高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

Trying to catch up as best I can today...

Kagawa - Best 8 (en route)
Kagawa is the first Shikoku prefecture to enter the round of 16 and already have some quarterfinalists.

Just to show how useless seeding can be, top seed Sanbonmatsu were mercy ruled in their round of 16 game 10-3 by Sakaide Shougyou.  They will face Kannonji Chuo who briefly trailed against Takamatsu Kita but went on to win 7-4.  And Eimei, a 3-4 seed, was blanked in their first game by Takamatsu Sakurai 2-0, so they didn't even make the round of 16.

The remaining games to be played for the right to be in the Best 8 are:

• Takamatsu Sakurai v. Takamatsu Higashi
• Kagawa Nishi v. Kasada
• Ootemae Takamatsu v. Takamatsu
• Iiyama v. Sakaide Kougyou
• Marugame Jyousai v. Kagawa Chuo
• Takamatsu Shougyou v. Jinsei Gakuen

With some of the upper tier schools have been eliminated, it means that the remaining ones have a better shot at punching their ticket - such as Kagawa Nishi, Marugame Jyousai and Jinsei Gakuen.

Tokushima - Round of 16
With 31 teams, one game gets you to the round of 16 in Tokushima.  Ikeda as the top seed actually got a bye.  Interestingly it doesn't get easy for them to start out, they draw Komatsushima!

• Ikeda v. Komatsushima
• Tomioka Nishi v. Tokushima Shougyou
• Tokushima Kita v. Naruto
• Jyoutou v. Anabuki
• Seikou Gakuen (no there are many of them) v. Tokushima Kagaku Gijyutsu
• Jyouhoku v. Aratano
• Naruto Uzushio v. Kaifu
• Anan Tousen v. Anan Kougyou

While many will be happy that Ikeda and Komatsushima will be beating each other up, the fact that Naruto Uzushio is on the other half means there is no easy road to the title.

For Nichinan Gakuen, they needed the late innings to put away Miyazaki Oomiya 10-0 in the full 9 innings.  They will play Miyazaki Nichidai who responded to a 3 run inning by Nobeoka Seiun with 3 of their own to win 6-3.

Nisshou Gakuen actually trailed Nobeoka Shougyou twice, but 3 unanswered runs post-break allowed them to move on 6-4.  And finally Sadowara put up a great fight against Nobeoka Kougyou, but like many other schools, broke down late falling 8-4.

Kumamoto - Best 4 (en route)
Unlike other prefectures, while there are 8 seeded teams, they are not drawn into the edges of the bracket.  Instead they are put in pools and drawn into a section of a bracket.

And not all of them survived into the best 8 (in order of the brackets):

• #8 Kyushu Gakuin - 3 strong games put them into the Best 8, but...
• #1 Taragi - They had the unfortunate luck to have to replay their first game when rain made their first attempt against Yuushinkan.  They eventually won, but it was an extra 5 innings of work to be put on the team.  The pitching would fall apart against Jyouhoku in the round of 16 giving up 4 runs late to fall 7-4.  There would be more to come...
• #4 Shuugakukan - They couldn't even reach the round of 16.  Against Toukaidai Seishou, they threw 5 different pitchers at them, but it was the offense that failed to deliver.  They would fall 1-0 in 11.
• #5 Kumamoto Kougyou - They almost blew a 6-0 lead against Kumamoto Kokufu with 5 runs in the 7th, but pulled away to win 11-6.
• #3 Buntoku - They have yet to yield a run in their games so far.  They may look the strongest.
• #6 Seiseikou - They have uncharacteristically scored a lot of runs in their games so far, their last being a more normal 6-2 win over Kumamoto Dai-ichi.
• #7 Senshuudai Tamana - In their 2nd game against Chiharadai, they rallied from behind to take a 5-3 lead, but 2 HRs from Chiharadai were too much as they lost 8-5.
• #2 Chinzei - Chinzei went from a defensive low scoring team, to a complete offensive one it seems.  Problem is, you have to outhit your pitching and survive a possible power outage.  It worked for the first couple of games, but against Kumamoto Kokusaidai Fuzoku in the round of 16, their pitching faltered, giving up 3 runs in the final 2 innings, and then the sayonara run in the 11th to fall 5-4.

Earlier today, Jyouhoku led Kyushu Gakuin 4-0, blew the lead in the 8th and 9th, but managed to stem the momentum, walking them off in the bottom of the 9th!

Kagoshima - Best 4 (en route)
Their PDF don't show any seeds, but the strong teams do occupy the normal seeded spots.

Kanoya Chuo didn't give up a run until their 3rd game vs. Tsurumaru in the round of 16.  Still, they have kept their opponents at arms length, defeating Sendai 4-2 for a spot in the semifinals. (Sendai had upset seeded Reimei earlier 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th).

Kokubun Chuo and Kagoshima Jyouhou are playing right now for the final spot in the best 4, both upsetting seeded teams in the prior round (Shounan and Kagoshima Jyousai respectively).  Kokubun Chuo leads 2-0 after their half of the 4th.

Ooshima couldn't keep the momentum from the spring, much like last year.  They fell in the round of 16 3-1.  That opened the door for Kanoya, who upset Kagoshima Gyokuryuu with 7 runs in the final 4 innings to win 7-6.

Kamimura Gakuen had a close game against Kounan in the 2nd round 2-1, but have defeated the rest in decent fashion.  Kanoya should prove to be a good challenge.

Two more to go...

Kagawa
Kagawa may still be in a down cycle.  Natsu representative Marugame couldn't get out of the first game, falling to Sakaide 12-3. Interestingly, this is a case where the team defeating the summer representative actually delivers.  They edged by both Tonoshou (9-8 in 10), then Jinsei Gakuen (7-6) before getting an "easy win" over Takamatsu Dai-ichi 7-3 to secure their appearance in the super-regionals.

They will play Eimei in the finals for fall bragging rights.  Eimei did not concede a run until their quarterfinal game against Marugame Jyousai, then outlasted Kagawa Nishi 7-6 in 12 innings.

As noted, Takamatsu Dai-ichi and Kagawa Nishi will play for the 3rd spot.

Tokushima
Naruto may be back on the rebuilding path as they can only get to the quarterfinals before falling to Ikeda in 12 innings after rallying from down 4-1.

Naruto Uzushio, a possible candidate to replace them, actually had fallen a round earlier to Itano 3-2.  And with Tokushima Shougyou failing late to Kaifu 10-7 also in the quarterfinals, it opened things up for the final 4 with no main threat.

Ikeda may be building back up to being a Tokushima powerhouse, but they haven't gotten there yet it seems. They fell behind unknown Seikou Gakuen 3-0 early and couldn't recover falling 3-2 and being sent to the 3rd place game.

The other team looking to break through in recent years is Komatsushima.  And it seemed like they would have a great opportunity to win the fall with the other major competitors gone.  And after outlasting Kaifu 5-4 they guaranteed themselves at least a spot in the Super-regionals.

With Ikeda going to the consolation game, the prospects looked bleak for Kaifu.  Indeed, Ikeda's ace (Myouzai?) pitched a complete game no-hitter sending Ikeda to a spot in the super-regionals.

In the final it was all Komatsushima going out to a 7-0 lead.  And it would have been all theirs if the game lasted 7 innings.  Because ace Matori completely fell apart in the final 2 innings, giving up 2 in the 8th and then 5 in the 9th sending the game into enchousen.

Apparently there would be no relief for the ace, and that would prove costly because in the 12th Seikou Gakuen would complete the comeback claiming their 2nd fall title!

Ehime
Anraku didn't look right at Natsu Koushien, and after Saibi's loss in the first round of the prefecturals to Saijyou 4-2, something had to be up.  Now we know that Anraku probably had an injury that finally was reported (which I'm sure the MLB teams are all up at arms about because after all he'll end up being their property...)

Anyways, that opened the prefecture to the rest of the field who may have thought that there was no hope at all.

Sadly though, even though it opened up it only really did for the other powerhouses.  Saijyou and Imabari Nishi were not challenged to the title game.  In that final, Saijyou had a 5-1 lead late, allowed Imabari to tie the game with 4 in the 8th before avoiding extras with 3 in the 9th to claim their 15th title.

Touon would battle Teikyou Dai-go for the final spot, but sadly couldn't compete. They would give up runs in just 2 innings, but were mercy ruled 7-0 in 8 innings.

Kochi
Kochi belonged to Meitoku Gijyuku, by a wide margin.  Despite losing a majority of their natsu roster, they still had ace Kishi - and that's a big plus.  Kishi's closest game was a 5-2 win over Ootemae in the semifinals.  That would be before a 17-3 win over Kochi Higashi Kougyou in the finals.

Where was Kochi and Kochi Shougyou? Kochi was actually shutout by Kochi Higashi Kougyou 4-0 in the quarterfinals.  Kochi Shougyou actually lost 3-2 to Kochi Higashi in the 2nd round.  Kochi Higashi actually made it to the semifinals before losing to Kochi Higashi Kougyou.  They could not however reach the super-regionals as Ootemae would defeat them 7-3 to claim the last spot.

And now for those that happened on the 27th:

Higashi Tokyo - Shuutoku (5th title, 1st in 9 years)
I realize I'm cheating in covering Higashi Tokyo, but for a reason.

Almost no one (Teikyou) was able to stop Shuutoku.

No one.

How bad was it for the field?  Well, Shuutoku in their 8 games had 2 non-mercy rule games - their 4-2 defeat of Teikyou, and the final (which has no mercy rule).

But Teikyou did have the best shot at Shuutoku.  In fact, they had the 2-1 lead through 6 innings.  But as is the case - and will always be the case until they prove me otherwise - until they can develop an ace, they will never win Koushien.  And so it was that Teikyou would give up 3 runs in the final 3 innings to fall 4-2.  That would be the best shot any team would have at stopping them.

