高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, more prefectures here below:

Ishikawa - Seiryou (16th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
In recent years, Seiryou has surged back into the discussion of teams in Ishikawa.  To a bit of a surprise, I noticed that Ishikawa in 8 of the last 10 years has been represented by either Kanazawa or Yuugakukan (4 times each).  Nihon Koukuu Ishikawa and Seiryou make up the other 2 appearances.

Yet, Matsui Hideki's alma mater has been on the precipice of reaching Koushien having reached the semifinals and finals the last 2 years eliminated by - yup, you guessed it, Kanazawa and Yuugakukan.

And so the big 3 started on their journey, and to Seiryou's benefit, the twin threats to their title run were on the other side of the bracket.  That allowed Seiryou a straight shot to the title game - so long as they didn't trip themselves up.  And for the most part they didn't.  They weren't mercy-rule dominating, but they still weren't really challenged.

Surprisingly though the other two did have some difficulty.  In #2 Yuugakukan's first game, they briefly held the lead after a 3-run 4th versus Komatsu, but were either tied or trailing otherwise.  In fact, they were down to their last 3 outs before scoring 2 runs to advance.  #3 Kanazawa looked rather mortal versus Komatsu Shougyou and #5-8 seed Komatsu Ootani.  Which had to be good for Seiryou.  Even better was that in the semifinal, the pair would go 13 innings with both sides emptying their bullpen before 2B Fujiguchi for Yuugakukan would decide things with a sayonara home run!

In the final, Yuugakukan's pitching staff was indeed depleted as Seiryou would take a 1-0 lead in the 2nd and never relinquish it.  Seiryou would use their own trio of pitchers (Iwashita, Muroki and Hatakenaka) to secure the 5-2 win and their 16th trip to Koushien on the year that their famous player retired from baseball.

Shiga - Hikone Higashi (1st appearance)
Shiga is kind of the same way as many other rural prefectures - a handful of teams control the bids to Natsu Koushien.  In this case, there are 4 repeat winners who account for 9 of the last 10 titles - Oumi (4), Kita-Ootsu (3), and Hachiman Shougyou (2) with the other being Shiga Gakuen.

So here, too many of the other schools are looking up at a select few who decide amongst themselves who goes - generally.

This year though, only Oumi was seeded out of the "Big 3".  Instead, it would be Hieizan (who was better in the 2000's), Hachiman Kougyou, and Hikone Higashi.

And when both Hachiman Shougyou and Kita-Ootsu eliminated early on, and Oumi playing fairly strong, perhaps they would claim yet another title.

But out of the best 4, one seeded team did not make it.  Hieizan would be ousted by unknown Oumi Kyoudaisha 3-1, behind a 10 strikeout performance by ace Sasaki.  Another win put them in the semifinals to face Oumi. In that semifinal, Oumi quickly got to Sasaki for 3 runs, only to see Kyoudaisha fight back with 3 in the 3rd off Oumi ace Kikubayashi.  It would stay that way until the 9th when Horii would give Oumi the 4-3 lead.  Kyoudaisha though, somehow didn't get the memo that weaker teams fold at the end, because down to their last out Naka delivers the douten run with a single to right, and with the bases loaded Noguchi would single to right center for the gyakuten sayonara win!

So Oumi was gone, which was a great relief to the other semifinalists.  Sadly, while Hachiman Kougyou did manage to reach the semis, they didn't look all that impressive.  And paired against Hikone Higashi - who probably is one of the better 2nd tier teams in Shiga, and had defeated Kita-Ootsu earlier, it would be a disaster.  A 5-inning mercy-rule win later and Hikone Higashi would be one step away from their first ever Natsu Koushien bid.

Oumi Kyoudaisha's intimidation factor continued to be 0 as they actually scored right off the bat in the top of the 1st.  And while Sasaki would relinquish the lead one inning later, he performed very will.  Unfortunately, Hikone Higashi got timely hits from Yamanaka and Takeda later on and would win 3-2 for their first title.

Hats off to Oumi Kyoudaisha though.  I don't know if we'll ever see them again, but man it was a great run they had... just a bit short.

Kyoto - Fukuchiyama Seibi (4th appearance, 1st in 5 years)
Kyoto has been the same as Shiga.  3 teams have gone to Koushien in the last 10 years - Kyoto Gaidai Nishi (4), Ryuukokudai Heian (4, one as Heian in 2003), Fukuchiyama Seibi (2).  Lately though Heian has been the representative with 3 of their 4 appearances happening in the last 4 years.

So to see another team breakthrough would be a rarity.  And it would probably be prudent to see how each of the teams progressed.

Well, first my favorite powerhouse in the prefecture - Kyoto Gaidai Nishi... lost in their first game to Tounan 10-5.  There goes that.

Fukuchiyama Seibi struggled in their first game against Rakutou.  Despite just getting 1 run on 2 hits they somehow won 1-0.  After that was smooth sailing to the Best 8.  Ryuukokudai Heian had no such trouble getting to the Best 8, but was paired with the Kyoto representative in Senbatsu - Kyoto Shouei.  And despite their lackluster performance at Koushien, ace Enomoto limited them to just a run on 6 hits in a 3-1 victory.

They would play a Fukuchiyama Seibi squad who survived a Kita-Saga game where they blew a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 9th, then in the 11th almost blew another 2-run lead winning 4-3.

In that blockbuster semifinal (which could have easily been a final), offense was at a premium with Enomoto and Seibi's ace Nakamura combining to give up just 9 hits.  But a timely hit by Sano for Seibi would be the only run in the game as they would move to the finals.

Now, since all 3 of the powerhouses were on one side of the bracket, it was just a matter of who would try to challenge them for the title.

Kyoto Kougakkan was able to slip their way through the field, including a 4-1 win over Kyoto Subaru (I'm only mentioning them because they're my irrational cheering team) to setup a quarterfinal match versus Ritsumeikan Uji - a team that could be considered 2nd tier.  A 3-run 8th would help them pull off the upset.

They'd play a Toba squad (who back in 2012 went to Senbatsu) who breezed through the field.  Sadly for Kyoto Kougakkan, their run ended here in a mercy-rule loss.

So that meant Toba would be the last barrier between Fukuchiyama Seibi and their 3rd title in the last 8 years.  Toba sadly would not be up to the task as 5 errors would lead to a 5-0 loss.

And by that I mean I'm avoiding the bigger super-regions.  There's just so many games to update.

Niigata
Niigata has fallen slightly behind due to a full rainout on the 13th and a partial one on the 14th.  All but 3 9-16 seeded teams though have played.  Only seeded upsets so far have occurred on the 9-16 seeds which can be expected.  Matsudai, who in their first game scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th for the win after Arai scored 3 in the top of the inning, continued their ぎりぎり run defeating Tookamachi Sougou 2-1 while Mitsuke understandably fell to Teikyou Nagaoka 9-0.

Of the top 4 teams, only #2 Shibata Chuo really breezed through their first game.  #1 Murakami Sakuragaoka and #3 Nihon Bunri both won, but not necessarily convincingly..  And #4 Niigata Kenou Kougyou actually trailed Nagaoka Nougyou 2-0 before coming back to win 4-3.

Nagano began play on the 13th with Achi mercy-ruling Toyoshina 10-3 in 7 innings.

Over in Matsumoto the past couple of days we had one of the more uglier scores - Iwamurada annihilating Sonan 35-1 in 5 innings, followed by a nail-biting 3-2 sayonara victory by Suzaka over Matsumoto Misuzugaoka.

In Ueda, Toukai Dai-san overcame a 4-run 3rd from Komoro with a run in 5 of the first 6 innings for the win while Matushiro will look to make a miracle run with a 6-3 win over Koumi.

Meanwhile, over at Suwa-ko, in the battle of agricultural schools, Shimo-Ina Nougyou scores late defeating Minami-Adzumi Nougyou 7-4 while Okaya Minami walks off Shiojiri Shigakukan 2-1 in 11 and Chino's Kishima makes a lone run in the 2nd stick over Nozawa Minami.

