type of 21st century team that Nonomura-kantoku (now back coaching at Kaisei) was referring to when he railed (incorrectly) on Rifu.  There is very little about the team that suggests they can make a run - the pitching is to contact, the batting is decent but appears to be devoid of big power.

Kamimura Gakuen won the Kyushu Super-Regional, but something seems a bit suspect about them, despite some of the ratings they've been given by magazines and the like.

The biggest thing that stands out is that their BA during the tournament was rather low for a championship squad, yet they put out decent power numbers - 50 XBH in 135 hits for a 0.144 ISO, which is almost equivalent to a double every other hit. So they don't necessarily make a lot of contact, but when they do it can go for extra bases.

Kamimura's strength lies with their ace, Hirayabu Jyunichirou.  He averaged less than 1 H+BB per inning while striking out 1 batter an inning.  He depends on his control and mix of pitches to fool batters as his fastball only tops out in the mid-high 130's.  Hirayabu will have to keep that control at  a high level if Kamimura is to challenge for the title.

Chances are Kamimura Gakuen will move on to the next round.  However how they do going forward will be more of an issue.

CF  Niiro Shinya
2B  Tanaka Koudai
P  Hirayabu Jyunichirou
RF  Koga Iori
1B  Ootsubo Naoki
LF  Seguchi Takuya (#11)
3B  Nakazono Fumitaka
C  Nakano Daisuke
SS  Nikou Takuma

SS  Okutsu Yousuke
LF  Saitou Hiroaki
C  Abe Shouto
P  Miura Takumi
RF  Kihara Kouhei
1B  Endou Yamato (#13)
2B  Abe Katsuki
CF  Ise Chihiro
3B  Kimura Ryouya

__________________________________________________

14:00 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
First ball from Miura hits Niiro, second pitch Niiro steals 2nd and it begins...

Tanaka gets under a ball and pops out to left for the first out.

Hirayabu hits a ball back up the middle.  Okutsu ranges over, and the ball goes off his glove and deflects into center!  Niiro scores easily on the error and immediately Kamimura is up 1-0!

Miura limits the damage done as he gets Koga and Ootsubo to fly out to end the inning, but Ishinomaki will play from behind.

Bottom 1st
Hirayabu retires the first two batters for Ishiko before Shouto takes the first ball and drops it into left-center.

That brings up cleanup batter (and ace) Miura, who is the team's only power hitter really.  Hirayabu is particularly careful with him given that, much like Ootani for Hanamaki Higashi, he's the only one that could really hurt them.

But Hirayabu gets Miura to wave at a slider away letter high and the inning is over.

Top 2nd
Miura gets himself into trouble again as he gives the leadoff batter in the inning a free pass.  Yamamoto-kantoku goes for the quick run with the sac bunt.

This time around Nakano earns a base hit instead of the error, but the result is the same.  Seguchi comes home, and Shouto being in front of the plate instead of on it wastes too much time reaching for the tag.  2-0.

And much like the 1st, Miura retires the next 2 batters.  New inning, same story.

Bottom 2nd
Meanwhile, the Ishinomaki batters are having trouble recognizing pitches.  Kihara and Endou both strike out on pitches outside the zone.  And while Katsuki makes contact, it's right at 1st.  While Tanaka can't field it cleanly, it bounces back to Hirayabu who tosses it back for the third out.

Top 3rd
Kamimura Gakuen gets their 3rd leadoff runner on as Tanaka hits a ball to left center.  Saitou gets to the ball, but Tanaka is heading for 2nd!  He throws it in, but it's strangely cut off as Tanaka slides in safely!

But Tanaka returns the favor!  He's caught off 2nd and Shouto guns him down as he scurries back!

Still, the troubles remain for Miura.  He walks Hirayabu to put a runner back on base, then they take advantage of Shouto's reaction time and he steals 2nd.

And on the 7th pitch of the AB, Miura's slider inside is just too much in and they're back in a mess.

After 2 balls, Shouto goes out to talk with Miura.

Miura isn't a terrible pitcher.  He throws in the low-mid 130's with a slider in the 110's.  His control isn't bad, but the pitches get too much of the plate.

However, finally Miura gets out of a jam as Ootsubo grounds into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play!

Bottom 3rd
Hirayabu continues to feel no stress on the mound.  Ise and Kimura both ground out, and Okutsu can't get around an inside slider and strikes out.

Hirayabu isn't much different from Miura.  A lefty, he throws a fastball in the high 120's-low 130's, with a slider in the low 120's and a curve in the 100's.

Top 4th
Seguchi gives Kamimura their 4th leadoff batter with a seeing-eye single through the left side.  Nakazono executes his 2nd bunt.

Ishinomaki does itself no favors in this game.  Routine grounder to 2nd is thrown wide left of 1st.  Endou snags it but has to vacate the bag.

Kamimura continues to run on Ishinomaki and they're not contesting them anymore (well, maybe not with a runner at 3rd).  Nikou then singles to center and again the throw is cutoff seemingly unnecessarily.  2 runs score and they're back to a run per inning pace.