Credit should be given though where credit is due.  All of the other seeded teams at the edges of the bracket advanced to the semifinals.  #2 Nishougakushadai Fuzoku did not dominate at all, save for the semifinal where they defeated #3 Kanto Dai-ichi who save for a narrow win over Adachi Gakuen did dominate the field  (Hope you caught all that).  And finally, Tokyo Jitsygyou who out of nowhere won their 4 games as the #4 seed location on the bracket to reach the semifinals where they, like many, got mercy ruled.

Chiba - Kisaradzu Sougou (4th title, 2nd consecutive)
Chiba breaks my heart so hard, I really don't want to talk about it.  Not that it probably wasn't expected, but that my hopes were brought up really high, only to have them crushed like a spider on the heel of someone's shoe.

Despite 171 teams playing in the Chiba taikai, out of the 16 seeded teams, 10 were able to advance to the Round of 16.  Some of the notable casualties? Choushi Shougyou, Shigakukan, and Kashiwa Nittai.

Now, the reason why I cannot be unbiased really regarding Chiba is the fact that I am unapologetic in rooting for Narashino. They're a public school who consistently does well and has been good enough to break through and get to Koushien on several occasions.

However, despite my homerism, I'm still a realist at heart (okay, pessimist).  I knew Narashino wasn't as good this year, and was a B (5-8) seed for the summer taikai.  But, they did make it into the round of 16 and that was a start.  A solid 5-2 win over unseeded Nichidai Narashino wasn't convincing, but they were still alive.  Next up was C (9-16) seed Narita.  I remember seeing the end part of that game, Narashino trailing 5-3.  Somehow, and I still can't believe it, Narashino comes back to score a pair of runs to tie the game. 3 innings later, they win the game and I'm running around at home hooting and hollering.  Perhaps it may still be their year after all.  And when they soundly defeat a Toukaidai Bouyou squad who was a bit inconsistent but still cut their way through the field, it was just one more game.  One more game to win and Narashino will get back to Koushien!

On the other side, things did not as clear.  Only Senshuudai Matsudo, Kisaradzu Sougou and Takushokudai Kouryou were left of the seeded teams.    The former and latter would meet in the quarterfinals, and A seed Senshuudai would win... 1-0.  That would put them in a matchup against Kisaradzu Sougou who had easy games versus unseeded Ryuukeidai Kashiwa and Keiyou.

In that semi Kisaradzu Sougou held the 2-1 lead going to the top of the 9th.  But top seed Senshuudai failed to give in scoring the douten run to send it into extras.  As the innings ticked off, it became clear that Matsudo's ace Takahashi looked finished.  In the 11th inning the sayonara run stood at 2nd, in the 12th he fought off a sanrui, 1 out pinch.  Then in the 13th, after yet again facing sanrui, 1 out pinch then intentional walks to load the bases (again), Takahashi almost gets out of the pinch, but with 2 down it's a full count oshidashi sayonara walk to send Kisaradzu Sougou to the finals yet again.  For Senshuudai Matsudo, it's their 3rd straight year being eliminated in enchousen.

So the finals were B seeds Narashino and defending champion Kisaradzu Sougou.  I wound up missing the game because I forgot about the early start time.

Perhaps it would have been a good thing.

See, Narashino jumped out to a 4-1 lead after a 3-run 2nd.  Things looked good, and my earlier concerns about Narashino's pitching (from the Narita game) were waning.

But ace Matsuyama (who came in the 2nd inning) to reliever relief starter Matsumoto, faltered.  Kisaradzu would sclore 4 in the 4th to take the lead and then 1 more an inning later for a 6-4 lead.  Narashino would be scrambling after that, reclaiming one back in the 7th.

That's as close as they'd get as Chiba would be able to finish the game giving his team their 2nd straight title (and breaking my heart).

Yamanashi - Hikawa (4th title, 1st in 3 years)
Oh how I longed for Nihon Koukuu (aka Japan Aviation Academy) to return to Koushien.  But since their appearance in 2008, have kind of fallen off the map, despite being seeded several times.

This year, they were not only unseeded, but buried in the bottom of the bracket.

The early leader in the clubhouse was Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku, who won 2 of the last 4 Natsu titles and posted double digit wins in their first two games.  All the other teams at least had one game where they were tested - even the other 1-4 seeds.  Toukaidai Koufu had to hold off Koufu Shougyou 7-6, Hikawa despite getting just 8 hits against Tsuru won 2-1, and Fujikawaguchiko flat out lost giving up a 4-2 lead in a 5-4 loss to Koufu Jyousai.

The only other team to have any type of blowout was actually Nihon Koukuu!  But they're not the pretty type of blowouts.  They're the ones where they just decide to outscore you, pitching be damned.  For after an innocent looking 7-3 win over Shirane, they go 13-7 and 13-6 (8 inn) there after.  Certainly a valid strategy, but one that generally doesn't work as you move up.

But, when faced with Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku, they were able to get out to a 5-1 lead!  With just 3 outs to go, the Nihon Koukuu kantoku elects to move ace Tanaka off the mound for Nakano to get the last 3 outs.

Except he doesn't. He gives up 4 runs tying the game! He would get bailed out big time by cleanup batter Ishida whose 2nd hit of the game is of the sayonara variety.  Headed to the semifinals, they'd face the other top seed in their half of the bracket, Toukaidai Koufu who had to rally from down 5-2 to defeat Minobu.  Despite that close game, Toukaidai would build a 7-3 lead... only to see Nihon Koukuu score a gyakuten 6 runs in the 7th for a 9-7 win and a chance for the Yamanashi title!

Going back to the other half, upset minded Koufu Jyousai's run lasted just one more game as they fell 5-0 to Sundai Koufu.  Meanwhile, Koma was giving Hikawa fits as they led 3-0.  Hikawa though would fight back like quality teams would and win 4-3.  And in the semifinals it was a rare 9-1 blowout to move to the finals.

And so it was that Nihon Koukuu would play Hikawa for the Yamanashi title.  In the end, Nihon Koukuu outrun strategy would fail as their offense struggled against ace Yamada, only putting up more than 1 run in an inning in the 9th, when the game was already out of reach.  Hikawa wins 8-5 to claim the title.

Wakayama - Minoshima (8th title, 1st in 29 years)
With Wakayama it was always was going to be a question of how Chiben Wakayama was going to win their nth straight title (9th in this case).

Or was it?  During Chiben Wakayama's run at Natsu Koushien, they reached the semifinals once and the Best 8 three times.  However, all but one occurred in the first 3 years of that run.  In more recent years, Chiben Wakayama has seemed to weaken, even failing to win their first game 2 of the last 3 years.  It's really attributed to growing weaknesses both at the plate and on the mound.  Last year, 3 of their 5 games to the title were decided by 2 runs or less - hardly the mark of a dynastic team.

So perhaps it was no surprise then when in the 2nd round Kihoku Kougyou, behind the HR from Horita and a solid outing from ace Nakai, would dethrone the 8-time defending champions 2-1 (though perhaps the school performing the feat may have been a surprise).

Now the question was, who would take their place?

It wasn't going to be Kihoku Kougyou.  Despite handing the ball off to Nakai with a 3-2 lead through 4, he would give up 4 runs (most importantly 2 in the 9th) to fall 6-5 to Wakayama Higashi in the block final (remember that Wakayama has 4 blocks which then redraw for the semifinals).

Realistically, the team that has risen most to challenge Chiben Wakayama in recent years has been Minoshima.  In first started in their first appearance in any Koushien in 19 years, where they went to the quarterfinals of the 2009 senbatsu before losing to eventual champions Seihou.

Of course, that was 4 years ago and they haven't been back since.  The team has suffered through fits of inconsistency, but over the past year split a series with them with both games going by the final of 2-1.

Some inconsistency remained as put up a rather average 4-1 win over Kenritsu Wakayama Shougyou in the 2nd round.  But they still advanced out of their block.

The other would-be contenders would be seeded Minabe out of Block B, and surprise team Hidaka Nakatsu who after a strong 2 games upset seeded Kinkidai Shinguu then held off Minabe Ryuujin 9-6 to advance out of Block C.

The semifinal draw would not be kind for Wakayama Higashi as they drew Minoshima and proceeded to fall 8-0.  For Minabe, a 5-run first helped provide a cushion for starter Matsuda as they would defeat Hidaka Nakatasu 8-5.

And so Minabe would be the final opponent standing between Minoshima and their first appearance in almost 3 decades. Sadly for Minabe, they were not able to put up a fight and lost 10-1.  A bit of a sad way to lose in the final, but congrats of course go out to the new champions Minoshima!

Tottori - Tottori Jyouhoku (3rd appearance, 2nd consecutive)
Despite just having 25 teams, it was not good to be a seeded team.

Why?

Because 3 of the 4 seeded teams - Yonago Kita, Iwami, and Kurayoshi Sougou Sangyou, all lost in their first games!  Yonago Kita was soundly defeated by defending champs Tottori Jyouhoku (who wasn't seeded!), Iwami was done in by a sole RBI from Yonago Shouin's Tsuchie, and despite more chances for Kurayoshi Sougou Sangyou thanks to walks from Tottori Nishi's ace Mastuoka,  Tottori Nishi would get to reliever Sawada as he entered in the 10th for the sayonara victory.

Tottori Jyouhoku's only challenge on their way to the final was in semifinal opponent Kurayoshi Higashi.  Ace Uehara struggled in the game, giving up 3 runs after his team had just taken a 2-0 lead.  But reliever Fukuiwa would clamp things down for Tottori Jyouhoku as they would eventually get to Higashi ace Tamagawa for 3 more runs, knocking him out of the game.  Itou would clamp things down there after, and Kurayoshi Higashi would get a run off of Fukuiwa in the 8th... but Uehara would come back in the 9th and close it out for the 5-4 win and a spot in the finals.

On the other half, the 2 prior champions to Tottori Jyouhoku wound up advancing through the brackets.  2010 champion Yazu had no problems reaching the semis with 2 sound victories.  Conversely, 2011 winner Tottori Shougyou needed 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Tottori Ikuei 3-2, and then after blowing a 3-0 lead to aforementioned Tottori Nishi, scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-3.

