Next up is a Nishi-nippon matchup between Saibi and one of my irrational teams that I like in Seiseikou.
Saibi survived the only extra inning affair so far, giving up a 3-run lead in the 9th inning before winning in 13 innings. Anraku threw 232 pitches in that affair and thankfully he's playing on 3 days rest so he should be fairly fresh given the circumstances.
That's good, because the offense did not look all that particularly good in the game. They managed just one extra base hit and struck out 12 times in their opening game.
Opposing them will be Seiseikou, a team who has managed to return to Koushien, but at the same time suffers from the same problem that plagued them last summer.
In their opening game against Jyousou Gakuin, they strung 3 of their 4 hits together to score 2 runs, while Ootake tossed a shutout despite giving up 9 hits and only striking out 2.
There really isn't a whole lot to say about this matchup. Both teams offensively do not look particularly good, but in comparing the two Saibi should have a slight advantage at the plate with an even bigger one on the mound (so long as Anraku isn't fatigued from the first game).
Saibi (Ehime) - Shikoku 3 seed
CF Ueda Kyousuke
RF Yamashita Takuma
SS Usagawa Riku
P Anraku Tomohiro
3B Oota Yuuya
1B Morita Shouhei (#15)
LF Goudouji Shin
C Kaneko Kouhei
2B Machida Takahiro
Seiseikou (Kumamoto) - Kyushu Runner-up
SS Nakagawa Koushi
RF Kawahara Ryouhei
P Ootake Koutarou
C Andou Taichi
LF Hayashi Tatsuya
CF Hirashita Yuusei
1B Nishibashi Goujirou
2B Kobayashi Taichi
3B Oka Taisei
____________________________________________________________
11:34 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Ueda hacks at the first pitch from Ootake and take the high fastball to right. Kawahara charging in slides, but can't secure the ball and Saibi has their leadoff batter on.
Yamashita with the bust-and-run swings on the first pitch and grounds to 2nd. Kobayashi's only play is to 1st.
Usagawa takes more than 1 pitch, and in fact is having a long AB against Ootake fouling off a couple before running the count full.
OH! Ball up and in and it hits him! He goes down to the ground! Usagawa does get up and head to 1st, but on replay the ball seemed to hit him in the bottom of his right hand then deflect into his body, causing the reaction we saw. Ouch.
Ootake now in a pinch with cleanup batter Anraku up. He falls behind 2-0, but manages to even the count.
And he gets the outside corner to freeze Anraku for the 2nd out!
Double steal!! Jyoukou-kantoku sends the runners and the throw from Andou to 3rd is wide
But Oota can't catch up to a fastball down the middle and Ootake and Seiseikou get out of the inning!
Bottom 1st
Nakagawa with a half-hearted swing ground one slowly to the right side. Machida charges in and throws to 1st for the out.
Anraky doesn't seem too the worse for wear, and the speed doesn't seem to have taken a hit as he hits 147 on Kawahara.
Kawahara with a liner back at Anraku, and it hits him on the arm and deflects to the left side for a base hit! He takes some practice throws, but seems fine.
Ootake takes the 1-0 pitch back up the middle for a base hit! Seiseikou threatening in their half of the first inning! That brings up cleanup batter Andou!
But it doesn look like Anraku is fine. Speed hasn't taken a hit, nor does the accuracy. He gets ahead of Andou 1-2 before firing a waste ball outside. He just misses high on an off-speed and the count runs full.
SANSHIN! Anraku with a change on the inside corner freezes Andou for the 2nd out!
Hayashi up to try and bring in the run.
But he's jammed! Ball rolls to Oota who goes to 1st for the 3rd out! A bit of a scare on the mound for Anraku in more ways than one, but it seems like he got out unscathed!
Top 2nd
It's a relatively quick inning for Ootake after the eventful 1st. Morita tries to inside-out one the other way, but lines right to Kawahara. Goutouji hits a chopper right back to Ootake, and Kaneko behind 0-2 grounds one to Nishibashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 2nd
Hirashita tries to power a ball inside, but hits a routine fly to Goutouji in left center.
Anraku firing strikes meanwhile to Nishibashi gets the inside corner again on a slider for another K.
And Kobayashi becomes Anraku's 3rd K victim as he too cannot pull the trigger on a slider inside.
Top 3rd
Ootake gets his 3rd K as Machida chases a fastball outside.
Back to the top of the order and Ueda first pitch grounds right at Oka for the 2nd out.
And Yamashita, after fouling off several pitches grounds to Nishibashi for the 1-2-3 inning. Both pitchers are settling down very nicely now.
Bottom 3rd
Last batter Oka due up first, looking to get on any way possible feigns bunt, but the count eventually runs to 2-2. He looks at a fastball in the bottom of the zone, and that's Anraku's 4th K and all of them looking!
Nakagawa with a slow ball to the left side, but quick enough to get by Oota! Usagawa backing it up can't field it cleanly and Nakagawa's on safely!
Kawahara trying to bunt him along can't and falls behind 0-2! He's forced to swing away, and then he gets hit on the head! He's okay, but as per precaution, he's replaced with an injury runner at 1st. Meanwhile Jyoukou-kantoku, always with a smile, calls for time.
And that brings up the always dangerous Ootake.
Liner down the right field line, foul! Wow he took a good rip at that one. Then he checks up on a slider down in the zone.
Another slider down in the zone, and Ootake swings and makes contact! Grounder to short, and Usagawa can't field it cleanly! He's too focused on turning 2 that he forgets to secure the ball first!
Manrui for Seiseikou as Andou steps in!
Anraku not phased as he gets ahead of him 0-2. He's trying to pour on the speed at 149 kph, but the count goes to 2-2.
Andou with a rip down the left side also foul! They're just ahead of these pitches.
Whoa, Andou barely stays alive after chasing a buried slider.
SANSHIN!! But he can't check his swing on a fastball up and there's 2 out!
Hayashi on the first pitch hits one back to Anraku! He fields it and tosses to 1st for the 3rd out! Seiseikou threatening again but comes up empty!
Top 4th
Usagawa can't get around on a fastball on the inner half and becomes Ootake's 4th K.
Anraku has to walk away from home again after he's caught looking on a fastball on the outside corner.
I can't seem to figure out the umpire's strike zone though as what seems like a good pitch on the outer half is called for a ball.
Oota swings and misses on a change and Ootake is matching Anraku inning for inning so far!
Bottom 4th
Hirashita with a ball back up the middle past Anraku for a leadoff hit!
Nishibashi showing bunt, but fouls off his first attempt! He does manage to lay down the bunt though to advance the runner into scoring position.
And Anraku hits his 2nd batter in Kobayashi! Another situation developing for Anraku! Is the arm bothering him after being hit?
Ikeda-kantoku calling for the bunt, but Oka hits it too hard up the 3rd base side! Anraku runs over to it, spins to 3rd and gets Hirashita for the 2nd out!
And Nakagawa goes down on a pitch and tries to bloop it in, but Goutouji is there to make the catch and retire the side. Once again Seiseikou gets runners on base, but again they cannot get the timely hit to bring them in.
Top 5th
Morita leads off the inning with a single to right. Jyoukou-kantoku immediately has Goutouji bunt the runner along.
Kaneko with a grounder to 1st that Nishibashi has some trouble fielding, but is near the bag anyways and has time to gather it and make the out. Morita advances to 3rd, but there's 2 out.
Machida with a blooper to right. Kobayashi running back, leaps, but it's off his glove! Machida scores on the base hit and Saibi leads 1-0!
Ueda grounds to short to end the inning, but Machida and Saibi has broken the deadlock!
Bottom 5th
Kawahara gets jammed by Anraku and pops out to Oota in foul territory for the 1st out.
Ootake gets the better of Anraku again, taking a pitch the other way for his 2nd hit. He's been able to reach in all 3 plate appearances.
Andou with a slow grounder to the left side. Oota dives but can't get to it! Usagawa backs up the play, but double clutches and the throw to 1st is late! All safe! Seiseikou threatening!
But Hayashi first pitch swings and flies out to Yamashita for the 2nd out. That leaves it up to Hirashita to drive the run in.
Hirashita is patient enough to work the count full.
Blooper up the middle! Usagawa and Machida race behind 2nd, Machida dives... and it splits the two into center! Ootake coming home! Throw from Ueda is late! Kaneko fires to 2nd, but Hirashita slides in safely! Timely hit from Hirashita ties the game at 1-1 and they're still threatening!
After a ball to Nishibashi, Jyoukou-kantoku calls a quick timeout.
Nishibashi also runs the count full. And is caught looking on a fastball inside for the 3rd out! But as we head into the break, Seiseikou is hanging in there against a strong Saibi squad! If Anraku continues to struggle and Saibi allows them to hang around like this they may have a chance to win the game!
Top 6th
Yamashita up 3-1, chases a ball up in the zone and flies out to center for the first out.
Usagawa gets caught looking on a fastball on the outside corner for Ootake's 7th K.
Anraku takes it into his own hands, and gets his first hit - a double into the left center field gap.
But Ootake will have none of it! He gets Oota to chase a fastball outside to retire the side! He doesn't throw fast by any means, but he has stifled the Saibi offense so far this game!
Bottom 6th
Meanwhile, the bottom of Seiseikouu's lineup continues to struggle. Kobayashi remains hitless when he chases a ball out of the zone, while Oka softly lines back to Anraku.
Nakagawa tries to bloop one into center, but a charging Ueda makes a sliding catch fo rthe 3rd out.
Top 7th
Saibi's Lucky 7 is no match for Ootake right now. He rings up Morita looking, then gets Goutouji to swing ahead of a change up, and then Kaneko grounds to 1st to end the inning!
Just like that Ootake is cruising along and Seiseikou is hanging in the ballgame!
Bottom 7th
Kawahara with a ball back up the middle, Anraku kick deflects it right to Usagawa who goes to 1st for the out! It's Anraku and Saibi that gets lucky, not Seiseikou!
Anraku gets Ootake to chase a high fastball, and he hits a fly to left! Goutouji makes the catch as he falls/trips and Ootake if finally retired this game!