Niiro tries to improve on that with a base hit to left.  Saitou throws it in, Kimura relays it home, and this time they do have him!  2 out!

To top it off, Miura records his first K on Tanaka and they keep it limited to a run/inning.

Bottom 4th
Just when I tell Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times that the chances of an Ishinomaki comeback are low, Saitou hits a ball to right center.  With the outfield drawn WAY in, it goes all the way to the wall!  Saitou's in with a triple!

And now Shouto lines the first pitch to center!  Saitou scores and it's 4-1!

Miura's hit by Hirayabu!  The inning continues!  But it looks like Miura's going out to work on his hand.

Kihara tries to lay down the bunt, but Hirayabu is able to get the lead runner at 3rd.  One down.

Endou with a grounder to 3rd,  Nakazono falls down and the ball glances off his glove and it deflects behind Nikou covering!  All safe!  Manrui for Ishinomaki!

And Katsuki gets in on the act!  He lines one back up the middle and Saitou (running for Miura), scores!  It's 4-2!

Ise hits a grounder to short.  Nikou is there...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ball goes under Nikou's glove and into left center!  Not only that, it gets between the outfielders and they have to chase it down!  ALL THREE RUNNERS SCORE ON THE ERROR!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????!!!!!

THAT MEANS THAT ISHINOMAKI KOUGYOU HAS TAKEN THE FREAKING LEAD! IT'S 5-4!!!!!!

Kimura though can't keep the momentum going as he strikes out swinging.

But Okutsu singles through the left side!  THEY'RE SENDING ISE HOME WHY???????


Seguchi comes up throwing and Ise is out by a good margin to end the inning... WHY THE HECK DID YOU SEND HIM HOME??????

Nevertheless, in the most WTF inning I've seen in a while, Ishinomaki Kougyou scores the gyakuten run and leads over the Kyushu champions!!

Top 5th
Miura throws a couple of pitches and seems fine to go.

Hirayabu though starts work on getting that run back with a single to right.  No bunt from Koga?  He hits a chopper to 2nd and they get the lead runner.

But then Miura can't seem to find the plate.  He walks Ootsubo on 4 straight.

A fly to left by Seguchi puts them one out away from getting out of the mess.

But then he walks Nakazono on 4 straight.  A wild pitch then advances the runners.  Manrui for Kamimura.

Try as he might though, Miura can't retire Nakano.  On a full count, he walks him and thus the douten run.  It's 5-5.

That forces Matsumoto-kantoku's hand.  #10 Abe Tsuyoshi comes in for Endou and takes the hill.  Miura goes to 1st.

But a wild pitch for Tsuyoshi scores one more...  Kamimura re-takes the lead right back at 6-5.

Then Nikou hits a grounder to short.  The ball is picked cleanly by Miura, but his arm takes it in the path of Nikou who inadvertantly knocks it out!  Miura doesn't realize it and both Ootsubo and Nakazaono score to make it 8-5.  Oy.

Niiro continues the inning with a comebacker that Tsuyoshi can't field.  Runners at the corners.

Tanaka hits a grounder to 2nd, but Katsuki boots the ball!  His throw to 1st is late and one more run scores to make it 9-5...

Finally Hirayabu, who started the inning grounds into a fielder's choice at 3rd.

But Ishinomaki Kougyou gives back all 5 runs and trail again by 4..

Bottom 5th
Shouto tries to give the Ishinomaki team life with a one-out single to left, but Miura strikes out on a off-speed pitch and Kihara grounds back to Hirayabu.  Onto the break, but does Ishinomaki have any magic left?

Top 6th
So apparently, the Ishinomaki pitchers need time to settle down.  Because Tsuyoshi is pitching well after the break.  Koga lazily flies out to right, Ootsubo strikes out swinging, and then Seguchi grounds out to short!  It's a 1-2-3 inning!

Bottom 6th
So does Ishinomaki have a reply?

And Kamimura makes their own change on the mound!  Hirayabu goes to left, while #7 Kakizawa comes in for Seguchi and takes the hill!

Kakizawa is a righty who can hit 140 and has a slider that goes as slow as the high 100s!

Ishinomaki can't adjust to the change in pace as Tsuyoshi and Katsuki go down swinging.  Ise avoids the 3 strikeout inning, but weakly grounds out to 1st.

Top 7th
Tsuyoshi is really doing work now.  He gets another 1-2-3 inning and puts his team back on the sticks again.  Perhaps too Kamimura Gakuen wants to speed up the tempo.

Bottom 7th
Well, this is the lucky 7.  But perhaps things don't go as expected.

Kimura goes down on 3 straight...  Okutsu flies out to right...

Well Saitou gets his 2nd hit, a liner over Nakazono for a single.

Now it's Shouto's turn at Kakizawa.  He's 3-3 so far.

Should I be mentioning that?