Perhaps playing from the lead was something Tottori Shougyou was unable to do this year, because in the semifinal, they had a 4-1 lead over Yazu heading to the top of the 9th.  There Yazu would score 5 runs to take a 6-4 lead, leaving Tottori Shougyou almost no time to rally.  Indeed they would fail to come back and Yazu would be in the final.

In the final, Yazu and Tottori Jyouhoku would trade blows several times, leaving the teams tied at 2 after the first 3, then again at 5 after 7.  However, reliever Kamatani for Yazu would break down in his 5th inning of work giving up 3 runs in the 8th inning.

That would prove to be too much as Tottori Jyouhoku would claim their 2nd consecutive title.

Tokushima - Naruto (8th title, 2nd consecutive)
In Tokushima there seemed no clear front-runner for the title.  Even the top tier teams struggled at some point in the tournament.

Defending champion Naruto even suffered from it as well.  Despite the first round bye and 6-2 opening win over Tomioka Nishi, they played a Tokushima Kagaku Gijyutsu squad who blew a 5-run lead to Awa only to win 10-8, then down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th, came back to tie off Jyounouchi ace Yanagimoto and then win in 10.

In that game Bandou would be stung for 4 runs in the 7th, falling behind 4-2.  However, Naruto would recover quickly scoring 3 in their 7th and 2 more for good measure in the 8th to win 7-4.

The next challenge would be Naruto Uzushio, who blew past their first 2 opponents before hitting resurging Ikeda.  They slowly were able to overcome a 5-run 3rd, getting to every one of Ikeda's 4 pitchers they would throw out there, winning 6-5.

Both pitching staffs would be rocked early, with Naruto taking a 6-5 lead after 2.  From then on though, Bandou would keep Uzushio at bay just enough to make that lead stick winning 8-7 for a spot in the finals.

On the other side, many teams were under the banner of survive and advance.  For Seikou Gakuen, after an easy first round, ace Tokuda almost let a 4-1 lead slip away against Anan Tousen, but won 4-3.  After that, they trailed Aratano 5-2 before scoring 4 runs in the final 2 innings to tie the game up at 6.  Aratano reliever Fukuzumi was anything but, relinquishing the 5-1 lead then giving up 5 more in the 10th for an 11-6 loss.

They would face a Kawashima team who beat Tokushima Kita in the opening round 3-1, upset powerhouse Tokushima Shougyou 3-2 in the next round, and then if that weren't enough, outlasting Komatsushima 4-3 in 13 innings!

Interstingly enough, the semifinal game would be a cakewalk compared to their previous games.  Ace Ueda would make a 4-run 4th stick, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits for a 5-3 win.

But for Kawashima, facing Naruto for their first title would be a lot to ask.  Indeed, after giving up 5 runs in the first two innings, it was a formality thereafter.

Ehime - Saibi (4th title, 1st in 5 years)
All eyes in Ehime would be on Saibi and ace Anraku.  Given his performance at Senbatsu, many were eager to see him at Natsu Koushien.

Jyoukou-kantoku continued to take no chances, throwing Anraku out there in every game save for the last two outs of their win against Matsuyama Chuo.  Saibi would outclass their opponents early with Anraku giving up just 1 run on 11 hits while striking out 29 in 20.1 IP.

So the question would be, who could challenge them?

Well, #4 seed Tanbara actually got shutout by Imabari Kita 5-0.  Filling the gap would be Kawanoe, who themselves had 3 mercy rule games to meet Yawatahama in the quarterfinals.  And despite just 1 run on 5 hits, the tandem of Oonishi and Doi would give up just 3 hits and strike out 16 Yawatahama batters to win 1-0 to meet Saibi.

In that semifinal, a timely hit by Takahara and an error from Saibi gave Kawanoe a 2-0 lead.  Meanwhile, Oonishi and Doi were shutting down the Saibi offense and things started to look bleak.

But Kawanoe's kantoku had pulled Oonishi after 2.2 IP, and Doi was trying to finish the game.  But Yamashita blasted a HR in the 8th to pull them within 1.  And in the 9th, he would relinquish the lead with RBI hits from Kaneko and Hayashi Kanya.  Senba would get the last 2 outs of the inning, but the damage had been done.  Anraku closed it out for the win.

So, who would be the last barrier between Anraku and Natsu Koushien?

Well, despite Tanbara's loss, both #2 Imabari Nishi and #3 Matsuyama Seiryou both marched towards the semifinals.  Both though faced a different challenge in the quarterfinals.  Imabari Nishi played Touon and despite getting just 4 hits, won 2-0.  As for Matsuyama Seiryou, instead of a pitching affair they were in a brawl with Niihama Higashi using 5 runs in the 6th and 7th to win 13-9.

So #2 and #3 would meet to face Saibi.  Ace Kanno for Imabari Nishi would give them a 1-0 lead with his only hit of the ballgame.  But it would be all he would need as he pitches a 3-hit shutout to move to the finals.

Imabari Nishi would try to implement a rotation of Kanno and Ishigaki on the mound for the finals, but Kanno was rocked right off the bat for 4 runs in 1+ innings of work.  While the rotation would give up just 1 run thereafter, it was too late.  Anraku would allow Imabari Nishi to pull within 2, but that would be as close as they would get, meaning that Saibi and Anraku would return to Koushien once again!

Kochi - Meitoku Gijyuku (15th title, 4th consecutive)
It was not business as usual in Kochi, despite the 2 teams who wound up in the final.  Not sure what is going on, but it almost signifies a loss of talent among the upper teams.

Why do I say that?  Well, Tosa lost right off the bat to Kochi Minami 6-0.   Now, one might say, "that's not terrible, Tosa was a decent team sure, but not one who was one of the powerhouses."

Sure, I could go with that, but following that Kochi Shougyou lost in the 2nd round after ace Uemoto collapses in the 8th inning, giving up 3 runs to Kochi Nougyou and losing 3-2.

"Okay, Kochi Nougyou got lucky in one inning.  Still not necessarily a big deal."

Well, what about the fact that while Kochi and Meitoku Gijyuku did manage to advance, their victories were not as sweeping as one might think?

Kochi's 2nd round win over Kochi Nishi 7-1 was helped by a 4-run 8th.  Meitoku actually trailed Kochi Kougyou before a 5-run 6th distanced themselves enough to win 7-3.  Move onto the quarterfinals, and Kochi started reliever Sakai against Sukumo Kougyou.  Having just gone up 4-0 through 7, Sakai falters almost giving up the entire lead.  Ace Sakamoto has to come in to shut the door advancing 4-3.  Meitoku had no such luxury facing Okou, who is probably on the same level as Tosa.  Kishi though gives up 2 early runs leaving them to chase.  And while a 2-run 5th would be enough, it would be just enough as Okou would keep it close falling by the same 4-3 score.

Now, both teams would actually win their semifinals with relative ease (at least compared to the games above).   Nakamura would fall to Kochi 5-1, while Kochi Chuo (who in their 2nd round game against Yusuhara trailing 3-0 going into the final 3 innings would score 10 runs to send the game into enchousen, winning 1 inning later!) would be shutout by Kishi & Ogata 6-0.

Kochi would turn to Sakai again to start the game against Meitoku Gijyuku and ace Kishi.  And while he was able to go head-to-head for a little while, he would give up a run in the 5th and another in the 7th.  That would be all Kishi would need, though he survived the 9th to win 2-1 and give his team their 4th consecutive Natsu title!

Fukuoka - Jiyuugaoka (1st appearance)
When block play finally ended on the 14th, the likes of Jiyuugaoka, Kurume Shougyou and Teikyou Dai-go all joined the field in the 2nd stage.

In the second stage, the story early on was Moji Gakuen.  Facing unknown Fukushou, they fritter away a 3-1 lead in the last 2 innings, head into extras, and down 4-3 in the 10th they score 2 to win.  Then against Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou this happened.  Talk about comeback kids.

It perhaps looked like they'd do it again in the semifinals against Nanchiku, tying the game late and going into extras.  Nanchiku for their part, had just upset Higashi-Fukuoka.  But when Doi gave up a run in the 11th, Moji couldn't find anything left in the tank as they fell 3-2.

On the other half, everyone who advanced had blowouts save for Jiyuugaoka who had to play Kurume Shougyou and escaped with a 5-3 win.  After that was a quarterfinal game against Jiyuugaoka.  And much like Moji Gakuen had done in the 2nd stage, they staged a comeback in the bottom of the 9th for 2 runs to send Teikyou Dai-go home falling short yet again.  Their opponent in the semifinals would be Kyusandai Kyushu who mercy-ruled Tobata and Yuusei to get there.  Still, against a upper level team, they would fall short losing 6-1, setting tup the final matchup.

And perhaps as expected Nanchiku would give up quick runs early and was not in contention.  Jiyuugaoka would go on to win 9-1.  What surprised me the most was that it was their first ever title!

Most of Chuugoku and Shikoku have started along with most of the other prefectures.  Let's see where they're at.

Tottori
Nothing really of note so far in the 6 games played.  The closest game was Yonago Higashi rallying from down 5-0 to Tottori Nishi to pull within 2, but lost 6-3.  Tottori Jyouhoku has advanced easily past the first round.

Okayama
Much like Tottori, not many close games in Okayama to start either.  Okayama Gakugeikan and Okayama Shoudai Fuzoku both advanced on day 1.  Kanzei's attempt to return to 甲子園 started off with a 5-0 win over Okayama Housen.

The only really close games was at Acorn Stadium.  Tamano holding off Konkou Gakuen 5-4, and Okayama outscoring Wakeshizutani to win 9-6.

Shimane
An exciting opening game in Shimane on the 14th as Mitoya and Matsue Kougyou traded runs every other inning, with Matsue Kougyou leading 5-4.  But just 3 outs from advancing, they cannot close it out and Mitoya scores 2 in the bottom of the 9th for the sayorara win!

