Well, we have our second "automatic" invitation for next year's Haru Koushien!
We had a possibility for an all-Aomori final with Aomori Yamada and (Hachinohe Gakuin) Kousei in the semifnals.
However, in the first semifinal, Touryou actually took hold of the game with a 3-run 2nd inning and eliminated Aomori Yamada 4-1! So that intra-prefectual final was not possible anymore.
Of course, attention was really focused on the 2nd semifinal with Kousei facing Hanamaki Higashi. True to form, it was a pitching duel between Hosokawa for Hanamaki Higashi and Nakagawa/Baba for Kousei. Though Hanamaki Higashi took a 1-0 lead in the 1st, a wild pitch from Hosokawa in the 3rd tied the game. Then in the 5th, Fukue delivered a timely hit to score the gyakuten run. Kousei would hold Hanamaki Higashi off to win 2-1.
With that out of the way, they went to their bullpen for the finals against Touryou and easily won 13-2 to claim their 4th title and first in 2 years. This all but guarantees that Kousei will go to Haru Koushien in the spring.
Showing posts with label Tohoku. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tohoku. Show all posts
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Aki Taikai Recap-to-date - Tohoku Super-Regionals
We are in the final stages of the Tohoku Super-Regionals and for one school, they are fighting to break a triumvirate of powerhouse teams to take the title. More importantly though is to win the next game and perhaps secure a spot in the haru koushien.
First of all, the results of the prefecturals.
Aomori
Aomori wound up being very competitive... as long as you were one of the upper-level teams in the prefecture. Aomori Yamada, Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (fka as Kousei Gakuin) and (Hirosaki Gakuin) Seiai all advanced through the field without much resistance. Unfortunately for Seiai, they had to face Aomori Yamada in the semifinals and lost soundly 9-3. That put them in the consolation game where they just outlasted Aomori 6-4 to claim the final spot in the Super-Regionals. Aomori Yamada couldn't be stopped as they beat Kousei 8-3 to claim the title.
Iwate
Iwate predominantly belonged to the powerhouses... sort of.
Hanamaki Higashi, embroiled in some controversy at Natsu Koushien, seemed to have little ill effect come the fall. They started off a bit slow early on with a 7-5 win over Takada in the first round, then followed that up with a 5-3 win over Morioka Dai-san. After that though they gained momentum, defeating Morioka Dai-yon and Ichinoseki Gakuin (again) without difficulty.
The stage would have been set for familiar foes to match up as Moriokadai Fuzoku were on the other half of the bracket. But in the semifinals, Kuji Kougyou gave them a surprising challenge. The game would in fact go into extras tied at 1 until Kuji Kougyou would actually prevail in the 13th inning 2-1!!
That meant that just to get to the super-regionals, Ichinoseki Gakuin would have to defeat Moriokadai Fuzoku. And in 10 innings... they lost 1-0. Yet another disappointing run for the school.
In the finals, Kuji Kougyou once again proved to be a stubborn opponent to Hanamaki Higashi. However, Hanamaki Higashi would win 2-0 to claim yet another fall title.
Akita
Well, I wanted Kakunodate to reach the super-regionals, I had no idea they'd decide to go all the way! The semifinals were both mercy-rule games with Kakunodate winning 8-1 over Oomagari in 7 innings, and Oomagari Kougyou defeating Akita Chuo in the exact same manner.
And in the final, Kakunodate would defeat Oomagari Kougyou 7-5 to claim the fall title!!
Sadly for Oomagari, they couldn't join their sister school in the super-regionals as they were narrowly defeated by Akita Chuo 4-3.
Yamagata
Well, there's a shocker for you! Yamamoto Gakuen, who defeated Sakata Minami 3-2 in the semifinals, went on versus Nichidai Yamagata in the finals with 4 in the 9th to seemingly put the game away at 5-2! And when Nichidai rallied back to send it into enchousen, they would not give in scoring one more in the 10th and hold off this time around to win their first title!
Sakata Minami would move on to the super-regionals as expected with a mercy-rule win over Sakata Kouryou 8-1 in 7 innings.
Tohoku Super-Regionals
And now to the super-regionals...
How was this for a quadrant?
Seiai would get a rematch with Aomori Yamada after easily disposing of Yamamoto Gakuen 8-2. The saying goes that it's hard to defeat a team twice in the same season, and Seiai got a 6-2 lead over Aomori Yamada. However, it's also said that for a lower-level team, the hardest thing to do is to close out a game against a powerhouse school. And in the final 3 innings, Aomori Yamada rallied to tie the game at 7. Two innings later, Seiai would fall 8-7 in the bottom of the 11th.
Their opponent would be a complete surprise. With no powerhouse teams in the other quadrant, there were some opportunities for unknown teams to perhaps put themselves in contention for a bid.
Kakunodate (Akita 1), who made a great run to the title, immediately ran into difficulty in their first game against Sukugawa (Fukushima 2) winning 3-1 in 10 innings. Meanwhile Kuji Kougyou (Iwate 2) who defeated Moriokadai Fuzoku and limited Hanamaki Higashi had a disappointing showing against Touryou (Miyagi 2) and a 5-run 4th was the difference in a 9-4 loss.
And then in a bizarre quarterfinal game, what was a 4-2 game after 6 went completely bonkers as the teams combined for 16 runs in the final 3 innings of regulation sending the game tied at 11 into enchousen. Touryou would regain the advantage in the 10th and win 13-11 and will now face Aomori Yamada.
On the other half, new fall champ Nichidai Tohoku (Fukushima 1) gave Koushien regular Sakata Minami (Yamagata 3) a good run, but gave up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th to fall 2-1. But the big matchup of this quadrant was Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi 1) facing Kousei (Aomori 2). It wound up being another wild game as Kousei led 4-1, then gave up 6 to Sendai in the 3rd. They would then score 6 unanswered runs to come back to win 10-7. I think for Sendai Ikuei's sake, they need to have some mundane games or else they'll have a heart attack. With that game out of the way, Kousei would need just 8 innings to defeat Sakata Minami 9-2.
Sakata Minami will play Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate 1) in the other semifinal, but it wasn't easy. First, Oomagari Kougyou (Akita 2) sent them into enchousen tied at 2 before they could put up a 4 spot in the 10th to win. Then after the battle of 3 seeds which Shibata (Miyagi 3) bid sayonara to Akita Chuo (Akita 3) 7-6, Nichidai Yamagata (Yamagata 2) would do the same to Shibata 2-1 to face Hanamaki Higashi.
And wouldn't you know it, but Hanamaki Higashi then turned the tables one more time, coming back from down 3-0 to say sayonara to Nichidai Yamagata 4-3!
First of all, the results of the prefecturals.
Aomori
Aomori wound up being very competitive... as long as you were one of the upper-level teams in the prefecture. Aomori Yamada, Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (fka as Kousei Gakuin) and (Hirosaki Gakuin) Seiai all advanced through the field without much resistance. Unfortunately for Seiai, they had to face Aomori Yamada in the semifinals and lost soundly 9-3. That put them in the consolation game where they just outlasted Aomori 6-4 to claim the final spot in the Super-Regionals. Aomori Yamada couldn't be stopped as they beat Kousei 8-3 to claim the title.
Iwate
Iwate predominantly belonged to the powerhouses... sort of.
Hanamaki Higashi, embroiled in some controversy at Natsu Koushien, seemed to have little ill effect come the fall. They started off a bit slow early on with a 7-5 win over Takada in the first round, then followed that up with a 5-3 win over Morioka Dai-san. After that though they gained momentum, defeating Morioka Dai-yon and Ichinoseki Gakuin (again) without difficulty.
The stage would have been set for familiar foes to match up as Moriokadai Fuzoku were on the other half of the bracket. But in the semifinals, Kuji Kougyou gave them a surprising challenge. The game would in fact go into extras tied at 1 until Kuji Kougyou would actually prevail in the 13th inning 2-1!!
That meant that just to get to the super-regionals, Ichinoseki Gakuin would have to defeat Moriokadai Fuzoku. And in 10 innings... they lost 1-0. Yet another disappointing run for the school.
In the finals, Kuji Kougyou once again proved to be a stubborn opponent to Hanamaki Higashi. However, Hanamaki Higashi would win 2-0 to claim yet another fall title.
Akita
Well, I wanted Kakunodate to reach the super-regionals, I had no idea they'd decide to go all the way! The semifinals were both mercy-rule games with Kakunodate winning 8-1 over Oomagari in 7 innings, and Oomagari Kougyou defeating Akita Chuo in the exact same manner.
And in the final, Kakunodate would defeat Oomagari Kougyou 7-5 to claim the fall title!!
Sadly for Oomagari, they couldn't join their sister school in the super-regionals as they were narrowly defeated by Akita Chuo 4-3.
Yamagata
Well, there's a shocker for you! Yamamoto Gakuen, who defeated Sakata Minami 3-2 in the semifinals, went on versus Nichidai Yamagata in the finals with 4 in the 9th to seemingly put the game away at 5-2! And when Nichidai rallied back to send it into enchousen, they would not give in scoring one more in the 10th and hold off this time around to win their first title!
Sakata Minami would move on to the super-regionals as expected with a mercy-rule win over Sakata Kouryou 8-1 in 7 innings.
Tohoku Super-Regionals
And now to the super-regionals...
How was this for a quadrant?
- Aomori Yamada (Aomori 1) vs. Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima 3)-Moriokadai Fuzoku (Morioka 3) winner
- Seiai (Aomori 3) vs. Yamamoto Gakuen (Yamamoto 1)
Seiai would get a rematch with Aomori Yamada after easily disposing of Yamamoto Gakuen 8-2. The saying goes that it's hard to defeat a team twice in the same season, and Seiai got a 6-2 lead over Aomori Yamada. However, it's also said that for a lower-level team, the hardest thing to do is to close out a game against a powerhouse school. And in the final 3 innings, Aomori Yamada rallied to tie the game at 7. Two innings later, Seiai would fall 8-7 in the bottom of the 11th.
Their opponent would be a complete surprise. With no powerhouse teams in the other quadrant, there were some opportunities for unknown teams to perhaps put themselves in contention for a bid.
Kakunodate (Akita 1), who made a great run to the title, immediately ran into difficulty in their first game against Sukugawa (Fukushima 2) winning 3-1 in 10 innings. Meanwhile Kuji Kougyou (Iwate 2) who defeated Moriokadai Fuzoku and limited Hanamaki Higashi had a disappointing showing against Touryou (Miyagi 2) and a 5-run 4th was the difference in a 9-4 loss.
And then in a bizarre quarterfinal game, what was a 4-2 game after 6 went completely bonkers as the teams combined for 16 runs in the final 3 innings of regulation sending the game tied at 11 into enchousen. Touryou would regain the advantage in the 10th and win 13-11 and will now face Aomori Yamada.
On the other half, new fall champ Nichidai Tohoku (Fukushima 1) gave Koushien regular Sakata Minami (Yamagata 3) a good run, but gave up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th to fall 2-1. But the big matchup of this quadrant was Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi 1) facing Kousei (Aomori 2). It wound up being another wild game as Kousei led 4-1, then gave up 6 to Sendai in the 3rd. They would then score 6 unanswered runs to come back to win 10-7. I think for Sendai Ikuei's sake, they need to have some mundane games or else they'll have a heart attack. With that game out of the way, Kousei would need just 8 innings to defeat Sakata Minami 9-2.
Sakata Minami will play Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate 1) in the other semifinal, but it wasn't easy. First, Oomagari Kougyou (Akita 2) sent them into enchousen tied at 2 before they could put up a 4 spot in the 10th to win. Then after the battle of 3 seeds which Shibata (Miyagi 3) bid sayonara to Akita Chuo (Akita 3) 7-6, Nichidai Yamagata (Yamagata 2) would do the same to Shibata 2-1 to face Hanamaki Higashi.
And wouldn't you know it, but Hanamaki Higashi then turned the tables one more time, coming back from down 3-0 to say sayonara to Nichidai Yamagata 4-3!
Friday, September 27, 2013
Aki Taikai Recap-to-date - Tohoku
Onto the Tohoku Super-Regionals...
Aomori
Draw is set in Aomori, teams qualified are as follows:
Aomori Regionals
Akita
Akita regionals are completed and they are in the quarterfinals of the prefecturals. Missing from the list is Natsu representative Akita Shougyou who did not even make the prefecturals losing in the 2nd round of the Chubu regionals 8-4 to Nishime.
And the power vacuum was filled in by teams who were more resourceful than the other powerhouse teams. Oomagari Kougyou rallied from down 5-1 to defeat Oodate Houmei 6-5. Akita Chuo mercy ruled Noshiro Shougyou 9-0! Oomagari won a 13-12 bloodbath versus Akita Minami, and Akita was walked off by Kakunodate 7-6.
For Kakunodate's sake I hope they get to the super-regionals and more. They were so close in the summer.
Iwate
Iwate's regionals are done and the teams to advance are as follows:
Kuji Regionals
Yamagata
Nichidai Yamagata plus several others got a free pass to the prefecturals, and has reached the finals only having to face Tsuruoka Higashi. Their finals opponent is Yamamoto Gakuen who rallied to defeat Sakata Minami 3-2.
In the 3rd place game the aforementioned Sakata Minami will probably have an easy time against Sakata Kouryou.
Miyagi
Sendai Ikuei will head to the Super-Regionals as the Miyagi champion... just. They escaped with a 3-2 10 inning win over Matsushima in the quarterfinals, then edging Touryou 2-1 in the finals.
