高校野球 (Kokoyakyu)

Tsuruga Kehi is back yet again. They were in a purple patch there for a while with aces Kishimoto and Hiranuma. But last summer, with Hiranuma hurt, they couldn't get past the 2nd round and Hanamaki Higashi.

It's surprising that they're back though. Because even with Hiranuma hurt, they started him in the game, and despite reliever Yamazaki Souichirou (山崎 颯一郎) pitching 2 scoreless innings when Hiranuma struggled, they went back to Hiranuma. If you're Yamazaki, what are you thinking? "I pitched 2 innings of no-hit ball, got 4 strikeouts, and yet when the middle of the order comes around I'm relieved for a pitcher who is injured?!"

You'd think it wouldn't sit well.

Now, Yamazaki is the ace, an above-average throwing righty who can hit 140, with a slider and curve. The mechanics aren't there at times, leaving his ball up and away. Despite that, he doesn't walk many batters, but stamina may be an issue as shown when he was only pitching his 2nd complete game at Meiji Jingu (he pitched a CG then only 1.2 in the next game). Despite striking out 9, he cratered the final 2 innings, yielding 8 runs.

Nishimoto Taiki (西本 汰生) is a sidearmer who doesn't throw hard (mid-120s), though he did 3-hit Fukui Koudai Fukui in the prefectural final and limited Aomori Yamada to 3 runs in 7.1 IP.

While the pitching is necessary for a title run, they're also known for their powerful offense having scored less than 4 runs just twice in the fall. But the three to look at are leadoff hitter RF Uemura Motoki (植村 元紀) who sets the tone, returning player SS Hayashinaka Yuuki (林中 勇輝), and freshman CF Kaminakao Masaki (上中尾 真季).

If the pitching can hold up, and that's a big if, they have a good chance.

Tsuruga Kehi's dream of winning Haru-natsu still lives after going extras to defeat Meitoku Gijyuku. The trip doesn't get any easier as now they have to play the ever stingy Hanamaki Higashi. As usual you can't take their 4-2 result against Senshuudai Matsudo as a negative because it is well known that they play to the level of their opponent.

So you can expect to see them play up to the level of Tsuruga Kehi.

The question is, what level is Tsuruga Kehi at? Was that 4-3 win a good or a bad indicator of where the team is for their run this summer?

Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate)
SS Tarou Akira
C Fukushima Keito
LF Chida Kyouhei
2B Kumagai Sena
CF Sasaki Yuuya
1B Satou Yuito
RF Chiba Kouta (#11)
3B Kikuchi Shinya
P Katou Mitsunori (#17)

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
1B Kurisu Kazuma
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
RF Matsumoto Teppei (#7)
LF Kinoshita Shougo (#9)
C Kamon Yuusuke
2B Nakai Kidzuku

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15:55 - First pitch!

1st Inning
Early trouble for Hiranuma! Fukushima with a clean single through the left side. And Chida folows that up with a single to right! Fukushima makes it to 3rd so there's a big chance for Hanamaki Higashi early!

And now Hiranuma hits Kumagai! What is going on???

Sasaki with a fly to right. Fukushima tags up! Throw from Matsumoto.... ON A LINE!! Fukushima is out by a wide margin and Hanamaki Higashi is denied the run!

Not a strong start from designated starter Satou. After a lengthy AB, he walks Shinohara.

Kurisu lays down the bunt, but Kikuchi spikes the ball to 1st and Yuito can't handle it! All safe!

Hayashinaka to lay down the bunt again, but he pops it up! Yuito crashes, makes the catch, fires to 1st... double play! Bad break for Tsuruga Kehi.

Worse yet, with 1st open, they basically intentionally walk him. Yamamoto fouls out to Yuito and the inning is over.

Top 2nd
Chiba, getting the start today in RF, collects his first hit when he sinles to right. But Kikuchi and Katou are quickly dispatched thereafter so nothing here.

Bottom 2nd
It would seem that for quite a few of the batters theyare trying to drive up Katou's pitch count. Matsumoto and Kinoshita both go full counts before their ABs resolve.

Kinoshita's ends with a walk, but Kamon grounds into 4-6-3 double play to end inning.

Top 3rd
Fukushima gets things started with his 2nd single of the game, Chida isn't bunting with 1 down, but pops up to 2nd.

Kumagai with a drive to right! Matsumoto tries to make an over the shoulder catch, but he can't do it! It falls in and Fukushims scores from 1st! 1-0 Hanamaki Higashi!