And finally, in Olympic Stadium, both Nagano Nishi and Sakaki started the last two days with back and forth games before pulling away late to win 7-4.  Shimo-Suwa Kouyou used a run in the top of the 9th to beat Iiyama 3-2.

Toyama off to a rainy start as games were rained out at Toyama Prefectural and Kurobe Miyano.  Of the games that played, all were blowouts except for Kosugi who defeated Yatsuo 3-0.

The first full day of games were mostly close affairs highlighted by Toyama Hokubu who tied the game against Toyama Izumi at 4 in the 9th then broke out with 4 in the 11th for the win.  On the other hand, poor Chuo Nougyou was blown out by Uodzu 37-0.

In comparison, the15th was the complete opposite with mostly lopsided games, one of the few exceptions being Fujikoshi Kougyou edging out Kouhou 2-1.  Not surprisingly, if I told you that the seeded teams played on the 15th and all advanced, that would probably explain it.  Only 5-8 seed Toyama Kokusaidai Fuzoku did not achieve a mercy rule win, though they did play Takaoka Kougyou.
Rain plagued Fukui on opening day.  For Asuwa, it sadly delayed the inevitable.  For facing Fukui Koudai Fukui who was not a seeded team was rather bad luck.  7 innings later, and they were sent home, losing 8-1.  Keishin took all that Kagaku Gijyutsu could give and passed 5-4.  There was almost an upset on day 1 of games as Usui fell behind Mikuni by as much as 4 runs, fought back to take the lead, then held off a late charge for the 9-8 win.

What's more surprising than seeing a non-seeded Fukui Koudai Fukui?  How about an unseeded Fukui Shougyou?  That was the case as Maruoka stepped in the opposing dugout.  They lasted 7 innings in an 8-0 loss.  Fukushou will face Wakasa who was almost level with Fujishima for the entire game, and though let a 1-run lead slip in the 12th made sure to advance with 6 runs in the 13th inning.

Should Fukui Koudai Fukui upset Tsuruga Kehi, and Fukui Shougyou defeat Wakasa, there will be a semifinal matchup that in most years might be a semifinal matchup or better.

Ishikawa started on the 13th and had Nonoichi Meirin rout Kanazawa Nisui 11-3 in 8 innings.

5 games on the full docket, and most were yawners except for Kanazawa Nishigaoka getting by Iida 3-1, and Kanazawa Shougyou outlasting Daishouji 3-2 in 11.

The 15th again was mostly the same with the exception of those at Benkei Stadium.  There, Kenritsu Kougyou won the battle of industrial schools, defeating Komatsu Kougyou 1-0.  Ootori Gakuen followed that up by using a run in the 6th and 7th innings to beat Kanazawa Kouyou 3-1.

Shiga's opening day was cut short.  After Rittou blew an early lead and had to scramble to defeat Katata 8-6, the rains postponed Higashi-Ootsu and Youkaichi Minami.

The next day Higashi-Ootsu would win 2-1, though again, the rains would cancel all remaining games at Oujiyama though Moriyama Kita and Kousei would play 1 scoreless inning before the umpires thought better of it.  Same over at Hikone with Kousen defeating Ootsu Shougyou 4-1 before games were cancelled.

The 15th was the first full day of games that were actually played, and over at Oujiyama Torahime rallies in the last 2 innings to beat Echiko 3-2, and Minakuchi uses a 2-run 8th for a gyakuten 4-3 win over Nagahama Kita.

Yamanashi has had no problems with the rain, and my team from this prefecture, Nihon Koukuu (i.e. Japan Aviation Academy) used a 6-run 4th to beat Shirane 7-3, then 2 days later traded huge blows with Ootsuki Tankidai Fuzoku before scoring 6 unanswered runs in the middle innings for a 13-7 win.  They will face 5-8 seed Nichidai Meisei next after they beat Koufu Dai-ichi 8-4.

In fact, all seeded teams that have played so far advanced without issue.  They include Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku, Toukaidai Koufu and Fuji Gakuen.

In other action, Nirasaki Kougyou finds something in the well with their backs against the wall, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Hokuto 2-1.

With games pushed back one scheduled game day, Blocks A and B got started on the 13th.  All 4 seeded teams within those blocks (Oogaki Nichidai, Teikyoudai Kani, Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou and Minokamo) advanced via mercy rule.  In fact of the 16 games played, only 3 were close.  Kanou got by Ikeda late 4-3, Gifu Dai-ichi using a 5-run 7th to break the game open late against Nakatsu Shougyou, and Kakamigahara Nishi also with 2 runs late for a gyakuten win over Gujyou Kita.

The games were much more tighter on the 14th in the C & D Blocks.  So much so that C Block seed Mashita Seifu lost 1-0 to Gujyou in their first game!  It wasn't the only close one in Takayama as Hida-Takayama tied it at 3 with Gifu Jyouhoku in the bottom of the 9th winning 3 innings later 4-3.  Over in Seki Municipal, Mugi won a 14-inning marathon over Kamo 5-4.  And in other action, a HR by Taniguchi was insufficient for Takayama Kougyou as they fell to Fuwa 2-1, and a 4-run flurry for Kani just fell short as they lost to seeded Nagara 5-4.

Back to Blocks A & B on the 15th and it was status quo for the seeded teams.  Kanou gets another mention after surviving another 1-run game, this time 1-0 over Oogaki Kougyou, while Seki Shoukou uses a pair of runs in each of the final 2 innings to beat Ginan Kougyou.

For Aichi, rounds go at a frenetic pace as each game day means over 20 games across the prefecture.

And with so many games, there are bound to be many interesting games.

Such was the case with Kouyou on the 13th.  After scoring 6 runs in the 6th to take a commanding 10-3 lead, Nanzan facing elimination replies with 7 runs in the next two innings to tie the game.  Kouyou would win it in the bottom of the 9th 11-10.  Sadly, Tokoname would dismiss them 2 days later 12-2 in 6 innings.  Toukai Shougyou would just about replicate the feat in the very next game at Atsuta Jingu - but the biggest difference being that they score 6 runs in the final 2 innings, take the lead 8-7 giving Nishin Nishi no chance to reply.

Over in Toyoda, Okazaki Jyousei let an early 5-0 lead slip away versus Gamagoori, but scored 2 in the top of the 9th to save the win.  However, their next opponent would be Shigakukan (who isn't a bad team in Aichi) and while they gave them a decent run, they would lose 4-0.

To the 14th and Nagakute bookended a 12 inning affair with Kira with 3 runs for a 6-3 victory.  Rather fortunate considering they allowed Kira to tie the game in the 8th.  Next up will be Seto Kita Sougou.  Ichinomiya Kougyou held off a 9th inning rally by Toyota Ootani just enough to win 3-2.  Chigusa is next on the docket.  And the alma mater of one of my new friends unfortunately lost as well with Nagoya Minami falling 3-2 to Shinjyou.

No seeded teams have played yet, thanks to Aichi's unique double-bye for those teams.

Shizuoka
Shizuoka is much the same, with games from the 13th to 15th representing 1st round play - so no seeded teams as of yet.

Opening day was not kind to Shimada as they were routed by Toukaidai Shouyou 12-2 in 6 innings.

Onto other 1st round action, and Hamamatsu Jyouhoku Kougyou rallied late against Kakagu Gijyutsu then thought to have the game won in the 10th before finally putting it away 8-4 in 12 innings.  5-8 seed Gotenba Nishi is next.  Seiryou will move on to face Hamamatsu Gakuin after scoring the only run in the bottom of the 9th versus Fuji Higashi.  The same can be said for Kakegawa Nishi and Nichidai Mishima - the only difference being that Nichidai Mishima scored a run in the top of the 9th before Kakegawa Nishi scored 2 to end the game. Itou trailed Shizuoka Shiritsu 5-0 after 2 innings, fought back to tie it in the 8th and would win 8-6 in 11.  Ina Sougou down 3 in the 9th would score 4 for the 8-7 win over Fuji.