Hiroshima
Opening day at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium was interesting for several reasons.  First Soutoku and Hiroshima Shougyou would fight for 13 innings with Soutoku pulling off the 4-3 sayonara win in 13 innings.  The other interesting fact was that the pitcher used for Hiroshima Shougyou was #10 Inosencio Wilson.  From what I've been able to discern, his father was Filipino and was actually studying back in the Philippines before coming to high school in Japan.

Anyways, the first couple of days have the seeded teams watching as the rest of the field fights it out in the lower levels.  It's a mixed bag, but there are quite a few close games starting out.

In Kure Nikou, Kure Mitsuta led Kumano 7-0 but the tandem of Maeda and Sugimoto barely held Kumano off winning 7-6.  At Shimanami, Kure Shouwa also holds on, turning a 3-0 lead into a 3-2 win over Mihara.

Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi doesn't mess around on opening day.  10 games across 4 stadiums.  Honestly though, I believe they had their opening ceremonies the day before.

Anyways, in opening action Ube Tousen trades blows with Ube Frontier Kagawa and wins 10-8.  Takamori continually chases Kudamatsu, and just falls short 5-4.  A 5-run 8th gives Shimonoseki Nishi the 7-4 win over Ootsu Ryokuyou.

Meanwhile, the seeded teams that did not manage to draw a bye played the next day.  How a 5-8 seed gets a 1st round bye while a 1-4 seed doesn't is beyond me.  No upsets thus far, though Ube Kougyou did not look especially sharp against Houhoku winning 3-1.  Yanai Gakuen and Karyou both advance, but will be facing 5-8 seeded teams in their next matchup (Iwakuni and Nanyou Kougyou respectively).

Kagawa
Opening round games have been completed, and seeded teams are queued up.  One school has already played and that's Jinsei Gakuen.  They had an easy first game and will face a Kanonji Chuo squad who uncharacteristically almost lost in their first round game against Sakaide, recovered to mercy rule Mitoyo Kougyou.

Otherwise, Kasada used late-game heroics to score 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Takamatsu Sakurai and will face Iiyama next.

Tokushima
Not much to report in Tokushima, all games were pretty much one-sided.  About the only interesting game was Wakimachi scoring 11 unanswered to turn a 6-1 loss into an eventual 12-7 win over Komatsushima Nishi.  Otherwise Kawashima, Tomioka Nishi, Tokushima Shougyou and Jyounouchi all advance.

Ehime
Interestingly, very low scoring games dominate early action.  Yet only a handful were contested.  Iyo Nougyou used a run in the 1st and 9th to defeat Yoshida 2-0.  Niihama Higashi outlasted Kita-Uwa 3-2 in 11 innings.  And Minami-Uwa used a run in the lucky 7th to get by Matsuyama Kougyou 4-3.

Kochi
Much like Tokushima, mostly lopsided games.  Seeded teams do not get later games and as such, Kochi, Kochi Shougyou and Meitoku Gijyuku have all played and advanced.

But Kochi Tousen had their dreams crushed when they could not close a 6-2 lead in the top of the 9th.  6 runs later and Aki Sakuragaoka would advance.  And Kochi Ootemae would fight but lose in the bottom of the 13th 2-1 to Nakamura.

Our 2nd quarterfinal features 2 surprise teams.  Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi has used the running game to wreak havoc on opposing teams.  They take a radical tack in that they take walks and aggressively take bases.  Combined with Miki's performance on the mound and you have a potential contender.  This despite establishing their baseball program at the turn of the millennium.

Naruto has looked anything but a contender for the title.  Struggling against 21st century team Sumoto.  They win in 10 and move on despite getting just 4 hits.  Then against Sakushin Gakuin, they blow a 2-run lead, then give up a HR in the 10th.  Yet they come back to win that one and find themselves here in the Best 8. About the only thing that Naruto has going for them is that they've found a way to win when it seems like they shouldn't have.

So if Naruto can somehow carry that trait throughout they have a chance.

But I just can't see a team be able to do that for 5 straight games, much less 3.  Chances are the last public team to remain will fall today.

CF  Takeuchi Tsukasa
2B  Nakayama Keita
C  Nagasaka Kenya
3B  Uchida Ryouta
1B  Oosawa Yoshiyuki
RF  Kanbe Kazuki
LF  Kobayashi Ryuutarou
SS  Akiyama Kousuke
P  Namai Shintarou (#10)

SS  Kawano Yuuto
CF  Shimada Jyukito
LF  Inaoka Kenta
2B  Sugimoto Keita (#3)
RF  Yamato Taira
3B  Matsumoto Takanori
C  Kusaka Hiroki (#12)
P  Kobayashi Naoto (#10)
1B  Ise Hayato (#16)

__________________________________________________

13:36 - First pitch!

Once again, we see the relievers coming in to start for both teams.  How will it play out this time around?

Top 1st
Like I was saying in an earlier game, people have gotten on base via dead ball for less.  Takeuchi gets hit on a one bounder and he's awarded 1st despite not moving out of the way.

And of course with Takeuchi on, he takes off for 2nd.  Throw from Kusaka not in time.  The wheels start turning for Kendai.

Nakayama with the sac bunt, but Ise fields it and throws to 3rd??!

Takeuchi is there in plenty of time and that's just a bad decision by the Naruto 1B.

Nagasaka just pulls a ball foul down the 3rd base line.  But he takes the next pitch and singles to right!  Takeuchi scores.  But as the throw comes to 3rd, Matsumoto catches Nagasaka off 1st base!  He runs him down for the first out!  The wheels there just moving a tad too fast, but Kendai takes a 1-0 lead!

Uchida with a blast to center!!! Shimada sprinting back to the wall, but it falls in in front of dead center!  Nakayama scores on the double and Kendai now leads 2-0!!

Moriwaki-kantoku calling for time.  Naoto getting hit early and often here in the 1st...

Oosawa with a comeback to Naoto and he catches Uchida off 2nd!  He's run down for the 2nd out. Oosawa then tries to steal 2nd, but Kusaka throws him out to end the inning.  A lot of running, a lot of getting caught off base, and 2 runs for Kendai to start the game.

Bottom 1st
Kawano with a ball to the right side.  Nakayama ranging to his left, dives and snags the ball!  Throw to 1st is in time for the out!  Nice play!

Shimada first pitch grounds to 3rd for the 2nd out, but Inaoka after falling behind in the count works a walk.

But Namai gets Sugimoto to swing in front of a slider for the 3rd out.

Top 2nd
Kanbe steps back on a full count pitch, the reaches down and hits one off the bat just over the infield into center for a leadoff single.  Ryuutarou hits a hard grounder to 1st which bounces off Sugimoto, and his only play is to 1st.

Akiyama with a single back up the middle!  Kanbe is being waved around 3rd!  Shimada comes up throwing and it's right to Kusaka!  He makes the tag Kanbe's out at home!  2 down!

But Akiyama takes the base back as he steals 2nd on the 2-2 pitch!

Naoto though, gets fellow starter Namai to swing on an outside fastball for the 3rd out!

Bottom 2nd
It's a quick inning for Namai as he uses 7 pitches to retire the side in order.

Top 3rd
It's a small victory for Naruto as Naoto retires leadoff batter Takeuchi.

Naoto then uses slow curves and a change to freeze Nakayama for the 2nd out.

Naoto appers to have a fastball in the high 120s-low 130s, with a change in the 110s and a slow curve in the 90s.

Nagasaka ruins Naoto's clean inning by drawing a walk.

Uchida with a shot at Matsumoto!  He's able to get a glove on it to keep it in front of him, and he goes to 2nd for the 3rd out.

Bottom 3rd
Kawano with a drive to right!  Kanbe chases it to the wall, but Kawano's in with a 2-out triple!

But Shimada goes down swinging for the 3rd out.

Top 4th
Two down for Kendai, and they again work a walk.  This time it's Ryuutarou.

Kobayashi goes for 2nd on the 3-1 pitch, and while the ball gets there before him, Kawano can't make the grab and tag.  And on the next pitch, Akiyama walks bringing up last batter Namai.

But he swings on the first pitch and hits a routine fly to center for the 3rd out.

Bottom 4th
Inaoka chases a change in the dirt for Namai's 4th K. Sugimoto follows that with a hard hit ball to short.  It pops out of his glove temporarily, but he quickly grabs it and fires to 1st for the out.

Namai has a fastball in the low 130s, a slider in the 120s, curve in the 110s and apparently a palmball in the 90s.

Yamato with a hard ball to the right side.  Nakayama makes a great sliding stop, but he hurries his throw to 1st and it gets by Oosawa.  Yamato continues on to 2nd on the error.

Matsumoto with a grounder to the left side.  Akiyama ranging over, but it's just out of his reach!  Yamato rounding 3rd, being waved home!  Ryuutarou firing home, and it's right there to Nagasaka who applies the tag for the out!

Top 5th
Takeuchi with a drive to right center!  Yamato playing in tries to cut it off, but has to chase it back!  Takuechi showing some gap power with a leadoff triple!

Nakayama reaching out and poking a ball to right!  Takeuchi scores to make it 3-0 Kendai!

#1 Goutouda now warming up in the bullpen.

Nakayama taking off for 2nd!  Throw from Kusaka, and Nakayama slides in just before the tag!  (I think)

AH!  Now the pickoff throw from Naoto is low and goes into center!  Nakayama takes 3rd!

Nagasaka drives the next pitch to left!  That's easily over Inaoka's head to the wall!  Nakayama scores on Nagasaka's triple to make it 4-0.

Moriwaki-kantoku calls time.

Uchida with a grounder to 3rd.  Matsumoto up with it, notices Nagasaka off the bag and runs him down for the first out.

Oosawa hits into the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, but Kendai doubles their lead over Naruto.

Bottom 5th
One down and #11 Mizushi comes to PH for Naoto.  His day is done.  And Mizushi first pitch singles to right!

Ise though chases a ball low and lifts it to right for the 2nd out.