Bottom 3rd
Meanwhile the offense for Tsuruga Kehi stalls as the 8-9-1 batters are quickly retired.

Top 4th
More pressure from Hanamaki Higashi.

Yuito leads off with a clean hit to left. Again, no bunt from Chiba but he watches a fastball hit the outside corner. for strike 3.

Kikuchi though follows that up with a single to right. But with Katou up, Sasaki-kantoku goes for the bunt instead to turn the lineup over. Which he does.

And intentionally or now, Tsuruga Kehi walks Tarou to setup the force. But that also brings up Fukushima who is 2-2 on the day.

Base hit! He's 3-3 as he singles to left! One run is in, they're waving around Kikuchi! Throw in... SAFE!! The C played behind home plate and that allowed Kikuchi to slide in safe! 3-0!

Chida with a ball to center, Yamamoto slides... and that falls in! Tarou comes around and there will be no throw home! 4-0!

Kumagai grounds into a fielder's choice, but it's clear Hiranuma isn't his spring self.

Bottom 4th
If I told you that one of these team won the spring Koushien, you'd probably guess Hanamaki Higashi and you'd be wrong.

And yet as Katou retires the 3-4-5 batters in just 7 pitches, he has a no-hitter going.

Top 5th
And even more amazing, Hiranuma is being relieved! #18 Yamazaki comes in to pitch as Hiranuma goes to left!!

Yet it is Yamazaki, and not Hiranuma that gets the first 1-2-3 inning for Tsuruga Kehi! He even strikes out 2 in the process!

Bottom 5th
Katou continues to dominate the Tsuruga Kehi batters.

Yamazaki goes down swinging chasing a forkball. Yamazaki chases the high fastball.

Kamon drives a ball to right! Will they get their first hit?

Yes! It falls in!! Kamon gets a double!!

Nakai grounder to short and AH!!! Tarou flubs the ball and everyone's safe!

Shinohara with a ball to dead center, Sasaki going back, going back....

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shinohara with a 3-run HR to center and we have a ballgame!! It's 4-3!

Kurisu now with a single to center! Can they really tie it up here?

Not right now! Hayashinaka tries to bloop it down the right field line but Chiba makes the sliding catch! But as we hit the break we have a ballgame!

Top 6th
Yamazaki doing well in relief striking out Kikuchi.  After that #12 Nonomura comes in to hit for Katou, so his day is done.

Nonomura for his part strikes out looking for the 2nd out.

Tarou grounds out to 3B, and it's Yamazaki's 2nd clean inning.

Bottom 6th
Ace Takahashi enters the game looking to shut Tsuruga Kehi down the rest of the way.

Hiranuma welcomes him with a base hit back up the middle.

Yamamoto lays down the bunt, Kikuchi throws to 1st.. SAFE!! Kikuchi double-clutches and that costs him the out!

AH! But Matsumoto grounds to short! Tarou starts the 6-4-3 double play and there's suddenly 2 down!

Now #15 Fujiwara comes to hit for Yamazaki?! He grounds out to 2nd, but wasn't Yamazaki keeping them in the game?

Top 7th
So Hiranuma returns to the mound and #17 Mori goes to play LF.

Perhaps the time off worked as he gets the first 2 batters. BUt Kumagai singles to center.

Then Sasaki hits a grounder to 1st, but it goes off of Kurisu as he dives and trickles into shallow right!

Yuito with a ball back up the middle!!  Kusagai comes around and he scores! 5-3 and Hanamaki Higashi looks to pull away again.

Bottom 7th
Kamon with his 2nd hit of the day, a single to right. Nakai bunts him over. Shinohara a chance to tie  it again, but instead it's a sky high popup.

Kurisu also pops it up, and now Tsuruga Kehi is really in trouble.

Top 8th
I'm starting to involuntarily doze off due to lack of sleep, but during that time Hanamaki Higashi puts 5 hits together, 4 consecutive starting with Fukushima (again), scoring 3 runs to make it 8-3 effectively ending this game.

Bottom 8th
Just to show where they're at, Hiranuma grounds to 2nd, but the throw gets away into foul territory.  When he sees this, he turns left, but then realizes he won't get to 2nd. Problem is, he overrun 1st by a wide margin... and thus is thrown out back at 1st.

9th Inning
Tsuruga Kehi makes one last stand in 9th, but despite 2 hits, the game ends and Hanamaki Higashi defeats the spring champs 8-3!