Surprisingly, Rifu did not win the 3rd place game. Instead they lost 6-5 to Shibata.
Fukushima
There was a bombshell in Fukushima, well, sort of.
I say sort of because Seikou Gakuin still advanced out of the prefecture. However, they had to get in through the backdoor after losing 5-1 to Nichidai Tohoku in the semifinals. Nichidai Tohoku would win the prefecture with a convincing 6-2 win over Sukagawa.
Aomori
Draw is set in Aomori, teams qualified are as follows:
Aomori Regionals
- Block winners - Aomori Kita & Aomori Yamada
- Repechage winners - Aomori Shougyou & Aomori Kita
- Block winners - Kidzukuri & Goshogawara
- Repechage winner - Goshogawara Shougyou
- Block winners - Hirosaki Higashi & Touou Gijyuku
- Repechage winner - Hirosaki Chuo
- Block winners - Misawa Shougyou & Misawa
- Repechage winner - Sanbongi
- Block winners - Hachinohe Kita & (Hachinohe) Kousei Gakuin
- Block runner-ups - Hachinohe Nishi & Hachinohe
- Repechage winner - Takko
- Block winner - Oominato
- Repechage winner - Mutsu Kougyou
Akita
Akita regionals are completed and they are in the quarterfinals of the prefecturals. Missing from the list is Natsu representative Akita Shougyou who did not even make the prefecturals losing in the 2nd round of the Chubu regionals 8-4 to Nishime.
And the power vacuum was filled in by teams who were more resourceful than the other powerhouse teams. Oomagari Kougyou rallied from down 5-1 to defeat Oodate Houmei 6-5. Akita Chuo mercy ruled Noshiro Shougyou 9-0! Oomagari won a 13-12 bloodbath versus Akita Minami, and Akita was walked off by Kakunodate 7-6.
For Kakunodate's sake I hope they get to the super-regionals and more. They were so close in the summer.
Iwate
Iwate's regionals are done and the teams to advance are as follows:
Kuji Regionals
- Winner - Kuji Kougyou
- Repechage winner - Kuji
- Winner & Runner-up - Fukuoka & Ibonai
- Repechage winner - Kuzumaki
- Winner & Runner-up - Moriokadai Fuzoku & Morioka Chuo
- Semifinalists - Morioka Dai-yon & Iwate
- Repechage winners - Morioka Dai-san & Morioka Shiritsu
- Extra winner - Hanamaki Higashi (they played the block winner and won 12-0)
- Block winner & Runner-up - Touno & Hanamaki Kita
- Repechage winner - Hanamaki Nougyou & Hanakita Seiuun
- Winner & Runner-up - Senshuudai Kitakami & Mizusawa
- Repechage winners - Kurosawajiri Kougyou & Mizusawa Dai-ichi
- 2nd Repechage winner - Mizusawa Kougyou
- Winner & Runner-up - Ichinoseki Gakuin (Again...) & Daitou
- Repechage winner & runner-up - Ichinoseki Dai-ni & Ichinoseki Dai-ichi
- Winner - Oofunato
- Repechage winner & Runner-up - Takada & Kamaishi
- Winner & Runner-up - Yamada & Miyako Kougyou
- Repechage winner - Miyako Shougyou
Yamagata
Nichidai Yamagata plus several others got a free pass to the prefecturals, and has reached the finals only having to face Tsuruoka Higashi. Their finals opponent is Yamamoto Gakuen who rallied to defeat Sakata Minami 3-2.
In the 3rd place game the aforementioned Sakata Minami will probably have an easy time against Sakata Kouryou.
Miyagi
Sendai Ikuei will head to the Super-Regionals as the Miyagi champion... just. They escaped with a 3-2 10 inning win over Matsushima in the quarterfinals, then edging Touryou 2-1 in the finals.
Surprisingly, Rifu did not win the 3rd place game. Instead they lost 6-5 to Shibata.
Fukushima
There was a bombshell in Fukushima, well, sort of.
I say sort of because Seikou Gakuin still advanced out of the prefecture. However, they had to get in through the backdoor after losing 5-1 to Nichidai Tohoku in the semifinals. Nichidai Tohoku would win the prefecture with a convincing 6-2 win over Sukagawa.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Haru Taikai Recap 2 - All regions complete (Hokkaido to Kinki)
Hokkaido Super-Regional
Finishing up the first round, Hakodatedai Hakuryou edged out Obihiro Kita 2-1, while Towa no Mori San-ai continues to struggle on the big stage, mercy ruled by Hokushou.
The quarterfinals went almost as quietly. Komadai Tomakomai mercy rules Hakodate LaSalle 8-1 in 8, Kushiro Kouryou was shutout 3-0 by Sapporo Nichidai, and so was the aforementioned Hakodatedai Hakuryou against Hokushou.
The only team tested was Komadai Iwamizawa, who trailed early 2-0, then 6-3 against Kitami Hokuto. But even in weaker prefectures, either the teams who have been there before exert their experience or the teams facing them cave under pressure. Komadai Iwamizawa rallies for 4 late to defeat Kitami Hokuto 7-6.
This left the possibility of an all-Komadai final. Tomakomai obliged, keeping Sapporo Nichidai at arms length in a 7-4 win. However, while Iwamizawa was able to take an early 3-1 lead, Hokushou would score in 5 of the final 6 innings to run away with a 10-4 win.
So the final once again featured two well-known teams. Komadai Tomakomai took the first advantage with a 2-0 lead, Hokushou would level the score eventually in the 4th. Tomakomai would pull away soon thereafter, scoring 5 unanswered runs to win 7-2 for their 4th spring title.
Tohoku Super-Regional
Tohoku perhaps went as planned, but perhaps questions still remain.
In Noshiro Shouyou's (Akita 1) fka Noshiro Shougyou's bracket, they easily handled a Morioka Dai-yon (Iwate 3) squad who earlier managed just two hits but defeated Sendai Dai-san (Miyagi 3) 1-0. That set them up against a Fukushima Higashi (Fukushima 2) squad who surprisingly upset Rifu (Miyagi 2) 6-3.
And in a bigger surprise, Fukushima Higashi scores 3 in the first after giving up 2. They'd score one more and held on to defeat Noshiro Shouyou 4-3!!
In Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate 1)/Aomori Yamada (Aomori 1) quadrant, both teams easily advanced via mercy rule over their opponents - Odaka Kougyou (Fukushima 3) and Kunori Gakuen (Yamagata 2). But when push came to shove, Aomori Yamada once again falls flat, mercy ruled themselves 8-1 in 7 innings.
The only 1 seed to not advance past their first game? My boys from Haguro (Yamagata 1). In fact Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi (Aomori 2) dispatched them easily 8-2. I won't make excuses, but to be fair, Haguro had the hardest 1st game.
Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi would face the dreaded Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima 1). Apparently Honjyou (Akita 2) just can't catch a break. Seikou Gakuin would easily pass through the Aomori squad with a 7-0 mercy win.
And finally, in Sendai Ikuei's bracket (Miyagi 1), they had no issues with Akita Chuo (Akita 3) with a 9-1 victory. Their quarterfinal game would be against none other than Sakata Minami (Yamagata 3) who had no problems with Hachinohe Kougyou (Aomori 3) 8-2, then against Senshuudai Kitakami (Iwate 2) trailing 6-1, scored 9 answered runs then survived a 3-run 9th to win 10-9.
Sakata Minami couldn't pull one more upset, and was mercy ruled 9-1 in 8 innings.
So while we had a possibility of an all-Fukushima final, the chances were slim as Fukushima Higashi needed to upset Moriokadai Fuzoku, while Seikou Gakuin must face Sendai Ikuei - who is in all likelihood trying to redouble their efforts after a poor Haru Koushien showing.
Since we're all familiar with the other schools, I tried to find something on Fukushima Higashi. All I could find were videos on their oen-dan, which aren't bad.
Indeed, both Fukushima teams lost rather handily. Fukushima Higashi did score the first run against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but couldn't make it last after the 5th inning break as Moriokadai scored 6 runs afterwards. Sendai Ikuei led wire-to-wire in a 6-2 win over Seikou Gakuin.
And in the final Sendai Ikuei had no trouble with Moriokadai Fuzoku, cruising to a 5-1 win for their 11th title - and 1st in 14 years.
So Sendai Ikuei wins another Super-Regional. But the poor showing at Senbatsu still raises questions on their abilities outside of the Tohoku region. It also could raise questions on the Tohoku region as a whole come time for Natsu Koushien.
Hokushinetsu Super-Regionals
In the Hokushinetsu Super-Region things did, and didn't go as planned. Big statement, I know.
The draw for the super-regionals wound up as follows and did not necessarily play favorites:
In the opening round, Harue Kougyou continued to disappoint. After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd, they quickly let Shibata Chuo level the score in the 4th, then a bases loaded walk in the 6th opening a 3-run inning from which they could not recover, falling 5-3. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri with the help of a 3rd inning, 3-run homerun by RF Ishihara. Tsuruga Kehi went all out against Kanazawa, sending out ace Kishimoto. CF Mine then helped out with a leadoff HR. And while Kanazawa would tie the game in the 1st, hits by Asai, Hiranuma and Iwata gave the cushion they needed as Kishimoto struck out 10 in a 4-1 win. And finally, Yuugakukan did what it normally does, mercy ruling Toyama Shougyou 10-1 in 7 innings.
Onto the quarterfinals where all 1 seeds are in play, and it was a mixed bag. Seiryou expectedly had no trouble with Shibata Chuo mercy ruling them in 7 innings. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri tried a 9th inning rally, but could only cut the deficit in half, losing 5-3. I truly wanted Ueda Nishi to succeed, but it will have to wait for the summer. After fighting back to tie the game at 2 in the 7th, they would play 7 more as Tsuruga Kehi scored one in the 14th for the 3-2 win. Also of note is that Kishimoto was not used in the game at all - which sadly may be a bigger notch against Ueda Nishi. And while Murakami Sakuragaoka may have won Niigata, they were no match for the veteran Yuugakukan mercy ruled in 7.
So the semifinalists were well-known names. Results though, were a bit surprising. Seiryou continues to hit a ceiling, losing to Toyama Dai-ichi. After taking a 2-0 lead, they give up the lead, only to fight back in the bottom of the 8th to tie it at 3... only to have Toyama score 5 in the 9th to wipe out the Ishikawa champions.
And Tsuruga Kehi? Let's just say it wasn't a good day for Kishimoto. He gives up 5 runs early, and while the team pulls within one, reliever Mosome couldn't keep his team in it, giving up a 3-spot in the 8th as Yuugakukan moves on with the 9-5 win.
Yuugakukan looked to be the favorite in the super-regional final, but it was Toyama Dai-ichi who scored first with a pair in the opening frame. They couldn't hold the lead though for long as Yuugakukan struck back with 3 in the 3rd, and opened the lead to 5-2. Toyama could only manage one run the rest of the game as Yuugakukan takes just their 3rd title, but first in two years.
Kinki Super-Regional
The Kinki Super-Regional is rather small given the prefectures involved. Only host prefecture Nara qualifies more than just 1 team. So it really is win and advance for most teams in the spring.
Oumi advances out of Shiga, but had to survive many close games against not so well known teams such as Oumi Kyoudaisha and Yasu, and some we have heard of such as Shiga Gakuen before rallying in the bottom of the 9th against Hachiman Kougyou for a gyakuten sayonara 3-2 victory.
In Kyoto, there were no surprises in the 1st stage of play as teams such as Kyoto Subaru, Ritsumeikan Uji, Kyoto Gaidai Nishi, Kyoto Seishou, Toba, and Fukuchiyama Seibi joined Senbatsu participants Ryuukokudai Heian and Kyoto Shouei.
It was almost amazing then that the aforementioned 8 teams were almost all separated. The only exception was Kyoto Shouei and Kyoto Gaidai Nishi. In that matchup, the Kinki fall champions routed Kyoto Gaidai Nishi 13-3 in 7 innings. Other than that, all other teams had relatively little problems, except for Kyoto Seishou who gave up a 4-spot to Kita-Saga in the 3rd inning in a 5-3 loss.
Kita-Saga continued their run, and in rather shocking fashion. I need to go back and see if I can't pull up particulars, but the game was tied 1-1 going into extras. Kyoto Shouei scored 4 in the 13th and seemed to have the game in hand. But much like the White Sox-Mariners game, Kita-Saga mounted a comeback. Instead of tying the game though they score 5 to completely shock the fall champions 6-5!!
Elsewhere, Ryuukokudai Heian had no problems with Otokuni 6-4, Fukuchiyama Seibi surprisingly was nowhere to be seen against Toba, and Ritsumeikan Uji routed Kyoto Subaru in 7.
It would be a surprise for the finals as Toba defeated Ryuukokudai Heian 4-1, while Kita-Saga continued their surprising run, once again rallying late after giving up the lead in the bottom of the 8th for a gyakuten win against Ritsumeikan Uji.
In the final, Kita-Saga held a lead against Toba, but Toba would tie it up in the 6th at 3. The game would go into enchousen, but not for long as Toba scores one in the 10th. There would be no rally this time though as Toba would take it 4-3. I would say though that Kita-Saga has surprised me here in the spring. All I know so far is their pitchers are Katabuchi Wataru(?) (潟淵 亘) and Komori Naoki (小森 直己).