Kawano goes down and pulls a ball down the left field side!  Kobayashi has to chase it to the wall and Mizushi scores from 1st!  Naruto is on the board at 4-1!

Shimada flies out to center for the 3rd out, but Naruto gets a run back before the break!  Is another comeback in the works?

Top 6th
As expected, ace Goutouda comes out to start the 6th.

Kanbe again steps back, perhaps anticipating taking one the other way, but instead he takes strike 3!

Kobayashi too watches a change down the middle for strike 3.

Akiyama makes contact, but pops out to 3rd to end the inning.  Goutouda gets Naruto their 1st 1-2-3 inning this game!

Bottom 6th
2 down and Yamato lines one down the left field line for a double!  But Matsumoto can't get around on a fastball inside and goes down to end the inning.

Top 7th
#16 Takasugi hitting for Namai, meaning that his day is done.  And Takasugi singles back up the middle!  He's replaced by #15 Moriyama.

Takeuchi reaches down and hits one into the gap in left center!  Again the outfield is in and has to chase it back!  Moriyama scores easiliy on Takeuchi's second triple of the game!  5-1 Kendai!

Nakayama with a bunt, but Goutouda with it goes home with it!  But he doesn't close the gap to Takeuchi and that allows him to get back to 3rd safely!

Nakayama going for 2nd again!  Nagasaka tries the bunt, but misses, as the ball is wide.  However, Kusaka has no throw to 2nd.

And Nagasaka hits a drive to left!  Inaoka back to the wall??!

HAITAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That certainly didn't look like he got all of that one, but that somehow carries out to left!  Nagasaka with a 3-run HR to make it 8-1!

Uchida keeps the hit parade going with a single through the right side.  After a sac bunt, Kanbe singles through to left.

And while he doesn't get a hit, he hits a sac fly to left.  Both runners advance and Kendai leads 9-1.

Akiyama singles through to right, and that brings up PR Moriyama.  Except he's not.  Aoyagi-kantoku calls for his 2nd PH this inning as #12 Momoi comes in to hit.  First pitch though he grounds out to 3rd to end the inning.

Bottom 7th
#11 Kuramoto comes in to pitch with the game seemingly in hand. Kusaka welcomes him with a leadoff double down the right field line. Goutouda flies out to right and Kusaka advances to 3rd.

Ise with a hard grounder to 3rd and Uchida makes a great pick!  Kusaka has to hold as Uchida throws to 1st for the out.

Up 1-2 to Kawano, Kuramoto hits him in the calf.  Runners now at the corners.

But Shimada gets under one.  Oosawa with the catch and Naruto's lucky 7 comes and goes with no runs.

Top 8th
#4 Nakano comes in for Ise and takes over at 2B.  Sugimoto moves to his position of 1B.

Nakayama gets his 2nd hit a light single to left.  That brings up Nagasaka who needs a double for the cycle.

Nakayama meanwhile tries for his 3rd stolen base, but is thrown out by Kusaka.

Nagasaka follows that by hitting a fly to shallow center!  Shimada charges in, dives.. and makes the catch!  Shimada prevents the cycle with a great catch!

Bottom 8th
#14 Kouno comes in for Kuramoto and takes over in RF.  Kanbe moves from right to the mound.

Inaoka strikes out for his third time here in the 8th.  Sugimoto quickly flies out to right.

Kanbe though can't get a clean inning as he walks Yamato. But he does strike out Matsumoto to end the inning.

Top 9th
Uchida with a ball to 3rd.  Matsumoto leaps, but can't close the glove on the ball.  He gets it, but his throw to 1st is just a step behind a diving Uchida.

Goutouda retires the next three batters, and they'll be up for their last at bats.

Bottom 9th
#17 Tsukagoshi comes in for Nakayama and takes over at 2B.  #18 Shimoda comes in for Kobayashi and heads to the mound.  Kanbe returns to RF and Kouno goes to LF.

#2 Marumiya comes in to hit for Kusaka and singles to the left side.  He's replaced by #17 Hayashi.

Goutouda turns on a ball and singles also though the left side.

#18 Kishi comes in to hit for Nakano, and goes down swinging.

Kawano with a hard hit ball to 3rd.  But Uchida's been a vacuum all day and starts the game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

Hey, Naruto fought hard their first 2 games to advance to the Best 8, but their luck runs out at the hands of the upstart Kendai squad.  Interestingly enough, of the 13 times they've been to Koushien (Haru + Natsu), only 5 times have they lost in the first game, and once did not advance past the 2nd round.  So the fact they made the Best 8 is testament to their abilities once they do reach Koushien.

(And Naruto's players, knowing that they may not be here again, grab their memento of Koushien dirt.)

This time around, it wasn't speed, but power that Kendai showed, with 5 extra base hits (though that may have been a byproduct of a drawn in outfield).  Still though, they showcased their speed, running circles around their opponents yet again.

The question will be whether they can get on base against Fujinami to be able to put pressure on Osaka Touin.  For now, they'll rest up tomorrow for their impending clash.

Our brunchtime game features a best 4 finalist last year, and a team that hasn't been here in 32 years.

Naruto survived their first round game against 21st century team Sumoto... just.  A hit batsmen with a single was all the scoring in the game.  And this was while Sumoto actually had more opportunities in the game than Naruto!  So, for being the Shikoku champion, the prospects don't look to good.

Especially when they face last summer's Best 4 team Sakushin Gakuin.

But they did not have a smooth ride in the first game.  In fact, Kurashiki Shougyou jumped out to a 3-0 lead on ace Ootani before the offense rocked Nishi for 4 runs in the second, never looking back.  The team definitely had some hits, but was the beneficiary of bad defense too.  Also, the top of the order was unable to produce much offense for the team either, which is concerning if you're depending on cleanup batter Takayama to drive in runs.

Naruto looks like they'll have a lot on their hands when they take the field today.

CF  Tsuruta Kouya
LF  Haneishi Hiroki
SS  Ishii Kazunari
1B  Takayama Ryousuke (#9)
C  Yamashita Yuuto
RF  Fuse Kyouhei (#16)
3B  Takashima Shouma
2B  Asano Shouya
P  Tsutsui Shigeru (#11)

SS  Kawano Yuuto
CF  Shimada Jyukito
LF  Inaoka Kenta
2B  Sugimoto Keita (#3)
RF  Yamato Taira
3B  Matsumoto Takanori
C  Kusaka Hiroki (#12)
P  Goutouda Shuusaku
1B  Ise Hayato (#16)

__________________________________________________

11:20 - First pitch!

Top 1st
It's a relatively quiet inning for Goutouda to start.  Sakushin's batters are going after the ball early in counts as Tsuruta and Ishii first pitch swinging in a 1-2-3 start for Goutouda.

Bottom 1st
Tsutsui on the mound instead of Ootani, but it wouldn't make sense in the handedness as both are lefties and the Naruto lineup today is right heavy.

One down Shimada draws a 4-pitch walk then Inaoka singles through the left side.

Control issues for Tsutsui as he can't find the zone and walks his 2nd batter on 4 straight!  It's manrui with one down for Yamato!

Grounder to short!  But Ishii doesn't field it cleanly!  They get the out at 2nd, but the relay to 1st is late!  Shimada scores and Naruto is on the board here in the 1st!  1-0!

Matsumoto grounds out to short to end the inning, but Naruto gets their first run this time much sooner!

Top 2nd
Takayama gets a good pitch at 3-2, but hits a hard grounder to 2nd.

Yamashita and Fuse are retired thereafter for a 1-2-3 inning, but Goutouda had to work a little harder for that one.

Bottom 2nd
Tsutsui appears to have a fastball in the high 120s with a slider in the mid 110s that he throws A LOT.

New 1B Ise, in the game today because Nakano has a injury to his finger, gets a 2-out single to right.

But Kawano grounds to a fielder's choice at short and the inning is over.

Top 3rd
Cameras go to the flags above the scoreboard and they're blowing as usual from RF to LF.

Sakushin's batters trying to work the count and get on, but Takashima and Asano fly out.  It's Tsutsui who gets on with a little help from Matsumoto who can't field his grounder cleanly!

Hit-and-run by Kobari-kantoku and Tsuruta singles to right!  Yamato is there quickly and keeps Tsutsui at 2nd.

Haneishi grounds into a fielder's choice at short, but Sakushin finally gets a baserunner on as well as their first hit.

Bottom 3rd
Another clean inning from Tsutsui.  Two quick outs to 2nd, and a 3-2 knee buckler to Sugimoto to end the inning.

Top 4th
Chance for Sakushin as Ishii slices one down the left field line fair!  He's hustles to 2nd and is in safely!

Takayama hits one down the right field line and that's fair!  But Ishii think's it's foul and only advances to 3rd!  Will that cost them later?

Well Yamashita gets under one and pops it up!  Sugimoto secures it for the out!

But Fuse hits one to center!  Shimada prepares to throw home, and Ishii takes off on the catch!  The throw home is cut off, no!  It bounces off Sugimoto and deflects to the 3rd base dugout!  Kusaka gives chase but Takayama advances to 3rd!  But anyways, Sakushin has tied the game at 1-1!

But no further damage is done as Takashima grounds out to short.

Bottom 4th
Tsutsui has settled down since the first as Naruto's batters can't make contact on his pitches.  He racks up two more K's in a up and down inning.

Top 5th
Outside of that last inning, Goutouda has looked smooth as well, hitting his spots and if missing generally missing low.  He too gets a 1-2-3 inning thanks to a nice backhanded stab by Ise on a scorching ball by Tsuruta.

Bottom 5th
Routine grounder to short by Goutouda and Ishii gets ahead of himself and allows the ball to deflect off of him!

Ise not bunting, swings and his a grounder to short!  This time Ishii doesn't miss, starting the 6-4-3 double play!

Kawano reaches out on a ball and grounds out to short.  We hit the break with some errors on both sides, a few hits and a 1-1 tie.

Top 6th
Haneishi turns on a ball inside and rips it down the left field line to the wall for a double!