I'm really tied at this point, but it would appear that Hiranuma wasn't the same from the spring to the summer. The team struggled against Shizuoka, and then fell flat against an always game Tsuruga Kehi squad.

For as often as we've seen teams go haru-natsu recently, today proves that this feat is still difficult.

When Meitoku Gijyuku showed their draw, a gasp came upon the entire hall. That was because they had just drawn Tsuruga Kehi, the spring champions. Now, Kishi isn't part of that team, but a matchup such as this early on means one less team to worry about.

Hiranuma is back, though they almost weren't as Fukui Koudai Fukui pushed him to the limit, though they eventually won in 11. The offense wasn't as strong in that game either pushing through 4 runs. Doesn't mean that they can't pull off the haru-natsu renzoku yuushou, but perhaps there will be questions about how the long run might wear them down.

As for Meitoku Gijyuku, they also had a close final against Kochi - blowing a 5-run lead in the bottom of the 8th, and then somehow finding a way to rally in the 9th for a 7-6 win. I don't have the details about how Kochi came back in that game, but a big inning like that late in a championship raises a yellow flag of sorts.

Meitoku Gijyuku (Kochi)
LF Shichihyou Ryuuya
CF Sanada Kazuto
3B Shindou Ren
1B Furukawa Takuto
RF Sada Ryousuke
C Koga Yuudai
SS Takamura Kazuyuki
P Hida Toshiki
2B Fujimoto Hyouga

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
1B Kurisu Kazuma
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
RF Matsumoto Teppei (#7)
LF Kinoshita Shougo (#9)
C Kamon Yuusuke
2B Nakai Kidzuku

____________________________________________________________

10:30 - First pitch!

1st Inning
Shichihyou a chopper up the 3rd base line, takes a right turn and goes fair past Shinohara who can only watch. That was weird.

And now Hiranuma uncorks one after a bunt? Shichihyou at 3rd.

Shindou with a check swing, and the ball goes over Nakai for a single! In one of the strangest manners, Meitoku Gijyuku scores the first run.

Meanwhile, Hida off to a great start. Some slight issues defensively, but as easy as a 1-2-3 inning as you can get.

Bottom 2nd
Hiranuma trying to get that run back, singles to right to start the frame. After a sac bunt, Hida issues a 4-pitch walk, bringing up Kinoshita.

And now a dead ball? Mabuchi-kantoku quickly calls time.

Kamon hits a comebacker to Hida! Goes home for 1, Koga goes to 1st, and that is the easiest double play you'll ever see. Inning over!!

Top 3rd
This doesn't feel like the same Hiranuma. He's giving up solid base hits and issuing walks.

Such is the case here when Sanada singles to right, and then Shindou waits on a borderline pitch and gets the walk.

And now Furukawa with a single throught he right side and Sanada scores to make it 2-0.

Hiranuma leaves one up and Sada singles to left! Shindou comes around, and he scores! 3-0!

Bottom 4th
Hiranuma not hitting bombs, but at least getting on base. I'm sure Meitoku Gijyuku is fine with singles.

But Tsuruga Kehi can't seem to string them together. A single after a fielder's choice (that could have just as easily been a double play) still gives them a chance, but Kinoshita grounds out to end the inning.

Bottom 5th
Shinohara desperately gets something started, lines a 2-out double down the right field line.

Kurisu with a single to center, but Sanada fires home! The throw is on a line and is on target! Shinohara is meat at the plate!! We go to the break as the spring champs are denied!

Bottom 6th
Hayashinaka drive to left! Shichihyou gives up on it!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

That was a big one! Going off the outfield wall separating them from the ouen-dan!

Hiranuma with another single! Yoshimoto too! Oh.... Kehi is pissed off at the 5th inning.

That's it for Hida, Shichihyou comes in from LF to take the hill.

Matsumoto single to center! Hiranuma held at 3rd and Meitoku is at a big risk of losing this lead!

Kinoshita fly to left center, Hiranuma being sent home... SAFE! It's 3-2!

Shichihyou does manage to keep the 8/9 batters hitless, but what was ever more seemingly like a safe lead is not one anymore!

Bottom 7th
Hiranuma doing his part on the mound, has delivered his 4th straight clean inning to turn it back to his offense.

Shinohara leadoff single through the right side! After a bunt, Mabuchi-kantoku makes a P change?

Shichihyou goes back to LF and now Sada comes in from RF!