But perhaps in one of the most heartbreaking games of all qualifying would be Kiga.  After tying it up in the 7th with Arai the game would go into extras.  In the 14th they would score 2 to take the lead, only to have Arai tie it in the bottom of the 14th.  And in the final inning, when all Kiga could play for is a draw, Arai scores one to win the game.

Our final game of the day brings up to the other side of the bracket and Kousei Gakuin versus Oumi.

Oumi had a bit of a false start against Takasaki on day 3 when it rained and cancelled the game.  In the replay, Oumi would pull away from the cinderella team and win 7-2.

Kousei Gakuin had a bit of trouble against the neighbors to the north in Hokushou.  Jyouma was on the mound for Kousei Gakuin and shutout Hokushou, yet the offense just managed 3 runs in the win.  The lack of offense is concerning, especially from the Meiji Jingu champions.

The rain has come down again, perhaps it's Oumi's doing because they've had rain on the days they should be playing.  And it may play a factor before the game is over.  No predictions here.


RF  Ameku Shouto
LF  Murase Daijyu
C  Tamura Tatsuhiro
SS  Houjyou Fumiya
1B  Takeda Toshiki
3B  Oosugi Akinobu
2B  Jyouma Ryuuhei
CF  Kimura Takumi
P  Kanazawa Yuuki

RF  Kume Masashi (#8)
2B  Fukui Shingo
LF  Hashimoto Daiki
3B  Fujiwara Ryuuji
CF  Yamaguchi Kenta (#9)
1B  Namazue Jyunki
SS  Hayashida Yuusuke (#15)
C  Tsusaka Jyun
P  Murata Teito

__________________________________________________

13:48 - Rain Delay.  The rain is falling down again at a hard enough rate that they're covering the mound and batters box.  We're officially in a rain delay.

13:55 - This was the starting time of the game, and as quickly as the rain started pouring down, it has stopped, but the tarps have not been taken off just yet.

13:57 - They have announced that the game will begin at 14:10.

14:10 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
For it raining not too long ago, it looks too sunny.  Almost like Seattle weather that is.

Ameku turns on a ball and shoots past Namazue into right!  Leadoff batter on, and now moved to 2nd by Murase.

Tamura though takes 3 straight balls.  And then one more inside and runners on 1st and 2nd for Houjyou.

Houjyou swings at the first pitch fastball and lifts it to left!  Hashiimoto running back, running back... and makes the catch in front of the wall!  Both runners tag up and advance!

Takeda looking for a one-timer.  But he falls behind 1-2 and has to play defensive!  And Murata induces a grounder to 2nd!  Fukui makes the play at 1st and Oumi is out of the inning!

Bottom 1st
Kume goes down on a check swing for the first out.

Seeing Kanazawa live for the first time, (well, live in the sense of watching him live, not necessarily being there), I can see how Kanazawa was effective.  His windup is close to the body and well hidden.  He has a fastball so far that is in the high 130s touching 140 and has a slider, curve and shuuto.

Fukui and Hashimoto are retired with little trouble, and we're onto the 2nd inning.

Top 2nd
Oosugi falls for a low curveball for Murata's first K.  Jyouma first pitch grounds to short.  And Kimura blows a fastball inside Kimura for the 3rd out.  An easy inning for Murata.

Bottom 2nd
Kanazawa looking really good on the mound, hitting the spots Tamura's putting out there.

Also getting help from his defense as Oosaugi makes a nice backhanded stop and throw to 1st in another 1-2-3 inning for the Kousei ace.

Top 3rd
One down, and Ameku collects his 2nd single, taking a high fastball past a diving Fukui to right.

Murase follows that up with a ball off the end of his bat, sending it to right-center!  Men on for Tamura!

And Tamura is patient, getting ahead 3-1 in the count.  He's green-lighted, but is a bit fast and pulls it foul.  Full count now...  fouls it off himself.  Ow.  And it's inside!  Manrui for cleanup batter Houjyou!

Tsusaka comes up to talk to him quickly.

Two high curves that force Houjyou to duck, and a high fastball mean that Houjyou is up 3-1!

Murata gives in and Houjyou makes him pay!  He drives a ball to deep left!  Hashimoto running back sees it land at the base of the wall!  Ameku scores with Murase right behind him!  Tamura is being waved home and he scores!  Throw to 3rd isn't in time and it's a bases clearing triple for Houjyou!  3-0 Kousei Gakuin!!

Taga-kantoku calls for time after Murata loses Takeda as well to put runners at the corners.

Squeeze!  Nakai-kantoku calls for the squeeze, but Oosugi whiffs!  Houjyou is left out to dry and is run down, though lasting long enough to allow Takeda to advance to 3rd.

And after an 9 pitch battle, Oosugi strikes out swinging to end the inning, but a mistake by Murata costs Oumi 3 runs!

Bottom 3rd
Tsusaka gives Oumi their first hit on a ball the opposite way.  Murata showing bunt, takes 3 pitches and goes ahead 2-1... now 3-1.  He tries to bunt 3-1, but misses!  Full count and he lines back to Kanazawa!  Tsusaka has no chance to return back to base and the inning is over!

Top 4th
Murata issues his 4th walk of the game in Jyouma to lead off the 4th.  And on a ball in the dirt, he takes off for 2nd and reaches safely!

Meanwhile, the cameras show #10 Hirose warming up in the Oumi bullpen.

Kimura once again is caught looking, this time on a curve inside.  Kanazawa advances the runner with a grounder to 2nd.

And Murata finally retires leadoff batter Ameku with a flyout to left!

Bottom 4th
The reporters from the Oumi stands say that it's not just Oumi band playing, it several chuugaku schools playing as well.  No wonder it sounds very loud.  That, and they have more than half the oen-dan filled with supporters in Oumi blue with thundersticks.  HUGE THUNDERSTICKS.

Sadly, it's not helping the team any.  Kanazawa rings up his 2nd and 3rd Ks while retiring the top of the order.

Top 5th
Tamura gets on base for the 3rd time today as he laces a ball to center for a one-out single.

Houjyou with a ball back up the middle just past a diving Hayashida puts runners on 1st and 2nd for Takeda.

I think I hear the trombones in Kousei's oen-dan...

Takeda reaches down and truly bloops one over Hayashida just onto the outfield grass!  Manrui for Kousei!

Oosugi with a grounder to 2nd!  Should be, NO!

The ball bounces off Fukui and goes into center!  Tamura scores!  Houjyou scores!  It's 5-0 as Oosugi slides into 2nd!

Taga-kantoku calling time.

Jyouma first pitch drives it to  to left!  Hashimoto running back!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jyouma's ball his the left field foul pole and it's a 3-run HR!  Kousei leads now 8-0!

Kimura and Kanazawa are both retired to end the inning, but the damage has been done as 5 runs come in to score.

Bottom 5th
One down for Oumi and Kanazawa gives up first walk to Yamaguchi.  The offense shows a bit of life as Namazue turns on an inside pitch and lines it to right for a single.  That brings up Hayashida.

But he hits a grounder to 3rd!  Oosugi steps on 3rd for one, throw to 1st for the double play to end the inning.  We hit the break with Kousei holding a commanding 8-0 lead.

Top 6th
Changes for Oumi.  #10 Hirose comes in for Namazue and takes the hill.  #13 Miyai comes in for Murata and takes over at 1B.

Hirose almost gets a 1-2-3 inning, but Tamura would like to get on base everytime he's up as he singles to center.

Houjyou with a blast to left center!  Did he really?  Hashimoto running back, watches it hit the top of the padded fence and bounce back into the field!  Yamaguchi runs it down and throws it in, but not before Houjyou's in with a triple!  9-0 now for Kousei.

Make that 10-0.  Takeda singles to center.

Oosugi has not joined in on the hit parade as he pops out to Tsusaka to end the inning.

Bottom 6th
Kume finally breaks out of his K funk with a single pas a diving Oosugi.  Fukui follows that one up with a single back up the middle and Kume takes 3rd. Maybe they can avoid the shutout at least?  That'd be a start.