Yeah, I shouldn't have.  Kakizawa climbs the ladder on Shouto and he strikes out swinging to end the inning.  It was a worthy try, but coming back once was hard enough and required help.  Coming back twice is asking for too much.

Top 8th
Tsuyoshi encounters some trouble in the 8th.  He walks Hirayabu on 4 straight, then a hard hit ball by Koga isn't fielded properly and there 2 runners on.  But Ootsubo grounds out to 1st to end the inning.

Bottom 8th
Defensive changes for Kamimura.  #14 Nagao comes in for Ootsubo and plays 2B.  Tanaka goes to SS, and Nikou goes to 1B.

Miura starts off the inning with a single to right.  Kihara fights to get on base, but winds up looking at strike 3 on a full count.

Tsuyoshi hits a hard liner, but right at Nakazono.... and Katsuki pops out to Tanaka to end the inning.

Top 9th
New P Kakizawa takes the stick for the first time, but flies out to center. #12 Yamashita comes in for Nakazono but grounds to short.  And Tanaka pops up to short to give Tsuyoshi his 4th consecutive inning of scoreless work.  But they're still down 4 with 3 outs to go...

Bottom 9th
More defensive changes for Kamimura. ##15 Matsuki comes in for Hirayabu in LF, and #16 Fujita comes in for PH Yamashita and takes over at 3rd.

Ise goes down swining, and there's one down...  Kimura put a charge into one, and Koga tumbles backwards but makes the catch.

And finally Okutsu pops up to short.. and that's the ball game.

Hey, Ishinomaki may have still lost by 4 runs, but man did they ever give us fans the ride of our lives for one half inning.  There was hope, and while it didn't last, just having it means something.

Ok, we're at the point now where I can throw out the dates and just cover the games.

Minami Hokkaido
As much as Komadai Tomakomai dominated the early-mid 2000's as of late they've struggled to get back there since 2007 - the year after Tanaka Masahiro left.

Yet here they are in 2011, just one game away from returning to Koushien.

Just one problem.

Hokkai and their 34 appearances stood in their way.

So off we went in the championship game. While Komadai Tomakomai scored the opening run in the bottom of the 1st, Hokkai would score one in the next half inning. Then proceed to score 2 in the 5th and one in the 9th for a 4-2 lead. But Komadai would find a way against ace Tamakuma to score 2 and extend the game!

Except that in the next half inning Hokkai would put the pressure once again on Komadai. They'd score a run in the 10th.

Tamakuma would not let Komadai Tomakomai extend the game. He shut them down to give Hokkai their 35th appearance and 1st in 3 years.

Aomori
In the final 2 quarterfinals, Kidzukuri pulls off their 2nd upset in as many games by defeating Top 4 seed Towada Kougyou 8-4!

And in a surprising twist, the game between Kousei Gakuin and Aomori Yamada is not a low scoring affair, but a high scoring one! After Aomori Yamada scores 2 in the bottom of the 1st, Kousei scores 9(!) in the 2nd and 6 more in the 4th! That's a 15-2 lead after 4!

Aomori Yamada isn't a team to give up, and facing the mercy rule go into action. 3 runs in the 4th cut the deficit to 10, which still isn't enough. So they score 5 more in the 5th to make it 15-10 and thus avoid both mercy rules (10 after 5 or 6 innings, 7 from the 7th to 9th).

But just as surprising, no further scoring is done! The final score is 15-10 in favor of Kousei Gakuin!

Onto the semifinals. Kousei Gakuin Noheji Nishi and Seiai battled in the first one. It seemed like Noheji Nishi had the game in control after 2 runs in the 7th gave them a 8-2 lead. But ace Kobayashi Taisei couldn't hold the lead. 3 runs in the 7th and 3 in the bottom of the 9th meant that they'd have to played extras. The game would remain at 8 until the 14th inning where Noheji Nishi would score 3 for the 11-8 win.

The question then would be, would they face their parent school Kousei Gakuin?

The short answer is, yes.

Kidzukuri's run was impressive, but when facing prefectural stalwart Kousei Gakuin, it ran into a wall.

Hard.

Kousei Gakuin wins 10-0 in 6 innings setting up a sibling rivalry of sorts for the title.

Iwate
The championship game was all that was left between Morioka Dai-san and Hanamaki Higashi. And while Morioka Dai-san kept up early with Hanamaki Higashi, they would give up 3 runs in the 5th and 2 in the 6th. 5 runs would be all that ace Ohara(?) would need as he shuts out Morioka's offense. Hanamaki Higashi earns their 6th appearance and 1st in 2 years.

Yamagata
Yamagata had their 2nd set of quarterfinals. 4 seed Yamagata Chuo was barely able to get by Shinjyou Kita 2-1. And my Haguro squad mercy ruled Toukaidai Yamagata 8-0 in 7!

Miyagi
Oh my....

I wasn't expecting this.