Kobari-kantoku electing not to have Ishii bunt.  Goutouda freezes him on a fastball on the inside corner!  1 down!

Cleanup batter Takayama up and Goutouda falls behind 3-0!  But Takayama gets the green light, swings on a slider and grounds back to Goutouda!  2 down and Haneishi still on 2nd!

And Goutouda gets Yamashita to swing under one!  Popup to shallow center, and Kawano makes a scary catch, reach up with his back turned.  Makes the catch, but perhaps someone else should have had that?

Bottom 6th
Shimada tries for the safety bunt, but Takashima throws him out by a good margin.

Inaoka lines one over Ishii and into left for a single!

Kobari-kantoku calls time and that's the day for Tsutsui.  But #10 Mizunuma comes in instead of Ootani.

Sugimoto greets him with a drive to left center!  Haneishi and Tsuruta running back to the fence and it's Haneishi who makes the catch in front of the fence!

Mizunuma is a righty who appears to have a fastball that touches 130 with a slider in the mid 110s and some type of change in the 100s

Yamato with a hard base hit down the left field line!  Haneishi up with it quickly to prevent the Inaoka from going to 3rd!  Kobari-kantoku calls time again.

Matsumoto slices one up the middle!  Inaoka getting the green light Tsuruta throwing home, but it's not in time!  Naruto takes a 2-1 lead!

Now Kusaka with a first pitch single to left!  Haneishi up with it and Yamato's being sent home!  Throw is up the 1st base line and he scores!  3-1 Naruto!

Goutouda with a hard hit to 1st, but Takayama has it.  Goes to 1st for the out, but Mizunuma's relief stint is anything but as he gives up both RBI singles!

Top 7th
3-1 count to Fuse and he's green-lighted.  He singles past a diving Sugimoto into right.

Takashima takes a hanging slider and laces that to right!  Runners at 1st and 2nd for Sakushin as Moriwaki-kantoku calls for time!

Now Kobari-kantoku is calling for the bunt.  Asano lays it down, but it's right in front of the plate!  Kusaka takes it and throws to 3rd, easily getting Fuse out!

Now #13 Wakui is PH for Mizunuma meaning his day is done.  He may not have lasted long if he stayed.

But Wakui goes down swinging on an inside shuuto!  2 down!

And Tsuruta first pitch swings!  Pops it up!  Ise and Sugimoto converge and it's Ise with the catch!  Sakushin's opportunity in the lucky 7 goes to waste!

Bottom 7th
As expected #1 Ootani takes the hill, but his team is behind with just 2 innings left.

Brimming with confidence, Ise takes the first pitch he sees and lines it to left!

Having done his job for the day, Muriwaki-kantoku sends in #17 Hayashi to run for him.  Leadoff batter Kouno sends him on his way to 2nd.

Ootani gets Shimada to ground out to 1st and Inaoka to bite on a slider away.  Naruto's been denied, but it won't mean anything if they can't score.

Top 8th
#15 Bandou comes in for PR Hayashi and takes over at 2B.  Sugimoto goes back to his normal position of 1B.

 Haneishi with a grounder to 3rd, that takes a high hop and almost hits Matsumoto in the face!

Naruto's looking for baserunners so no bunting here.

But they are sending Haneishi?  Throw from Kusaka is barely not in time!

Ishii follows that up with a liner through the infield into left!  Runners at the corners for cleanup batter Takayama!

Goutouda not giving in to Takayama and goes behind 3-1.  And the curve for the outside corner doesn't get the call!  Manrui for Yamashita as the Keio chance plays!

Goutouda tries to get Yamashita to chase with two balls away, but no dice!  Fastball inside gets him to 2-1.

Another fastball in there and now he's ahead!  Watch for the junk!

But Yamashita's able to lift one to center!  Shimada catches it and they concede the run!  They've narrowed the deficit to 3-2!

Fuse with a grounder down the 3rd base line, Matsumoto dives... FAIR!  They call it fair as it goes down the left field line!  Ishii rounds 3rd and he scores!  DOUTEN!  Fuse with his 2nd hit ties the game at 3-3!!

Takashima up and now a deep enough fly ball ties the game.

BUT THEY SQUEEZE!

Kobari-kantoku calls for the squeeze, but it's a ball away!  Takashima dives, makes contact, but pops it up!  Kusaka catches it and doubles off Takayama at 3rd to end the inning!

Sakushin ties the game, but they could have had more!

Bottom 8th
Ootani was about to get a 1-2-3 inning it seemed, but then wound up walking Matsumoto.  Kusaka with a hard hit ball at Asano, but he's able to field it and make the out at 2nd!  Ootani holds the line here in the 8th!

Top 9th
8-9-1 batters up for Sakushin.  Asano and Ootaki should be focused on getting on base instead of just a hit.

But Goutouda doesn't allow that possibility, getting ahead of Asano 1-2.  But two balls out of the zone and the count is full.  Still Asano has to swings away at anything close, and ends up grounding to short.

Ootani's showing patience at the plate, getting ahead 3-1.  Will he wait still?  Nope, swings and fouls one away.  Now it's a mind game, what pitch?  Fastball, but Ootani hits a weak chopper back to Goutouda for the out.

Top of the order, but they're going to have to string together some hits.

Tsuruta with a gronder to the right side.  Sugimoto makes the diving stop but Tsuruta beats out Goutouda to the bag!  Man on!

Kobari-kantoku tries for the hit-and-run, but Haneishi hits a comebacker to Goutouda to end the inning!  Now they have to hold for enchousen!

Bottom 9th
8-9-1 batters up for Naruto too.  How will they approach it?

Goutouda tries to work the count, but is can't check his swing!  One down. Bandou too falls on a fastball inside.  And Kawano pops up to Asano and we're headed to enchousen!

Top 10th
One pitch, one out.  Ishii pops it up to short.

Takayama with a blast to left!!!  Inaoka running back to the wall....

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Goutouda leaves a ball up in the zone and Takayama knows what to do with it!  He gives Sakushin Gakuin their first lead of the game here in enchousen, 4-3!

Yamashita with a blast to center!  Shimada running over, makes the running catch!

Now Fuse with a blast to center!  That's over Shimada's head!  He's rounding 2nd, going for 3!  Throw is late and Goutouda's being shelled!

Moriwaki-kantoku sees that too and pulls Goutouda for #10 Kobayashi...

He retires Takashima on a comebacker, but Takayama gives his team the lead in a big way!  Now can Ootani hold it?

Bottom 10th
2-3-4 batters up for Naruto.  If Sakushin could do it, maybe Naruto can?

Shimada with a fly to shallow left.  Haneishi calls off Ishii and makes the catch.  One down.

Inaoka with a grounder up the middle.  Ishii ranging over, can't field it!  Then makes a terrible throw that misses everything and goes into the dugout!  Inaoka at 2nd with one down!  What a terrible decision by Ishii!  He should have eaten that!

Kobari-kantoku calls for time.

Sugimoto with a liner to center!  Tsuruta with it quickly and Inaoka has to hold at 3rd!

#14 Koari to hit for Yamato.  And Ootani hits him!  Manrui for Naruto!  Kobari-kantoku has to call for time again!

#13 Koumoto runs for Koari.

Matsumoto up now, and he falls behind 1-2... SANSHIN!  Fastball up and in and he can't catch up to it!  2 outs!

Kusaka up.  Drive to left!  Haneishi running back, running back...

CAN'T GET IT!

Inaoka and Sugimoto score on the sayonara hit bu Kusaka!  Naruto comes back again in extra inning to defeat Kanto runner-up Sakushin Gakuin!

Two games now Naruto has won in sayonara fashion in extra innings!  The baseball gods must be looking down on them this tournament!  They find a way after giving up a 2-run lead, then giving up the lead in the 10th to come back and win!

Now, some of it was Sakushin lapses of judgement.  The decision by Ishii to throw to first on that one out grounder was a big mistake.  It may not have made the difference, but it may have given a different feel to the inning had it been an error with a runner on first rather than an error and a runner on 2nd.  It may not have been as much pressure on Ootani to hit PH Koari if it was runners on 1st and 2nd instead of at the corners.

You have to play all 27 outs.  Or in this case, all 30.  And Naruto played to that saying more than Sakushin Gakuin here today, and they are the ones to advance to face Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi.

We're crossing the midpoint of the first round today, and looking at the games so far, it has been somewhat unimpressive.  Mie-Tottori Jyouhoku was an even but not stellar matchup, then a bunch of one-sided affairs, followed by a late game collapse.  The 2nd day was saved by Ishinomaki Kougyou who, for at least one inning, made everyone a believer in the motto "anything can happen".

Is there more hope for today's games? Well, first on the docket is the second 21st Century Team to take the field in Sumoto versus the Shikoku fall champions Naruto.

Sumoto is the only team of the 3 invited to not have made the super-regional bracket.  They made it to the Hyogo semifinals where they lost 6-0 to Koushien regular Houtoku Gakuen, then was eliminated from super-regional play by Ikuei 9-2.  Their only notable win was a 13-6 win over recent attendee Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku.

At a glance their offense doesn't look much different than some of the one's we've seen here that have been eliminated - not much power, a batting average lower than most, and not much speed to speak of.  Shimagaki is their to-go ace, but his peripherals (K/9, BB/9, etc) are not stellar either.  So Sumoto on paper has a bit of work to do it seems.

Naruto won the Shikoku super-regional defeating notable teams in the region such as Imabari Nishi, Takamatsu Shougyou, and Kochi.  Shikoku isn't the powerhouse it once was, but they're not a bunch of slouches now either.

Naruto's offense looks slightly better than Sumoto's, especially given that they had a couple more games against relatively stronger teams in the super-regional.  But the numbers suggest that a lot of it is speed based (for instance more triples than doubles, and a decent amount of SB's).  Furthermore, ace Gotouda's peripherals are nothing to write home about either (1.478 WHIP, ~5.4 K/9).  That's where reliever Kobayashi comes in, though while he allows less runners, he also has a worse strikeout rate than Goutouda.