Andou also skies one to left. Goutouji easily under this one and Seiseikou's Lucky 7 also comes and goes with nary a sound.
Top 8th
Machida with his 2nd hit of the game, a liner to left for a base hit. That resets the lineup back to top batter Ueda. Jyoukou-kantoku wants him to bunt, but he can't execute and falls behind 1-2.
And having to swing away he can't catch up to a fastball on the outer half, and Ootake has his 11th K!
Jyoukou-kantoku has Yamashita try and bunt, but he too can't execute! He's trying to press any initiative, and even calls for a hit-and-run, though Yamashita fouls that off too.
In addition, the pace is slowing as Ootake goes to 1st quite a bit.
But it seems to be working as Yamashita pops out to Andou behind home!
Usagawa keeps the inning going with a single past a diving Nakagawa into left! More importantly, it brings up Anraku.
And Anraku first pitch takes it the other way! It's quickly past Hayashi and headed towards the wall! Anraku barely beats out the throw at 3rd, but more importantly 3 runners come in to score on his timely triple and Anraku gives himself the 3-1 lead!!
Ikeda-kantoku calling for time, but it may be too late!
Oota runs the count full on Ootake and hits a ball to left! Again Hayashi has to run back and it falls in! Oota in with a double making it a 4-1 ballgame!
Morita flies out to Hirashita in left-center, but back-to-back extra base hits cost Seiseikou big late!
Bottom 8th
It's all hands on deck for Seiseikou as they need 3 runs in 2 innings. And even with Anraku at 134 pitches, he still seems to be on task here in the 8th. Worse yet for Seiseikou, they're heading towards the bottom of the lineup, which after Hirashita in the #6 spot has been rendered ineffective.
Hayashi with a drive to right, but he gets under it and that allows Yamashita to run it down in deep right.
That brings up Hirashita and with no one on base to drive in, Anraku doesn't have to pitch to him and walks him on 4 straight.
Now can the bottom of the lineup do anything?
Ikeda-kantoku, sensing the situation also tries the hit and run, but after a foul off, he grounds to short. Usagawa goes the short way to cut down the lead runner.
Ikeda then turns to #16 Takenaga to hit for Kobayashi, hoping to spark something.
But he grounds to 1st and Morita has no problems taking it to the bag for the 3rd out. Seiseikou running out of time.
Top 9th
#14 Taguchi comes in for PH Takenaga and takes over at 2B.
Goutouji meanwhile collects his first hit when he grounds one through the left side. Jyoukou-kantoku, not wanting to leave anything to chance has Kaneko bunting. He chops one high in front of home and gets the job done.
Machida with a liner back at Ootake! It's off his glove, but right to Taguchi! He catches it for the 2nd out and tags 2nd to get Goutouji for the 3rd out! It's your standard 1-4U double play!
Bottom 9th
The fact though still remains that Seiseikou has just 3 outs remaining in their Haru Koushien run.
Ikeda-kantoku sends in #12 Sakada to hit for Oka.
Liner down the right field line, but Yamashita is right there for the out! That's some advance scouting if Jyoukou-kantoku put him there.
Back up to Nakagawa and he immediately chops one right to 2nd! Machida goes to 1st for the 2nd out!
Kawahara the last chance for Seiseikou and he's quickly behind 0-2!
SANSHIN!!
Anraku blows a 148 kph pitch past Kawahara for the final out and Saibi advances to the Best 8!
It certainly wasn't easy though. Saibi's offense struggled against Seiseikou ace Ootake, while Seiseikou continued to put runners on and pressured Anraku. However, Anraku beared down on several occasions to shut out his opponent and deny them home plate. And in the end it was Anraku himself who put the team on his back and carried them to the quarterfinals.
Still, you have to give credit to Seiseikou. If not for two mistakes in back-to-back batters in the 8th it could have been a different ballgame. But the slowing of the pace of play seemed to indicate that Ootake perhaps was starting to labor a but under the pressure late. If only they could have capitalized on their earlier opportunities it too could have been a different ballgame.
But as it stands it is Saibi who will advance into the next round and Shikoku is having a great tournament so far, much to my surprise.
Notable Players
Anraku Tomohiro (Saibi) - W, CG, ER, 7 H, 8 K, BB, 2 HBP
Anraku Tomohiro (Saibi) - 2-4, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
Machida Takahiro (Saibi) - 2-4, R, RBI, K
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - L, CG, 4 ER, 9 H, 11 K, HBP
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - 2-4, R
Hirashita Yuusei (Seiseikou) - 2-3, RBI, BB
Showing posts with label Seiseikou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seiseikou. Show all posts
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Day 5, Game 2 - Seiseikou (Kumamoto) vs. Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki)
Our lunchtime game features a team that I actually liked last year, versus a team looking to improve on last year's success.
Seiseikou gave notice last year that they weren't just another team after an 18 year hiatus. Defeating Naruto 3-1, they actually played well against haru-natsu champs Osaka Touin.
The amazing thing is that they made their fall run while only keeping ace Ootake Koutarou and now captain Nakagawa Koushi. Now, Nakagawa is Seiseikou's leadoff hitter, and Ootake is not only the ace, but their #3 hitter as well, so that certainly helps in reloading.
You can see what I had to say when I first saw him, but he has supposedly increased his fastball to the upper 130s and has a cutter and changeup with the normal complement.
The offense is also spotty. Against Shoushikan they got 10 hits and scored 8 runs. Next day against Okinawa Shougaku, they only manage just 3. Even in the quarterfinals facing Miyazaki Nichidai they get 5 hits.
And they aren't a power hitting team either. In fact their slugging percentage is less than their OBP. So they're willing to take walks, so long as they have the opportunity to. But there's no danger potential in the lineup.
Jyousou Gakuin in just 7 games effectively qualified themselves for Haru Koushien. But there was no competition in Ibaraki, then defeated Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi and Sano Nichidai before losing to Hanasaki Tokuharu.
But in that loss, they didn't use their ace Iida Harumi. It was probably because he went 12 innings, and gave up 5 runs. Either way, the relief staff couldn't get it done. Iida is by no means a dominant ace, but apparently he doesn't miss the zone. Even with just a 6.7 K/9 ratio, he has a 34:3 K/BB rate! 3 walks! That means a lot of balls in play, and by necessity a need for a solid defense. Yet they averaged just over 1 error per game.
The offense for Jyousou lies in their 1-6 batters, but much like Seiseikou do not have much punch to them. They do take walks, but not as much as Seiseikou (though actual opportunities to might vary thus affecting the total number). Perhaps stereotypically, Yoshizawa Gakushi sets the tone for the team at the leadoff spot, while their cleanup hitter Uchida Yasuhiro drives them in.
On paper, it sure looks like we'll see a low scoring game with lots of patience, lots of bunting and if the pitcher's tempo is fast, a speedy game.
Seiseikou (Kumamoto) - Kyushu Runner-up
SS Nakagawa Koushi
RF Kawahara Ryouhei
P Ootake Koutarou
C Andou Taichi
LF Hayashi Tatsuya
CF Hirashita Yuusei
1B Nishibashi Goujirou
2B Kobayashi Taichi
3B Oka Taisei
Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki) - Kanto 3/4 seed
SS Yoshizawa Gakushi
RF Yoshinari Yuusuke
CF Takashima Shouta
C Uchida Yasuhito
3B Shindou Suguru
LF Asanuma Daichi
P Iida Harumi
1B Wada Rikiya
2B Ikezawa Kouhei
____________________________________________________________
12:45 - First pitch!
Top 1st
This is interesting. He actually goes into the upper 130s with his fastball. I wouldn't have necessarily seen that given his numbers. And I didn't catch much of it because I was busy trying to get my primary feed going, but he has at least 4-5 different off-speed pitches.
And he's already racking up the K's. Ouside of an easy popup back to him, he strikes out Nakagawa looking and Ootake swinging on what might be a cutter.
Bottom 1st
Hm... it doesn't look like Ootake has gotten any more kph on his fastball...
So it's probably lots of contact for him, and indeed at least for the 1st it is. Groundout to short from Yoshizawa, groundout to 2nd from Yoshinari, and then an easy fly to right by Takashima.
Top 2nd
Andou's grounder to 3rd is smothered by Shindou, and his throw short-hops Wada - but he makes a good pick for the out.
Hayashi swings and misses on a change for the 2nd out.
And the pace is much faster here as Hirashita swings and misses on an Iida offering inside and the side is retired. 4 K's for Iida already and Seiseikou's already stagnant offense looks to be even more so this game.
Bottom 2nd
Uchida with a fly to right center, and that falls in! Kawahara tries to get it in quickly, but he's in qith a double! Shindou bunts him over for Asanuma.
He hits a nubber foul up the 3rd base, wait! It rolls back fair! Oka quickly gets it and throws to first for the 2nd out!
Iida grounds to short! Nakagawa gathers it and throws to 1st to retire the side!
Top 3rd
Nishibashi doesn down swinging on a curbe in the dirt, and that's 5 K's. This has the potential to be very ugly for Seiseikou.
Kobayashi makes contact, but flies out to Yoshinari for the 2nd out.
And Iida climbs the ladder on Oka for his 6th K... Oy.
Bottom 3rd
Wada with a drive to deep left, Hayashi backs up to the wall, but makes the catch and taps the padding with his glove.
Ikezawa with a safety bunt! Oka charges in, but is throw is offline and Oka is on safely!
There's no bunt called by Sasaki-kantoku, and whilie Yoshizawa fouls a couple of balls off, Ootake gets him to fly out to left.
Grounder to short by Yoshinari and Kobayshi goes the short way to retire the side.
Top 4th
Nakagawa turns on a fastball and gets Seiseikou's first hit!
But he's caught going the wrong way! Iida tosses to 1st, and while Nakagawa tries to swim out of the way of the tag, it looks like he might have been caught before he reached in.
And that's a shame because Kawahara takes a slider and bloops it the other way for a base hit!
OH!
Ootake goes down on a fastball and drives it to deep center! Takashima dashing back, it's off the secondary fence and bounces back into play! Kawahara scores from 1st on Ootake's triple and it's 1-0 Seiseiko! Didn't see that coming! And how much does that pickoff mean now?