In the semifinals of Miyagi, top seed Tohoku... lost! 4 seed Furukawa Kougyou and their tandem of Uemura and Katagai limit Tohoku to just 1 run! And combined with 3 runs scored against Tohoku ace Yamada, and Furukawa Kougyou advances to the finals, not Tohoku!

Their opponent, not surprisingly will be Rifu after all. 6 runs in the 1st means they were able to cruise to a 7-2 win.

Both teams will be playing for their first Natsu Koushien appearance.

Fukushima
Fukushima had their quarterfinal action. On one end, Seikou Gakuin easily handles Shirakawa 7-1. They'll play Iwaki Kouyou who defeated Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei 3-2.

The other semifinal will have Sukagawa, who upset #2 seed Shouin Gakuin Fukushima 4-3, versus Odaka Kougyou who too pulled off an upset against #3 seed Nichidai Tohoku 6-3!

That means that only Seikou Gakuin, the top seed, is the only seeded team left in the tournament!

Ok, so I still haven't been able to get to the Kinki prefectures. I need to quickly double back and do Hokkaido and Tohoku before prefectures finish. (Too late)

Kita Hokkaido
Round of 16

• Asahikawa Kougyou kicked off play with a 7-3 win over Wakkanai. They'll play Komadai Iwamizawa who shutout Obihiro Ryokuyou 3-0.
  
• Kushiro Kounan down 3-0 to Kitami Hakuyou in the bottom of the 9th scores 3 to tie the game! And they then go on to win the game 4-3! They get Engaru who blew out Hiro-o.
• Memanbetsu handles Kushiro Kougyou and will play Iwamizawa Higashi who scored a minor upset in beating Bushuukan 3-2.
• Shirakaba Gakuen, one of the teams on the inside track, used a 5-run 1st inning to cruise over Asahikawa Minami 9-5. Asahikawa Nishi looks to avenge them in the quarterfinals after almost blowing an 8-0 lead to Wakkanai Ootani.

Quarterfinals

• Komadai Iwamizawa continues on a collision course with Shirakaba Gakuen with a mercy win over Asahikawa Kougyou. The last obstacle to the finals is Engaru who recorded their 2nd mercy win and 2nd double digit offensive output.
• Memanbetsu moves one step closer to the finals with a convincing 8-2 win over Iwamizawa Higashi. Only problem is, Shirakaba Gakuen stands between them and a finals appearance.

Semifinals

• Engaru ace Furugoe(?) Tomoaki (古越 友章) seems to come out of nowhere in terms of being able to manage a game. Despite giving up 9 hits and 5 free passes, he limits Komadai Iwamizawa to just 2 runs! Combine that with their 3 in the 3rd and it's Engaru who finds themselves in the finals!!
• It started to look like it was going to be an all-new final as Engaru has never been to Koushien, and neither had Memanbetsu. Yet here was Memanbetsu holding a 2-1 lead over Shirakaba Gakuen! But in the 4th Shirakaba showed they have staying power, scoring 3 and putting Membanbestu behind the 8-ball. Surprisingly though, Memanbetsu did not fold. They scored one in the lucky 7 to pull within 1. However, that would be as close as they would get as ace Kobayashi would shut them down.

So it's rookie Engaru versus the one-timers Shirakaba Gakuen for the Kita-Hokkaido bid!

But in reality, feel good stories only go so far. Engaru fought hard, but in the end was shutout by Shirakaba Gakuen who will make their 2nd appearance at Koushien! But kudos to Engaru. I really wish they made it this year.

Minami Hokkaido
Round of 15

• Hokkai gets a bye here, but needs to rest up as they're matched up with another favorite team of mine, Hakodatedai Yuuto who won their game over Toukai Dai-yon 4-0.
• Tomakomai Chuo used a 5-run 8th to defeat Eniwa Kita 7-3. Next up will be Shiriuchi who went on a 3-0 run for a gyakuten victory over Otaru Chouryou.
• On the other side of the bracket, Sapporo Minami edges out Hokkaido Sakae 3-2, but will have their hands full with Sapporo Dai-ichi who had a 5-inning mercy win over Sapporo Kousei.
• And in the last pairings, Komadai Tomakomai was tasked with a difficult challenge in Hokushou, but was able to pull it out with a 5-3 win. Shoushi Gakuen will have to take up the flag against them next after they beat Hakodate Chuubu 3-1.

Quarterfinals

• Sadly for my team, Hakodatedai Yuuto can't keep up with Hokkai. They fall 6-2. Tomakomai Chuo will step into the ring next as they defeat Shiriuchi 4-1.
• Sapporo Minami's Ooma 4-hits Sapporo Dai-ichi and will look to reach the finals with a victory over Komadai Tomakomai who won 6-3.

And finally to the semis. Once could almost see it coming given the teams involved. Komadai Tomakomai may finally be surging once again after 4 years of anonymity. They shutout Sapporo Minami 4-0 to advance to today's final. As for Hokkai, they take it to Tomakomai Chuo 7-0 in 8.