In Osaka, despite the large field, it was predominantly business as usual. Despite 172 teams in the field, the Best 4 were all well-known names - Riseisha squaring off against Osaka Touin, and Konkou Osaka versus Daishoudai (aka Osaka Shougyoudai). In the blockbuster semi, Riseisha had led right from the get-go until Osaka Touin's lucky 7 where they scored 3 to tie the game at 5. The game would head to enchousen, but for just one inning as Riseisha scored 4 on starter Amimoto for the win. They would play Konkou Osaka, who had little difficulty with Daishoudai. And in the final, Konkou Osaka would give Riseisha all they could handle as Sakashita and Honno would limit them to a 1st inning run by Okita. Unfortunately, that's all Riseisha would need as ace Higashino would spread out 9 hits in a complete game shutout to take the title.
Moving on to Hyogo, they only sent in 36 teams - no Nishinomiya Kita for me (sorry Haruhi).
Anyways, the main players were there, but the first to fall is the always precarious Touyoudai Himeji. After uncharacteristically getting through their first game easily, they lost another low-scoring affair to Shiritsu Amagasaki 3-2. Amagasaki's run didn't last much longer sadly as they found themselves on the wrong end of the 3-2 score in the next game versus Yashiro. Looking back, they've gone to just one Koushien, the 2004 Haru where they got to the semifinal game, losing to Aikoudai Meiden. Interestingly, they used a two pitcher system in Oomae and Tsuboi. This time around, it looks like the same thing, with dual aces Niimi and Hirauchi.
Joining Yashiro would be Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Houtoku Gakuen - though Houtoku had to come back against Takigawa Dai-ni. The final semifinalist would be Akashi Shougyou, who literally outlasted Suma Shoufuu (who apparently has a radio station) with 5 runs in the 15th for a 7-2 victory.
What was more interesting was that both semifinal games would head to enchousen. For Akashi Shougyou, that would be bad news - especially against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku. After fighting back to tie the game in the 8th, they would lose 4-3 in 11.
As for Yashiro, they and Houtoku Gakuen would go 15 innings without a winner. In the replay the next day, Yashiro's kantoku would go into their bullpen and started Nagao (永尾). That didn't work out as Houtoku would score 3. Another Nagao (長尾) and Niimi held down the fort, but the offense couldn't muster a run as they fell in the replay 3-0.
To add insult to injury perhaps, while the game didn't count for qualification for the super-regional, the 3rd place game between Akashi Shougyou and Yashiro would also go into enchousen. 14 innings in fact before Akashi Shougyou finally ended it 4-3.
As for the final, Houtoku Gakuen's 4th game in 4 days took its toll against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku as they fell behind quickly and lost 8-2.
Chiben Wakayama's hold on Wakayama prefecture may be waning. Despite breezing through to the semifinals, Minoshima's triumvirate of Ueshiba, Takagawa and Susami defeated them 2-1. They would go on to defeat Kinkidai Shinguu in the final despite blowing a 6-0 lead 11-7.
And as for host Nara, the prefectural tournament was a mess - if you were a big name. Tenri was unceremoniously ousted 5-2 by Nara Suzaku in the first round. Haru Koushien participant Yamato Kouryou had the unfortunate task of playing Chiben Gakuen right off the bat, and were routed 10-1 in 7 innings.
So Chiben Gakuen remained the big name remaining and their title to lose.
And they did.
In uncharacteristic fashion, they let Naradai Fuzoku score in 5 consecutive innings with the nail in the coffin a 5-run 7th which led to them winning 11-10! In the 3rd place game, Kashihara Gakuin defeated Kashihara 4-3 to take the final spot in the super-regionals.
Onto the Super-Regionals, and it's no surprise that of the 3 Nara teams that qualified, only veteran Chiben Gakuen advanced to the semifinals. However, they blew a 4-1 lead to Minoshima in the top of the 9th before Nakanishi delievered the sayonara manrui hit to win 5-4. Naradai Fuzoku actually gave Riseisha a challenge though tying the game a 2-2 in the 8th before Okita delivered the sayonara hit for Riseisha. Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Toba had no problems in their games.
The semifinals were no-contests as both Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Riseisha breezed through Chiben Gakuen and Toba respectively.
The finals were a completely different story. After taking a 3-0 lead early, Kobe Kokusaidai yielded 5 runs in the 3rd, only to claw back in the 5th. The teams traded a run in the 8th, and then Takahashi for Kobe would blast his 2nd HR of the game, giving his team the 7-6 lead. But like the 8th they couldn't hold it as Inoue delivered the sayonara 2-run double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th for the sayonara gyakuten victory. Interestingly, this is Riseisha's 1st ever Haru title.
(Chuugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu recaps to come shortly)
Finishing up the first round, Hakodatedai Hakuryou edged out Obihiro Kita 2-1, while Towa no Mori San-ai continues to struggle on the big stage, mercy ruled by Hokushou.
The quarterfinals went almost as quietly. Komadai Tomakomai mercy rules Hakodate LaSalle 8-1 in 8, Kushiro Kouryou was shutout 3-0 by Sapporo Nichidai, and so was the aforementioned Hakodatedai Hakuryou against Hokushou.
The only team tested was Komadai Iwamizawa, who trailed early 2-0, then 6-3 against Kitami Hokuto. But even in weaker prefectures, either the teams who have been there before exert their experience or the teams facing them cave under pressure. Komadai Iwamizawa rallies for 4 late to defeat Kitami Hokuto 7-6.
This left the possibility of an all-Komadai final. Tomakomai obliged, keeping Sapporo Nichidai at arms length in a 7-4 win. However, while Iwamizawa was able to take an early 3-1 lead, Hokushou would score in 5 of the final 6 innings to run away with a 10-4 win.
So the final once again featured two well-known teams. Komadai Tomakomai took the first advantage with a 2-0 lead, Hokushou would level the score eventually in the 4th. Tomakomai would pull away soon thereafter, scoring 5 unanswered runs to win 7-2 for their 4th spring title.
Tohoku Super-Regional
Tohoku perhaps went as planned, but perhaps questions still remain.
In Noshiro Shouyou's (Akita 1) fka Noshiro Shougyou's bracket, they easily handled a Morioka Dai-yon (Iwate 3) squad who earlier managed just two hits but defeated Sendai Dai-san (Miyagi 3) 1-0. That set them up against a Fukushima Higashi (Fukushima 2) squad who surprisingly upset Rifu (Miyagi 2) 6-3.
And in a bigger surprise, Fukushima Higashi scores 3 in the first after giving up 2. They'd score one more and held on to defeat Noshiro Shouyou 4-3!!
In Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate 1)/Aomori Yamada (Aomori 1) quadrant, both teams easily advanced via mercy rule over their opponents - Odaka Kougyou (Fukushima 3) and Kunori Gakuen (Yamagata 2). But when push came to shove, Aomori Yamada once again falls flat, mercy ruled themselves 8-1 in 7 innings.
The only 1 seed to not advance past their first game? My boys from Haguro (Yamagata 1). In fact Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi (Aomori 2) dispatched them easily 8-2. I won't make excuses, but to be fair, Haguro had the hardest 1st game.
Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi would face the dreaded Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima 1). Apparently Honjyou (Akita 2) just can't catch a break. Seikou Gakuin would easily pass through the Aomori squad with a 7-0 mercy win.
And finally, in Sendai Ikuei's bracket (Miyagi 1), they had no issues with Akita Chuo (Akita 3) with a 9-1 victory. Their quarterfinal game would be against none other than Sakata Minami (Yamagata 3) who had no problems with Hachinohe Kougyou (Aomori 3) 8-2, then against Senshuudai Kitakami (Iwate 2) trailing 6-1, scored 9 answered runs then survived a 3-run 9th to win 10-9.
Sakata Minami couldn't pull one more upset, and was mercy ruled 9-1 in 8 innings.
So while we had a possibility of an all-Fukushima final, the chances were slim as Fukushima Higashi needed to upset Moriokadai Fuzoku, while Seikou Gakuin must face Sendai Ikuei - who is in all likelihood trying to redouble their efforts after a poor Haru Koushien showing.
Since we're all familiar with the other schools, I tried to find something on Fukushima Higashi. All I could find were videos on their oen-dan, which aren't bad.
Indeed, both Fukushima teams lost rather handily. Fukushima Higashi did score the first run against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but couldn't make it last after the 5th inning break as Moriokadai scored 6 runs afterwards. Sendai Ikuei led wire-to-wire in a 6-2 win over Seikou Gakuin.
And in the final Sendai Ikuei had no trouble with Moriokadai Fuzoku, cruising to a 5-1 win for their 11th title - and 1st in 14 years.
So Sendai Ikuei wins another Super-Regional. But the poor showing at Senbatsu still raises questions on their abilities outside of the Tohoku region. It also could raise questions on the Tohoku region as a whole come time for Natsu Koushien.
Hokushinetsu Super-Regionals
In the Hokushinetsu Super-Region things did, and didn't go as planned. Big statement, I know.
The draw for the super-regionals wound up as follows and did not necessarily play favorites:
- Seiryou (Ishikawa 1) vs. Winner of Harue Kougyou (Fukui 2)-Shibata Chuo (Niigata 2)
- Toyama Dai-ichi (Toyama 1) vs. Winner of Kanazawa Gakuin Higashi (Ishikawa 3/4)-Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri (Nagano 2)
- Ueda Nishi (Nagano 1) vs. Winner of Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui 1)-Kanazawa (Ishikawa 3/4)
- Murakami Sakuragaoka (Niigata 1) vs. Winner of Yuugakukan (Ishikawa 2)-Toyama Shougyou (Toyama 2)
In the opening round, Harue Kougyou continued to disappoint. After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd, they quickly let Shibata Chuo level the score in the 4th, then a bases loaded walk in the 6th opening a 3-run inning from which they could not recover, falling 5-3. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri with the help of a 3rd inning, 3-run homerun by RF Ishihara. Tsuruga Kehi went all out against Kanazawa, sending out ace Kishimoto. CF Mine then helped out with a leadoff HR. And while Kanazawa would tie the game in the 1st, hits by Asai, Hiranuma and Iwata gave the cushion they needed as Kishimoto struck out 10 in a 4-1 win. And finally, Yuugakukan did what it normally does, mercy ruling Toyama Shougyou 10-1 in 7 innings.
Onto the quarterfinals where all 1 seeds are in play, and it was a mixed bag. Seiryou expectedly had no trouble with Shibata Chuo mercy ruling them in 7 innings. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri tried a 9th inning rally, but could only cut the deficit in half, losing 5-3. I truly wanted Ueda Nishi to succeed, but it will have to wait for the summer. After fighting back to tie the game at 2 in the 7th, they would play 7 more as Tsuruga Kehi scored one in the 14th for the 3-2 win. Also of note is that Kishimoto was not used in the game at all - which sadly may be a bigger notch against Ueda Nishi. And while Murakami Sakuragaoka may have won Niigata, they were no match for the veteran Yuugakukan mercy ruled in 7.
So the semifinalists were well-known names. Results though, were a bit surprising. Seiryou continues to hit a ceiling, losing to Toyama Dai-ichi. After taking a 2-0 lead, they give up the lead, only to fight back in the bottom of the 8th to tie it at 3... only to have Toyama score 5 in the 9th to wipe out the Ishikawa champions.
And Tsuruga Kehi? Let's just say it wasn't a good day for Kishimoto. He gives up 5 runs early, and while the team pulls within one, reliever Mosome couldn't keep his team in it, giving up a 3-spot in the 8th as Yuugakukan moves on with the 9-5 win.
Yuugakukan looked to be the favorite in the super-regional final, but it was Toyama Dai-ichi who scored first with a pair in the opening frame. They couldn't hold the lead though for long as Yuugakukan struck back with 3 in the 3rd, and opened the lead to 5-2. Toyama could only manage one run the rest of the game as Yuugakukan takes just their 3rd title, but first in two years.
Kinki Super-Regional
The Kinki Super-Regional is rather small given the prefectures involved. Only host prefecture Nara qualifies more than just 1 team. So it really is win and advance for most teams in the spring.
Oumi advances out of Shiga, but had to survive many close games against not so well known teams such as Oumi Kyoudaisha and Yasu, and some we have heard of such as Shiga Gakuen before rallying in the bottom of the 9th against Hachiman Kougyou for a gyakuten sayonara 3-2 victory.
In Kyoto, there were no surprises in the 1st stage of play as teams such as Kyoto Subaru, Ritsumeikan Uji, Kyoto Gaidai Nishi, Kyoto Seishou, Toba, and Fukuchiyama Seibi joined Senbatsu participants Ryuukokudai Heian and Kyoto Shouei.
It was almost amazing then that the aforementioned 8 teams were almost all separated. The only exception was Kyoto Shouei and Kyoto Gaidai Nishi. In that matchup, the Kinki fall champions routed Kyoto Gaidai Nishi 13-3 in 7 innings. Other than that, all other teams had relatively little problems, except for Kyoto Seishou who gave up a 4-spot to Kita-Saga in the 3rd inning in a 5-3 loss.
Kita-Saga continued their run, and in rather shocking fashion. I need to go back and see if I can't pull up particulars, but the game was tied 1-1 going into extras. Kyoto Shouei scored 4 in the 13th and seemed to have the game in hand. But much like the White Sox-Mariners game, Kita-Saga mounted a comeback. Instead of tying the game though they score 5 to completely shock the fall champions 6-5!!