With average pitching, it would seem that Naruto's slightly above-average speed and offense would be the difference in the game.

LF  Taniguchi Yuusuke (#8)
CF  Hosokawa Shou (#17)
RF  Ishizaka Taichi
3B  Iida Takuya (#5)
2B  Masai Daisuke
1B  Shimohara Akihiro
SS  Matsubara Hiroki (#6)
C  Oomura RyuusukeP  Shimagaki Ryouta

SS  Kawano Yuuto
CF  Shimada Jyukito
LF  Inaoka Kenta
1B  Sugimoto Keita
RF  Yamato Taira
3B  Matsumoto Takanori
C  Kusaka Hiroki (#12)
P  Goutouda Shuusaku
2B  Nakano Yuuki

__________________________________________________

09:00 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Gotouda showing decent control in the early going, freezing Taniguchi on a pitch on the outside corner.  Noguchi-kantoku must have seen something to send in #17 Hosokawa, and he's rather stubborn at the plate, fouling off pitches as he gets the count full.  However, he grounds out to short, though makes it close as Kawano double clutches.

And Ishizaka swings on a slow change to end the inning.

Bottom 1st
Ooh.  Not a good start for Shimagaki.  He hits Kawano to start the game.  Shimada almost is safe on a sac bunt, but gets the job done anyways.

Hm?  I'm surprised.  Shimagaki isn't throwing hard, but gets both Inaoka and Sugimoto to strike out swinging to end the inning!

Top 2nd
Sumoto's uniforms are so old-school, I like them.

Ah.  Iida K's on a splitter in the dirt.

Goutouda doesn't throw particularly hard.  Fastball in the low-mid 130s, slider in the high 110s-low 120s, and a slow curve in the high 90s-low 100s.  Can't see where the split finger lies in that range.

2 down after a Masai fly to center and Shimohara lines the first hit into left.  Matsubara follows that up with one that almost takes out Shimohara!  Runners at 1st and 2nd, as Kusaka comes out to the plate.

And Oomura goes down on a curve on the outside corner!  Goutouda gets out of the jam!

Bottom 2nd
Yamato with a slow chopper up the middle, but Matsubara calmly picks it up and makes the throw to 1st.

Shimagaki isn't a fireballer, and has a similar arsenal.  Fastball in the low-mid 130s, slider in the high 110s-low 120s, and he has a fork in the 120s.

Matsumoto in fact, swings on one to strike out.

Kusaka with Cruel Angel's Thesis playing...

And he goes down on another forkball to end the inning.  That's 4 K's for Shimagaki already!

Top 3rd
Goutouda is back to a rhythm on the mound as he strikes out Shimagaki on 3 straight, then induce popups on Taniguchi and Hosokawa on 3 pitches.  Just like that Naruto is back on the bats!

Bottom 3rd
The cameras are moving around a bit.  The system that brought rain is still around, just blowing a lot of wind around.

Shimagaki gets 2 groundouts to Masai, then freezes leadoff batter Kawano on a change outside.

Top 4th
The sun is finally peeking out, but it's still windy out there.

Ishisaka works the count full, but grounds to 2nd.  But Nakano charging in can't field it!  By the time he doubles back, Ishisaka is safe!

Cleanup batter Iida is showing bunt?  Takes strike 1.  Now it's a bust-and-run??  And now he's swinging away and fouls one off!

He fouls off another one, and it's playable, but the wind is blowing hard from right to left that it goes out fo reach.

He slowly works the count to 2-2 as he fouls off a slow curve.  Then again as he bails on a fastball outside.  And again.

Iida finally puts it in play, but it's right at Kawano who starts the 6-4-3 double play.  2 down.

Masai gets plunked right on the knee so Sumoto has a runner back on base for Shimohara.

Shimohara makes Goutouda pay!  He lines a ball into the opposite field gap!  It goes all the way to the wall as Masai scores easily!  Shimohara's RBI triple gives them the 1-0 lead!

Whoa.  Matsubara is just fast on that slow curve lining it just left of Shimohara!

And he can't pull the trigger on a change on the outside corner!  Goutouda gets his 3rd out, but not before his hit batsmen comes around to score!

Bottom 4th
Shimada with a grounder to 3rd, and it bounces off Iida!  He has no shot at 1st anymore, and from the replay it looks like it hit him in not so nice of a spot.

Well, Inaoka is as expected bunting.  And while Shimagaki is trying to force a bad bunt, he's fallen behind 3-0 and has to go after him.  Gets one on the inside corner for strike 1, but then Inaoka gets his bunt down.

Ah!  Now Shimagaki hits Sugimoto!  Still 1 down, but now 2 runners on!

But Shimogaki gets Yamato to swing on a slider for the 2nd out!

And he gets out of the inning as Matsumoto grounds to 3rd!  Iida makes the throw to 1st and a great stretch by Shimohara gets the out!

Top 5th
Oomura times a slow curve and easily lines one to left center to start the inning.  Shimagaki lays the but down, and Sumoto threatens again.

Taniguchi with the swinging bunt, but fortunately for Naruto it goes foul.

Taniguchi though whiffs on a change in the dirt for the 2nd out.

Hosokawa too can't hold off on a bad pitch and Goutouda and company heads back to the dugout.

Bottom 5th
Shimagaki records his 7th K as Kusaka swings on a slider off the plate.

Gotouda with a slow grounder to short.  Iida gets there first, but can't get a grip on the ball.  Goutouda safe at first on the error.

Nakano offers a bunt on the first pitch but misses.  With the count 2-1 he tries again, but fouls it off.  Nakano looks like he's going to free bunt, but the ball goes wide and the count runs full.

He basically gets his bunt as Goutouda takes off and he grounds out to 2nd.

Kawano with a shot down the left field line.. foul!

SANSHIN!  Shimagaki gets him on a slider in the dirt and the inning is over!  Sumoto heads to the dugout holding onto a slim 1-run lead into the break!

Top 6th
One down for Sumoto and Iida takes a ball away into the left center field gap!  Shiamda gets to it, but Iida's pushing for 2!  The throw is cutoff and he's in there safely!

And now trying to pitch inside, Goutouda hits Masai!  Runners at 1st and 2nd with 1 down as Moriwaki-kantoku calls for time.

And the wrong guy for Naruto is coming up, Shimohara...

He looks at a curve right down the middle for strike 1.  He holds off the next 2 pitches and gets ahead.  Pitch inside makes it 3-1.  Will they just walk him?

Nope, he throws his curve in there for strike 2.  Full count!

SANSHIN!  Shimohara goes over the curve and strikes out!  Now all Goutouda needs is an out from Matsubara.

Two curves/changes later and Matsubara's behind 0-2.  But Matsubara offers on yet another curve away and Goutouda gets out of the jam!

Bottom 6th
Shimagaki hits his 3rd batter in Shimada to lead off the inning.

And now Shimada tries for the steal!  The throw is ther, but Matsubara is a tick too fast and has to reach behind him!  He can't field the ball and Shimada is safe!

Inaoka still continues to show bunt, but fouls it off to make the count 2-2.  He pulls it back and slaps it to short.  Matsubara has no play at 3rd, so he gets the play at first.

Sugimoto with the slap through the drawn in infield and that easily scores the run.  We're douten at 1-1!

And Yamato is bunting even with one down, but winds up offering and missing for the strikeout!  2 down.

Matsumoto grounds into the fielder's choice at 2nd, but post-break Naruto levels the score!

Top 7th
Oomura works the count on Goutouda, but grounds back to him for the first out.  Shimagaki meanwhile continues to bite on the curves outside and strikes out for the 2nd time.  Taniguchi makes it a 1-2-3 inning fouling out to Nakano.

Bottom 7th
Kusaka becomes Shimagaki's 4th hit batter and now Goutouda will look to put the gyakuten run in scoring position, and does so on the first pitch.

Nakano does his best, but swings under a change for the 2nd out.  One more and Shimagaki avoids disaster.

But the lineup turns over to Kawano.  Won't be easy.

Except that it is!  Shimagaki gets ahead 0-2 then induces a weak grounder to 2nd for the 3rd out!

Top 8th
Hosokawa leads off the inning showing bunt, but grounds out to short.

The chart shows Goutouda at 118 pitches as Ishizaka steps in.  Yet he's still locating his pitches well as a ball inside induces a grounder to 2nd.

Iida swings at a letter high fastball and it finds the gap between Kawano and Inaoka for a base hit.

Masai next to keep the inning going, but falls behind 1-2, and on a hit-and-run pops out to short.

Bottom 8th
Both pitchers are throwing their fair share of breaking balls at this point.  Shimada manages to avoid one in the dirt, but grounds out to 2nd.

Inaoka with a short liner to 3rd and Iida snocones it for the 2nd out.

It's another quick inning as Sugimoto gets really jammed and hits an easy grounder to Shimagaki.

Top 9th
Well!  We're in the 9th inning and the game is tied at 1!  Will someone break through or are we headed to our first enchousen game?

Shimohara swings early and flies out to Shimada.  1 down.

#10 Kobayashi seems warmed up just in case, but Goutouda seems fine.

Foul popup by Matsubara and Kusaka should have it, but lets it drop!  Second chance!

But Goutouda freezes him on a fastball for the 2nd out!

Oomura quickly goes down 0-2 swinging at balls away again, but just sneaks one past a diving Sugimoto and Nakano for a base hit!

Now Shimagaki has to help his own cause... but flies out to left...  Now they'll have to hope for enchousen.

Bottom 9th
Shimagaki at 109 pitches heading into the 9th.  That's actually pretty low.

OH!  Yamato with a liner back at Shimagaki and he picks it off for the 1st out!

Shimagaki's off speed pitches are still on target and he picks off Matsumoto for his 11th K!

And Kusaka first pitch grounds to 2nd and we're headed to enchousen!

Top 10th
Goutoua delivers his 144th pitch to leadoff batter Taniguchi and he fouls it off.  144 still not terrible.  Seriously.