So we're back to the days of umm.... last decade? Hokkai and Komadai Tomakomai for the Minami Hokkaido bid!

Aomori
As the first 2 rounds ended, we had some interesting games such as Goshogawara Nourin scoring 4 in the 9th for a gyakuten victory over Shoufuu Jyuku, Aomori Toyama giving up a 5-1 lead to Hirosaki before winning 6-5 in 11, St. Ursula and Hachinohe Suisan in a barnburner with Hachinohe winning 12-11 in 10, Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi needing 4 in the 8th to beat Goshogawara 5-4, and biggest of all A seed Hachinohe being mercy ruled by Seiai 11-2 in 7!

So all seeded teams outside of A seed Hachinohe advanced to the round of 16...

...and for the most part, things went status quo. B seed Touou Gijyuku was the next seeded team to fall, losing 3-2 to Kidzukuri. And those teams that pulled off upsets (Noheji Nishi and Seiai) continued on with convincing victories.

In the quarterfinals, the trend continued. So far Noheji Nishi fell behind Aomori 2-0, scored 3 to take the lead, watched Aomori tie it in the bottom of the 8th and plated the winning run in the 9th. Seiai ace Naraoka held Hachinohe Nishi to just 1 run, and their 2 runs was just enough to advance to the semis.

Akita
Teams started to stumble as early as the 2nd round. First of those was actually the top seed Oomagari Kougyou who could only muster just 6 hits and 1 run on Nishime as they lost 2-1! 5 seed Akita Kougyou almost lost too if it weren't for a 3-run 9th for a gyakuten victory over Oodate Kokusai. 7 seed Akita Hokuyou did lose, getting shutout 2-0 by Akita Chuo.

In the round of 16, Akita Kougyou did lose but not just to any team though. Noshiro Shougyou, last year's representative, defeated them 4-1.

Even though Akita Shougyou was a #3 seed, the team has had so much experience, it's no surprise that they're advancing through the brackets with as much relative ease as possible. The same can't be said for #2 seed Honjyou as they were the next team to fall. Akita Chuo took them to the limit, scoring 2 runs in the 11th after Honjyou did the same, and slayed their 2nd seeded team, 5-4 in 12 innings! In other games, Nishime's run ends at the hands of #8 seed Kanaashi Nougyou 7-4 and Noshiro Shougyou continues their repeat bid with an impressive 7-1 win over 4-seed Oodate Houmei.

The semis continued to impress. Noshiro Shougyou moves just one game away from a back-to-back appearance defeating Kanaashi Nougyou 6-3. In the other semi, Akita Shougyou looked to be in full control of the game early, getting 4 runs in the 2nd and another in the 7th to lead 5-1 over Akita Chuo. But if there was a time perhaps to have a lucky 7, it was now. Chuo scored 4 runs to tie the game and now Shougyou had to be nervous. They had every right to because 1 inning later, they'd plate another run and take a 6-5 lead! Shougyou tried to comeback, but could not - meaning that Akita Chuo will face Noshiro Shougyou for the title!

In the final again, it was a nice run for Akita Chuo, but in the end it was the "favorite" in Noshiro Shougyou that prevailed. They get 2 in the 1st, and 4 more in the 4th spelled doom. Noshiro Shougyou earns their 2nd consecutive appearance and 3rd overall.

Iwate
Running through the 2nd round we had Daitou breaking a 2-2 tie against Iwate with 4 runs in the 9th, but needing all 4 as Iwate scored 3. Morioka Kita allowed Morioka Nougyou to score 3 in the bottom of the 9th extending the game, but 5 runs in the 10 settled matters.

Round 3 saw Hanamaki Higashi get their 2nd mercy rule game in as many played. Miyako Kougyou brings some joy to their city as they move on with a 5-4 win over Ichinoseki Kougyou. Oofunato does the same as they mercy rule Kitakami Shounan. Karumai scores 7 runs in the last 4 innings to bid sayonara to Morioka Shougyou 9-8.

Onto round 4 and Kamaishi does their town proud as they score 4 in the 8th to pull off the upset over Ichinoseki Gakuin 7-6!

As we entered into the Round of 16, those nice stories start facing realities. Kamaishi fall 5-2 to Ichinohe. Miyako Shougyou is mercy ruled by Morioka Dai-san. Kuji Higashi gives Hanamaki Higashi the fight of their lives, but Hanamaki Higashi scores the sayonara run to win 5-4. Morioka Chuo ends Miyako Kougyou's run with a 12-5 win. Only Oofunato remained, though they had to beat Kuji 6-4 to do so.

Quarterfinal play say Morioka Dai-shi with 3 runs in the luck 7 to defeat Ichinohe 4-3. They will play Hanamaki Higashi as they end Oofunato's run 6-2.

In the battle of Morioka schools, Dai-san shuts out Dai-ichi 4-0 to advance to the semifinals. They will play Moriokadai Fuzoku as they win over Morioka Chuo 4-1.