Elsewhere, Ryuukokudai Heian had no problems with Otokuni 6-4, Fukuchiyama Seibi surprisingly was nowhere to be seen against Toba, and Ritsumeikan Uji routed Kyoto Subaru in 7.
It would be a surprise for the finals as Toba defeated Ryuukokudai Heian 4-1, while Kita-Saga continued their surprising run, once again rallying late after giving up the lead in the bottom of the 8th for a gyakuten win against Ritsumeikan Uji.
In the final, Kita-Saga held a lead against Toba, but Toba would tie it up in the 6th at 3. The game would go into enchousen, but not for long as Toba scores one in the 10th. There would be no rally this time though as Toba would take it 4-3. I would say though that Kita-Saga has surprised me here in the spring. All I know so far is their pitchers are Katabuchi Wataru(?) (潟淵 亘) and Komori Naoki (小森 直己).
In Osaka, despite the large field, it was predominantly business as usual. Despite 172 teams in the field, the Best 4 were all well-known names - Riseisha squaring off against Osaka Touin, and Konkou Osaka versus Daishoudai (aka Osaka Shougyoudai). In the blockbuster semi, Riseisha had led right from the get-go until Osaka Touin's lucky 7 where they scored 3 to tie the game at 5. The game would head to enchousen, but for just one inning as Riseisha scored 4 on starter Amimoto for the win. They would play Konkou Osaka, who had little difficulty with Daishoudai. And in the final, Konkou Osaka would give Riseisha all they could handle as Sakashita and Honno would limit them to a 1st inning run by Okita. Unfortunately, that's all Riseisha would need as ace Higashino would spread out 9 hits in a complete game shutout to take the title.
Moving on to Hyogo, they only sent in 36 teams - no Nishinomiya Kita for me (sorry Haruhi).
Anyways, the main players were there, but the first to fall is the always precarious Touyoudai Himeji. After uncharacteristically getting through their first game easily, they lost another low-scoring affair to Shiritsu Amagasaki 3-2. Amagasaki's run didn't last much longer sadly as they found themselves on the wrong end of the 3-2 score in the next game versus Yashiro. Looking back, they've gone to just one Koushien, the 2004 Haru where they got to the semifinal game, losing to Aikoudai Meiden. Interestingly, they used a two pitcher system in Oomae and Tsuboi. This time around, it looks like the same thing, with dual aces Niimi and Hirauchi.
Joining Yashiro would be Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Houtoku Gakuen - though Houtoku had to come back against Takigawa Dai-ni. The final semifinalist would be Akashi Shougyou, who literally outlasted Suma Shoufuu (who apparently has a radio station) with 5 runs in the 15th for a 7-2 victory.
What was more interesting was that both semifinal games would head to enchousen. For Akashi Shougyou, that would be bad news - especially against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku. After fighting back to tie the game in the 8th, they would lose 4-3 in 11.
As for Yashiro, they and Houtoku Gakuen would go 15 innings without a winner. In the replay the next day, Yashiro's kantoku would go into their bullpen and started Nagao (永尾). That didn't work out as Houtoku would score 3. Another Nagao (長尾) and Niimi held down the fort, but the offense couldn't muster a run as they fell in the replay 3-0.
To add insult to injury perhaps, while the game didn't count for qualification for the super-regional, the 3rd place game between Akashi Shougyou and Yashiro would also go into enchousen. 14 innings in fact before Akashi Shougyou finally ended it 4-3.
As for the final, Houtoku Gakuen's 4th game in 4 days took its toll against Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku as they fell behind quickly and lost 8-2.
Chiben Wakayama's hold on Wakayama prefecture may be waning. Despite breezing through to the semifinals, Minoshima's triumvirate of Ueshiba, Takagawa and Susami defeated them 2-1. They would go on to defeat Kinkidai Shinguu in the final despite blowing a 6-0 lead 11-7.
And as for host Nara, the prefectural tournament was a mess - if you were a big name. Tenri was unceremoniously ousted 5-2 by Nara Suzaku in the first round. Haru Koushien participant Yamato Kouryou had the unfortunate task of playing Chiben Gakuen right off the bat, and were routed 10-1 in 7 innings.
So Chiben Gakuen remained the big name remaining and their title to lose.
And they did.
In uncharacteristic fashion, they let Naradai Fuzoku score in 5 consecutive innings with the nail in the coffin a 5-run 7th which led to them winning 11-10! In the 3rd place game, Kashihara Gakuin defeated Kashihara 4-3 to take the final spot in the super-regionals.
Onto the Super-Regionals, and it's no surprise that of the 3 Nara teams that qualified, only veteran Chiben Gakuen advanced to the semifinals. However, they blew a 4-1 lead to Minoshima in the top of the 9th before Nakanishi delievered the sayonara manrui hit to win 5-4. Naradai Fuzoku actually gave Riseisha a challenge though tying the game a 2-2 in the 8th before Okita delivered the sayonara hit for Riseisha. Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Toba had no problems in their games.
The semifinals were no-contests as both Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku and Riseisha breezed through Chiben Gakuen and Toba respectively.
The finals were a completely different story. After taking a 3-0 lead early, Kobe Kokusaidai yielded 5 runs in the 3rd, only to claw back in the 5th. The teams traded a run in the 8th, and then Takahashi for Kobe would blast his 2nd HR of the game, giving his team the 7-6 lead. But like the 8th they couldn't hold it as Inoue delivered the sayonara 2-run double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th for the sayonara gyakuten victory. Interestingly, this is Riseisha's 1st ever Haru title.
(Chuugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu recaps to come shortly)
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Haru Taikai Recap - Hokkaido to Tokai
So, here's what's going on in the Haru Taikai's.
Hokkaido Super-Regional
In Hokkaido, it's much of the same process, each region qualifies a team - Sapporo has 4 blocks, Hakodate 2. Hokushou and Engaru automatically advance having played at Haru Koushien.
They still won their regionals, but since they got automatic bids, the losers of the finals were guaranteed to advance - Otaru Ouyou out of the Otaru region, and Kitami Hokuto out of Kitami.
Many familiar names reached the 2nd stage. Both Komadai Tomakomai and Komadai Iwamizawa advanced, along with Hokkai and Sapporo Nichidai. Lesser known teams such as Towa no mori san-ai and Hakodate LaSalle both advanced as well.
Missing from the list of teams is Asahikawa Jitsugyou, who lost 4-1 to Asahikawa Ryuukoku as well as Shirakaba Gakuen who fell 8-7 to Obihiro Kita after they rallied for 5 in the 7th before hanging on by the slimmest of margins.
The super-regionals started the other day and we already have a few casualties. Hokkai fell 7-5 to Hakodate LaSalle while Engaru couldn't get past the first round falling to Sapporo Nichidai 4-3. In other games, Komadai Tomakomai had no problems with Wakkanai Ootani, while Otaru Ouyou's reprieve lasted just one game, losing to Kushiro Koryou. Kitami Hokuto and Komadai Iwamizawa has also advanced.
Tohoku Super-Regional
Prefectures have finished up their qualifiers, and there are not many surprises.
In Aomori, Aomori Yamada cleans up on Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi with Hachinohe Kougyou taking the 3rd spot.
No Hanamaki Higashi in Iwate, instead Moriokadai Fuzoku outlasts Senshuudai Kitami 7-3 to take the title while Ichinoseki Gakuin loses out yet again, this time a 5-1 loss to Morioka Dai-yon.
Newly formed Noshiro Shouyou (merger between Noshiro Shougyou and Noshiro Kita) takes Akita in sayonara fashion in the 10th over tough-luck Honjyou with Akita Chuo winning the 3rd place match.
We haven't really heard from Haguro recently out of Yamagata recently, but they defeat Kunori Gakuen 5-2 to take the spring title. Sakata Minami was relegated to 3rd after an 11-4 win over Yonezawa Chuo.
Miyagi is still missing Tohoku. Meiji Jingu champ Sendai Ikuei and Rifu have filled the gap in the meantime - though a 16-9 score doesn't exactly instill confidence in the prefecture in the summer. Sendai Dai-san blanked Sendai Shougyou 4-0 to take the last spot.
And in Fukushima, status quo is maintained. Seikou Gakuin wins once again, this time a 25-2 whitewashing over Fukushima Higashi. Odaka Kougyou finishes in 3rd.
Kanto Super-Regional
Kanto for the spring includes Tokyo, so they're grouped in with everyone else in the region. Play has been completed, and it perhaps sheds some light for the summer.
With Tochigi hosting, they receive 4 bids while all others get 1. No real surprise from those 4 teams - Sano Nichidai, Ootawara, Sakushin Gakuin and Hakuoudai Ashikaga.
Urawa Gakuin got a free pass but still won Saitama in an 8-0 win over Hanasaki Tokuharu. That meant that the 3rd place team advanced from Saitama and that team was Washinomiya in a 5-3 win over Saitama Sakae. Going over the results, my Kasukabe Kyouei squad had to face Urawa Gakuin and gave them the best fight in-prefecture, losing 2-1 in 12 inning. I was going to hope those two teams were going to be split up this year (Saitama will be split up this time around along with other major prefectures), but with Kasukabe Kyouei an ~20 min drive to Urawa Gakuin... my guess is no. Darn.
Elsewhere...
Uragaku had an immediate test in the Super-Regionals facing ever-present Sanko. However, they were able to shut them down in a surprising 2-0 score. In fact, Ojima was used just twice. Once in part against Sanko, and then again in the semifinals against Toukaidai Bouyou as Urawa Gakuin took the Kanto Super-Regionals over the aforementioned Maebashi Ikuei.
Hokushinetsu Super-Regional
Ishikawa is the host this year for the Hokushinetsu Super-Regional, so they qualify 4 teams while all others send 2.
And Godzilla's alma mater is trying their darnest to get to Koshien this year. Well, if the spring taikais are any indication. Seiryou had to survive two 8-7 ballgames against Kanazawa and Yuugakukan to take the spring title. On a slightly unrelated note, they also defeated my friend's JET assignment Komatsu Meihou. Joining the trio is Kanazawa Gakuin Higashi.
In Fukui, the secret is out. Tsuruga Kehi is good. So while I suppose you can hide some things, there probably isn't a whole lot to hide anymore. With that said, they won the rematch against Harue Kougyou 6-3 in the final.
I really wish Ueda Nishi would get to Koushien one day. I don't know why Ueda Nishi other than that Ueda was used for bits of the Onegai Twins! series. I guess for now a spring prefectural victory will have to do. They defeated both Matsushou Gakuen and Chikyuu Kankyou before defeating Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri 2-1.
Over in Toyama, Toyama Dai-ichi will look to challenge this summer after defeating both Tonami Kougyou and runner-up Toyama Shougyou. A 3-0 11 inning win though in the final means they'll probably have their hands full.
And finally in Niigata, there are two names I am not totally familiar with. Murakami Sakuragaoka almost fritters away a 6-0 lead, but holds on to defeat Shibata Chuo 6-5. I haven't really been able to find anything about either team, so I will be curious to see the summer taikai as both Nihon Bunri and Niigata Kenou Kougyou both reached the semifinals.
Tokai Super-Regional
Tokai has already completed play and I can't say I'm completely surprised by the teams that made it.
Since it's a non-Koshien taikai, each prefecture sends just 2 teams to the super-regional.
Shizuoka is always a focus for me because of Tokoha Kikugawa and Tohoha Tachibana. Sadly, both were in the same half, and wound up facing each other in the semifinals. Tachibana held the slim 2-1 lead before Kikugawa scores a run in the 8th, then walks off in the 9th to reach the super-regionals. Joining them will be Shizuoka, who never really competed with Kikugawa in the final.
Gifu brings back one of the possible contenders at Haru Koushien - if not for injuries. So how did Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou bounce back?
Well, they did win Gifu, but it looks like they didn't use Fujita. It showed as they went through several close games against many seemingly non-contenders... and still won the prefecture. Oogaki Nichidai joins them, but don't look to be serious contenders at this moment.
In Mie, Inabe Sougou Gakuen takes out a possible contender in Komono in the quarterfinals, then almost coughs up the victory against recent newcomer Tsu Shougyou before winning 6-5 in 11 innings. Not sure that Tsu Shougyou has in their arsenal that has made them contenders in Mie at least, but I don't think we've seen the last of them.
(I did try to look up players from Tsu Shougyou, and all I can find is the battery of Moriyama Takuma 森山 拓魔, and Shimizu Tomoki 清水 智貴 - who happen to be the 3-4 batters for the team)
Aichi happens to be the only surprise out of the 4. Both Chuukyoudai Chuukyou and Aikoudai Meiden both lost in the quarterfinals, opening the field up for the title - which would be taken in spectacular walkoff fashion by Haruhigaoka 3-2 over Eitoku.
Onto the super-regionals and it looks like Fujita isn't 100% yet. He started versus Shizuoka, but did not last long as they got to him early and often in an 8-3 loss. Oogaki Nichidai proved my premise right about Gifu as they lost to Inabe Sougou Gakuen, while Tsu Shougyou only yielded a 9th inning run against Haruhigaoka.
Much to perhaps all the other prefectures' dismay, it was an all-Shizuoka final as Tokoha Kikugawa and Shizuoka squared off yet again. After trading 3-spots in the 1st, another 3-run inning by Kikugawa in the 5th proved to be just enough as they take the spring Tokai tournament 6-5.