Hashimoto grounds to 2nd though and they're turned away again.

Top 7th
Kimura gets in on the hit parade as he drives a ball to right!  Kume turns to his left, then his right, and is all turned around as the ball falls in front of the wall!  Kume is in with a triple!

Kanazawa is living up to the true hitting potential of a pitcher by striking out to go 0-4 on the day.

Hirose retires Ameku on a grounder to 1st and they're back on the bats to at least prevent a shutout.

Bottom 7th
Two down and #17 Miyakita hits for Hirose.  He hits a sharp grounder to 3rd and it bounces off a diving Oosugi and takes a 90 turn into foul territory.  He goes for two and slides in safely!

#16 Tsuji Kouhei comes to run for him, but he doesn't go far.  Hayashida fouls out to Tamura to end the inning.

Top 8th
#11 Yamada comes in for Kouhei and takes the hill.

The subs are coming out now as #18 Furutera hits for Murase, and strikes out on 3 straight.

And it's Yamada who finally puts an end to Tamura's on base adventures!  Yamada grounds out to short!

Houjyou with a high fly to left center.  Hashimoto and Yamaguchi converge, Hashimoto goes for the ball... and misses!  It falls in front of him and Houjyou's on with a 2 base error.

Takeda with a single to center and there's runners at the corners with 2 down.

Takeda tries his hand at a stolen base and just slides in safely.

Sadly for Yamada, he has to suffer like the pitchers before him.  Oosugi finally gets his first hit, driving a ball to the left center wall for a triple.  12-0 Kousei.

That leaves only ace Kanazawa without a hit.  He still has one AB left.

Jyouma grounds out to short and that's the inning.

Bottom 8th
#17 Sekiguchi comes in for PH Furutera and goes to left.  #14 Kishigawa comes in for Oosugi and plays 3B.

Miyai gets a one out single to center.  Kume follows suit to put runners on 1st and 2nd.

Fukui puts a good charge into one.  Kimura running back, leaps and just catches the ball in the webbing!

Unfortunately Hashimoto kills the rally again by grounding out to 2nd.

Top 9th
Kimura goes down, and that brings up Kanazawa.  Can he get a hit?

Oh.  Instead he gets hit.  And either on the hands or on the head or both.  That's the only thing with leaving your ace in the game in a blowout.

And after Ameku is retired, Taga-kantoku sends in #6 Taga to take the hill to get the last out.

First pitch Kimura (running for Kanazawa) takes off for and steals 2nd.

Sekiguchi with a single to center.  Kimura sprinting around 3rd and scores to make it 13-0.

Sekiguchi gets caught off 2nd and is run down to end the inning.

Bottom 9th
#16 Matsuura in for Kishigawa at 3B.  #13 Nozaki in for Takeda at 1B.


Fujiwara with a blast to center!  Kimura back to the wall!  He looks up!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fujiwara is not cheated on this one!  He hits a home run to dead center!  Oumi avoids the shutout, it's 13-1!

After a flyout by Yamaguchi, #18 Murase comes in to PH for Taga and grounds out.

And now with one out remaining, Nakai-kantoku pulls Kanazawa for #10 Itou.

#12 Umetani comes in to hit for Hayashida.  Only #14 Tsuji Kento remains on the bench.

And unfortunately he will stay there as Umetani fouls out to Nozaki to end the game.

Unfortunately for Oumi, things just went awry in the 5th inning and they could never recover.  They did however manage to avoid the shutout, and almost get everyone some playing time.  It will remain to be seen if leaving Kanazawa in has any repercussions going forward.

Well, here we are again.  And everything still applies.  Though my theory on Takasaki will be put to the test here in the replay.




No changes in either lineup.  So let's take the field and get it on!


LF  Matsui Akinori (#11)
CF  Shimizu Sadamitsu
SS  Nakazawa Shinya
1B  Kaneko Yuuki
RF  Tsukagoshi Riku
2B  Kuragane Kousuke
3B  Nakazato Shingo
C  Uchihori Yuuto
P  Shimada Satoshi

RF  Kume Masashi (#8)
2B  Fukui Shingo
LF  Hashimoto Daiki
3B  Fujiwara Ryuuji
CF  Yamaguchi Kenta (#9)
1B  Namazue Jyunki
SS  Hayashida Yuusuke (#15)
C  Tsusaka Jyun
P  Murata Teito

__________________________________________________

15:53 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Matsui is jammed and lines out to short.  Murata apparently like a fast pace too, but is approaching the batters differently it seems.  He doesn't get the call on a full count fastball low and walks Shimizu.

Nakazawa with a grounder to 3rd.  Fujiwara seem to pick and throw at the same time, get the runner at 2nd, but the relay is just late at 1st.

Kaneko with a scorcher down the 3rd base line... fair!  3B umpire Mino calls it fair as Fujiwara dives but can't get it!  Hashimoto runs it down at the wall, but Nakazawa is rounding 3rd and the throw home is cut off!  Takasaki with a timely hit leads 1-0!

And now Murata hits Tsukagoshi!  Murata's in a bit of a pinch now!

Kurogane with a single through the left side!  Takasaki's 3B coach wisely holds the runners.  Manrui!

But Nakazato grouns into a fielder's choice at 3rd and the inning is over.  But Takasaki puts some hits together and scores a run right off the bat!

Bottom 1st
Fukui with a grounder into the gap in left, and Nakazawa makes a great diving stop.  His throw is late, but it's a great play nonetheless!

Fujiwara with a drive to left center!  That falls in just before the wall!  Matsui runs it down, but not beofre Fujiwara's in with an RBI triple!  We're tied at 1-1!

Yamaguchi with a foul popup, but Nakazato's dive just misses!  However Shimada strikes him out swinging.  Though not before Oumi ties it up!

Top 2nd
A quick 1-2-3 inning for Murata and Oumi is back on the bats again.  I'm a bit tired, so there wasn't really much of mention here.

Bottom 2nd
One down and Hayashida gets lucky with a blooper that falls in just fair down the right field line.

Taga-kantoku calls for the bust-and-run, but Tsusaka grounds out to 2nd though does advance the runner.

But Shimada gets Murata on a slider and the runner is stranded on 2nd.

Top 3rd
The pace of the game today seems normal, so perhaps it was a rain thing.

Yet another quick inning.  Murata retires the side in 4 pitches.

Bottom 3th
Kume with a hard grounder at 3B, but Nakazato makes a great diving stop and throw for the out!

Fukui tests Nakazato again, but this time it's between his legs!  Hashimoto not bunting but does move the runner over with a grounder to short.

Fujiwara up, and he takes the ball the opposite way!  Tsukagoshi charges towards the line, but it falls in!  Another extra base RBI hit and Oumi now leads 2-1!

Yamaguchi pops out to sort, but Takasaki will have to turn to their offense.

Top 4th
Tsukagoshi with a single though the right side!  Leadoff man on for Takasaki!

And now Kurogane reaches down and drives one to left!  Hashimoto runs back... and it's over his head!  The ball goes all he way to the wall as Tsukagoshi rounds 3rd!  The throw is cutoff and Takasaki gets the douten run immediately!  2-2!!

Uchihori tries to foul one away, but it stays in play and Namazue make a great catch near the camera well.

Shimada tries the safety bunt, but Fujiwara has none of it and throws him out.  But Takasaki has offense somehow and ties the game!

Bottom 4th
Namazue with a base hit through the right side!  He's bunted along by Hayashida, and now Tsusaka with a grounder up the middle, and that's through!  Shimizu comes up throwing, but Namazue scores to give Oumi the lead right back at 3-2!

Murata fouls one behind home, Uchihori near the back screen has it, but drops it!  That proves costly as Murata singles to right!

Sakaihara-kantoku calls time as they can't let Oumi score more runs.

Kume with a grounder to the right side.  Kuragane goes to 2nd for one, but Kume beats out the throw to 1st!

And that hustle is rewarded as Fukui singles to right!  Tsusaka scores to make it 4-2!

The hit parade continues as Hashimoto singles through the right side plating another to make it 5-2.