So Hanamaki Higashi was the "odd man out" as it were. 3 Morioka schools and 1 Hanamaki school. To boot we could have had something similar to Nichidai-san v. Nichidai-ni a couple of years back if Morioka Dai-shi and Morioka Dai-san had won their games.

That was not to be though as Kikuchi Yuusei's alma mater crashed the party. They built a 4-0 lead on Dai-sh1 but almost frittered it away in the top of the 9th. Dai-shi pulls within 1, but reliever Ohara shuts it down just in time.

The other semifinal was hotly contested. Moriokadai Fuzoku and Morioka Dai-san were tied at 1 until the lucky 7th. That's when Moriokadai Fuzoku scored 1 to break the deadlock, but then Dai-san responded with 4. That would prove to be the difference as Dai-san advances to face Hanamaki Higashi 5-2.

Yamagata
Yamagata's first full day included Kunori Gakuen and Yamagata Shougyou playing to a 4-4 draw! In the replay, Kunori Gakuen would advance with a 3-1 win.

In other games in the 1st round, Yamagata Meisei rallied for 3 in the 9th, but fell short 4-3 to Shinjyou Higashi. My irrational favorite team here, Haguro had to go 12 against Yamamoto Gakuen to win 6-5.

Round 2 saw the first seeded teams to fall. 5-8 seed Kita-Murayama falls to Yamagata Jyouhoku 5-1. Fellow seed Sakata Kougyou lost 3-1 to Toukaidai Yamagata as well as Tsuruoka Kougyou who lost 6-5 to Yonezawa Chuo. Haguro continued shutting out their opposition as Tateoka failed to score.

Outside of that it was mainly status quo to the Best 8 with one exception. My Haguro upset Sakata Minami to the tune of 9-3!! Toukaidai Yamagata will be next up in the quarterfinals.

The first day of quarterfinal action was yesterday. Tsuruoka Higashi finally was put to the test by Yamagata Kougyou. Ace Furuichi(?) was up to the task still, limiting them to 1 run on 9 hits. The offensive output was limited to 3 runs, but was more than plenty. Their opponent will be 4-seed Nichidai Yamagata who mercy ruled Yamagata Jyouhoku.

Miyagi
As the field of 16 started to form we saw some familiar names. Tohoku made it without breaking a sweat. So did the other seeded teams - Sendai Ikuei, Touryou, and Furukawa Kougyou. Joining them was Rifu - who almost let the game slip away against Shibata.

Because of the rainouts, they condensed Round of 16 play into 2 days with all seeded teams in play on the 21st. All 4 advanced. In the other games:

• Tome def. Sanuma 6-3
• Sendai Shougyou def. Sendai Dai-ichi 5-2
• Tohoku Gakuin def. Kogota Nourin 3-2
• Rifu def. Ishinomaki Kougyou 3-2

Yesterday was quarterfinals, with all teams at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi. First up was top seed Tohoku, who had no trouble with Tome 13-1 in 5. 4-seed Furukawa Kougyou was up next and while they never trailed Tohoku Gakuin, it took 2 runs in the 8th to finally stay ahead and win 6-5. Doubt they'll be able to get away with that against Tohoku.

Afternoon session began with Touryou playing Rifu. Needless to say Rifu as of late has been a very good team in Miyagi. Rifu's Katou shuts the 3-seed out 6-0 and advances to the semis!

And if one upset wasn't enough, we had 2! 2-seed Sendai Ikuei was in a fight with Sendai Shougyou early. But then Sendai Shougyou scores 3 in the 6th to pull away! Ace Kome doesn't allow a run after the 3rd and it's a 5-1 upset!

Fukushima
As Round 2 concluded, there we had some interesting games such as Iwaki Kaisei who rallied from down 5-1 scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Fukushima Minami. Fukushima Higashi stems the scoring from Yotsukura with 4 in the bottom of the 8th and hangs on to win 9-8.

The 21st saw all teams in play across 7 stadiums. Aidzu and Hobara were involved in a scoring affair, with Hobara scoring in the middle innings, but it's Aidzu's bookend scoring that leads to a 10-8 win. Iwaki Kouyou wins late with a pair of runs over Fukushima Shougyou. And Shirakawa Asahi scores the only run in the bottom of the 8th over Futaba.

After a day off, the round of 16 saw all teams in play, and the games were either blowouts or close affairs.

• Top seed Seikou Gakuin records their 3rd mercy and double-digit game.
• 4-seed Haramachi is unceremoniously upset as Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei scores 8 in the 6th to win 12-2.
• Shirakawa defeats Aidzu 8-0 in 7.
• Despite only getting 4 hits, Iwaki Kouyou scores the only run versus Gakkouhoujin Ishikawa.
• Odaka Kougyou mercy rules Naganuma 13-1 in 7.
• Sukagawa holds off a 9th inning charge from Shirakawa Asahi to win 4-3.
• Nichidai Tohoku needs 10 to defeat Aidzu Kougyou 2-1.
  