Jyousou's battery is looking for a squeeze, but Seiseikou isn't going for it.
AHHH!!!!
Iida bounces one in front of Uchida and it bounces away from him! Ootake charges in and scores! 2-0 Seiseikou on the wild pitch!
And now Iida walks Andou! Uchida goes to have a word with him.
2-2 count, Ikeda-kantoku calls for a bunt! Hayashi lays it down and advances Andou into scoring position for Hirashita!
But he goes down swinging to end the inning. Seiseikou thanks to their ace takes the lead!
Bottom 4th
Takashima with a ball to the right side, Kobayashi makes a great pick on the run, spins and turns to 1st for the out!
Uchida gets under a change and hits it to right. Kawahara calls off Kobayashi for the catch. And Shindou grounds to 1st and the inning is over!
Top 5th
This is rather odd, for someone having just 3 walks, he hits Nishibashi.
Man Iida has a quick throw to 1st. Seiseikou's running game (if they had one) is stifled.
At 0-1, Kobayashi tries to bunt, but fouls it off.
And now he's three bunting?
He doesn, but the ball pops up and spins foul for the out! Now Oka's asked to bunt, though there are a lot of throws to 1st.
Oka misses the bunt again, Uchida fires to 1st, but Wada has a brain fart and forgets to tag Nishibashi.
And Oka fouls off his three bunt and there's 2 out!
Nakagawa lines out to left and the inning is over.
Bottom 5th
Asanuma lines one to left for a leadoff single, and Iida bunts him over.
Wada bloops one down the right field line! Kobayashi and Kawahara charge in but it falls between them! Runners at the corners with just one down!
Ikezawa showing safety squeeze, tries to chop one high, but it goes foul!
Shows it again, but pulls it back probably to get a ball.
Grounder to 3rd! Oka with it and Asanuma is in no-man's land! He's run down by Andou, who stumbles and notices that Wada and Ikezawa are both at 2nd! He charges at them, starts to chase Ikezawa who is running back to 1st, then notices Wada heading towards 2nd! Tosses back as Wada scrambles back, safe! That was almost a disaster for Jyousou!
Yoshizawa with a hard liner to 3rd, but Oka makes the catch for the out, and Seiseikou holds onto their 2-run lead!
Top 6th
Despite giving up the 2 runs, Iida continues to rack up the K's. Kawahara gets called out on a change on the outside half.
After a groundout by Ootake, Andou bloops one in front of Takashima for a base hit. He's left stranded after Hayahshi hits an infield fly to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
After 2 quick groundouts to Kobayashi, Uchida gets his 2nd hit, a grounder that a diving Oka goes right over. (He didn't need to dive).
Shindou swings on the 1-1 pitch which gets away from Andou and allows Uchida to reach 2nd!
But Shindou hits a comebacker to Ootake and he flips to 1st for the 3rd out.
I guess Ootake has gotten more accurate, which is necessary if you can't throw hard.
Top 7th
Hirashita works the count full, but can only ground out to 3rd. Nishibashi with a harder grounder to 3rd, and Shindou has it deflect off of him. He grabs it, goes to 1st and just beats out Nishibashi!
And it looks like Shindou will get all 3 putouts! Kobayashi pops it up in foul territory and Shindou makes the catch to retire the side!
Bottom 7th
Jyousou Gakuin's 7th inning comes and goes in the blink of an eye! Asai and Iida both fly out to right, and Iida hits a liner back up the middle that Ootake snags for the 3rd out!
Top 8th
Outside of the 4th inning, Iida has been very effective. Routine grounder to 1st from Oka, jams Nakagawa into a groundout at short, and then gets Kawahara to chase on an outside fastball for the 3rd out!
Bottom 8th
I wouldn't have expected Jyousou to have this much trouble.
One down and top batter Yoshizawa singles on a letter-high fastball through the left side. Very next pitch, Yoshinari does the exact same!
Safety bunt! Takashima lays down the bunt! Ootake dashes over, throws to 1st and they get Takahashi! He gets the job done though.
But Uchida is up, already 2-3 on the day. Will they pitch to him with 1st open?
Yes! Ootake fires one in for a strike! They're pitching to him?!
Ahead 2-1, Uchida fouls off a fastball!
SANSHIN!!!!!
Uchida chases a changeup and he's thrown out at 1st to end the inning! What a gutsy call to go after him with the douten runner in scoring position!
Top 9th
It's another 1-2-3 inning for Iida, and he's done his job. 11 K's but his team trails with just 3 outs to go.
Bottom 9th
Shindou with a single through the left side starts the Jyousou rally!
Ootake going after the Jyousou batters, getting ahead of Asanuma 0-2, and gets him to chase a shuuto for the first out!
That brings up Iida. Can he help his cause?
Change inside for strike 1. Slider on the outside corner for the 2nd strike! Ootake tries to get him to chase twice, but to no avail.
Pop fly by Iida! Kobayashi, Nakagawa and Hirashita converge, but no one calls it and it falls in! 2 runners on with 1 out! Ikeda-kantoku calls for time, but will that defensive miscue cost Seiseikou?
Ootake continue to pound the inside part getting ahead of Wada 0-2.
Grounder to 3rd! Oka with it! Goes to the bag for one, throw to 1st, double play!
Seiseikou defeats Jyousou Gakuin 2-0!
Hm, the after game bow was rather curious. Usually the teams shake hands or something, and it looked like they might, but then they didn't and well... it just looked awkward.
So Jyousou Gakuin, despite getting 11 K's from their ace Iida, fall victim to the timely hit. The offense as expected struggled to get any sort of momentum going though they had 2 good chances in the 5th and 8th, they wound up going begging. They'll have to regroup their offense to try and support Iida for the fall.
Meanwhile Seiseikou's Ootake wasn't any faster on the gun, but was able to limit Jyousou's opportunities. Outside of the 4th though, they only managed just 1 hit. So while they got their 2 runs, they still face troubles at the plate in general. Facing Saibi won't be easy though.
Notable Players
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - W, CG, SHO, 9 H, 2 K, 0 BB
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - 1-4, 3B, R, RBI
Kawahara Ryouhei (Seiseikou) - 1-4, R, 2 K
Iida Harumi (Jyousou Gakuin) - L, CG, 2 ER, 4 H, 11 K, BB, HBP
Uchida Yasuhito (Jyousou Gakuin) - 2-4, 2B, K
Wada Rikiya (Jyousou Gakuin) - 1-4
Seiseikou gave notice last year that they weren't just another team after an 18 year hiatus. Defeating Naruto 3-1, they actually played well against haru-natsu champs Osaka Touin.
The amazing thing is that they made their fall run while only keeping ace Ootake Koutarou and now captain Nakagawa Koushi. Now, Nakagawa is Seiseikou's leadoff hitter, and Ootake is not only the ace, but their #3 hitter as well, so that certainly helps in reloading.
You can see what I had to say when I first saw him, but he has supposedly increased his fastball to the upper 130s and has a cutter and changeup with the normal complement.
The offense is also spotty. Against Shoushikan they got 10 hits and scored 8 runs. Next day against Okinawa Shougaku, they only manage just 3. Even in the quarterfinals facing Miyazaki Nichidai they get 5 hits.
And they aren't a power hitting team either. In fact their slugging percentage is less than their OBP. So they're willing to take walks, so long as they have the opportunity to. But there's no danger potential in the lineup.
Jyousou Gakuin in just 7 games effectively qualified themselves for Haru Koushien. But there was no competition in Ibaraki, then defeated Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi and Sano Nichidai before losing to Hanasaki Tokuharu.
But in that loss, they didn't use their ace Iida Harumi. It was probably because he went 12 innings, and gave up 5 runs. Either way, the relief staff couldn't get it done. Iida is by no means a dominant ace, but apparently he doesn't miss the zone. Even with just a 6.7 K/9 ratio, he has a 34:3 K/BB rate! 3 walks! That means a lot of balls in play, and by necessity a need for a solid defense. Yet they averaged just over 1 error per game.
The offense for Jyousou lies in their 1-6 batters, but much like Seiseikou do not have much punch to them. They do take walks, but not as much as Seiseikou (though actual opportunities to might vary thus affecting the total number). Perhaps stereotypically, Yoshizawa Gakushi sets the tone for the team at the leadoff spot, while their cleanup hitter Uchida Yasuhiro drives them in.
On paper, it sure looks like we'll see a low scoring game with lots of patience, lots of bunting and if the pitcher's tempo is fast, a speedy game.
Seiseikou (Kumamoto) - Kyushu Runner-up
SS Nakagawa Koushi
RF Kawahara Ryouhei
P Ootake Koutarou
C Andou Taichi
LF Hayashi Tatsuya
CF Hirashita Yuusei
1B Nishibashi Goujirou
2B Kobayashi Taichi
3B Oka Taisei
Jyousou Gakuin (Ibaraki) - Kanto 3/4 seed
SS Yoshizawa Gakushi
RF Yoshinari Yuusuke
CF Takashima Shouta
C Uchida Yasuhito
3B Shindou Suguru
LF Asanuma Daichi
P Iida Harumi
1B Wada Rikiya
2B Ikezawa Kouhei
____________________________________________________________
12:45 - First pitch!
Top 1st
This is interesting. He actually goes into the upper 130s with his fastball. I wouldn't have necessarily seen that given his numbers. And I didn't catch much of it because I was busy trying to get my primary feed going, but he has at least 4-5 different off-speed pitches.
And he's already racking up the K's. Ouside of an easy popup back to him, he strikes out Nakagawa looking and Ootake swinging on what might be a cutter.
Bottom 1st
Hm... it doesn't look like Ootake has gotten any more kph on his fastball...
So it's probably lots of contact for him, and indeed at least for the 1st it is. Groundout to short from Yoshizawa, groundout to 2nd from Yoshinari, and then an easy fly to right by Takashima.
Top 2nd
Andou's grounder to 3rd is smothered by Shindou, and his throw short-hops Wada - but he makes a good pick for the out.
Hayashi swings and misses on a change for the 2nd out.