Fujiwara with an instant replay to make it a 6-2 game.

And Yamaguchi becomes the 9th batter to step in this inning.  He flies out to right to end the inning, but Takasaki now has a big gap to come back from.

Top 5th
Two quick outs for Takasaki before Nakazawa singles back up the middle.

But Kaneko can't hold up his swing and strikes out to end the inning

Bottom 5th
Namazue loops one over Nakazawa for another base hit.  Hayashida bunts him over.

While that was the same, Shimada retires the next 2 batters.

So we head into the break with a 4-run deficit for Takasaki.  Given their offensive numbers, that's a lot to get back.

Top 6th
Kurogane gets his 3rd hit with a bunt single the stays fair down the 3rd base line!

Nakazato advances him on a chopper back to Murata.  But Uchihori grounds back to 2nd and that's the inning.

Bottom 6th
Kume's hard grounder to 3B eats up Nakazato and he's on with a single.  Kume takes off for 2nd, and is safe?  It seemed like they got the tag on him, but I'm also tired.

Fukui turns the tables back on Takasaki with a bunt single of his own!  He's 4-4 today!

Runners at the corners as Sakaihara-kantoku calls time.

Hashimoto grounds out to 1B.  Runners have to hold.

Fujiwara a HR away from the cycle, but he's unintentionally intentionally walked.

#17 Miyakita comes in for Yamaguchi and hits sac fly to center.  7-2 Oumi.

Namazue with a foul ball to the left side.  Nakazato gives chase and trips in to the camera well.  He's fine though.

Nakazue strikes out to end the inning, but the lead continues to widen.

Top 7th
#16 Tsuji comes in the game at CF for PH Miyakita

Matsui with a liner to center... Tsuji dives, and almost makes the play.  Runner on with 1 down here in the lucky 7.

Shimizu tries to line one over the infield, but Fukui makes the leaping grab. Nakazawa grounds into a fielder's choice for the 3rd out.

Bottom 7th
Hayashida with another grounder that eats up Nakazato.  But the next 2 batters are retired and Takasaki takes to the bats again.

Top 8th
Kurogane collects his 4th hit, a 2-out single back up the middle.  But PH #16 Asanuma grounds into a fielder's choice to 2nd and that's that.

Bottom 8th
Asanuma stays in the game in RF.  Tsukagoshi moves to 1B and Kaneko goes to 3B.

Shimada gets his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Last ups for his team here.

Top 9th
PH #7 Igarashi strikes out, but reaches base on a passed ball.  PH #13 Okamura grounds out to 1st.

Matsui also strikes out, but the ball gets away again and he reaches base!  Never seen two of those in 1 inning.  Taga-kantoku calls for time (and probably some order too).

Shimizu K's and this time can't advance.  2 down.

Nakazawa pops up to 1st and that's the game.  Takasaki was able to stay with Oumi in the early innings, but eventually Oumi pulled away.  Good job getting to Koushien, and I'm sure the many supporters, including the first team to make it are proud of you.  As for Oumi, a date with Kousei Gakuin awaits.

Our final game of the day features 2 teams who were one of the "last" teams to receive a bid, Oumi of Shiga-ken, and Takasaki of Gunma-ken.

Yes, Oumi and their powder blue uniforms are once again back at Koushien, though just.  They could have suffered a same fate as Souseikan in Kyushu after their 11-1 loss to Tenri (and after seeing Tenri's game yesterday, that's a pretty bad loss), if not for the fact that (a) the Kinki Region gets 6 bids instead of 4, and (b) Mizuguchi lost 15-3 to Riseisha and they lost to Oumi in the prefectural final, and while Naradai Fuzoku narrowly lost to Oumi, giving a bid to them instead would have meant that they would award 3 teams from Nara a bid - and Nara just isn't that good.

Remember what I said about a lot of teams before?  They apply here too.  Decent average, little power, and in their case - they don't steal many bases.  Pitching-wise, their main ace strikes out a batter every 2 innings and carries a respectable WHIP (~1.25).  He doesn't start all the games - in fact, #11 Yamada takes the hill to start when that happens, though he K's and BB's more batters.

Takasaki made it to the best 4 by defeating a pair of non-notable Toukaidai teams (Bouyou and Koufu) before losing to Sakushin Gakuin 6-3.  In the prefecturals, they had a quality win against Maebashi Ikuei.

Honestly, there's only two possible reasons why Takasaki is even in the tournament.  One is their ace Shimada who doesn't allow baserunners (0.89 WHIP), and the second, which I can't substantiate is their defense.

Because there is NO way their offense has anything to do with it.  None.

I can say this with almost 100% certainty because you should not be able to reach the semifinals of the Kanto Super-Regional with a team batting average of 0.237.

That's right 0.237.

Not only that, they don't take many walks and don't steal bases.  And yet, they scored 32 runs in 9 games.  That's better than the Mariners.  And they won 8 straight.  Go figure.

Needless to say, I'm highly interested to see Takasaki in this game.  Not to mention their uniforms which look like they've been taken from a train company.

LF  Matsui Akinori (#11)
CF  Shimizu Sadamitsu
SS  Nakazawa Shinya
1B  Kaneko Yuuki
RF  Tsukagoshi Riku
2B  Kuragane Kousuke
3B  Nakazato Shingo
C  Uchihori Yuuto
P  Shimada Satoshi

RF  Kume Masashi (#8)
2B  Fukui Shingo
LF  Hashimoto Daiki
3B  Fujiwara Ryuuji
CF  Yamaguchi Kenta (#9)
1B  Namazue Jyunki
SS  Hayashida Yuusuke (#15)
C  Tsusaka Jyun
P  Murata Teito

__________________________________________________

The rain continues to fall, and the ground is sloppy at best.  But they're going to get the 3rd game in no matter what it seems.  So those powder blue unis will be dark soon enough.

14:50 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Well, I guess if you have a bad BA, might as well try to get your hacks in on the first pitch strike.  Matsui is retired on a grounder to 3rd, and Shimizu on a fly to left.  Nakazawa takes a couple of pitches, but too flies out to left to end the inning.

Bottom 1st
Kume with a liner to center.  Shimizu slips!  But the ball comes right to him for the out!  How lucky!

Fukui can't check his swing on a 3-2 fastball running inside!  2 down.

Shimada doesn't get the call on a 2-2 fastball, and winds up walking Hashimoto.

Fujiwara with a ball to right center, Shimizu ranging to his left, dives, but the ball glances off his glove!  They have to chase it down, but Hashimoto stops at 3rd!

And that's lucky for Takasaki as Yamaguchi grounds to 3rd!  Nakazato makes the throw to first and the side is retired!

Top 2nd
Takasaki continuing their free-swinging style.  Kaneko with a hard hit ball back up the middle, but unlucky for him Murata deflects it right to Fukui to make the play.  Tsukagoshi almost gets lucky too when SS Hayashida almost drops the popup.  And Kurogane hits a solid liner, but it's to a drawn in Kume for the 3rd out.

Bottom 2nd
Hm.  Namazue is caught looking on a change inside for the first out.

Hayashida, inserted into the lineup this game, bloops a ball just fair down the right field line.

But when Tsusaka grounds to 2nd, Kuragane starts the 4-6-3 double play and the inning is over!  Some good defense so far as expected from Takasaki.

Top 3rd
So about the pitchers.  Murata is pretty much no different than others we've seen.  Fastball in the low 130's, curve in the 110s.

And Takasaki continues to hack.  Nakazato grounds out to 3rd.  Uchihori first pitch swings and flies to left, and Shimada actually takes pitches!  He works the count full but flies out to right.

Murata thinks he has strike 3 on a 2-2 fastball to Shimada, but he doesn't get the call.  However he does get Shimada to fly out to right to end the inning.  When I get a chance I think I know what's going on.

Bottom 3rd
Oh jeez, the rain is back again and it's coming down hard.

Murata grounds to 2nd, and just about that time the rain comes down so hard you can hear it on the microphones!

And the umpires continue play?  The ground is barely playable!