• 2-seed Shouin Gakuen Fukushima scores a run in the 1st and ace Yachi makes it stick over Kooriyama Shougyou.

Ok, we're cycling back up to the Tohoku region where by now all prefectures save for 4 have started play. This is where it gets nuts.

Aomori
Aomori's opening game was between (Kousei Gakuin) Noheji Nishi and Aomori Higashi Hiranai. Noheji Nishi annihilated Aomori Higashi Hiranai 29-0 in 5...

Needless to say there were more competitive games on the first full day of games which encompassed all 1st round teams.

• At Maple Stadium Hachinohe Shougyou edged Takko 2-1 while Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ni managed to keep Sanbongi at bay 7-5.
• At Hirosaki, Hirosaki Higashi and Goshougawara Kougyou both won easily.
• At Aomori, Gonohe kept their one-run lead after Kuroishi Shougyou scored 1 in the top of the 8th tying the game, while Aomori Minami had no trouble with Noheji.
• And at Hachinohe Nagane, Hirosaki Minami cruised over Tanabu while Itayanagi used a 6-run 4th to defeat Momoishi 7-5.

Yesterday (15th) was the start of 2nd round games:

• Maple Stadium - Rokkasho and Kudzukuri Fukaura both won their games eliminating 2 of the "-nohe" teams in Shichinohe and Sannohe. Hachinohe Shougyou with just 1 day turnaround had no shot against top 4 seed Towada Kougyou 6-1.
• Hirosaki - Mikami and Tazawa of Hirosaki Jitsugyou combine to 4-hit Aomori Kita 2-0. My team, Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi defeats Aomori Kougyou 10-4. And Noheji Nishi spoils seeded Misawa's party, staying toe-to-toe with them before getting the sayonara run in the 9th.
• Aomori - Misawa Shougyou hangs on to defeat Goshogawara Shougyou 2-1. Hachinohe Minami dispatches Tsuruta, and Aomori Yamada gives up 4 runs to Aomori Minami in the 3rd, but manage to score 6 unanswered to move on.
• Hachinohe Nagane - Nanbu Kougyou only needs 5 against Tanabu Oohata, Seiai survives Aomori Higashi's opening flurry to win 8-7, and seeded Hachinohe uses the middle innings to defeat Itayanagi 10-6.
  

Akita
Akita got started on the 14th and as of today have completed their 1st round games. These include:

• Komachi - It was a tale of 2 days as Akita Minami and Oodate Kougyou played in close games versus Yokote Seiryou and Nikaho. The next day, Nishime, Gojyoume and Noshiro Kougyou all advanced via the mercy rule.
  
• Yabase - Yuri needed a 2-run bottom of the 8th to defeat Oomagari 6-5, Futasui scored 6 runs late to defeat Omonogawa and Kakunodate breezed by Rokugou. But the game of the day had to be Ugo vs. Oga Kougyou. Ugo continued to have to play from behind. But whenever Oga was head by 2, Ugo would tie it up. Happened twice, once in the 4th and again in the 7th. Top 9 now, Oga scores the go-ahead run. With no more time to spare, Ugo finds a way to tie it up and send it into enchousen - wherein Oga scores 3. Ugo had rallied 3 times already, and in sudden death is asked to rally for a 4th time. I don't know how they did it, but they did - scoring not 3, but 4 runs for the win!
  
• Noshiro (Yamana) - The only game on day 1 saw Oodate Kokusai score 3 in the 7th to score a reversal over Yokote Jyounan. Noshiro Shougyou and Akita Nishi advance neatly while Yuzawa Shouhoku bids sayonara to Oodate 2-1 in 10 innings.
  
• Green Stadium Yokote - On Day 1, Akita Chuo has no trouble with Yuri Kougyou while Yokote rallies late from down 2-0 and eventually wins 3-2 in 12 over Towada. Day 2 featured the battle of Oomagari Nougyou as the primary school beat their "child" counterpart Oomagari Nougyou Oota 7-0 in 7, Meiou who stayed just ahead of Nishisenboku, and Akita falling to Araya.

Iwate
Games kicked off at Iwate Prefectural with Kuji Higashi leading wire to wire 4-2 over Kanegasaki, while Senshuudai Kitakami who got the short end of the draw defeated Fukuoka Kougyou 11-5.

Day 2 opened games across the prefecture:

• Hanamaki - Maesawa holds on against Ichinoseki Dai-ni 4-3, Oofunato Higashi falls to Moriokadai Fuzoku, and Misawa Shougyou pulls ahead of Hanamaki Nougyou late 3-1.
• Iwate Prefectural - In the stadium's only 1st round game, Ichinohe score 7 in the 8th to mercy rule Hanamaki Minami. In round 2 games, Hanamaki Higashi looks to return to Koshien and begins their journey with an 8-1 win over Miyako Suisan. Miyako Kougyou notches the first victory for the city with a 3-2 win over Mizusawa.
• Shizukuishi - Kitakami Shounan beat Miyako Kita 10-0 in 5, while Ibonai rallied for 4 in the top of the 9th to defeat Tairadate 6-5.
• Moriyama - In a case of deja vu, Numakunai rallies for 4 in the top of the 9th after Nishiwaga rallies for 3 in the bottom of the 8th and wins 7-5, Fukuoka and Ichinoseki Kougyou mercy rule Morioka Shiritsu and Senmaya.