The biggest concern has to be for Kengifushou and Fujita. If he's not 100%, they're just another team. They need him to be fully ready for the run this summer... or it really was a pyhrric victory over Osaka Touin.
Hokkaido Super-Regional
In Hokkaido, it's much of the same process, each region qualifies a team - Sapporo has 4 blocks, Hakodate 2. Hokushou and Engaru automatically advance having played at Haru Koushien.
They still won their regionals, but since they got automatic bids, the losers of the finals were guaranteed to advance - Otaru Ouyou out of the Otaru region, and Kitami Hokuto out of Kitami.
Many familiar names reached the 2nd stage. Both Komadai Tomakomai and Komadai Iwamizawa advanced, along with Hokkai and Sapporo Nichidai. Lesser known teams such as Towa no mori san-ai and Hakodate LaSalle both advanced as well.
Missing from the list of teams is Asahikawa Jitsugyou, who lost 4-1 to Asahikawa Ryuukoku as well as Shirakaba Gakuen who fell 8-7 to Obihiro Kita after they rallied for 5 in the 7th before hanging on by the slimmest of margins.
The super-regionals started the other day and we already have a few casualties. Hokkai fell 7-5 to Hakodate LaSalle while Engaru couldn't get past the first round falling to Sapporo Nichidai 4-3. In other games, Komadai Tomakomai had no problems with Wakkanai Ootani, while Otaru Ouyou's reprieve lasted just one game, losing to Kushiro Koryou. Kitami Hokuto and Komadai Iwamizawa has also advanced.
Tohoku Super-Regional
Prefectures have finished up their qualifiers, and there are not many surprises.
In Aomori, Aomori Yamada cleans up on Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi with Hachinohe Kougyou taking the 3rd spot.
No Hanamaki Higashi in Iwate, instead Moriokadai Fuzoku outlasts Senshuudai Kitami 7-3 to take the title while Ichinoseki Gakuin loses out yet again, this time a 5-1 loss to Morioka Dai-yon.
Newly formed Noshiro Shouyou (merger between Noshiro Shougyou and Noshiro Kita) takes Akita in sayonara fashion in the 10th over tough-luck Honjyou with Akita Chuo winning the 3rd place match.
We haven't really heard from Haguro recently out of Yamagata recently, but they defeat Kunori Gakuen 5-2 to take the spring title. Sakata Minami was relegated to 3rd after an 11-4 win over Yonezawa Chuo.
Miyagi is still missing Tohoku. Meiji Jingu champ Sendai Ikuei and Rifu have filled the gap in the meantime - though a 16-9 score doesn't exactly instill confidence in the prefecture in the summer. Sendai Dai-san blanked Sendai Shougyou 4-0 to take the last spot.
And in Fukushima, status quo is maintained. Seikou Gakuin wins once again, this time a 25-2 whitewashing over Fukushima Higashi. Odaka Kougyou finishes in 3rd.
Kanto Super-Regional
Kanto for the spring includes Tokyo, so they're grouped in with everyone else in the region. Play has been completed, and it perhaps sheds some light for the summer.
With Tochigi hosting, they receive 4 bids while all others get 1. No real surprise from those 4 teams - Sano Nichidai, Ootawara, Sakushin Gakuin and Hakuoudai Ashikaga.
Urawa Gakuin got a free pass but still won Saitama in an 8-0 win over Hanasaki Tokuharu. That meant that the 3rd place team advanced from Saitama and that team was Washinomiya in a 5-3 win over Saitama Sakae. Going over the results, my Kasukabe Kyouei squad had to face Urawa Gakuin and gave them the best fight in-prefecture, losing 2-1 in 12 inning. I was going to hope those two teams were going to be split up this year (Saitama will be split up this time around along with other major prefectures), but with Kasukabe Kyouei an ~20 min drive to Urawa Gakuin... my guess is no. Darn.
Elsewhere...
- In Ibaraki Kasumigaura held on for dear life to defeat Jyousou Gakuin 3-2.
- Shifting to Gunma, Takasaki Kenkou Fukushidai re-emerges but cannot hold a lead late and falls just short against Maebashi Ikuei losing 5-4 in 12.
- To the southwest in Chiba, Toukaidai Bouyou finally wins the prefecturals, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to Senshuudai Matsudo winning 5-4.
- Tokyo qualified 2 familiar faces with Teikyou defeating Nichidai-san. Teikyou survived back-to-back enchousen games against the aforementioned Sanko and Nichidai Tsurugaoka. Their schedule was littered with Koushien-brand teams - before Nichidai Tsurugaoka was Kanto Dai-ichi, Yasuda Gakuen, and Kokushikan.
- Ace Matsui out of Toukou Gakuen struggles to get more support as they cannot win it all as they fall to Touin Gakuen in the Kanagawa final. This after defeating Yokohama, Yokohama Hayato and Nichidai Fujisawa.
- And finally in Yamanashi, Fuji-kawaguchiko - a team that has done fairly well in the prefecture, reached the final, but couldn't overcome Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku.
Uragaku had an immediate test in the Super-Regionals facing ever-present Sanko. However, they were able to shut them down in a surprising 2-0 score. In fact, Ojima was used just twice. Once in part against Sanko, and then again in the semifinals against Toukaidai Bouyou as Urawa Gakuin took the Kanto Super-Regionals over the aforementioned Maebashi Ikuei.
Hokushinetsu Super-Regional
Ishikawa is the host this year for the Hokushinetsu Super-Regional, so they qualify 4 teams while all others send 2.
And Godzilla's alma mater is trying their darnest to get to Koshien this year. Well, if the spring taikais are any indication. Seiryou had to survive two 8-7 ballgames against Kanazawa and Yuugakukan to take the spring title. On a slightly unrelated note, they also defeated my friend's JET assignment Komatsu Meihou. Joining the trio is Kanazawa Gakuin Higashi.
In Fukui, the secret is out. Tsuruga Kehi is good. So while I suppose you can hide some things, there probably isn't a whole lot to hide anymore. With that said, they won the rematch against Harue Kougyou 6-3 in the final.
I really wish Ueda Nishi would get to Koushien one day. I don't know why Ueda Nishi other than that Ueda was used for bits of the Onegai Twins! series. I guess for now a spring prefectural victory will have to do. They defeated both Matsushou Gakuen and Chikyuu Kankyou before defeating Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri 2-1.
Over in Toyama, Toyama Dai-ichi will look to challenge this summer after defeating both Tonami Kougyou and runner-up Toyama Shougyou. A 3-0 11 inning win though in the final means they'll probably have their hands full.
And finally in Niigata, there are two names I am not totally familiar with. Murakami Sakuragaoka almost fritters away a 6-0 lead, but holds on to defeat Shibata Chuo 6-5. I haven't really been able to find anything about either team, so I will be curious to see the summer taikai as both Nihon Bunri and Niigata Kenou Kougyou both reached the semifinals.
Tokai Super-Regional
Tokai has already completed play and I can't say I'm completely surprised by the teams that made it.
Since it's a non-Koshien taikai, each prefecture sends just 2 teams to the super-regional.
Shizuoka is always a focus for me because of Tokoha Kikugawa and Tohoha Tachibana. Sadly, both were in the same half, and wound up facing each other in the semifinals. Tachibana held the slim 2-1 lead before Kikugawa scores a run in the 8th, then walks off in the 9th to reach the super-regionals. Joining them will be Shizuoka, who never really competed with Kikugawa in the final.
Gifu brings back one of the possible contenders at Haru Koushien - if not for injuries. So how did Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou bounce back?
Well, they did win Gifu, but it looks like they didn't use Fujita. It showed as they went through several close games against many seemingly non-contenders... and still won the prefecture. Oogaki Nichidai joins them, but don't look to be serious contenders at this moment.
In Mie, Inabe Sougou Gakuen takes out a possible contender in Komono in the quarterfinals, then almost coughs up the victory against recent newcomer Tsu Shougyou before winning 6-5 in 11 innings. Not sure that Tsu Shougyou has in their arsenal that has made them contenders in Mie at least, but I don't think we've seen the last of them.
(I did try to look up players from Tsu Shougyou, and all I can find is the battery of Moriyama Takuma 森山 拓魔, and Shimizu Tomoki 清水 智貴 - who happen to be the 3-4 batters for the team)
Aichi happens to be the only surprise out of the 4. Both Chuukyoudai Chuukyou and Aikoudai Meiden both lost in the quarterfinals, opening the field up for the title - which would be taken in spectacular walkoff fashion by Haruhigaoka 3-2 over Eitoku.
Onto the super-regionals and it looks like Fujita isn't 100% yet. He started versus Shizuoka, but did not last long as they got to him early and often in an 8-3 loss. Oogaki Nichidai proved my premise right about Gifu as they lost to Inabe Sougou Gakuen, while Tsu Shougyou only yielded a 9th inning run against Haruhigaoka.
Much to perhaps all the other prefectures' dismay, it was an all-Shizuoka final as Tokoha Kikugawa and Shizuoka squared off yet again. After trading 3-spots in the 1st, another 3-run inning by Kikugawa in the 5th proved to be just enough as they take the spring Tokai tournament 6-5.
The biggest concern has to be for Kengifushou and Fujita. If he's not 100%, they're just another team. They need him to be fully ready for the run this summer... or it really was a pyhrric victory over Osaka Touin.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Fall tournament recap and possible invitees (Hokkaido & Tohoku)
So now we move onto the next baseball year. 2nd years and 1st years will continue on as seniors cheer them on. Unlike previous years, I am scaling back on coverage such as brackets because it was very time consuming working on them alone and led to my recent burnout.
But without further ado... off we go!
When the draw came out, Hokkai had a quadrant mostly to themselves. Joining them in the same half was Hokushou, Shirakaba Gakuen and Asahikawa Kougyou. On the other side, Hakodatedai Yuuto had a quadrant to themselves with Sapporo Dai-ichi and Bushuukan on the other quadrant.
As the games played out, Hokkai advanced, but still seemed a bit lackluster on offense. Asahikawa Kougyou soundly defeated Shirakaba Gakuen, but fell to Hokushou... who then mercy ruled Hokkai 9-1!
Their opponent in the finals became clearer as Hakodatedai Yuuto lost 1-0 to the hungry Furano squad. They almost made the semifinals, but fell to Sappporo Shinkawa. It would be an all-Sapporo semifinal as Sapporo Dai-ichi had no problems with Bushuukan. And while Sapporo Shinkawa has done better as of late - the powerhouse Dai-ichi moved to the finals.
In that final, it was as expected hotly contested. Sapporo Dai-ichi took a 2-1 lead early only to see it slip away in the later innings. But in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 out and a runner on 3rd, Sapporo Dai-ichi managed to tie the game, sending it into extras and the chance to earn their 1st title.
But it was not to be. In the first extra frame Hokushou's #9 batter Takayama delivered a 2-out single to center to break the tie. Ace Oogushi Kazuya closed out the frame and earned Hokushou their 4th title, 1st in 2 years. More importantly, they will receive an invitation to Haru Koushien.
Automatic Bid - Hokushou - 4th appearance, 1st in 2 years
Each prefecture would receive 3 bids for the super-regionals. They were awarded as follows:
Aomori
Because of their summer qualification, Kousei Gakuin got an automatic pass to the prefectural finals. Everyone else had to go through block play.
Of the ones that qualified, the most notables were Aomori Yamada, Touou Gijyuku, Hachinohekoudai-ichi, and Oominato.
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately depending on who you were), the major players were split up into the different quadrants. Oominato and Touou Gijyuku were on one side while the more prominent teams in Kousei Gakuin and Aomori Yamada on the other. Hachinohekou Dai-ichi drew the short straw and was stuck with Kousei Gakuin.
The tournament though wasn't close. At least for the title anyways. Kousei Gakuin's lowest margin of victory was 6 (7-1 against both Hachinohekoudai-ichi and Aomori Yamada), and they demolished Oominato 21-3 in the final earning their 4th consecutive fall title and 13th overall. Joining the pair would be Aomori Yamada, who defeated Touou Gijyuku 5-2.
Akita
Similar to Kousei Gakuin, Noshiro Shougyou also got a free pass to the fall prefectural. Always nice to get a free pass when you can in single elim tournaments. On the other side, Akita Chuo and Oodate Houmei were in one quadrant while Akita Kougou held the other quadrant down.
The draw was not as kind though as both Akita Shougyou and Meiou both were drawn into the same quadrant. Thankfully for them they'd have to face only one of the 2 teams. Honjyou did not make out of pool play, losing immediately to Akita Shougyou and Akita.
It seemed apparent that it was a matter of who could stop Noshiro Shougyou. Akita Shougyou almost pulled off the feat, but fell 5-4. Otherwise, it was a breeze for the Natsu Koushien representative shutting out Akita Kougyou in the finals 9-0. Akita Chuo would shutout Oomagari 3-0 for the final spot.
Iwate
Hanamaki Higashi had no such help - they'd have to qualify like everyone else. Not that it was hard, mind you. Other notable teams joining them were Moriokadai Fuzoku, Ichinoseki Gakuin, and Kuji.
The tournament itself was barely a challenge. Hanamaki Higashi did get a small challenge against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but won 5-2. Ichinoseki Gakuin, despite their continued futility in the super-regionals made it to the finals despite a challenge from Fukuoka Kougyou.
The final was all Hanamaki Higashi, shutting out Ichinoseki Gakuin 6-0. Meanwhile in the battle of Morioka schools Morioka Dai-san, who had defeated Kuji, defeated Morioka Dai-yon 7-1 for the final bid.