Finally, when Shimada throws a wild pitch over everyone to fall behind Kume 3-0, the umpires call everyone in.

15:17 - Rain Delay (Radar suggests it's a passing cell, so it probably won't be cancelled)

Ok, so since I have a minute now, I'll explain what might be Takasaki's strategy.

It seems apparent that Takasaki's offense isn't good, but by the numbers we've seen that to be the case.

So.  That means you have to play good defense and have good pitching right?  Makes sense.

But what about the hacking at the plate?  Why would you swing away and shorten the game, especially if you can't hit?

Well, putting the ball in play (as long as it's not weak hits), means the defense has to play hard.  Continuing to hit the ball in play means that the defense is continually on the move, even if you're just backing up.

But usually you have time to take a break since batters aren't swinging on the first pitch.

(15:25 - The rain seems to have slowed down now from a downpour, but it's still raining and the field was already pretty saturated to begin with.)

In Takasaki's case they are.  So you're moving around constantly, and in the case of a 1-2-3 inning, going back and forth to and from the dugout.

So what if you're playing a game of endurance in a game of speed baseball?  If you're not in the best of condition, could it be that you get just a little sloppy later?

If all that is the case, (1) the ground conditions are not good for Takasaki because it can cause havoc with their defense, (2) the ground conditions aren't good for putting grounders in play due to their strategy because with the sloppy conditions it will slow the ball down, and (3) this break isn't good because it's allowing the Oumi players to rest.  They'd be better off having the game cancelled and starting over hoping to have better playing conditions and a better possibility of tiring the Oumi players out.

(15:29 - The head umpire comes out to talk about the field conditions with the stadium field staff.  And it looks like the field staff are removing the tarps from the mound and batters area.  And now a wheelbarrow of diamond dry is coming out.  Dude, that's NOT going to be enough. AND it's raining a bit stronger now, WTF are you guys doing??)

(15:32 - The tarp comes out again on the mound and batters box.  Good job guys...  Seriously, combine the rain yesterday with the rain today and while the field has better drainage, I don't think it's that good.)

(15:40 - The cameras zoom in on the tarp at home and the um... mud around it.  That can't be playable, can it?)

15:45 - The umpire comes out, walks to 1st... walks to 2nd... comes back home...


 And that's that.  It's still raining, the field is soaked, and the umpire calls it off.

This means there will be 4 games tomorrow.  Games will begin at 8:30 with Oumi-Takasaki playing the last game at 16:00, and probably the teams will switch home/away.

The game being called will benefit Takasaki as long as the field conditions are better.  (Which they should be.)

The teams go out to bow to their fans, and they gather up their stuff and head home to think about things for one more day.

Niigata
With a day off on the 12th, play would begin on the 13th with the 2nd round.

• 5-8 seed Sado, who made it to senbatsu, starts their run with a 12-1 win over Kamo.
• 3 seed Nagaoka Oote finds themselves having to rally multiple times against Takada Kitashiro including scoring 3 in the 9th just to tie the game! They would advance with a 8-7 win in 10, but it has to be a wakeup call for them. We'll have to see how they do against Tookamachi Sougou.
  
• At Midori-no-mori, 5-8 seed Tookamachi wins easily over Sanjyou Sougou.
• Top seed Nihon Bunri methodically picks apart Kashiwazaki 7-0 in 7 innings. Odjiya Nishi is next on the docket.
• 2 seed Hokuestu lets Niigata pull within 1 in the bottom of the 8th but 2 in the 9th gives them enough cushion.
• 4 seed Chuuetsu too has issues in their first game. They fall behind 3-0, then 5-1 to Sanjyou before scoring 2 in the 7th and in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5.
• 5-8 seed Sekine Gakuen wins handily 6-2 over Arai and will play Nagaoka Kougyou next.
• It seems like the 5-8 seeds are having a better time of things as Gosen defeats Aikawa 11-1 in 6.
• Teikyou Nagaoka continues to carry the name of their parent university as they win 1-0 over Takada.
• Niigata Meikun takes a 5-2 lead and cruises to a 6-4 win over Muikamachi.
• Niigata Dai-ichi comes back with 2 in the bottom of the 9th to steal the win away from Niigata Kouyou.

No day off between Rounds 2 and 3, as teams start turning around faster between games.

• Nagaoka Oote recovers after the shaky start to mercy rule Tookamachi Sougou.
• Niigata Kenou Kougyou needed their early 3-0 lead as Niitsu Kougyou would start trying to make a comeback. However Kenou continued to score runs to keep the distance. Niitsu would pull within 1 at 9-8 but could never pull level.
  
• Nihon Bunri will play Teikyou Nagaoka as both win their games with little trouble.
• Hokuetsu after stumbling in the 1st against Niigata Kougyou, scores 10 unanswered to win 11-5. Their opponent will be Shirone who themselves score 10 unanswered in the last 3 innings to defeat Niigata Shougyou 11-8.
• Chuuetsu plays yet another close game, this time against Niigata Sangyoudai Fuzoku once again scoring a sayonara run in the bottom of the 9th. Their next opponent will be Bunsui as Sanjyou Higashi cannot prevent the mercy rule from being called in the 7th.
• Sado advances with a 5-1 win over Nagaoka, but will have a tough test against Niigata Meikun.
• Tookamachi is the first seeded team to fall as Murakami Sakuragaoka mercy rules them 10-2 in 7.
• Gosen and Maki will face off in the round of 16 with solid wins.
• Sekine Gakuen's victory in the 3rd round means that Tookamachi, Nihon Bunri's seeded opposition in their quadrant was the only one not to advance to the round of 16. Sekine's opponent will be Niigata Dai-ichi.

Nagano
Round 2

• Saku Chousei shows little rust in their first game mercy ruling Iiyama Kita.
• Maruko Shigakukan edges out Nagano Shougyou 3-2.
• Toukai Dai-san has no trouble with Nakano Risshikan 10-0 in 6.
• Matsumoto Kougyou down 6-1 scores 10 (10!) in the top of the 8th to win 11-7 over Ina Yayoigaoka.
• Nagano Nichidai easily dispatches Matsumoto Arigasaki 10-2 in 7.
• Iiyama scores 3 in the 8th to defeat Okaya Kougyou 4-3.
• At Ueda Prefectural on the 13th we had 3 close games as Shinonoi records a sayonara victory against Matsumoto Misuzugaoka 4-3, Hotaka lets Suzuka Engei pull within 1 in the bottom of the 9th but win 3-2, and Shimo-Suwa Kouyou pulls off a last minute win over Ikeda Kougyou.
• Matsushou Gakuen, absent as of late in Nagano looks to make a comeback with a 7-0 win over Tatsuno.
• Shimo-Ina Nougyou score 4 in the 8th to cut a 5-0 deficit down to 1, but can't find the equalizer to Nozawa Kita.
• Chikyuu Kankyou (translated means Global Environment) has actually done decently in recent years, starts their run with a 7-2 win over Tagawa.
• Koumi scores a run in the 8th and 9th to defeat Nagano Minami 2-1.

Round 3

• Saku Chousei struggles against Shinonoi winning 2-1 though they did only give up 4 hits.
• Hotaka Shougyou pulls a minor upset against Maruko Shigakukan 8-5.
• Toukai Dai-san moves onto the round of 16 with a 3-1 win over Suwa Seiryou.
• Nagano Nichidai wins its 2nd consecutive game 10-2 in 7. Ina Kita is their victim this time.
• Akaho pings Shima-Suwa Kouyou for a run in 4 consecutive innings to win 5-4.
• Nagano tries to make a game out of it, pulling within 1 right after Komoro Shougyou expanded their lead to 5, but can't produce the douten run.
• Chikyuu Kankyou 1-hits Okaya Minami winning 6-0.
• Matsushou Gakuen spots 6 runs to Kami-Ina Nougyou in the top of the 1st, but slowly works their way back culminating with 2 in the 9th for the win!

Round 4

• Saku Chousei is back on track with a 9-0 win over Akaho in 7.
• Chikyuu Kankyou's run ends with a 4-1 loss to Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri. Too bad, they had interesting uniforms.