And the pace is much faster here as Hirashita swings and misses on an Iida offering inside and the side is retired. 4 K's for Iida already and Seiseikou's already stagnant offense looks to be even more so this game.
Bottom 2nd
Uchida with a fly to right center, and that falls in! Kawahara tries to get it in quickly, but he's in qith a double! Shindou bunts him over for Asanuma.
He hits a nubber foul up the 3rd base, wait! It rolls back fair! Oka quickly gets it and throws to first for the 2nd out!
Iida grounds to short! Nakagawa gathers it and throws to 1st to retire the side!
Top 3rd
Nishibashi doesn down swinging on a curbe in the dirt, and that's 5 K's. This has the potential to be very ugly for Seiseikou.
Kobayashi makes contact, but flies out to Yoshinari for the 2nd out.
And Iida climbs the ladder on Oka for his 6th K... Oy.
Bottom 3rd
Wada with a drive to deep left, Hayashi backs up to the wall, but makes the catch and taps the padding with his glove.
Ikezawa with a safety bunt! Oka charges in, but is throw is offline and Oka is on safely!
There's no bunt called by Sasaki-kantoku, and whilie Yoshizawa fouls a couple of balls off, Ootake gets him to fly out to left.
Grounder to short by Yoshinari and Kobayshi goes the short way to retire the side.
Top 4th
Nakagawa turns on a fastball and gets Seiseikou's first hit!
But he's caught going the wrong way! Iida tosses to 1st, and while Nakagawa tries to swim out of the way of the tag, it looks like he might have been caught before he reached in.
And that's a shame because Kawahara takes a slider and bloops it the other way for a base hit!
OH!
Ootake goes down on a fastball and drives it to deep center! Takashima dashing back, it's off the secondary fence and bounces back into play! Kawahara scores from 1st on Ootake's triple and it's 1-0 Seiseiko! Didn't see that coming! And how much does that pickoff mean now?
Jyousou's battery is looking for a squeeze, but Seiseikou isn't going for it.
AHHH!!!!
Iida bounces one in front of Uchida and it bounces away from him! Ootake charges in and scores! 2-0 Seiseikou on the wild pitch!
And now Iida walks Andou! Uchida goes to have a word with him.
2-2 count, Ikeda-kantoku calls for a bunt! Hayashi lays it down and advances Andou into scoring position for Hirashita!
But he goes down swinging to end the inning. Seiseikou thanks to their ace takes the lead!
Bottom 4th
Takashima with a ball to the right side, Kobayashi makes a great pick on the run, spins and turns to 1st for the out!
Uchida gets under a change and hits it to right. Kawahara calls off Kobayashi for the catch. And Shindou grounds to 1st and the inning is over!
Top 5th
This is rather odd, for someone having just 3 walks, he hits Nishibashi.
Man Iida has a quick throw to 1st. Seiseikou's running game (if they had one) is stifled.
At 0-1, Kobayashi tries to bunt, but fouls it off.
And now he's three bunting?
He doesn, but the ball pops up and spins foul for the out! Now Oka's asked to bunt, though there are a lot of throws to 1st.
Oka misses the bunt again, Uchida fires to 1st, but Wada has a brain fart and forgets to tag Nishibashi.
And Oka fouls off his three bunt and there's 2 out!
Nakagawa lines out to left and the inning is over.
Bottom 5th
Asanuma lines one to left for a leadoff single, and Iida bunts him over.
Wada bloops one down the right field line! Kobayashi and Kawahara charge in but it falls between them! Runners at the corners with just one down!
Ikezawa showing safety squeeze, tries to chop one high, but it goes foul!
Shows it again, but pulls it back probably to get a ball.
Grounder to 3rd! Oka with it and Asanuma is in no-man's land! He's run down by Andou, who stumbles and notices that Wada and Ikezawa are both at 2nd! He charges at them, starts to chase Ikezawa who is running back to 1st, then notices Wada heading towards 2nd! Tosses back as Wada scrambles back, safe! That was almost a disaster for Jyousou!
Yoshizawa with a hard liner to 3rd, but Oka makes the catch for the out, and Seiseikou holds onto their 2-run lead!
Top 6th
Despite giving up the 2 runs, Iida continues to rack up the K's. Kawahara gets called out on a change on the outside half.
After a groundout by Ootake, Andou bloops one in front of Takashima for a base hit. He's left stranded after Hayahshi hits an infield fly to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
After 2 quick groundouts to Kobayashi, Uchida gets his 2nd hit, a grounder that a diving Oka goes right over. (He didn't need to dive).
Shindou swings on the 1-1 pitch which gets away from Andou and allows Uchida to reach 2nd!
But Shindou hits a comebacker to Ootake and he flips to 1st for the 3rd out.
I guess Ootake has gotten more accurate, which is necessary if you can't throw hard.
Top 7th
Hirashita works the count full, but can only ground out to 3rd. Nishibashi with a harder grounder to 3rd, and Shindou has it deflect off of him. He grabs it, goes to 1st and just beats out Nishibashi!
And it looks like Shindou will get all 3 putouts! Kobayashi pops it up in foul territory and Shindou makes the catch to retire the side!
Bottom 7th
Jyousou Gakuin's 7th inning comes and goes in the blink of an eye! Asai and Iida both fly out to right, and Iida hits a liner back up the middle that Ootake snags for the 3rd out!
Top 8th
Outside of the 4th inning, Iida has been very effective. Routine grounder to 1st from Oka, jams Nakagawa into a groundout at short, and then gets Kawahara to chase on an outside fastball for the 3rd out!
Bottom 8th
I wouldn't have expected Jyousou to have this much trouble.
One down and top batter Yoshizawa singles on a letter-high fastball through the left side. Very next pitch, Yoshinari does the exact same!
Safety bunt! Takashima lays down the bunt! Ootake dashes over, throws to 1st and they get Takahashi! He gets the job done though.
But Uchida is up, already 2-3 on the day. Will they pitch to him with 1st open?
Yes! Ootake fires one in for a strike! They're pitching to him?!
Ahead 2-1, Uchida fouls off a fastball!
SANSHIN!!!!!
Uchida chases a changeup and he's thrown out at 1st to end the inning! What a gutsy call to go after him with the douten runner in scoring position!
Top 9th
It's another 1-2-3 inning for Iida, and he's done his job. 11 K's but his team trails with just 3 outs to go.
Bottom 9th
Shindou with a single through the left side starts the Jyousou rally!
Ootake going after the Jyousou batters, getting ahead of Asanuma 0-2, and gets him to chase a shuuto for the first out!
That brings up Iida. Can he help his cause?
Change inside for strike 1. Slider on the outside corner for the 2nd strike! Ootake tries to get him to chase twice, but to no avail.
Pop fly by Iida! Kobayashi, Nakagawa and Hirashita converge, but no one calls it and it falls in! 2 runners on with 1 out! Ikeda-kantoku calls for time, but will that defensive miscue cost Seiseikou?
Ootake continue to pound the inside part getting ahead of Wada 0-2.
Grounder to 3rd! Oka with it! Goes to the bag for one, throw to 1st, double play!
Seiseikou defeats Jyousou Gakuin 2-0!
Hm, the after game bow was rather curious. Usually the teams shake hands or something, and it looked like they might, but then they didn't and well... it just looked awkward.
So Jyousou Gakuin, despite getting 11 K's from their ace Iida, fall victim to the timely hit. The offense as expected struggled to get any sort of momentum going though they had 2 good chances in the 5th and 8th, they wound up going begging. They'll have to regroup their offense to try and support Iida for the fall.
Meanwhile Seiseikou's Ootake wasn't any faster on the gun, but was able to limit Jyousou's opportunities. Outside of the 4th though, they only managed just 1 hit. So while they got their 2 runs, they still face troubles at the plate in general. Facing Saibi won't be easy though.
Notable Players
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - W, CG, SHO, 9 H, 2 K, 0 BB
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseikou) - 1-4, 3B, R, RBI
Kawahara Ryouhei (Seiseikou) - 1-4, R, 2 K
Iida Harumi (Jyousou Gakuin) - L, CG, 2 ER, 4 H, 11 K, BB, HBP
Uchida Yasuhito (Jyousou Gakuin) - 2-4, 2B, K
Wada Rikiya (Jyousou Gakuin) - 1-4
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Day 10, Game 2 - Seiseiko (Kumamoto) vs. Osaka Touin (Osaka)
The stands are filled to the top today, not just because it's vacation, but because the upcoming team will be taking the field here in the 2nd game.
Osaka Touin as expected had no trouble in their first game, defeating Kisaradzu Sougou in dominating fashion as Tabata finally took the field for the first time (he missed playing in Senbatsu due to an injury) and hit a HR, as well as Kasamatsu in an 8-2 victory. The offense looks to be in good form.
What probably was surprising was that Nakatani-kantoku left Fujinami in for all 9 innings. This even though they had held a 7-2 lead after 6 innings and it was the early afternoon game. Fujinami''s stamina is his biggest issue, and I can't imagine being out there entire game helps.
The team tasked with trying to defeat the senbatsu chanpions is Seiseiko out of Kumamoto. They drew one of the Best 4 from the spring - Naruto, and held them to just 1 run on 3 hits!
That was thanks in part to ace Ootake, who struck out 9 and got 11 groundball outs. He'll need to have his best game today to try and curb Osaka Touin's offense.
Speaking of offense, Seiseiko's offense is partially based on speed - though they were picked off a couple of times on the bases. They don't necessarily steal bases, but they use it to force defenses into making different plays.
It can work against weak teams, and even to some extent against average/above average teams. But against the Senbatsu champions? I'm not so sure about that..
Seiseiko (Kumamoto)
RF Matsunaga
SS Nishi
LF Nakamura Kenrou
CF Yamashita
C Nishiguchi
3B Nakagawa
P Ootake
2B Nakamura Kenta (#3)
1B Andou (#12)
Osaka Touin (Osaka)
C Mori
2B Oonishi
RF Mizumoto
1B Tabata
LF Yasui
3B Kasamatsu
CF Hakusui
SS Mizutani (#14)
P Sawada (#10)
____________________________________________________________
10:45 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Not anything against Seiseiko, but starting Sawada is the right decision. Anytime you can rest your ace, take it.