Yamagata
Yamagata saw a lot of the prefecture's main players make it out of pool play. Nichidai Yamagata, Sakata Minami both advanced along with secondary players Haguro, Yamagata Chuo and Tsuruoka Higashi.
The team though that surprised the field was Toukaidai Yamagata. They not only shutout Yamagata Chuo, but then broke a 4-4 deadlock in the 9th with 7 runs against Nichidai Yamagata guaranteeing themselves a spot in the super-regionals.
Now, to win the title, they would have to face Sakata Minami, who uncharacteristically had close games against Yamamoto Gakuen and Yonezawa Chuo.
Toukaidai more than held their own against Sakata Minami, but couldn't form a reply to a 2-spot in the 6th - right after they had tied the game at 1. Sakata Minami would earn their 7th title and 2nd consecutive fall title.
Joining the pair would be Nichidai Yamagata, who denied Yonezawa Chuo 8-3.
By the way, I would almost like to see Toukaidai Yamagata make it because of their pitcher's last names:
Looking at who qualified out of block play, we found new powerhouse Rifu as well as Sendai Ikuei. Cinderella story Furukawa Kougyou's road ended in double defeat to Furukawa Gakuen and Iwagasaki.
Missing from the picture was Tohoku. They were sent immediately into the repechage with a 5-0 loss to Sendai Shougyou. And after working their way up through, they were finally sent home by Seiwa Gakuen 5-4.
In the prefecturals, once Sendai Ikuei was laid to the roadside by Ishinomaki Shougyou 3-2, the title was Rifu's to lose.
They almost did.
In the semifinals, down to their last 3 against Furukawa Gakuen, Rifu's Sasaki hits a sayonara 3-run homerun to guarantee them a spot in the super-regionals. Only Ishinomaki Kougyou stood in their way to the title. In an 11-6 shootout, they claimed their 2nd title in 3 years.
Furukawa Gakuen then outlasted the aforementioned Ishinomaki Shougyou 13-7 for the 3rd spot.
Fukushima
As muddled as Fukushima's baseball picture is, there is apparently one shining light when it comes to the fall tournament.
That team would be Seikou Gakuin. Advancing straight to the prefectural finals, they had just one hiccup when Kounan limited them to 2 runs. Too bad they only managed 1. And while Shouin Gakuin Fukushima also limited the Seikou offense, they were still shutout 3-0. It would be Kousei's 6th consecutive fall title.
Fukushima Shougyou, who was mercy ruled by Seikou, edged out fellow mercy ruled opponent Tajima 4-3 to fill out the field.
Super-Regionals
The super-regional draw split up the 4 main contenders into each quadrant. Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) and Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) on one side, Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) and Aomori Yamada (Aomori) on the other.
All 4 teams managed to advance to the semifinals with ease except for Hanamaki Higashi. In usual fashion, they came from behind to defeat Nichidai Yamagata (3 runs in the bottom of the 9th), and Shouin Gakuin Fukushima (a run in the 8th and 9th innings) to advance.
In the semifinals, Hanamaki Higashi found the tables turned on them as they went up on Kousei early only to watch them rally for 2 in the 8th and 1 more in the 9th to pull off the 9-8 win. Kousei's Tanaka Tatsuhiro went 3-4 with 2 HR's in the effort.
Joining them would be Seikou Gakuin who led wire-to-wire against Aomori Yamada 6-2. None of Aomori's 5 pitchers could stop Seikou from a rematch.
Seikou looked to claim the title early after Saitou hit a solo HR in the 1st. But there after, Kousei's ace Kanazawa would limit them to just one more hit in the game. That allowed many opportunities to equalize the score - which Kimura did in the 4th with a 2-out 2-run double. Another insurance run the next inning mean that Kousei Gakuin would claim the Tohoku title (3rd overall, 1st in 3 years)!
Automatic Bid - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) - 5th appearance, 2nd consecutive
Projected Bid - Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 4 years
But without further ado... off we go!
Hokkaido Super-Regional (1 bid)
So Hokkaido was back to it's block play to determine the prefectural field. Of the 19 blocks, 4 made a return after a long hiatus, and 2 were complete newcomers. Your field was as follows:- Sapporo A - Sapporo Shinkawa (4th appearance, 1st in 5 years). Received scare from Sapporo Kaisei in the semis, but cleared otherwise.
- Sapporo B - Sapporo Ryuukoku (1st appearance) - Always appeared to be a solid team, finally broke through this year defeating such teams as Hokkai Gakuen Sapporo and Toukai Dai-yon!
- Sapporo C - Hokkai (37th appearance, 6th consecutive) - Outscored their opponents 16-2 in their 4 games which included 3 shutouts. Fairly low scoring for a team of that calibur.
- Sapporo D - Sapporo Dai-ichi (19th appearance, 3rd consecutive) - Showed more offensive output winning their 4 games 35-5
- Muroran A - Hokkaido Sakae (14th appearance, 2nd consecutive) - No issues for Hokkaido Sakae though started slow against Tomakomai Kougyou.
- Muroran B - Shizunai (1st appearance) - Shizunai earned their 1st appearance as they defeated a well-known Mukawa 8-7! Then they held on against Urakawa 5-4 to make it to the show (prefectural anyways).
- Hakodate A - Hakodate Kougyou (20th appearance, 1st in 4 years) - Hakodae Kougyou won their first 3 games 2-0, 2-0 and 1-0 before exploding for 8 runs to deny Hakodate LaSalle 8-3.
- Hakodate B - Hakodatedai Yuuto (33rd appearance, 4th consecutive) - Hakodatedai Yuuto breezed through their block in a bid to make it back once again.
- Otaru - Hokushou (33rd appearance, 11th consecutive) - Hokushou continues to dominate the town known for its canals and the anime Saishuu Heiki Kanojyou. 49-3 in their 3 games.
- Sorachi - Takikawa Nishi(16th appearance, 3rd consecutive) - With Komadai Iwamisawa eliminated at the hands of Takikawa Kougyou, it was an all-Takikawa final. Nishi would beat the industrial school 3-1.
- Asahikawa A - Asahikawa Kougyou (9th appearance, 3rd consecutive) - Asahikawa Kougyou almost didn't make it for the 3rd straight year. Asahikawa Nougyou gave them a run but fell short 6-5.
- Asahikawa B - Furano (6th appearance, 1st in 45 years) - Furano returns after 45 years having to get there the hard way winning 4 games topping it off with a 3-0 shutout of Asahikawa Jitsugyou.
- Nayoro - Teshio (3rd appearance, 1st in 23 years) - When Wakkanai Ootani fell to Shibetsu Shouun 3-2, it opened the door in the regional. Teshio had to beat out Nayoro Sangyou 2-0 before thanking Shibetsu Shouun by defeating them 10-2.
- Kitami A - Memanbetsu (2nd appearance, 2nd consecutive) - Memanbetsu earns their 2nd consecutive appearance with ease.
- Kitami B - Kitami Shougyou (2nd appearance, 1st in 28 years) - Kitami Shougyou almost stumbles right out the blocks just sliding by Abashiri Minamigaoka 4-3.
- Tokachi A - Shirakaba Gakuen (10th appearance, 7th consecutive) - Shirakaba Gakuen was tested immediately against Obihiro Ryokuryou but prevailed 3-2. After that it was a breeze winning their next 2 games by the 10-0 mercy rule.
- Tokachi B - Obihiro Hakuyou (10th appearance, 1st in 46 years) - Obihiro Hakuyou similarly had a close game against Obihiro Nougyou, but had no issues otherwise.
- Kushine A - Nayoro Kougyou (12th appearance, 2nd consecutive) - Nayoro Kougyou was challenged by Nakashibetsu in the finals, but returns to the prefectural finals 5-3.
- Kushine B - Bushuukan (5th appearance, 1st in 2 years) - Bushuukan needed 3-1 victories over Kushine Koryou and Kushine Shougyou.
When the draw came out, Hokkai had a quadrant mostly to themselves. Joining them in the same half was Hokushou, Shirakaba Gakuen and Asahikawa Kougyou. On the other side, Hakodatedai Yuuto had a quadrant to themselves with Sapporo Dai-ichi and Bushuukan on the other quadrant.
As the games played out, Hokkai advanced, but still seemed a bit lackluster on offense. Asahikawa Kougyou soundly defeated Shirakaba Gakuen, but fell to Hokushou... who then mercy ruled Hokkai 9-1!
Their opponent in the finals became clearer as Hakodatedai Yuuto lost 1-0 to the hungry Furano squad. They almost made the semifinals, but fell to Sappporo Shinkawa. It would be an all-Sapporo semifinal as Sapporo Dai-ichi had no problems with Bushuukan. And while Sapporo Shinkawa has done better as of late - the powerhouse Dai-ichi moved to the finals.
In that final, it was as expected hotly contested. Sapporo Dai-ichi took a 2-1 lead early only to see it slip away in the later innings. But in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 out and a runner on 3rd, Sapporo Dai-ichi managed to tie the game, sending it into extras and the chance to earn their 1st title.
But it was not to be. In the first extra frame Hokushou's #9 batter Takayama delivered a 2-out single to center to break the tie. Ace Oogushi Kazuya closed out the frame and earned Hokushou their 4th title, 1st in 2 years. More importantly, they will receive an invitation to Haru Koushien.
Automatic Bid - Hokushou - 4th appearance, 1st in 2 years
Tohoku Super-Regional (2 bids)
Tohoku at least baseball-wise is getting back to some normalcy. Now it will never be the same for schools that were say in places such as Minami-Sanriku or Iwaki, but it probably helps them cope with the events of the past year.Each prefecture would receive 3 bids for the super-regionals. They were awarded as follows:
Aomori
Because of their summer qualification, Kousei Gakuin got an automatic pass to the prefectural finals. Everyone else had to go through block play.
Of the ones that qualified, the most notables were Aomori Yamada, Touou Gijyuku, Hachinohekoudai-ichi, and Oominato.
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately depending on who you were), the major players were split up into the different quadrants. Oominato and Touou Gijyuku were on one side while the more prominent teams in Kousei Gakuin and Aomori Yamada on the other. Hachinohekou Dai-ichi drew the short straw and was stuck with Kousei Gakuin.
The tournament though wasn't close. At least for the title anyways. Kousei Gakuin's lowest margin of victory was 6 (7-1 against both Hachinohekoudai-ichi and Aomori Yamada), and they demolished Oominato 21-3 in the final earning their 4th consecutive fall title and 13th overall. Joining the pair would be Aomori Yamada, who defeated Touou Gijyuku 5-2.
Akita
Similar to Kousei Gakuin, Noshiro Shougyou also got a free pass to the fall prefectural. Always nice to get a free pass when you can in single elim tournaments. On the other side, Akita Chuo and Oodate Houmei were in one quadrant while Akita Kougou held the other quadrant down.
The draw was not as kind though as both Akita Shougyou and Meiou both were drawn into the same quadrant. Thankfully for them they'd have to face only one of the 2 teams. Honjyou did not make out of pool play, losing immediately to Akita Shougyou and Akita.
It seemed apparent that it was a matter of who could stop Noshiro Shougyou. Akita Shougyou almost pulled off the feat, but fell 5-4. Otherwise, it was a breeze for the Natsu Koushien representative shutting out Akita Kougyou in the finals 9-0. Akita Chuo would shutout Oomagari 3-0 for the final spot.
Iwate
Hanamaki Higashi had no such help - they'd have to qualify like everyone else. Not that it was hard, mind you. Other notable teams joining them were Moriokadai Fuzoku, Ichinoseki Gakuin, and Kuji.
The tournament itself was barely a challenge. Hanamaki Higashi did get a small challenge against Moriokadai Fuzoku, but won 5-2. Ichinoseki Gakuin, despite their continued futility in the super-regionals made it to the finals despite a challenge from Fukuoka Kougyou.
The final was all Hanamaki Higashi, shutting out Ichinoseki Gakuin 6-0. Meanwhile in the battle of Morioka schools Morioka Dai-san, who had defeated Kuji, defeated Morioka Dai-yon 7-1 for the final bid.
Yamagata
Yamagata saw a lot of the prefecture's main players make it out of pool play. Nichidai Yamagata, Sakata Minami both advanced along with secondary players Haguro, Yamagata Chuo and Tsuruoka Higashi.
The team though that surprised the field was Toukaidai Yamagata. They not only shutout Yamagata Chuo, but then broke a 4-4 deadlock in the 9th with 7 runs against Nichidai Yamagata guaranteeing themselves a spot in the super-regionals.
Now, to win the title, they would have to face Sakata Minami, who uncharacteristically had close games against Yamamoto Gakuen and Yonezawa Chuo.
Toukaidai more than held their own against Sakata Minami, but couldn't form a reply to a 2-spot in the 6th - right after they had tied the game at 1. Sakata Minami would earn their 7th title and 2nd consecutive fall title.
Joining the pair would be Nichidai Yamagata, who denied Yonezawa Chuo 8-3.
By the way, I would almost like to see Toukaidai Yamagata make it because of their pitcher's last names:
- 飯屋崎 - Iyazaki
- 勅使河原 - Deshigawara
Looking at who qualified out of block play, we found new powerhouse Rifu as well as Sendai Ikuei. Cinderella story Furukawa Kougyou's road ended in double defeat to Furukawa Gakuen and Iwagasaki.