We're in the best 8 now and the matchups are as follows:

• Saku Chousei v. Nagano
• Iiyama v. Matsushou Gakuen
• Matsumoto Dai-ichi v. Nagano Nichidai
• Toukai Dai-san v. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri

I wouldn't be surprised to see Saku Chousei v. Matsushou Gakuen, and Nagano Nichidai v. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri in the semis.

Toyama
Round 1 came and gone without much excitement save for a 5-5 game between Takaoka and Tonami before Takaoka scores 5 to decide the issue, and Toyama hanging on for dear life against Fukuoka winning 9-8.

Round 2 so far has also gone by without much excitement save for Kouhou winning 8-6 in extra innings against Kamiichi, and... oh yeah... Toyama Higashi, a 3-4 seed, manages just 5 hits and strikes out 10 times, rallies for 2 in the 9th, but loses to Takaoka Nishi 3-2!

Fukui
Fukui's 1st day of action ended with a high-scoring affair between Usui and Maruoka. Usui build an 8-4 lead, and seemed to be in control. However in the bottom of the 8th, Maruoka scores 6 and shocks Usui by taking a 10-8 lead! But they say the last 3 outs are the hardest to get and in this case it was. Usui scores 4 to retake the lead! Maruoka tries to mount a final rally but falls a run short losing 12-11.

Final day of 1st round games saw the following:

• Koshi use a pair of runs in the 6th and 7th to beat Asuwa 4-2.
• Fujishima using a 4-run first to win 5-4 over Tsuruga.
• Takefu Higashi outscoring Katsuyama 2-1 in the 6th. That was the final score too.

Ishikawa
The opening game in Ishikawa started off with a 14-9 win by Terai over Tsurugi.

The games on the first full day of competition included some wacky scores. Most notably was a 9-4 run by Noto to defeat Kanazawa Kouyou 12-11.

In other 1st round games, Daishouji Jitsugyou made a late comeback against Komatsu Kougyou, but would fall 1-run short at 7-6. Ootori Gakuen scores a run in the 8th and 9th innings to defeat Houdatsu 3-2.

Komatsu Shiritsu reversed a 4-run 8th but Kanazawa Fushimi to win 5-4. Nanao Shimonome down 7-1 score 4 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to bid sayonara to Touka Gakuen Oyamadai. Finally Daishouji scores 2 in the 10th to beat Suisei 6-4.

Shiga
Shiga opened play on the 14th with an extra inning affair. Mizoguchi outlasts Hikone Kougyou 2-1 in 11. Other 1st round games included:

• Hikone Higashi, not seeded this year begins their march to Koushien with a 12-3 win over Yasu.
• Maibara scoring 2 in the 9th to beat Shiga Tankidai Fuzoku 4-2.
• Youkaichi withe 3 late runs, including the sayonara run in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Shiga Gakuen 6-5.
• Hino's run in the 6th was enough to defeat Nagayama 5-4.
• Kousen and Hachiman Kougyou do all their scoring in the final 4 innings capped off by 3 in the bottom of the 9th to give Kousen the 5-4 sayonara win.
• Ika and Kousei spread their runs throughout the game, though Kousei wins by the same 5-4 score.
• Kawase allows Higashi-Ootsu to come back from 4 down to send it into extras, though they win with a run in the 11th.
• Rittou scores 2 in the bottom of the 8th to take a 6-3 lead over Notogawa. With just 3 outs to go, Notogawa scores 4 to take a 1-run lead! Rittou is unable to respond and Notogawa advances.
• Ishiyama pulled off a miraculous comeback against Torahime. Down 6-0, Ishiyama begins their comeback with 3 in the lucky 7. Torahime scores 4 to make it a 7-run deficit. Ishiyama only manages 2 putting them down 10-5. In the bottom of the 9th, neither ace Fujimoto nor reliever Takahashi can prevent Ishiyama from scoring 6 to complete the comeback and win 11-10!

The first game of the 3rd round as well as games on the 19th were rained out due to Typhoon Ma-on.

26 bids have been awarded so far. 21 remain and 10 of those will be awarded today. So, let's review the upcoming matchups today!

(my internet connection died where I was at yesterday, so I was unable to update after reporting that Seibou had succeeded in securing Saitama's bid. I will update the rest of the games later today).

Ibaraki
Tsuchiura Nichidai could only manage 3 hits against Jyousou Gakuin's Ogumo. And thanks to errors by Jyousou's defense and the strength of their own staff, they were only down 2-1... until the 8th. Jyousou scored 3 runs and pulled away 5-2.

In the other semi, Mito Sakuranomaki's staff also threw a 3-hitter against Mito Kiryou as they cruised 6-1. They'll look to get their first championship against the defending champions.

Both teams have used a fair number of different pitchers to get here, although Jyousou has relied more heavily on their ace Ogumo. Both teams have done a good job in limiting their opposition's runs. Both teams have been able to score runs regardless of opponents. In that sense, it could be a good game. But looking at the history, it automatically favors Jyousou Gakuin.


Saitama
Neither offense could really put their offense together in the Seibou Gakuen-Kasukabe Higashi game. But Kasukabe's defense behind Igarashi failed him, committing 4 errors. Seeing that statistic reminded me of the errors committed by Urawa Gakuin in their game against Seibou. So under ace Satou, they reach the finals with a 3-1 win.

As for Kawaguchi Seiryou, they tried to continue their magical run against Saitama Sakae. But sadly, like most cinderella teams, they were rudely awakened. Shimano and Serizawa yield only 3 hits and 2 walks en route to a 2-0 win.

So Seibou will look for their 3rd summer appearance while Saitama Sakae will look for their 2nd.

On the surface, looking at the box scores (and Deanna's accounts), Seibou has been the benefactor of some poor plays by the defense (Holy Hopes indeed!). Saitama Sakae has had strong pitching by their tandem of pitchers, which has kept them in games - especially early on where they had close games. Given that Deanna wasn't overly impressed by Seibou (although she was rooting for Urawa ;p), I imagaine this being a pitching matchup and a low scoring affair.

That is of course, unless the (baseball) gods shine upon Seibou and Saitama Sakae starts throwing errors left and right.


Higashi Tokyo
Meiji Jingu will be home to an interesting matchup. Teikyou, whom I will remember for the absolutely crazy and unbelievable 9th inning in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Koshien against Chiben Wakayama, will look for their 4th bid this decade. Their opponent will be Yukigaya, who made their only appearance ever back in 2003.

If there's one thing I noticed, and perhaps its just because of their compeition, it's that Teikyou has thrown out on the mound a lot of different pitchers. Is it a by-product of 2006? You've got me. In fact, of the 5 runs given up by the pitching staff, 4 was given up by Takeuchi in the last inning of their opening game. He hasn't been seen since.

Yukigaya on the other hand has depended on ace Sakamoto for the entire tournament. He's managed to throw the team past Kokushikan, but is there one more game left in him?


Kanagawa
Do you believe in Yohohama Hayato? Because I do!

After Imaoka gives up a run in the top of the 1st to top seed Toukou Gakuen, he shuts the door on their offense. Meanwhile, Hayato's offense scored 3 in the bottom of the 2nd to take the lead and added 2 more in the 8th for a 5-1 win and a spot in the finals!

They'll look for their first apperance against Touin Gakuen, who was involved in a slugfest against top seed Yokohama Sougakukan. After trading a pair of runs in the first inning, Sougakukan scores 4 unanswered to take a 6-2 lead. Touin pulls within 2 in the 5th, and then down 3 in the 6th they score 4 against ace Nakajima! An insurance run in the 8th gives them a 9-7 win. The teams combined for 22 hits and 5 homeruns, 2 by leadoff batter 2B Tabata!!

Hayato will look for their 1st ever apperance, while Sougakukan will looking for their 7th summer appearance.


Gifu
Championship was rained out yesterday.


Shiga
Oumi easily clears Hieizan 7-0 in the semifinals and is poised to become a 3-time defending champion.

