高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

So three more prefectures in Tohoku started up yesterday, so let's get caught up on the region before moving on.

There is a lot to go through, and I have less time to cover it all:

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.

19 of 47 tournaments are now underway, and 2 of them are in the round of 16(ish).

Kita Hokkaido
Not too many upsets to speak of in regional play, and we're down to our final 16.  Asahikawa Kougyou is still alive for a 2nd straight appearance, but struggled against Asahikawa Shougyou in the regional block final.  In fact none of the teams that advanced look like they could run away with it all, and the teams that had blowouts in their final are from areas not known for strong teams.

This could open it for teams like Engaru, Kitami Hokuto, and Asahikawa Ryuukoku this year.  But as far as I'm concerned it's all up in the air.

Minami Hokkaido
We had some theatrics before reaching the final 15.  While it may not matter in the long-run, for Otaru Ouyou to rally from down 10-3 with just 9 outs left to win 13-12 over Otaru Kougyou in their 1st game is rather amazing.  Unfortunately, while they tried to pull it off again against Otaru Suisan and went from 4-0 to tied at 4, ace Tanabe couldn't keep it tied as they lost 5-4.

In the Sapporo regionals, Sapporo Dai-ichi led Shoushi Gakuen 3-0 going into the top of the 9th, but as they say, the final 3 outs are the hardest to get.  And despite Sapporo Dai-ichi being the more experienced team, they fell victim to the saying and 5 runs later, were eliminated.

For Sapporo Ryuukoku, who earlier pulled off a huge upset in Hokkai, they couldn't parlay that into a 2nd stage appearance, giving up 4 runs in the first to Sapporo Okadama losing 5-3.

The draw is out here for the 2nd stage as well, and Hakodate Chuubu gets the benefit of a 1st round bye.  It won't be much benefit though as they will have to play either Hakodatedai Yuuto or the aforementioned Sapporo Okadama.  Komadai Tomakomai gets a rather easy draw as they are on the opposite side of both Hokushou and Sapporo Nichidai (who could face each other in the quarterfinals).

I do like Hakodatedai Yuuto in this scenario.

Gunma
3 days in and quite a few seeded teams are underway.  Maebashi Ikuei and Kendai Takasaki both cruised as well as 5-8 seed Maebashi Kougyou.  Kiryuu Shiritsu Shougyou survived in walk-off fashion against Takasaki Shoudai Fuzoku and looks to be in a lot of trouble.

So does 3-4 seed Numata as today they needed a 4-run 7th to defeat Isesaki Kougyou 6-4.

Ibaraki
Ibaraki with mostly blowouts, though we had a couple of walk-offs on the first full day of action.  Tokiwadai couldn't hold a 1-run lead in the 9th, but won the very next inning over Toride Shouyou.  Tsuchiura Dai-san did the same to Iwase Nichidai in the 10th inning as well.

Highlights of today's action had Nakaminato Dai-ichi scoring 5 unanswered runs in the late innings to defeat Ryuugasaki Minami 6-5, at Hitachi Ibaraki Christian scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Hitachi Shougyou 5-4,and at Kasama Shimodate Kougyou outlasting Tskuba Kouka 2-1 in 11.

We won't see the seeded teams until the 12th.

Nishi Tokyo/Higashi Tokyo
Nishi Tokyo is rather quiet on their first day with little of note to speak of.  In Higashi Tokyo it was mostly the same, with a couple of exceptions.  Meguro Gakuin rallied from down 3-0 to tie it in the bottom of the 9th against Shinjuku and would eventually win in 12.  And over at Oota Stadium, Risshoudai Risshou scored 4 in the 9th to defeat Katsushika Shougyou 9-6.

Kanagawa
Kanagawa had their opening game at Baystars Stadium and Keiou Fujisawa had no problem with Kaiyou Kagaku 8-0 in a 7 inning game.

Gifu
It was a slow start to the Gifu tournament as games at Nagarakawa were called off due to rain.  This after they tried to get Chuukyou-Gifu in but was rained out with Chuukyou leading 2-0 after their part of the 3rd inning.

The only game of the opening day was played over in Oogaki as Oogaki Shougyou scored 7 unanswered runs to defeat Nourin 11-6.

Those rained out games were played the next day, pushing the scheduled games back a week.  Chuukyou still managed to win their game while Gizan blew out Kani Kougyou.

Aichi
Those who stayed at Mizuho Kouen for the opening game were treated to a low-scoring affair as Tougou eked by with a 1-0 win over the prefecture's namesake.

Aichi's first full day went without hitch with again mostly blowouts.  Inuyama Minami scored 4 runs in the final 3 innings to wipe out a 4-1 deficit to defeat Asahino 5-4.

At Kariya Stadium, Toyoda Kougyou pulled out to a 5-2 lead with 6 outs to go before Komaki Kougyou scrambled to level it at 5 in the bottom of the 9th.  However, they couldn't capitalize and would wind up losing in 13.  And in the game after that Iwadzu scored 2 in the 8th to tie it at 2 all over Kasugai Kougyou, but ace Shibata couldn't hold it, giving up the winning run in the bottom of the inning.

And over in Toyohashi, some home cooking was needed as Toyohashi Minami scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Kozakai.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 1

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

Round 2

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

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

Kasama

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

Mito Municipal

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

Tsuchiura

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

Hitachi

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

Saitama
In notable games from the 2nd round:

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

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

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

Chiba
July 12th

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

July 13th

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

July 14th

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

June 15th

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

Nishi Tokyo
Kami-Yugi

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

Tama Ipponsugi

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

Hachiouji Municipal

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

Fuchuu Municipal

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

Tachikawa Municipal

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

Akiruno Municipal

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

Akishima Municipal

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

Higashi Tokyo
Round 2
Edogawa-ku Stadium

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

Akiruno Municpal

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

Meiji Jingu Stadium

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

Meiji Jingu Dai-ni Stadium

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

Oota Stadium

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

Komazawa Stadium

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

Fuchuu Municipal

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

Meiji Daigaku

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

Round 3
Edogawa-ku Stadium

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

Meiji Jingu Stadium

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

Meiji Jingu Dai-ni Stadium

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

Oota Stadium

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

Komazawa Stadium

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

Kanagawa
Round 1 (July 12~14)

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

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

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

The tour continues...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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