One down Nishi singles through to right.
Ikeda-kantoku tries for the hit-and-run, but Kengo fouls it off.
So Nishi tries for the straight steal, but is thrown out easily.
And Kenrou grounds right to Tabata at 1st to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Mori insides out a pitch and singles to left.
Oonishi with a nubber up the 3rd base line. Ootake fields and throws wide to 1st. Kenta is there for the catch, and has a pretty hard collision with Oonishi - but holds on for the out.
Mizumoto with a single past Kenta into right! Mori scores easily and as expected, Osaka Touin leads 1-0.
Yasui flies out to center for the 2nd out.
Ootake trying to paint the corners or get Kasamatsu to chase, but he doesn't. Manrui for Osaka Touin. But Hakusui grounds to 1st to end the inning.
Top 2nd
Yamashita gets hit to start the inning. Douten runner is on for Seiseiko.
Nishiguchi tries put something on his swing, but he's under it and flies out to left.
Sawada with another pitcher way inside, Nakagawa tries to jump, but it's off his right knee for a dead ball.
And I mean that was flush on the knee as it ricochet off towards the Seiseiko bench. So Kenrou goes to run for him.
Ootake up with one down, and he's showing bunt?
He lays it down, Sawada chases after it but can't catch up to it. Kasamatsu charges in late, makes the throw, just beats Ootake!
So Seiseiko is looking for the one timer from Nakamura.
Doesn't need it! Sawada throws behind Nakamura! Yamashita comes in to score and we're tied at 1-1!
And now Sawada walks Nakamura on 4 straight! Runners at the corners with 2 down though and Seiseiko needs a hit.
And Andou can't pull the trigger on a strike at the knees and he's out #3! But a wild pitch from Sawada at least gives Seiseiko something to work with!
Bottom 2nd
Mizutani swings on an outside pitch and hits a comebacker to Ootake for the first out.
Ootake keeping the pitches low, bu falls behind 3-1 before filling up the count.
Sawada though puts it past Ootake's glove into center for a base hit.
Mori swings on the first pitch and fouls out to Nakagawa, who's OK after being hit in the knee.
And Ootake gets Oonishi to chase an outisde fastball for the 3rd out. A good recovery inning after the 1st.
Top 3rd
Top of the order for Seiseiko.
Matsunaga can't get the bat on an ouside fastball and goes down swinging.
Nishi feign bunt twice and takes 2 strikes. Has to defend now, fouling one off. He makes contact, but grounds out to 2nd.
Kenrou too rolls one to 2nd, and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Mizumoto first pitch singles back up the middle.
Cleanup batter Tabata, bunting?? He lays it down and Nishiguchi throws him out, but it's making me wonder how seriously they're taking this game.
They may be using this as practice since they can figure they can pull away at any time. It might be true, but I figure you'd do it after you got ahead, not before. Or I suppose they could just be sizing up Ootake's pitches for later.
Anyways, Yasui up and Ootake strikes him out swinging on an inside fastball.
But with 2 down, he hits Kasamatsu.
After a way inside pitch to Hakusui, Nishiguchi goes out to talk to him.
Hakusui swings at a slider close to the other batting box and the side is retired.
Top 4th
Yamashita with a hot shot to 3rd, but Kasamatsu has it for the 1st out.
Nishiguchi gets a man on for Seiseiko with a single to right.
Nakagawa tries to chop bunt one while running, but it goes foul. He lays down a traditional one and advances Nishiguchi for Ootake.
He'll need a base hit or error to score him though.
But he swings on a inside slider and rolls a grounder to 1st.
Bottom 4th
Huh. Mizutani swings over a fastball for the first out.
Sawada with a ball to to the opposite field. Kenrou running back towards the foul pole? Still running! Looks up!!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, on a rather innocuous swing, Sawada is able to hit it over the fence in left for a HR! That's some power he hast there. 2-1 Osaka Touin!
Mori up, and he drives a ball to deep right! Matsunaga running back to the fence, but he's giving up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's back-to-back HR's for Osaka Touin now! They're not playing around anymore (if they ever were). 3-1 now in favor of the Senbatsu champs!
Oonishi can't check his swing and goes down for the 2nd out.
Mizumoto after fouling off 4 pitches, singles past a diving Kenta for his 3rd hit of the day.
Tabata pulls one through the gap for another hit.
Yasui takes an inside pitch the other way over Nakagawa for another hit. Mizumoto scores to make it 4-1!
Kasamatsu hits a weak grounder back to Ootake who finally tosses to 1st to end the inning.
But Osaka Touin flexes it's offense and take the lead once again.
Top 5th
Nishimura singles past Tabata into right for a leadoff single. Andou bunts him along.
Matsunaga twice tries the bunt and run, but fouls it off both times.
Forced to swing away, he lines up the fastball and lines it to center! Hakusui comes in, slides, but can't get to it! Nakamura scores to make it 4-2!!
Nishi showing bunt again looking to try for a one-timer.
But he takes strike 2 and will he three bunt? He's showing it at the plate at least.
He swings away, but grounds into the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Seiseiko at least gets one back.
Bottom 5th
Ootake finally gets a 1-2-3 inning with 3 groundouts from the bottom of the order. We hit the break with Osaka Touin leading Seiseiko 4-2 behind back-to-back HR's by the Osaka Touin battery.
Top 6th
It's a quick inning for Sawada as he retires the heart of the order in 10 pitches. Flyout by Kenrou, a slow roller to 2nd by Yamashita, and a strikeout looking by Nishiguchi.
Bottom 6th
Two quck groundouts to 2nd and Ootake looked to have a quick inning, but Mizumoto hits a ball to deep center. Yamashita running back, leaps, but it's off his glove as he runs into the wall! Mizumoto rounding 2nd, reaches 3rd easily.
Tabata with a blast to center! He's raising his fist! Yamashita running back again! Looks up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tabata enjoying his time at Koushien this time around, takes the first pitch from Ootake and drives it out to dead center! 6-2 Osaka Touin!
Ootake finally gets that 3rd groundout to 2nd, but 2 batters too late.
Top 7th
Nakagawa with a hit to the left side, but Kasamatsu whiffs on the play! It deflects to left and Seiseiko has their leadoff runner.
Ootake showing bunt despite being down 4.
But Kasamatsu crashing in on the bunt, starts the 5-4-3 double play.
Nakamura lines out to 2nd and the lucky 7 ends for Seiseiko.
Bottom 7th
It's a quick inning for Osaka Touin as well. Two groundouts sandwich a K, and I think they're ready to finish this game ASAP and get out of the heat.
Top 8th
#6 Mega in the game now at SS, replacing PH Konda who hit in the 7th.
Andou goes down swinging on a slider, Matsunaga gets frozen on a slider, and Nishi pops out to left.
Bottom 8th
One down, and leadoff batter Mori drives one to the left center field wall for a double.
After a groundout by Oonishi, Ootake hits Mizumoto after getting up 0-2, so the inning continues.
Tabata lifts one to center, Yamashita up to retrieve it, and the side is retired.
Top 9th
Last AB's now for Seiseiko.
Kenrou lines out to Mega for the first out.
Yamashita checks in with his first hit, a seeing-eye single back up the middle. Nishiguchi follows that up with a single through to right!
Two on with one down for Nakagawa. And he's hit for the 2nd time! Manrui for Seiseiko!
#10 Ejima comes in to hit for Ootake. Swings on the first pitch, but lines out to center! 2 down!
Last chance in Nakamura respresenting the douten run.
But he flies out to left and the game ends there.
The result was expected, the score perhaps too. But Seiseiko for a little while stood toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the country. And despite being down 4, they at least fought to the end as well. I'm sure their large oen-dan section is proud of their efforts despite the loss. Great job to the boys from Seiseiko.
It seems fitting that the first 2 teams to punch their tickets are the runner-up and champion of this year's senbatsu. It's like a message to the other teams that they're not going anywhere. Osaka Touin for their part was able to rest their ace, and hopefully have him at full strength for the stretch run.
Notable Players
Sawada Keisuke (Osaka Touin) - CG, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K, BB, 3 HBP
Sawada Keisuke (Osaka Touin) -2-4, HR, R, RBI
Mori Tomoya (Osaka Touin) -3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI
Mizumoto Gen (Osaka Touin) - 4-4, 3B, 3 R, RBI, HBP
Tabata Yoshiki (Osaka Touin) -3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
Nishiguchi Takahiro (Seiseiko) - 2-4, K
Matsunaga Kunpei (Seiseiko) - 1-4, RBI, 2 K
Osaka Touin as expected had no trouble in their first game, defeating Kisaradzu Sougou in dominating fashion as Tabata finally took the field for the first time (he missed playing in Senbatsu due to an injury) and hit a HR, as well as Kasamatsu in an 8-2 victory. The offense looks to be in good form.
What probably was surprising was that Nakatani-kantoku left Fujinami in for all 9 innings. This even though they had held a 7-2 lead after 6 innings and it was the early afternoon game. Fujinami''s stamina is his biggest issue, and I can't imagine being out there entire game helps.
The team tasked with trying to defeat the senbatsu chanpions is Seiseiko out of Kumamoto. They drew one of the Best 4 from the spring - Naruto, and held them to just 1 run on 3 hits!
That was thanks in part to ace Ootake, who struck out 9 and got 11 groundball outs. He'll need to have his best game today to try and curb Osaka Touin's offense.
Speaking of offense, Seiseiko's offense is partially based on speed - though they were picked off a couple of times on the bases. They don't necessarily steal bases, but they use it to force defenses into making different plays.
It can work against weak teams, and even to some extent against average/above average teams. But against the Senbatsu champions? I'm not so sure about that..
Seiseiko (Kumamoto)
RF Matsunaga
SS Nishi
LF Nakamura Kenrou
CF Yamashita
C Nishiguchi
3B Nakagawa
P Ootake
2B Nakamura Kenta (#3)
1B Andou (#12)
Osaka Touin (Osaka)
C Mori
2B Oonishi
RF Mizumoto
1B Tabata
LF Yasui
3B Kasamatsu
CF Hakusui
SS Mizutani (#14)
P Sawada (#10)
____________________________________________________________
10:45 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Not anything against Seiseiko, but starting Sawada is the right decision. Anytime you can rest your ace, take it.