Missing from the picture was Tohoku. They were sent immediately into the repechage with a 5-0 loss to Sendai Shougyou. And after working their way up through, they were finally sent home by Seiwa Gakuen 5-4.
In the prefecturals, once Sendai Ikuei was laid to the roadside by Ishinomaki Shougyou 3-2, the title was Rifu's to lose.
They almost did.
In the semifinals, down to their last 3 against Furukawa Gakuen, Rifu's Sasaki hits a sayonara 3-run homerun to guarantee them a spot in the super-regionals. Only Ishinomaki Kougyou stood in their way to the title. In an 11-6 shootout, they claimed their 2nd title in 3 years.
Furukawa Gakuen then outlasted the aforementioned Ishinomaki Shougyou 13-7 for the 3rd spot.
Fukushima
As muddled as Fukushima's baseball picture is, there is apparently one shining light when it comes to the fall tournament.
That team would be Seikou Gakuin. Advancing straight to the prefectural finals, they had just one hiccup when Kounan limited them to 2 runs. Too bad they only managed 1. And while Shouin Gakuin Fukushima also limited the Seikou offense, they were still shutout 3-0. It would be Kousei's 6th consecutive fall title.
Fukushima Shougyou, who was mercy ruled by Seikou, edged out fellow mercy ruled opponent Tajima 4-3 to fill out the field.
Super-Regionals
The super-regional draw split up the 4 main contenders into each quadrant. Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) and Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) on one side, Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) and Aomori Yamada (Aomori) on the other.
All 4 teams managed to advance to the semifinals with ease except for Hanamaki Higashi. In usual fashion, they came from behind to defeat Nichidai Yamagata (3 runs in the bottom of the 9th), and Shouin Gakuin Fukushima (a run in the 8th and 9th innings) to advance.
In the semifinals, Hanamaki Higashi found the tables turned on them as they went up on Kousei early only to watch them rally for 2 in the 8th and 1 more in the 9th to pull off the 9-8 win. Kousei's Tanaka Tatsuhiro went 3-4 with 2 HR's in the effort.
Joining them would be Seikou Gakuin who led wire-to-wire against Aomori Yamada 6-2. None of Aomori's 5 pitchers could stop Seikou from a rematch.
Seikou looked to claim the title early after Saitou hit a solo HR in the 1st. But there after, Kousei's ace Kanazawa would limit them to just one more hit in the game. That allowed many opportunities to equalize the score - which Kimura did in the 4th with a 2-out 2-run double. Another insurance run the next inning mean that Kousei Gakuin would claim the Tohoku title (3rd overall, 1st in 3 years)!
Automatic Bid - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) - 5th appearance, 2nd consecutive
Projected Bid - Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 4 years
Thursday, June 2, 2011
2011 Haru Taikai - Tohoku Prefecturals
As everyone is well aware, the Great East Japan Earthquake devastated the Tohoku region, destroying many seaside cities and killing thousands and displacing many more.
As a result, it was decided that the Tohoku Taikai would not be held. Furthermore, for Miyagi-ken and Fukushima-ken, their spring tournaments would be cancelled. However, the Natsu Koushien qualifying will go on not too long from now.
All the other prefectures though managed to get their tournaments done, so we'll take a tour of those areas.
Aomori
Aomori has regional brackets where a certain number of teams qualify for the prefecturals. Those teams plus the fall winner, Kousei Gakuin, make up the full field. The elephant in the room, Aomori Yamada qualified, as well as pet favorite Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi.
Unfortunately for Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, they would have to play Kousei Gakuin in the 2nd round, and was shutout 8-0. But then, facing Hachinohe in the next round, they found a team who wanted to take revenge on the team that eliminated an area school. Well, not really, but nevertheless Hachinohe pulls off the upset 5-2.
With the only major competition to Aomori Yamada gone, the path was clear to the title. But while facing what seemed like no-name competition, showed some cracks defeating Touou Gijyuku 5-0, then Towada Kougyou 2-0 to reach the finals.
Their opponent in the finals would not be Hachinohe though. They faced Misawa in the semifinals and fell behind immediately and could never recover, losing 9-4.
So it would be the David's Misawa versus the Goliath's Aomori Yamada. And early on, Misawa's ace Kikuchi held his own, yielding just one run through the first 6 innings. However, the offense could never get started and the stress of holding that one run lead was too much. Aomori Yamada put up two 3-spots in the next 2 innings to win 7-0 taking their 8th title and first in 3 years.
Hachinohe would salvage a 3rd place finish with a 9-8 win over Towada Kougyou.
Iwate
Much like Aomori, Iwate had regional bracket play to determine the prefectural participants.
Here, we find teams from cities and towns that suffered severe damage from the tsunami. Teams from Kamaishi, Kuji and Miyako participated in the tournament, even though for some schools like Miyako Kougyou and Miyako Shougyou, their schools were flooded themselves and students displaced to other schools in the meantime. Now those two schools didn't advance, but in a way it's helping them move on after the disaster.
The winner from the fall, Morioka Chuo, couldn't advance out of regional play, losing first to Morioka Kougyou, then Morioka Dai-san in the loser's bracket. Meanwhile, the other Best 4 participants, Hanamaki Higashi, Moriokadai Fuzoku and Ichinoseki Gakuin all managed to advance.
Unfortunately for one of these schools, their exit would be early as Hanamaki Higashi and Moriokadai Fuzoku drew each other in the first round. Hanamaki Higashi prevailed 3-1 and had a clear road to the finals, though they almost stubbed their foot against Iwaizumi eking out an 8-7 win.
On the other side Ichinoseki Gakuin was also making their way to the finals, but then they faced Mizusawa and the woes for the school continue as they fall 2-1.
In the finals, Hanamaki Higashi held a hold on the game right from the get-go trailing 1-0 only because Mizusawa was at-bat first. A 10-4 win gives Hanamaki Higashi their 5th title and first in 2 years.
Akita
Akita's regionals saw a lot of the regulars make it. Akita Shougyou of course, as well as my hard-luck team from this prefecture Honjyou, not to mention the other hard-luck team Meiou. Haru Koushien participant Oodate Houmei also advanced.
The bad luck continued Meiou as they were paired up with Honjyou in the 2nd round. Honjyou advanced with a 3-0 win. They continued on a collision course with Oodate Houmei unto which they fared the collision much better with an 8-1 win to the finals.
On the other side Akita Shougyou looked to be on the easy road to the finals. In the semis though they face Oomagari Kougyou and found themselves in a battle. They fired the opening salvo with a run in the 2nd, only to see Oomagari fire one right back in the 3rd. The teams then were locked in a stalemate, neither team able to break through. Meanwhile the game continued on, through the 7th, through the 8th, past the 9th and into extras. And it continued yet still through the 11th, 12th innings. At this point it becomes the team who has something left that wins. In the 14th inning, that would be Oomagari Kougyou where Takahashi would get the sayonara hit to finally end the game 2-1.
So Oomagari Kougyou would face Honjyou. And after a 14 inning affair, would they have anything left? Well, they sent out RP Katou to start the game, which meant that while they didn't have their ace, they at least had depth at the position. In fact, Oomagari Kougyou opened the scoring in the 3rd with a run. 2 innings later though, Honjyou tied it up.
1-1 again, heading towards extras. For Oomagari Kougyou this couldn't look any worse - outside of outright losing of course. 2 extra inning games in as many days?
Well, they came together and decided that they had had enough. Bottom 9, Oomagari Kougyou rejects the notion of extra innings and scores the sayonara run to give them just their 2nd title (their first being 5 years ago).
Yamagata
In looking at the recent history of Yamagata, the team that has primarily dominated the prefecture has been Sakata Minami. This despite the fact that Nihon Yamagata appeared for a 2-year stint and went all the way to the Best 8 in 2006. That and my irrational hope for Haguro to come back to prominence despite realizing that they've only been to Koushien twice and I happened to see the one appearance where they came from nowhere to reach the semifinals of the 77th Haru Koushien.
So of those teams whom all advanced to prefectural play, Haguro was the first to fall losing to Nihon Yamagata 4-0. Perhaps it's about time I let them go off into the sunset.
After that game, Nihon Yamagata marched right on to the finals with dominating wins over rival university school Toukaidai Yamagata and Yamagata Kougyou.
Sakata Minami and last year's summer participant Yamagata Chuo meanwhile were on their own march towards a semifinal matchup. In that semifinal, Yamagata Chuo made a statement that their summer title wasn't just a fluke, building a 6-0 lead.
And then something happened. I don't know if the Yamagata Chuo players realized they were 3 innings away from defeating the most dominating team in the prefecture, or if ace Yokoyama was just worn out, but in the 7th Sakata Minami scored 5. With the lead just 1 run and 2 innings left to go, the momentum immediately shifted towards the favorites. Eventually they would score a total of 8 unanswered runs and stun Yamagata Chuo 8-6.
So it was that the two stalwarts in the prefecture would square off yet again, this time for the spring title. Once again, Sakata Minami would fall behind as Nihon Yamagata put up a pair in the 2nd inning. They wasted no time though this time around, coming back with 3 runs to take a 3-2 lead. Nihon Yamagata could never find that equalizer, instead merely pulling back within 1 after Sakata Minami added an insurance run. Yet this was just Sakata Minami's 4th spring title and 1st in 3 years.
As a result, it was decided that the Tohoku Taikai would not be held. Furthermore, for Miyagi-ken and Fukushima-ken, their spring tournaments would be cancelled. However, the Natsu Koushien qualifying will go on not too long from now.
All the other prefectures though managed to get their tournaments done, so we'll take a tour of those areas.
Aomori
Aomori has regional brackets where a certain number of teams qualify for the prefecturals. Those teams plus the fall winner, Kousei Gakuin, make up the full field. The elephant in the room, Aomori Yamada qualified, as well as pet favorite Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi.
Unfortunately for Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, they would have to play Kousei Gakuin in the 2nd round, and was shutout 8-0. But then, facing Hachinohe in the next round, they found a team who wanted to take revenge on the team that eliminated an area school. Well, not really, but nevertheless Hachinohe pulls off the upset 5-2.
With the only major competition to Aomori Yamada gone, the path was clear to the title. But while facing what seemed like no-name competition, showed some cracks defeating Touou Gijyuku 5-0, then Towada Kougyou 2-0 to reach the finals.
Their opponent in the finals would not be Hachinohe though. They faced Misawa in the semifinals and fell behind immediately and could never recover, losing 9-4.
So it would be the David's Misawa versus the Goliath's Aomori Yamada. And early on, Misawa's ace Kikuchi held his own, yielding just one run through the first 6 innings. However, the offense could never get started and the stress of holding that one run lead was too much. Aomori Yamada put up two 3-spots in the next 2 innings to win 7-0 taking their 8th title and first in 3 years.
Hachinohe would salvage a 3rd place finish with a 9-8 win over Towada Kougyou.
Iwate
Much like Aomori, Iwate had regional bracket play to determine the prefectural participants.
Here, we find teams from cities and towns that suffered severe damage from the tsunami. Teams from Kamaishi, Kuji and Miyako participated in the tournament, even though for some schools like Miyako Kougyou and Miyako Shougyou, their schools were flooded themselves and students displaced to other schools in the meantime. Now those two schools didn't advance, but in a way it's helping them move on after the disaster.
The winner from the fall, Morioka Chuo, couldn't advance out of regional play, losing first to Morioka Kougyou, then Morioka Dai-san in the loser's bracket. Meanwhile, the other Best 4 participants, Hanamaki Higashi, Moriokadai Fuzoku and Ichinoseki Gakuin all managed to advance.
Unfortunately for one of these schools, their exit would be early as Hanamaki Higashi and Moriokadai Fuzoku drew each other in the first round. Hanamaki Higashi prevailed 3-1 and had a clear road to the finals, though they almost stubbed their foot against Iwaizumi eking out an 8-7 win.
On the other side Ichinoseki Gakuin was also making their way to the finals, but then they faced Mizusawa and the woes for the school continue as they fall 2-1.
In the finals, Hanamaki Higashi held a hold on the game right from the get-go trailing 1-0 only because Mizusawa was at-bat first. A 10-4 win gives Hanamaki Higashi their 5th title and first in 2 years.
Akita
Akita's regionals saw a lot of the regulars make it. Akita Shougyou of course, as well as my hard-luck team from this prefecture Honjyou, not to mention the other hard-luck team Meiou. Haru Koushien participant Oodate Houmei also advanced.
The bad luck continued Meiou as they were paired up with Honjyou in the 2nd round. Honjyou advanced with a 3-0 win. They continued on a collision course with Oodate Houmei unto which they fared the collision much better with an 8-1 win to the finals.
On the other side Akita Shougyou looked to be on the easy road to the finals. In the semis though they face Oomagari Kougyou and found themselves in a battle. They fired the opening salvo with a run in the 2nd, only to see Oomagari fire one right back in the 3rd. The teams then were locked in a stalemate, neither team able to break through. Meanwhile the game continued on, through the 7th, through the 8th, past the 9th and into extras. And it continued yet still through the 11th, 12th innings. At this point it becomes the team who has something left that wins. In the 14th inning, that would be Oomagari Kougyou where Takahashi would get the sayonara hit to finally end the game 2-1.
So Oomagari Kougyou would face Honjyou. And after a 14 inning affair, would they have anything left? Well, they sent out RP Katou to start the game, which meant that while they didn't have their ace, they at least had depth at the position. In fact, Oomagari Kougyou opened the scoring in the 3rd with a run. 2 innings later though, Honjyou tied it up.