In the 2nd game, Shiga Gakuen got the jump on Kita Ootsu scoring 2 in the top of the 1st. But Kita Ootsu climbed back and by the 7th, they had a 3-2 lead. They looked poised to reach the finals, that is until the 9th. Shiga bookends the game with 2 runs in the 9th, and relief pitcher Miyagi closes out the the 4-3 win!

So Shiga Gakuen will join the list of schools looking for thei 1st ever prefectural championship, but like all the others will have one heck of a test ahead of them in the finals...


Mie
Championship was rained out yesterday.


Wakayama
Chiben Wakayama had one of those weird games against Kihoku Kougyou. They moved on to the finals 4-0, but their ace Okada gave up more hits than Kihoku's ace Tsujimoto (4 to 3)! The difference? Okada gave up no walks. Tsujimoto? 10.

Minabe, in the 2nd semifinal against Wakayama Shougyou score 2 in the 3rd and after Uemura gives way to Iguchi after Wakayama scores a run, they make the lead stick, winning 2-1.

So Chiben Wakayama will look for the 8th title this decade against Minabe looking for their 1st title since 1982.

It's no wonder the makers of Kokoyakyu wanted to film Chiben. Since their 1st title in 1987, they have won 16 more since then. That 16 out of a possible 23!


Okayama
Kurashiki Shougyou will have the chance to defend their title after beating Sakuyou 5-1 thanks to a 4-run 1st inning.

It looked early on that it might be an all-Kurashiki final as Kurashiki Kougyou led Tamashima Shougyou 2-0. but Tamashou scored 1 in the 3rd and 1 in the 7th to tie it up. But in the 8th, Tamashou blows Kurashiki out of the water with 6 runs and that was that.

Tamashima hopes to use the dual arms of Sasaki and Tsuda to get their first bid since 1974. Kurashiki will look to their ace Oka to push them to victory.


Yamaguchi
Sadly for Ube and Houfu Shougyou, their runs ended in the semifinals with a thud. Karyou shutout Ube 6-0, while Iwakuni Shougyou beats Houfu Shougyou 5-1.

Karyou looks for their 1st summer appearnce (they do have one spring appearance last year), while Iwakuni Shougyou hasn't been there since 1986.

Can't tell if it's the competition, but Karyou has yet to yield a run so far this tournament. Both teams have shown a good amount of offense, so it may come down to which pitcher can shut the opposition down.


Kagawa
Samukawa delivers on their top seed, scoring 3 in the 1st inning against Jinsei Gakuin en route to a 5-3 semifinal win.

Takamatsu Kougei had held a fragile 1-0 lead, but Takamatsu Shougyou tied it in the 8th. 3 innings later, they'd push through the winning run a a spot in the finals.

Interestingly enough Samukawa, with their top seed, is playing for their 1st trip to Koshien. Takamatsu Shougyou was a dominating force until the early 1980's. But they haven't been to Koshien since 1996. Samukawa has trailed for all of 2 innings in this tournament, while Takashou has had to rally from behind on multiple occasions.

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1:25 PM - In Ibaraki, Mito Sakuranomaki and Jyousou Gakuin remain scoreless after 2 innings. It's Yoshikubo vs Oguma on the mound.

Seibou Gakuin scores 3 in the 2nd inning versus Saitama Sakae. Shimano has left and Serizawa has taken the mound. The game is in the bottom of the 6th with Seibou at bat.

Teikyou has dominated the game over Yukigaya. 6 runs in the first equals no chance. Even the ace Hirahara has hit a homerun. The game is in the top of the 6th with Teikyou looking for blood.

At Baystars Stadium, teams are scoring left and right. Touin Gakuen and Yokohama Hayato traded a run in the first and Touin has scored 3 in the top of the 2nd. It's 4-1 Touin for Hayato at the bottom of the 2nd. Are they out of gas?

Yamada homers for Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou in the bottom of the 3rd and they have the 1-0 lead over Kakamigahara in the bottom of the 5th.

Shiga Gakuen jumped early on Oumi with a run in the bottom of the 1st and 3rd, and then exploded for 5 in the 4th. It's 7-0 in the top of the 5th.

In Mie, Mie has scored a run in the 1st and 2nd and they're holding the 2-0 lead as Kaisei bats in the top of the 6th.

Wakayama is already in the 9th inning. Minabe trails 3-0 to Chiben Wakayama with 3 outs to go.

Kurashiki Shougyou just scored 5 in the top of the 3rd and they lead by that score with Tamashima Shougyou batting in the bottom of the 3rd.

And in Kagawa, Samukawa scored 5 in the bottom of the 1st, but Takamatsu Shougyou has scored 3 in the 3rd to pull within 2.

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2:04 PM - Mito Sakuranomaki and Jyousou Gakuin remain tied in the middle of the 5th.

Saitama Sakae has scored a run in the 7th and 8th to make it 3-2, but they're now at their final 3 outs.

Have mercy on Yukigaya... It's the top of the 8th and it's 20-0 Teikyou...

Yokohama Hayato scores 3 in the bottom of the 3rd and ties it up against Touin Gakuen! They're up at bat in the bottom of the 4th now.

Gifu Shougyou extends the lead to 2 with a run the bottom of the 5th. They're at bat in the 6th.

The score remains 7-0 Shiga Gakuen over Oumi in the bottom of the 6th.

Kaisei has clawed back a run in the top of the 6th. Mie clings to the one-run lead in the bottom half of the inning.

It's over in Wakayama! Chiben Wakayama has indeed received their 8th bid this decade! Minabe falls 3-0!

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2:19 PM - Seibou Gakuen holds up again! Saitama Sakae's run falls short as Seibou wins 3-2!!

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So with the internet connection down, I'll just run through the remaining prefectures.

Ibaraki
The post I would have done right after had Jyousou Gakuin scoring 2 in the bottom of the 6th to break the stalemate with Mito Sakuranomaki. They added an insurance run in the 8th, and boy did they need it! Sakuranomaki finally gets to Oguma and they draw within one! But the rally would end there and Jyousou earns their 4th consecutive title and 7th this decade!

Higashi Tokyo
都立雪谷かわいそうな... (Poor Toritsu Yukigaya). It must have been great to get to get to the finals, but to lose 24-1 isn't fun no matter how you look at it. Teikyou scored in every inning except the 3rd.

Kanagawa
My post that I wasn't able to post b/c of the internet issue had Touin Gakuin pulling ahead with a run in the 5th. Things looked bleak for my Yokohama Hayato squad...

But then in the bottom of the 8th, Hayato ties the game! Neither team could score in the 9th and the game went into extras! And in the 11th, Yokohama Hayato is able to score the winning run and they indeed earn their 1st ever bid! おめでとう!!!!!

(And in looking at the pictures, I find it interesting that Touin's uniforms matched Osaka Touin, while Yokohama Hayato's uniforms and hats basically mirror the Hanshin Tigers!)

Gifu
It was the all-Yamada show in the Gifu final. He opens the scoring in the 3rd with a homerun, and throws a 5-hit shutout for Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou! They'll once again represent Gifu in less than 2 weeks!

Shiga
Oumi scores a meaningless run in the 9th as Shiga Gakuen in a dominating performance wins 7-1 for their 1st ever apperance!

Mie
Kaisei drew within 1 in the 6th inning right after I had made my last post and I thought they were going to make a game of it! Mie tried to shut the door with 2 of their own in the 6th, but once again Kaisei pulls within 1 yet again in the top of the 7th!

Mie finally pulls away thanks to a 5-run 8th inning and they get their 1st appeance since I saw them live in 2006!

Okayama
Tamashima Shougyou was just no match for Kurashiki Shougyou. Kurashiki cruises to a 10-1 win to successfully defend their title!

Yamaguchi
Karyou and Iwakuni Shougyou were washed out. No, not literally (although the weather there has been god awful).

Kagawa
Samukawa finally delivers! They pull away from Takamatsu Shougyou for an 8-4 win and they earn their 1st Koshien appearance!!