One down Nishi singles through to right.
Ikeda-kantoku tries for the hit-and-run, but Kengo fouls it off.
So Nishi tries for the straight steal, but is thrown out easily.
And Kenrou grounds right to Tabata at 1st to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Mori insides out a pitch and singles to left.
Oonishi with a nubber up the 3rd base line. Ootake fields and throws wide to 1st. Kenta is there for the catch, and has a pretty hard collision with Oonishi - but holds on for the out.
Mizumoto with a single past Kenta into right! Mori scores easily and as expected, Osaka Touin leads 1-0.
Yasui flies out to center for the 2nd out.
Ootake trying to paint the corners or get Kasamatsu to chase, but he doesn't. Manrui for Osaka Touin. But Hakusui grounds to 1st to end the inning.
Top 2nd
Yamashita gets hit to start the inning. Douten runner is on for Seiseiko.
Nishiguchi tries put something on his swing, but he's under it and flies out to left.
Sawada with another pitcher way inside, Nakagawa tries to jump, but it's off his right knee for a dead ball.
And I mean that was flush on the knee as it ricochet off towards the Seiseiko bench. So Kenrou goes to run for him.
Ootake up with one down, and he's showing bunt?
He lays it down, Sawada chases after it but can't catch up to it. Kasamatsu charges in late, makes the throw, just beats Ootake!
So Seiseiko is looking for the one timer from Nakamura.
Doesn't need it! Sawada throws behind Nakamura! Yamashita comes in to score and we're tied at 1-1!
And now Sawada walks Nakamura on 4 straight! Runners at the corners with 2 down though and Seiseiko needs a hit.
And Andou can't pull the trigger on a strike at the knees and he's out #3! But a wild pitch from Sawada at least gives Seiseiko something to work with!
Bottom 2nd
Mizutani swings on an outside pitch and hits a comebacker to Ootake for the first out.
Ootake keeping the pitches low, bu falls behind 3-1 before filling up the count.
Sawada though puts it past Ootake's glove into center for a base hit.
Mori swings on the first pitch and fouls out to Nakagawa, who's OK after being hit in the knee.
And Ootake gets Oonishi to chase an outisde fastball for the 3rd out. A good recovery inning after the 1st.
Top 3rd
Top of the order for Seiseiko.
Matsunaga can't get the bat on an ouside fastball and goes down swinging.
Nishi feign bunt twice and takes 2 strikes. Has to defend now, fouling one off. He makes contact, but grounds out to 2nd.
Kenrou too rolls one to 2nd, and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Mizumoto first pitch singles back up the middle.
Cleanup batter Tabata, bunting?? He lays it down and Nishiguchi throws him out, but it's making me wonder how seriously they're taking this game.
They may be using this as practice since they can figure they can pull away at any time. It might be true, but I figure you'd do it after you got ahead, not before. Or I suppose they could just be sizing up Ootake's pitches for later.
Anyways, Yasui up and Ootake strikes him out swinging on an inside fastball.
But with 2 down, he hits Kasamatsu.
After a way inside pitch to Hakusui, Nishiguchi goes out to talk to him.
Hakusui swings at a slider close to the other batting box and the side is retired.
Top 4th
Yamashita with a hot shot to 3rd, but Kasamatsu has it for the 1st out.
Nishiguchi gets a man on for Seiseiko with a single to right.
Nakagawa tries to chop bunt one while running, but it goes foul. He lays down a traditional one and advances Nishiguchi for Ootake.
He'll need a base hit or error to score him though.
But he swings on a inside slider and rolls a grounder to 1st.
Bottom 4th
Huh. Mizutani swings over a fastball for the first out.
Sawada with a ball to to the opposite field. Kenrou running back towards the foul pole? Still running! Looks up!!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, on a rather innocuous swing, Sawada is able to hit it over the fence in left for a HR! That's some power he hast there. 2-1 Osaka Touin!
Mori up, and he drives a ball to deep right! Matsunaga running back to the fence, but he's giving up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's back-to-back HR's for Osaka Touin now! They're not playing around anymore (if they ever were). 3-1 now in favor of the Senbatsu champs!
Oonishi can't check his swing and goes down for the 2nd out.
Mizumoto after fouling off 4 pitches, singles past a diving Kenta for his 3rd hit of the day.
Tabata pulls one through the gap for another hit.
Yasui takes an inside pitch the other way over Nakagawa for another hit. Mizumoto scores to make it 4-1!
Kasamatsu hits a weak grounder back to Ootake who finally tosses to 1st to end the inning.
But Osaka Touin flexes it's offense and take the lead once again.
Top 5th
Nishimura singles past Tabata into right for a leadoff single. Andou bunts him along.
Matsunaga twice tries the bunt and run, but fouls it off both times.
Forced to swing away, he lines up the fastball and lines it to center! Hakusui comes in, slides, but can't get to it! Nakamura scores to make it 4-2!!
Nishi showing bunt again looking to try for a one-timer.
But he takes strike 2 and will he three bunt? He's showing it at the plate at least.
He swings away, but grounds into the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Seiseiko at least gets one back.
Bottom 5th
Ootake finally gets a 1-2-3 inning with 3 groundouts from the bottom of the order. We hit the break with Osaka Touin leading Seiseiko 4-2 behind back-to-back HR's by the Osaka Touin battery.
Top 6th
It's a quick inning for Sawada as he retires the heart of the order in 10 pitches. Flyout by Kenrou, a slow roller to 2nd by Yamashita, and a strikeout looking by Nishiguchi.
Bottom 6th
Two quck groundouts to 2nd and Ootake looked to have a quick inning, but Mizumoto hits a ball to deep center. Yamashita running back, leaps, but it's off his glove as he runs into the wall! Mizumoto rounding 2nd, reaches 3rd easily.
Tabata with a blast to center! He's raising his fist! Yamashita running back again! Looks up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tabata enjoying his time at Koushien this time around, takes the first pitch from Ootake and drives it out to dead center! 6-2 Osaka Touin!
Ootake finally gets that 3rd groundout to 2nd, but 2 batters too late.
Top 7th
Nakagawa with a hit to the left side, but Kasamatsu whiffs on the play! It deflects to left and Seiseiko has their leadoff runner.
Ootake showing bunt despite being down 4.
But Kasamatsu crashing in on the bunt, starts the 5-4-3 double play.
Nakamura lines out to 2nd and the lucky 7 ends for Seiseiko.
Bottom 7th
It's a quick inning for Osaka Touin as well. Two groundouts sandwich a K, and I think they're ready to finish this game ASAP and get out of the heat.
Top 8th
#6 Mega in the game now at SS, replacing PH Konda who hit in the 7th.
Andou goes down swinging on a slider, Matsunaga gets frozen on a slider, and Nishi pops out to left.
Bottom 8th
One down, and leadoff batter Mori drives one to the left center field wall for a double.
After a groundout by Oonishi, Ootake hits Mizumoto after getting up 0-2, so the inning continues.
Tabata lifts one to center, Yamashita up to retrieve it, and the side is retired.
Top 9th
Last AB's now for Seiseiko.
Kenrou lines out to Mega for the first out.
Yamashita checks in with his first hit, a seeing-eye single back up the middle. Nishiguchi follows that up with a single through to right!
Two on with one down for Nakagawa. And he's hit for the 2nd time! Manrui for Seiseiko!
#10 Ejima comes in to hit for Ootake. Swings on the first pitch, but lines out to center! 2 down!
Last chance in Nakamura respresenting the douten run.
But he flies out to left and the game ends there.
The result was expected, the score perhaps too. But Seiseiko for a little while stood toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the country. And despite being down 4, they at least fought to the end as well. I'm sure their large oen-dan section is proud of their efforts despite the loss. Great job to the boys from Seiseiko.
It seems fitting that the first 2 teams to punch their tickets are the runner-up and champion of this year's senbatsu. It's like a message to the other teams that they're not going anywhere. Osaka Touin for their part was able to rest their ace, and hopefully have him at full strength for the stretch run.
Notable Players
Sawada Keisuke (Osaka Touin) - CG, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K, BB, 3 HBP
Sawada Keisuke (Osaka Touin) -2-4, HR, R, RBI
Mori Tomoya (Osaka Touin) -3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI
Mizumoto Gen (Osaka Touin) - 4-4, 3B, 3 R, RBI, HBP
Tabata Yoshiki (Osaka Touin) -3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
Nishiguchi Takahiro (Seiseiko) - 2-4, K
Matsunaga Kunpei (Seiseiko) - 1-4, RBI, 2 K
Monday, August 13, 2012
Day 6, Game 2 - Naruto (Tokushima) vs. Seiseiko (Kumamoto)
Elevens tea time for all, and we look west for our two participants, both of whom are making their lucky 7th appearance (no, not really lucky, just saying).
So first off to Shikoku and Naruto. No, not the anime, stop asking me. Tokushima's prefecturals are so small, that Naruto just needed 4 games to win their 7th title.
This brings them back to Koushien for the summer. In Senbatsu, after a close win against Sumoto, they upset Sakushin Gakuin before losing to Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi. This time around they're looking for a little more.
Naruto batted a very nice 0.411 during the 4-game stretch, though that drops to 0.353 when looking at the games against Naruto Uzushio (fka Naruto Kougyou) and former powerhouse (but trying to make a comeback) Ikeda. 1B Sugimoto was money in both of those games (6-6, 3 RBIs), so he'll be one to watch.
From the spring, Goutouda had a fastball in the low-mid 130s, slider in the high 110s-low 120s, and a slow curve in the high 90s-low 100s.
Opposing Naruto will be Seiseiko, who hasn't been at Koushien in 18 years. They only had to get through Kyushu Gakuin, whom 2 years ago had reached the Best 8.
That game, plus a 3-0 win over Kumamoto Kokufu were the only 2 times Seiseiko were challenged. The scary part is that they averaged over 6 runs a game while hitting a meager 0.248 (and 0.203) in their last 2 games. Afforded the opportunity, they will take a walk when presented with one, but when they played Kyushu Gakuin they walked just once.