1-1 again, heading towards extras. For Oomagari Kougyou this couldn't look any worse - outside of outright losing of course. 2 extra inning games in as many days?
Well, they came together and decided that they had had enough. Bottom 9, Oomagari Kougyou rejects the notion of extra innings and scores the sayonara run to give them just their 2nd title (their first being 5 years ago).
Yamagata
In looking at the recent history of Yamagata, the team that has primarily dominated the prefecture has been Sakata Minami. This despite the fact that Nihon Yamagata appeared for a 2-year stint and went all the way to the Best 8 in 2006. That and my irrational hope for Haguro to come back to prominence despite realizing that they've only been to Koushien twice and I happened to see the one appearance where they came from nowhere to reach the semifinals of the 77th Haru Koushien.
So of those teams whom all advanced to prefectural play, Haguro was the first to fall losing to Nihon Yamagata 4-0. Perhaps it's about time I let them go off into the sunset.
After that game, Nihon Yamagata marched right on to the finals with dominating wins over rival university school Toukaidai Yamagata and Yamagata Kougyou.
Sakata Minami and last year's summer participant Yamagata Chuo meanwhile were on their own march towards a semifinal matchup. In that semifinal, Yamagata Chuo made a statement that their summer title wasn't just a fluke, building a 6-0 lead.
And then something happened. I don't know if the Yamagata Chuo players realized they were 3 innings away from defeating the most dominating team in the prefecture, or if ace Yokoyama was just worn out, but in the 7th Sakata Minami scored 5. With the lead just 1 run and 2 innings left to go, the momentum immediately shifted towards the favorites. Eventually they would score a total of 8 unanswered runs and stun Yamagata Chuo 8-6.
So it was that the two stalwarts in the prefecture would square off yet again, this time for the spring title. Once again, Sakata Minami would fall behind as Nihon Yamagata put up a pair in the 2nd inning. They wasted no time though this time around, coming back with 3 runs to take a 3-2 lead. Nihon Yamagata could never find that equalizer, instead merely pulling back within 1 after Sakata Minami added an insurance run. Yet this was just Sakata Minami's 4th spring title and 1st in 3 years.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tohoku Super-Regional Recap
The Tohoku Super-regionals are completed, and we do have our 2 probable bids determined. But before we head there, let's see how we got to this point.
Prefectural Qualifiers
Aomori - Aomori Yamada looked to advance to the super-regionals as the favorite, but was shot down by Kousei Gakuin 5-3 in the semifinals. But in a rematch of the summer quarterfinals against Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, they took the final spot winning 5-3. Seiai and Kousei Gakuin secured the first two bids with Kousei Gakuin pinging Seiai in just about every inning in an 8-1 win.
Akita - Certainly Meiou wanted to return to Koshien to get the bad taste of that wild throw out of their mouths, but while they advanced to the prefectural tournament, they would fall in the quarterfinals to Oga Kaiyou.
Summer runner-up and perennial tough-luck team Honjyou looked to be the favorite, but struggled as the tournament progressed. In the semifinals against Akita Shougyou, they led 6-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, only to see Akisho score 4 to pull within 1 before they were able to end the game. And in the finals against Kanaashi Nougyou, they trailed 6-1 early before scoring 8 in the 5th to pull off the victory.
Iwate - Certainly Hanamaki Higashi was not a great team without their ace Kikuchi, and while they advanced out of the local regionals and won their first 2 games in the prefecturals, they eventually fell to Senshuudai Kitami 4-2.
As a result, the old guard of Iwate showed up again. Moriokadai Fuzoku and Ichinoseki Gakuin both made it to the finals, and while Moriokadai fought hard, their 15 inning affair against the aforementioned Senshuudai Kitami certainly had a toll on the pitching staff as they fell 7-5.
Yamagata - While there were many notable teams in the prefectural field including Haguro, and summer participant Sakata Minami, it was Nihon Yamagata who swept through the field to earn the #1 bid. Yamagata Chuo made a great run, even defeating Sakata Minami to earn the #2 spot. The summer participant still had a shot to make it to the super-regionals in the 3rd place match, but they lost the game to Yamagata Jyouhoku 8-1.
Miyagi - It was all about the new squads as the established teams fell by the wayside. Summer representative Tohoku fell to Izumi Shouryou. Sendai Ikuei was smashed by Furukawa Gakuen 10-3. And in the end it was that same Furukawa Gakuen that earned the top spot for the prefecture defeating Ishimaki Shougyou 6-1. As for Izumi Shouryou, they lost to Ishimaki Shougyou in the semifinals, and then was edged by Touryou 4-3 in the 3rd place game.
Fukushima - Fukushima unfortunately is not a strong prefecture. However, it is generally dominated by one team, Seikou Gakuin. And this fall is no different. It wasn't easy near the end, but they take the #1 spot. Nihon Tohoku, one of the only other teams to make it to the summer Koshien, wound up as the runner-up. And joining them is Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei.
So now that the prefectural participants are determined, the super-regionals begin.
And sadly for the Fukushima teams, they all fall in the first round. Seikou couldn't hold a large lead against Senshuudai Kitami, Nihon Tohoku was blanked by Kousei Gakuin and it was 3rd place Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei with the best showing, going 11 innings before falling 4-3 to Furukawa Gakuen.
And as if to extend the misery further, all those teams that eliminated Fukushima from the super-regionals all lost in the next round.
As with the case, generally the better teams rise to the top, and the Best 4 was no different. One semifinal was actually a rematch of Akita's prefectural semifinal, pitting Honjyou once again against Akita Shougyou. Unlike the scoring in the first meetup, only one run was scored - and that was by Akita Shougyou in the bottom of the first.
The other semifinal was between Aomori's 2nd seed Seiai and Iwate's 2nd seed Moriokadai Fuzoku. Responding to Morioka's run the top of the 1st, Seiai doubled that in the bottom half of the frame and then added two more in the 4th for a 4-1 lead. But Morioka would charge right back in the 5th, capped with a 2-run hit by Sakai to tie the game. It would remain tied until the 8th where Morioka would plate what would end up being the winning run on a two-out base hit with runners at the corners.
So Honjyou and Seiai will have to wait to see if they are called to participate. Akita Shougyou and Moriokadai Fuzoku more than likely have locked up spots, but a victory in the championship would guarantee them a bid.
And boy did they ever play like it. Neither side budged right from the get go, with the offenses not able to do anything against the other's starters. It wouldn't be until the 11th inning that someone would finally break through, and that team was Akita Shougyou scoring the sayonara run to win 1-0.
What makes this even more amazing for Akita Shougyou was that 8 of their 20 players (teams are allowed to have 20 on their roster for qualifiers) were diagnosed with the influenza back on the 11th, meaning that they would have to play with 12 in the semifinals and finals! Kinda reminds you of Risshoudai Shounan's run in the summer Koshien.
But here, with only 3 bench players, Akita Shougyou punches it's ticket to the fall nationwide tournament and the spring Koshien! おめでとう！
Prefectural Qualifiers
Aomori - Aomori Yamada looked to advance to the super-regionals as the favorite, but was shot down by Kousei Gakuin 5-3 in the semifinals. But in a rematch of the summer quarterfinals against Hachinohe Koudai Dai-ichi, they took the final spot winning 5-3. Seiai and Kousei Gakuin secured the first two bids with Kousei Gakuin pinging Seiai in just about every inning in an 8-1 win.
Akita - Certainly Meiou wanted to return to Koshien to get the bad taste of that wild throw out of their mouths, but while they advanced to the prefectural tournament, they would fall in the quarterfinals to Oga Kaiyou.
Summer runner-up and perennial tough-luck team Honjyou looked to be the favorite, but struggled as the tournament progressed. In the semifinals against Akita Shougyou, they led 6-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, only to see Akisho score 4 to pull within 1 before they were able to end the game. And in the finals against Kanaashi Nougyou, they trailed 6-1 early before scoring 8 in the 5th to pull off the victory.
Iwate - Certainly Hanamaki Higashi was not a great team without their ace Kikuchi, and while they advanced out of the local regionals and won their first 2 games in the prefecturals, they eventually fell to Senshuudai Kitami 4-2.
As a result, the old guard of Iwate showed up again. Moriokadai Fuzoku and Ichinoseki Gakuin both made it to the finals, and while Moriokadai fought hard, their 15 inning affair against the aforementioned Senshuudai Kitami certainly had a toll on the pitching staff as they fell 7-5.
Yamagata - While there were many notable teams in the prefectural field including Haguro, and summer participant Sakata Minami, it was Nihon Yamagata who swept through the field to earn the #1 bid. Yamagata Chuo made a great run, even defeating Sakata Minami to earn the #2 spot. The summer participant still had a shot to make it to the super-regionals in the 3rd place match, but they lost the game to Yamagata Jyouhoku 8-1.
Miyagi - It was all about the new squads as the established teams fell by the wayside. Summer representative Tohoku fell to Izumi Shouryou. Sendai Ikuei was smashed by Furukawa Gakuen 10-3. And in the end it was that same Furukawa Gakuen that earned the top spot for the prefecture defeating Ishimaki Shougyou 6-1. As for Izumi Shouryou, they lost to Ishimaki Shougyou in the semifinals, and then was edged by Touryou 4-3 in the 3rd place game.
Fukushima - Fukushima unfortunately is not a strong prefecture. However, it is generally dominated by one team, Seikou Gakuin. And this fall is no different. It wasn't easy near the end, but they take the #1 spot. Nihon Tohoku, one of the only other teams to make it to the summer Koshien, wound up as the runner-up. And joining them is Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei.
So now that the prefectural participants are determined, the super-regionals begin.
And sadly for the Fukushima teams, they all fall in the first round. Seikou couldn't hold a large lead against Senshuudai Kitami, Nihon Tohoku was blanked by Kousei Gakuin and it was 3rd place Higashi Nippon Kokusaidai Shouhei with the best showing, going 11 innings before falling 4-3 to Furukawa Gakuen.
And as if to extend the misery further, all those teams that eliminated Fukushima from the super-regionals all lost in the next round.
As with the case, generally the better teams rise to the top, and the Best 4 was no different. One semifinal was actually a rematch of Akita's prefectural semifinal, pitting Honjyou once again against Akita Shougyou. Unlike the scoring in the first meetup, only one run was scored - and that was by Akita Shougyou in the bottom of the first.
The other semifinal was between Aomori's 2nd seed Seiai and Iwate's 2nd seed Moriokadai Fuzoku. Responding to Morioka's run the top of the 1st, Seiai doubled that in the bottom half of the frame and then added two more in the 4th for a 4-1 lead. But Morioka would charge right back in the 5th, capped with a 2-run hit by Sakai to tie the game. It would remain tied until the 8th where Morioka would plate what would end up being the winning run on a two-out base hit with runners at the corners.
So Honjyou and Seiai will have to wait to see if they are called to participate. Akita Shougyou and Moriokadai Fuzoku more than likely have locked up spots, but a victory in the championship would guarantee them a bid.
And boy did they ever play like it. Neither side budged right from the get go, with the offenses not able to do anything against the other's starters. It wouldn't be until the 11th inning that someone would finally break through, and that team was Akita Shougyou scoring the sayonara run to win 1-0.
What makes this even more amazing for Akita Shougyou was that 8 of their 20 players (teams are allowed to have 20 on their roster for qualifiers) were diagnosed with the influenza back on the 11th, meaning that they would have to play with 12 in the semifinals and finals! Kinda reminds you of Risshoudai Shounan's run in the summer Koshien.
But here, with only 3 bench players, Akita Shougyou punches it's ticket to the fall nationwide tournament and the spring Koshien! おめでとう！
Friday, January 2, 2009
第６１回東北地区高等学校野球大会 (61st Fall Tohoku Baseball Tournament)
Heading south to the Tohoku region, the championship game came down to two teams familiar to playing on the big stage - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) vs. Ichinoseki Gakuin (Iwate).
Kousei had their way with Ichinoseki, giving them the championship 7-1 running away. This is their 2nd championship and first in 12 years.
Spreadsheet link is here. As with the Hokkaido regionals, english translations are available only for the final bracket (With the time constraints I have, it'll be hard to get through all prefectures before the tournament).
The main 18 team field had notable teams such as:
Kousei had their way with Ichinoseki, giving them the championship 7-1 running away. This is their 2nd championship and first in 12 years.
Spreadsheet link is here. As with the Hokkaido regionals, english translations are available only for the final bracket (With the time constraints I have, it'll be hard to get through all prefectures before the tournament).
The main 18 team field had notable teams such as:
- Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) who lost to eventual champion Kousei 3-1 in 10 innings in the round of 8. The game was scoreless going into enchousen, but Kousei turned on the scoring in extras.
- Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) who also lost to eventual champions Kousei in the semifinals 6-3.
- Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi) lost to the aforementioned Seikou Gakuin in the 2nd round 4-3 in 12 innings. They were actually leading 3-0 after 6, but Seikou scored 3 in the 7th and 1 in the decisive 12th.
- Aomori Yamada (Aomori) lost in the round of 8 to Ichinoseki Gakuin. The teams traded runs throughout the entire game, but could not get a pitcher to keep Ichinoseki at bay. In all, they used 5 different pitchers to no avail losing 7-5.
- Sakata Minami (Yamagata) lost in the round of 8 to little known Rifu (Miyagi). Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, Sakata Minami ties the game. However, they would fall 2 innings later when Rifu scores the go-ahead run.
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