Yamagata
Yamagata just started play yesterday at Nisshin Seiyaku Stadium. Yonezawa Shougyou and Yamagata Higashi both mercy rule their opponents in 7.

Miyagi
Miyagi started round 3 play yesterday but before we go there we have to finish round 2:

• Shibata - All 4 winners - Igu, Izumi Tateyama, Oosaki Chuo and Tohoku Koudai all advance easily to the next round.
• Sendai Municipal - 5 shutots, 3 of which were by the margin of 8-0. 4-seed Furukawa Kougyou, Shibata and top seed Tohoku win by that margin while 3-seed Touryou "only" wins 4-0 over Murata (it was a 1-hit shutout by the way) and Sendai Chuo 3-hitting Sendai Minami. The only non-shutout was Kesennuma winning 11-1 over Izumi.
  
• Tohoku Fukuji Daigaku - Here there were 3 close games and 1 blowout. The blowout was Furukawa Gakuen beating Furukawa Reimei 11-1. In the other games, Tohoku Gakuin scores the sayonara run to beat Kakuda 3-2, branch school Tohoku Gakuin Tsutsujigaoka scores 2 in the 12th to beat Tomiya 3-1, and recent favorite of mine Rifu scores the go-ahead run in the 7th to beat Seiwa Gakuen.
• Nango Chuo - Tome starts play here with a go-ahead run in the top of the 9th to beat Kesennuma Kouyou 5-4. In the battle of Sendai, Sendai Shougyou pulls away in the 9th to beat Sendai Higashi 7-3. In another battle, this time commercial schools, Maiya Kougyou never trails to Sendai Kougyou winning 7-4. And finally Shiogama dispatches Watari 10-0.
• Rifu Chuo - Ichisama Shougyou mercy rules Iwadeyama while Sendai Tousen Natori couldn't stop Ishinomaki's run as they were blanked 3-0.

Round 3

• Sendai is home to the 3 and 4 seeds yesterday as both Touryou and Furukawa Kougyou both advance with little issue.
• At Tohoku Fukuji Daigaku, Ichisama Shougyou ended Kesennuma's run with a 2-1 win though Kesennuma tried to rally and Sendai Shougyou blanked Ishinomaki Shougyou 10-0.

Fukushima
The disaster-stricken prefecture of Fukushima began play on the 13th with Kooriyama and Asaka combining for 27 hits, chances just about every inning and Kooriyama winning 11-9. Something of note is that Asaka has someone by the name of シェイク 海斗 シャーリック. I wouldn't even know where to begin pronouncing his name but it seems like he's of Indian/Sri Lankan descendant or somewhere in that area.

Games so far haven't been affected by radiation alerts, so they're on schedule. Still wonder about the rain though...

• Aidzu - Fukushima and Aidzu Gakuhou won handily on the 14th while Fukushima's 3-run 3rd holds against Aoi. The 15 had Wakamatsu Shougyou win 4-1 over Kitakata Touou and Nakoso Kougyou scoring 14 in 1 inning and going on to win 20-0 over Nishi-Aidzu.
• Kooriyama - 3 shutouts, 1 blowout and 2 close games. Namie, Iwaki Kouyou and Futaba all shutout their opponents. The non-shutout blowout is Kooriyama Higashi defeating Iwaki 13-6. Ishikawa and Fukushima Tousen went 12 before Ishikawa scored the sayonara run in the 12th, while Yumoto mounted a furious comeback down 7-0 to Odaka Kougyou but fell just one run short.
• Adzuma - Fukushima Nishi and Yanagawa both win their games by 1 while Yotsukura mercy rules Sukagawa Touyou. Day 2 saw Asaka Reimei tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the 9th, then win the attrition battle over Kawamata scoring the winning run in the 13th. Round 2 games began with #4 seed Haramachi mercy ruling Funehiki and Souma winning 9-5 over Seiryou Jyouhou.
• Tsurunuma - 5 non-contested games with Asaka Kaisei, Aidzu Nourin, Kitakata, Tadami, and Tajima advanced.
• Shirakawa Green - Almost the reverse of Tsurunuma. Gakkhoujin Ishikawa makes a 3-run 1st stick against Fukushima Kougyou, Iwaki Sougou scores 3 in the middle innings to defeat Tachibana, and Teikyou Asaka busts out to a big lead but it's Shirakawa Jitsugyou who outlasts them 9-8. In the other games, Kounan (again, no not that one) shuts out Taira Shougyou 16-0, and Iwaki Nougyou scores in the late innings to beat Minami-Aidzu 5-2.