So... hello ace Ootake. He seems to get his fair share of strikeouts, so he's doesn't appear to be a soft-tosser. He also limits his walks too, so he won't defeat himself.
It doesn't look good for Seiseiko as the poor offense is generally hard to overcome, but it can be done (hello Ryuukokudai Heian).
Naruto (Tokushima)
SS Kawano
CF Shimada
LF Inaoka
1B Sugimoto
RF Yamato
3B Matsumoto
C Kusaka
P Goutouda
2B Nakano
Seiseiko (Kumamoto)
RF Matsunaga
SS Nishi
LF Nakamura Kenrou
CF Yamashita
C Nishiguchi
3B Nakagawa
P Ootake
2B Andou (#12)
1B Nakamura Kenta
____________________________________________________________
10:40 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Good start for Ootake ashe gets Kawano chasing a ball away for out #1. Shimada does the same, and rolls a grounder back to Ootake.
And Inaoka does the same! 2nd year Ootake with a good 1-2-3 inning to set the tone for Seiseiko!
Bottom 1st
Huh, didn't notice how 5 of the 9 starting members for Naruto were 2nd years until the announce said so.
Matsunaga with a bloop base hit down the left field line for a base hit! Nishi lays down the bunt, and Nishiguchi goes to 2nd, but Matsunaga is safe! Big chance for Seiseiko early!
But Kusaka catches Matsunaga off 2nd on the 0-1 pitch! He's run down for the 1st out! Nishi advances to 2nd. Kengo advances him to 3rd on a ground ball to the right side.
Wild pitch! Goutouda throws a wild pitch and Nishi heads for home! But the ball doesn't go far away and Kusaka tosses to Goutouda... OUT! 2 baserunning out and what was a promising inning for Seiseiko goes begging!
Top 2nd
Ootake with his 2nd K, getting Sugimoto to swing on a fastball on the outside half. Then Nishi makes a great play in the gap and Andou makes a great stretch on the high throw for the 2nd out.
Matsumoto pops out in foul territory to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Yamashita goes down swinging on a slider for the first out.
Nishiguchi gets hit by a Goutouda pitch and now Nakayama bunts the runner along for hopefully a one-timer from Ootake.
But Ootake is frozen on a fastball on the outside corner and the side is retired.
Top 3rd
So, Ootake looks to have a fastball in the low 130's, maybe a cutter in the high 120s, and a change in the high 110s.
Kusaka fouls off several pitches in various places in the zone, but grounds to short. Ootake gets yet another K as Goutouda can't hit a fastball on the outside half.
Nakano gets Naruto's first hit, a single through the right side. But that is short lived as Kawano flies out to right.
Bottom 3rd
Kenta, with a golf shot and slices it to shallow left for a base hit! Andou bunts him along to 2nd.
Now Kenta is picked off 2nd by Kusaka! He sprints for 3rd and the throw is offline! He's safe at 3rd!
Grounder to 3rd! Matsumoto with it, looks home, but has no play! Throw to 1st, not in time!! Speed can be a 2-edged sword and it works in their favor here! Seiseiko takes a 1-0 lead!
Nishi tries to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 0-2 and can't check his swing for the 2nd out.
So Matsunaga takes matters into his own hands and steals 2nd himself!
However, he's left stranded as Kengo flies out to right. Still, it's Seiseiko who's on the board!
Top 4th
Wow, Ootake is doing a great job against Naruto. Shimada hits a infield foul pop to Nakamura. Inaoka chases a slider for Ootake's 4th K, and Sugimoto hits a harmless fly to left for another 1-2-3 inning!
Bottom 4th
One down and Nishiguchi hits a blast to right! Yamato doesn't really move from his spot!!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT??!!
Nishiguchi gets around on the ball and pulls it all the way for a solo HR! Seiseiko now leads 2-0!!
Nakayama puts his bat out on the ball and guides it over third and in for a base hit! Ikeda-kantoku has Ootake bunt for a one-timer from Kenta.
He falls behind 1-2 but is making an AB out of it, fouling off balls that are way inside.
Kenta grounds out to 2nd to end the inning, but yet another HR to right doubles Seiseiko's lead!!
Top 5th
Yamato with a grounder to 1st, and Kenta boots it! It goes back towards home as Yamato passes it to 1st! Matsumoto bunts him along to 2nd.
Kusaka with a blast to left! Yamashita chasing it back to the foul pole, still running!
It's off the fence! Yamashita throws the ball in, but the error costs Seiseiko as Yamato score to make it 2-1!
Gotouda can't advance the runner as he hits a comebacker to Ootake. 2 down and it's up to last batter Nakano.
But Ootake rings up Nakano on a fastball again on the outer half! Naruto gets the HR back, but stil trail by 1!
Bottom 5th
Andou reaches when a chopper up the middle is deflected by Goutouda back to the left and is slowed down. By the time Kawano gets to it, its too late!
Matsunaga bunts him along to 2nd. Nishi lays down a bunt! Kusaka there, looks to 3rd, but Matsumoto was charging in! Throw to 1st, not in time!
Man, these guys are fast.
Hit-and-run! Kengo swings away, but lines out to short! Kawano tags Nishi and the side is retired!
But Seiseiko leads 2-1 on the back of speed and a HR.
You know what though? Seiseiko reminds me a little of Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi, the same team that defeated Naruto in the spring!
Top 6th
Hm... there's a delay as CF Yamashita appears to need medical treatment for something. He wasn't involved in any plays, so I wonder what's wrong.
As the announcers make small talk, I only notice now that the stands are full, no doubt for Osaka Touin.
After a bit of a delay, he exits and returns to center.
Ootake with his 6 K and Kawano can't catch to the 130 kph fastball.
Shimada quickly flies out to right for the 2nd out.
Inaoka with a ball back up the middle. Nishi makes a good stop and throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Bottom 6th
Yamashita up to start the inning and he looks fine, except for the now 0-3 day as he pops to 2nd.
Nishiguchi with a grounder to short. Kawano throw to 1st is low and Sugimoto can't get it! Nakayama bunts him over for Ootake.
Ootake a comebacker to Goutouda and deflects off his glove! He gets it as it rolls to 3rd and makes the play at 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 7th
Two quick outs for Ootake, then he freezes Matumoto on a change right over the plate! That's 7 K's in 7 innings!
Bottom 7th
Kenta with a base hit past a diving Nakano into rigth! Andou to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 0-2! He three bunts and lays it down! Runner in scoring position as the lineup turns over to Matsunaga!
Matsunaga tries the safety bunt but it goes foul! Shows it again but lays off for a ball. Count goes to 3-1 and he swings away! Fouls it off though and it runs full.
Matsunaga with a full swing short slicer to the left side! Matsumoto charges in, throws to 1st, but it's not in time!! Runners at the corners with one down!
Kusaka with a snap throw to 3rd, and they almost had Kenta!
Nishi swinging away! Down the left field line... foul!
Nishi with a liner! Kawano jumps and makes the catch! Throws to 1st again and they double off the runner again! 3 outs!
Top 8th
Wait a minute. The score is 3-1! How is that possible??!!
The home plate umpire explains it:
You see, it was more of a toss to 1st and a casual tag of the bag. So it's completely possible that Kenta could have scored on the play!
So Naruto enters the 8th down 2!
Kusaka works on getting the runs back with a single past Kenta into right. Goutouda bunts him over. But Ootake's been working that outside corner all game! Nakano strikes out swinging for the 2nd out!
And Kawano looks at strike 3! Ball gets away from Nishiguchi, but he makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out! What masterful pitching by Ootake!
Bottom 8th
It's a routine 1-2-3 inning for Goutouda as Kengo strikes out swinging, Yamashita check swing hits the ball and grounds back to Gououda, and Nishiguchi fouls out to Sugimoto.
Top 9th
Last ups for Naruto.
#11 Ise up, hits a liner down the left field line, caught by Matsumoto for the 1st out!
Inaoka with a slow grounder to 1st. Kenta there and tags the bag for the 2nd out!
Sugimoto the last chance, and he hits a grounder that sneaks past the glove of Nishi into left!
Yamato with a grounder to short. Nishi throws to 1st... and the game is over! Seiseiko defeats Naruto 3-1!
Now, to be fair, perhaps Naruto would have played the last couple of innings differently had they been down 1 instead of 2. But at the same time Ootake had just given up 3 hits on the day. But anything could have happened, so how much did that insurance run deflate Naruto?
So Naruto, a team that probably had great ambitions, was defeated by a team is a partial copy of Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi. It's painful in a way that they didn't conrol part of the game, and I really do feel for them. But at the same time, Ootake as mentioned before was completely masterful with 9 K's, no walks and just 3 hits. So credit must be given to Ootake and Seiseiko, who played a game that wreaked havoc all over the place. If they do face Osaka Touin (and they probably will), they need to learn from Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi and continue that strategy into that game.
Notable Players
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseiko) - CG, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 0 BB
Nishiguchi Takahiro (Seiseiko) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, HBP
Nakamura Kenta (Seiseiko) - 2-3, 2R
Goutouda Shuusaku (Naruto) - 8 IP, 3 R, 2 ER (?), 8 H, 4 K, BB
Kusaka Daiki (Naruto) - 2-3, 2B, RBI
So first off to Shikoku and Naruto. No, not the anime, stop asking me. Tokushima's prefecturals are so small, that Naruto just needed 4 games to win their 7th title.
This brings them back to Koushien for the summer. In Senbatsu, after a close win against Sumoto, they upset Sakushin Gakuin before losing to Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi. This time around they're looking for a little more.
Naruto batted a very nice 0.411 during the 4-game stretch, though that drops to 0.353 when looking at the games against Naruto Uzushio (fka Naruto Kougyou) and former powerhouse (but trying to make a comeback) Ikeda. 1B Sugimoto was money in both of those games (6-6, 3 RBIs), so he'll be one to watch.
From the spring, Goutouda had a fastball in the low-mid 130s, slider in the high 110s-low 120s, and a slow curve in the high 90s-low 100s.