Taniguchi pops out to short for the 1st out.  Hosokawa tries the safety bunt, but his dive might have cost him the base...

Ishizaka first pitch grounds to 1st and Naruto is quickly back on the bats.

Bottom 10th
Goutouda with Naruto's 3rd hit of the day on a ball back up the middle!

Noguchi-kantoku calls time as this is a crucial time now for Shimagaki.

Nakano lays the bunt down and the sayonara run is in scoring position.

AH!  Shimagaki with a mistake and Kawano drives it to deep left center!  No one's going to get to it and Naruto gets the sayonara 2-1 win!!!

A well fought pitchers duel on both sides, Shimagaki's control slipped just a little sooner than Goutouda and Naruto takes advantage!

Give Shimagaki and Sumoto credit.  They probably shouldn't have been this close against the Shikoku champions, but they fought them 10 hard innings.  Nothing to complain about for the home squad.

Tottori
Yazu seemed to have the game in control after scoring 4 in the 3rd. But they had other opportunities to extend the lead and was not able to. That would hurt them in the end as Sakai would score a pair of runs in the 7th and 8th for a gyakuten 5-4 victory!

Sakai's opponent in the championship would be Tottori Shougyou as ace Hashimoto throws a 4-hit shutout over Tottori Ikuei.

In the finals, Sakai would have to play catchup, not once, but twice. Right after Tottori Shougyou scored their 2nd run in the 5th, Sakai scored a pair of their own. Same thing happened right after Tottori Shougyou scored a run in the bottom of the 6th. While it gave them the tie once again, they were unable to take the outright lead.

And Tottori Shougyou would ensure Sakai would have no time to rally. They score the sayonara run for the win and only their 2nd title - the first being 7 years ago.

Okayama
Kanzei and Okayama Rikaidai Fuzoku was easily the most competitive game of the 4 quarterfinal games. Both teams struggled to get hits, though Rikaidai did get the opening run in the 1st on a HR by Fujioka. Kanzei tried fighting back throughout the game, and finally broke through in the 8th scoring the douten run. In the 9th, they would get to reliever Fujioka and score the gyakuten run. Rikaidai was not able to mount a 9th inning rally and fell 2-1.

Outside of that game, Okayama Gakugeikan, Sakuyou and Konkou Gakuen all advanced with little difficulty.

And the semifinals were actually much of the same. Okayama Gakugeikan got mercy ruled in 5 by Okayama 12-2, and while Sakuyou managed to get a 2-0 lead early, a 10-1 run by Konkou Gakuen in the 3rd-6th innings made the game out of reach.

So it'll be Kanzei and Konkou Gakuen for the final.

Shimane
It seemed to be getting easier for top seed Iwamichisuikan. In the quarterfinals they won 11-0 over Iinan in 5 innings. Their opponent would be #4 Taisha, though it didn't seem that way at first. Masuda Higashi scored 7 unanswered to take a 8-1 lead going into the 5th. Then suddenly Taisha went on their own run the next two innings, scoring 10 unanswered!! Masuda wouldn't give it up that easily as they scored 3 to tie the game at 11! Taisha would finally put Masuda Higashi away with 2 in the 9th for the 13-11 win!

On the other half of the bracket, 2 seed Kaisei under the managing of Nonomura-kantoku again helped rally the troops against Yasugi. 3 runs in the 5th would tie the game, and a pair of runs in the 7th and 8th gave them the win. 3 seed Matsue Shougyou would make it a scratch bracket as they used a 4-run 5th to defeat Izumo 7-5.

The semis have been postponed to today due to rain.

Hiroshima
Our 3rd seeded team in Hiroshima was to fall in the 4th round. Hiroshima Kokusaidai Gakuin after building a 4-1 lead on Shiritsu Kure, saw that lead turn into a one-run deficit before tying it at 6 in the 8th. But it would be Kure who would have the final laugh, scoring the sayonara run in the 11th.

Kinkidai Fukuyama who had beaten Kouryou, got mercy ruled by Hiroshima Kougyou 11-0 after they scored 10(!) in the 5th.

Hiroshima Sougyou Gijyutsu for the 2nd game in the tournament showed offense, scoring 10 runs in a 10-5 win over Miyajima Kougyou. They did give up the runs late which could be worrysome against harder competition.

Miyoshi, who had upset Hiroshima Shougyou was soundly defeated by Hiroshima Shinjyou 13-5.

Soutoku went from mercy rule to enchousen back to mercy rule as took take care of Aki Minami 10-0 in 6.

Onomichi Shougyou would be the next to fall by the wayside. They trailed 2-1 to Hatsukaichi Nishi in the bottom of the 9th when they were able to force extras. Yet they still had trouble getting to ace Nakai. And in the 13th it would be Hatsukaichi who would get to ace Maeda, scoring a run in the 13th. With no response from Onomichi they would fall 3-2.

And finally Jyousuikan advances with a 4-2 win over Onomichi Higashi.

So moving onto the quarterfinals at Shimanami Stadium, Soutoku stayed with Hiroshima Sougou Gijyutsu responding to each score that they put on the board. But when Sougou Gijyutsu scored a run in the 6th to take the lead, not only did they tie it in the 7th, they scored again in the 8th to take their first lead! Down 1 with just 3 outs to go, Sougou Gijyutsu was unable to plate the tying run.

In the matinee game, Jyousuikan and Hiroshima Kougyou battled it out in the middle innings, with Jyousuikan maintaining the one-run lead they held in the first. An insurance run in the 7th to make it 6-4 is enough for a ticket to the semis.

Over at Kure Nikou, Sanyou completely had their way with Hatsukaichi Nishi, getting their 4th mercy win in as many games, 15-0!

The field would be rounded out by Hiroshima Shinjyou who only trailed 0-1 in the 1st inning. 7 innings later, they had a 15-8 mercy win.

Yamaguchi
The round of 16 was predominantly dominated by low-scoring affairs.

Yanai Gakuen woke up to find themselves in a pitchers' battle with Suou-Ooshima. Making things worse was that Suou-Ooshima tied the game at 1 in the 8th. In the end though they would pull it out, but not until the bottom of the 9th. Fellow B seed Onoda had the same issue with Ube Kougyou, except for the fact they were actually down 1! They won the game by scoring a run in the final 2 innings.

We would have an upset though, Shimonoseki Kougyou ace Matsumoto would limit A seed Shimonoseki Shougyou to just 1 run on 8 hits in a 4-1 win.

And despite getting just 2 hits, Shimonoseki Kokusai makes those count as LF Fujita hits a home run in the 7th to give them a 1-0 win over Hayatomo!

The quarterfinals would see every single favorite lose save for one.

• Yanai Gakuen would limit Ube Koujyou to just one run in a 2-1 win.
• Nanyou Kougyou and Shimonoseki Kokusai are in a close game until Nanyou gives up 4 in the 8th for the upset!
• Iwakuni never takes the lead over Onoda and falls 5-2!
• The only favored team to win is Sakuragaoka, who defeats Shimonoseki Kougyou 12-1 in 8.

That meant that no A seed would be in the semifinals, only 3 B seeds. Yanai Gakuen would dispatch the only unseeded team, defeating Shimonoseki Kokusai 7-0. In the other semi, Onoha would have to play catchup the entire game, and while they tied the game in the 2nd at 2, that's the furthest they get. Down 7-2 in the 7th they'd rally for 4 but could never tie the game again.

Kagawa
After blowing a 6-1 lead to Miki in the 3rd round, Sakaide Shougyou scores more runs in the 13th inning then they did the entire game. They win 15-6.

Shoudoshima, down 1 in the 9th ties the game then wins it in 12 against Takamatsu.

Onto the quarterfinals and Eimei, though unseeded, advances with at 5-1 win over Takamatsu Shougyou. Sakaide Shougyou comes from behind against Shoudoshima to win 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th. Marugame uses a 5-run 5th and uses it to hold onto a 6-5 win over Sangawa. And finally, Kanonji Dai-ichi just takes Marugame Jyousei to task, mercy ruling them 8-0 in 7!

Tokushima
After rain washes out a couple of days, play get back on track on the 21st. Tomioka Nishi allows Anan Nishi to tie the game in the 9th, but it only extends it for one more inning.

In the quarterfinals, Jyounan gets shocked by Seikou Gakuen (no, not Seikou Gakuin) who despite getting just 4 hits, scores the one and only run in the ballgame!

Naruto Kougyou's bid gets derailed by Komatsushima as they score a run in the bottom of the 8th and 9th for the win.

And the remaining seeded teams, Naruto and Tokushima Shougyou advance with ease.

Ehime
Let's see, what to note...

Matsuyama Kougyou gets its 2nd close game in as many played. Up 6-1 after 1 they allow Niihama Minami to tie the game, the after taking the lead, they give it up. Down 10-8, they score 3 to take the lead this time for good.

Teikyou Dai-go scores just 1, which is enough to beat Yawatahama, though it's not a great start.

Tanbara not only upsets #2 Kawanoe, they mercy rule them in 8 innings 9-2!

Either Nitta likes the score 7-5, or they like the game close. Up 6-0, they allow Saijyou (albeit a good team) to score 5 in the last two innings. An insurance run in the 9th gives them their 2nd 7-5 win.

Saibi ends Teikyou Dai-go's season early yet again with a 6-2 win. And Uwajima Higashi will be their next opponent as they defeat Matsuyama Kougyou 2-1.

Kochi
Well, things were pretty much going as planned, with games not really being a tug of war so to speak. Meitoku Gijyuku advances to the semis, though they did have a bit of a scare against Kochi Chuo. They didn't win that game until the bottom of the 8th.

Okou and Tosa played to a scoreless draw in regulation, and it wouldn't be until the 11th when Kakehi would drive in the sayonara run for Tosa and send their team to the semis.

Joining them would be Kochi and Kochi Shougyou. That should setup to be an amazing game.

But as is the case during this time of year, rain gets in the way again.