Opposing Naruto will be Seiseiko, who hasn't been at Koushien in 18 years. They only had to get through Kyushu Gakuin, whom 2 years ago had reached the Best 8.
That game, plus a 3-0 win over Kumamoto Kokufu were the only 2 times Seiseiko were challenged. The scary part is that they averaged over 6 runs a game while hitting a meager 0.248 (and 0.203) in their last 2 games. Afforded the opportunity, they will take a walk when presented with one, but when they played Kyushu Gakuin they walked just once.
So... hello ace Ootake. He seems to get his fair share of strikeouts, so he's doesn't appear to be a soft-tosser. He also limits his walks too, so he won't defeat himself.
It doesn't look good for Seiseiko as the poor offense is generally hard to overcome, but it can be done (hello Ryuukokudai Heian).
Naruto (Tokushima)
SS Kawano
CF Shimada
LF Inaoka
1B Sugimoto
RF Yamato
3B Matsumoto
C Kusaka
P Goutouda
2B Nakano
Seiseiko (Kumamoto)
RF Matsunaga
SS Nishi
LF Nakamura Kenrou
CF Yamashita
C Nishiguchi
3B Nakagawa
P Ootake
2B Andou (#12)
1B Nakamura Kenta
____________________________________________________________
10:40 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Good start for Ootake ashe gets Kawano chasing a ball away for out #1. Shimada does the same, and rolls a grounder back to Ootake.
And Inaoka does the same! 2nd year Ootake with a good 1-2-3 inning to set the tone for Seiseiko!
Bottom 1st
Huh, didn't notice how 5 of the 9 starting members for Naruto were 2nd years until the announce said so.
Matsunaga with a bloop base hit down the left field line for a base hit! Nishi lays down the bunt, and Nishiguchi goes to 2nd, but Matsunaga is safe! Big chance for Seiseiko early!
But Kusaka catches Matsunaga off 2nd on the 0-1 pitch! He's run down for the 1st out! Nishi advances to 2nd. Kengo advances him to 3rd on a ground ball to the right side.
Wild pitch! Goutouda throws a wild pitch and Nishi heads for home! But the ball doesn't go far away and Kusaka tosses to Goutouda... OUT! 2 baserunning out and what was a promising inning for Seiseiko goes begging!
Top 2nd
Ootake with his 2nd K, getting Sugimoto to swing on a fastball on the outside half. Then Nishi makes a great play in the gap and Andou makes a great stretch on the high throw for the 2nd out.
Matsumoto pops out in foul territory to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Yamashita goes down swinging on a slider for the first out.
Nishiguchi gets hit by a Goutouda pitch and now Nakayama bunts the runner along for hopefully a one-timer from Ootake.
But Ootake is frozen on a fastball on the outside corner and the side is retired.
Top 3rd
So, Ootake looks to have a fastball in the low 130's, maybe a cutter in the high 120s, and a change in the high 110s.
Kusaka fouls off several pitches in various places in the zone, but grounds to short. Ootake gets yet another K as Goutouda can't hit a fastball on the outside half.
Nakano gets Naruto's first hit, a single through the right side. But that is short lived as Kawano flies out to right.
Bottom 3rd
Kenta, with a golf shot and slices it to shallow left for a base hit! Andou bunts him along to 2nd.
Now Kenta is picked off 2nd by Kusaka! He sprints for 3rd and the throw is offline! He's safe at 3rd!
Grounder to 3rd! Matsumoto with it, looks home, but has no play! Throw to 1st, not in time!! Speed can be a 2-edged sword and it works in their favor here! Seiseiko takes a 1-0 lead!
Nishi tries to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 0-2 and can't check his swing for the 2nd out.
So Matsunaga takes matters into his own hands and steals 2nd himself!
However, he's left stranded as Kengo flies out to right. Still, it's Seiseiko who's on the board!
Top 4th
Wow, Ootake is doing a great job against Naruto. Shimada hits a infield foul pop to Nakamura. Inaoka chases a slider for Ootake's 4th K, and Sugimoto hits a harmless fly to left for another 1-2-3 inning!
Bottom 4th
One down and Nishiguchi hits a blast to right! Yamato doesn't really move from his spot!!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT??!!
Nishiguchi gets around on the ball and pulls it all the way for a solo HR! Seiseiko now leads 2-0!!
Nakayama puts his bat out on the ball and guides it over third and in for a base hit! Ikeda-kantoku has Ootake bunt for a one-timer from Kenta.
He falls behind 1-2 but is making an AB out of it, fouling off balls that are way inside.
Kenta grounds out to 2nd to end the inning, but yet another HR to right doubles Seiseiko's lead!!
Top 5th
Yamato with a grounder to 1st, and Kenta boots it! It goes back towards home as Yamato passes it to 1st! Matsumoto bunts him along to 2nd.
Kusaka with a blast to left! Yamashita chasing it back to the foul pole, still running!
It's off the fence! Yamashita throws the ball in, but the error costs Seiseiko as Yamato score to make it 2-1!
Gotouda can't advance the runner as he hits a comebacker to Ootake. 2 down and it's up to last batter Nakano.
But Ootake rings up Nakano on a fastball again on the outer half! Naruto gets the HR back, but stil trail by 1!
Bottom 5th
Andou reaches when a chopper up the middle is deflected by Goutouda back to the left and is slowed down. By the time Kawano gets to it, its too late!
Matsunaga bunts him along to 2nd. Nishi lays down a bunt! Kusaka there, looks to 3rd, but Matsumoto was charging in! Throw to 1st, not in time!
Man, these guys are fast.
Hit-and-run! Kengo swings away, but lines out to short! Kawano tags Nishi and the side is retired!
But Seiseiko leads 2-1 on the back of speed and a HR.
You know what though? Seiseiko reminds me a little of Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi, the same team that defeated Naruto in the spring!
Top 6th
Hm... there's a delay as CF Yamashita appears to need medical treatment for something. He wasn't involved in any plays, so I wonder what's wrong.
As the announcers make small talk, I only notice now that the stands are full, no doubt for Osaka Touin.
After a bit of a delay, he exits and returns to center.
Ootake with his 6 K and Kawano can't catch to the 130 kph fastball.
Shimada quickly flies out to right for the 2nd out.
Inaoka with a ball back up the middle. Nishi makes a good stop and throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Bottom 6th
Yamashita up to start the inning and he looks fine, except for the now 0-3 day as he pops to 2nd.
Nishiguchi with a grounder to short. Kawano throw to 1st is low and Sugimoto can't get it! Nakayama bunts him over for Ootake.
Ootake a comebacker to Goutouda and deflects off his glove! He gets it as it rolls to 3rd and makes the play at 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 7th
Two quick outs for Ootake, then he freezes Matumoto on a change right over the plate! That's 7 K's in 7 innings!
Bottom 7th
Kenta with a base hit past a diving Nakano into rigth! Andou to bunt the runner along, but falls behind 0-2! He three bunts and lays it down! Runner in scoring position as the lineup turns over to Matsunaga!
Matsunaga tries the safety bunt but it goes foul! Shows it again but lays off for a ball. Count goes to 3-1 and he swings away! Fouls it off though and it runs full.
Matsunaga with a full swing short slicer to the left side! Matsumoto charges in, throws to 1st, but it's not in time!! Runners at the corners with one down!
Kusaka with a snap throw to 3rd, and they almost had Kenta!
Nishi swinging away! Down the left field line... foul!
Nishi with a liner! Kawano jumps and makes the catch! Throws to 1st again and they double off the runner again! 3 outs!
Top 8th
Wait a minute. The score is 3-1! How is that possible??!!
The home plate umpire explains it:
The short liner was caught for the 2nd out. But before the 3rd out was recorded at 1st, Kenta scored from 3rd!! And with Naruto going into the dugout, they lost any chance of an appeal!
You see, it was more of a toss to 1st and a casual tag of the bag. So it's completely possible that Kenta could have scored on the play!
So Naruto enters the 8th down 2!
Kusaka works on getting the runs back with a single past Kenta into right. Goutouda bunts him over. But Ootake's been working that outside corner all game! Nakano strikes out swinging for the 2nd out!
And Kawano looks at strike 3! Ball gets away from Nishiguchi, but he makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out! What masterful pitching by Ootake!
Bottom 8th
Whoa, now I saw why the umpire mentioned something about an appeal. Kenta never tagged up, but the home plate umpire counted the run! And so because he counted the run, Naruto would have to appeal that Kenta left early. Except that they left the field and thus lost their right to appeal!
It's a routine 1-2-3 inning for Goutouda as Kengo strikes out swinging, Yamashita check swing hits the ball and grounds back to Gououda, and Nishiguchi fouls out to Sugimoto.
Top 9th
Last ups for Naruto.
#11 Ise up, hits a liner down the left field line, caught by Matsumoto for the 1st out!
Inaoka with a slow grounder to 1st. Kenta there and tags the bag for the 2nd out!
Sugimoto the last chance, and he hits a grounder that sneaks past the glove of Nishi into left!
Yamato with a grounder to short. Nishi throws to 1st... and the game is over! Seiseiko defeats Naruto 3-1!
Now, to be fair, perhaps Naruto would have played the last couple of innings differently had they been down 1 instead of 2. But at the same time Ootake had just given up 3 hits on the day. But anything could have happened, so how much did that insurance run deflate Naruto?
So Naruto, a team that probably had great ambitions, was defeated by a team is a partial copy of Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi. It's painful in a way that they didn't conrol part of the game, and I really do feel for them. But at the same time, Ootake as mentioned before was completely masterful with 9 K's, no walks and just 3 hits. So credit must be given to Ootake and Seiseiko, who played a game that wreaked havoc all over the place. If they do face Osaka Touin (and they probably will), they need to learn from Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi and continue that strategy into that game.
Notable Players
Ootake Koutarou (Seiseiko) - CG, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 0 BB
Nishiguchi Takahiro (Seiseiko) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, HBP
Nakamura Kenta (Seiseiko) - 2-3, 2R
Goutouda Shuusaku (Naruto) - 8 IP, 3 R, 2 ER (?), 8 H, 4 K, BB
Kusaka Daiki (Naruto) - 2-3, 2B, RBI
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