He gets Hayashinaka to ground to 1st! Shinohara has to hold at 3rd!

But it's the dangerous Hiranuma!

SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiranuma strikes out swinging on a slider away and the side is retired!!

Bottom 8th
Yamamoto with a drive to deep right center! That's off the eall, and he's in with a triple!

Matsumoto a blooper to left, Sonoda charging in, charging in... Can't get there! Yamamoto comes in and we're all tied at 3-3!

Mori to hit for Kinoshita, can't lay down the bunt.

Liner to 2nd! And Matsumoto is doubled off 1st! 2 out!

But now Kamon an Nakai's bats come to life! They each get a single and more importantly turn the lineup over!

SANSHIN!!!!!!!!

Sada strikes out Shinohara swinging and the inning is over! But the game is tied and all the momentum is with the champs!

Top 9th
Furukawa with a leadoff single! He's quickly bunted over.

Koga chopper to the right side, Shinohara flubs the ball! Everyone's safe! Can Meitoku really rebound?

NO!

Takamura grounds right to Shinohara already standing on the bag, throw to 1st... double play!

Bottom 9th
Kurisu screaming liner to center! Sanada charging, makes another fine play! Hayashinaka down on 3 sraight, bringing up Hiranuma.

Sada not intimidated goes after him and gets ahead in the count!

Hiranuma hits it to 2nd! Fujimoto to 1st. and we're headed to enchousen!

Top 10th
The bats for Meitoku slowly waking up again. Shichihyou gets a 2-out single, but that's all.

Bottom 10th
Matsumoto doing even better this game as he gets on base for the 5th time with one down, and the 2nd via a walk. I'm not sure Sada wanted anything to do with him. And yet he went after Hiranuma.

Mabuchi-kantoku calls for time after Mori bunts the runner over.

Wild pitch from Sada!! Matsumoto advances to 3rd!!

And with the account already at 2-0, they go ad walk Kamon to bring up last batter Nakai.

And they end up walking him too! It creates a force, but it also turns the lineup over!

Shinohara puts the final dagger in with a clean single back up the middle! Tsuruga Kehi comes back to win 4-3 in 10 innings!

That was a shame really. Meitoku played a great game and seemed to have the tiger caged up. But once they let even a small crack upen, Tsuruga Kehi blew right through it. They almost put them back in the cage in the 9th, but it was not to be.

And you can only play with fire so many times. Getting that 3rd out before the lineup turned over was imperative, and they didn't do it, and it cost them the game.

Tsuruga Kehi has to be counting their blessings they came back here. Hiranuma shut it down after a shaky start, and certainly it'll get slightly easier, but they also have work to do.

WHOO HOO!!!

I am so happy we have this final! I was expecting the exact reverse, but for one day, the 高校野球 gods decided that the small team (sort of) has their day.

Now given, both of these schools are private, and Tsuruga Kehi has been a strong team as of late. But they're not Osaka Touin, they're not Yokohama, they're not a major metropolitan team. We have a school from the Hokushinetsu region that hasn't won since...

OH GOD.

The last time a Hokushinetsu school won either Koushien was Gifu Shougyou (Now Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou).

IN 1936.

They won the 1935 Natsu Koushien, then the 1936 Haru Koushien.

And as for Hokkaido?

The only team to ever win (in either Koushien) was Komadai Tomakomai back in 2004-5, and oddly Tanaka Masahiro's team in 2006 was the team to lose the final. As mentioned yesterday, the closest a Hokkaido team has to winning was Hokkai back in 1963 when they reached the final and lost to Shimonoseki Shougyou (Yamaguchi).

Man, a Chuugoku and a Hokkaido team in the final? Those days are long gone.

But now we have a Hokushinetsu team and a Hokkaido team. YAY!

Tsuruga Kehi has hit their stride at the right time. Their first 3 games had a combined winning margin of 5 runs, and 3 of those runs was against Naradai Fuzoku. The other two were against the Tohoku champs Sendai Ikuei and the Tokai champs Shizuoka.

And then against Osaka Touin?? 2 innings and 2 grand slams later, and the game was OVER.

And if they defeat Toukai Dai-yon, that will be 3 super-regional champs defeated. It's like the Meiji Jingu tournament all over again. Except this time Hiranuma is not hurt, and looks to be stronger than ever.

Toukai Dai-yon has had the cinderella run. They have reached the final scoring no more than 3 runs in any game. They were on the verge of losing against Matsuyama Higashi in the 2nd round. They shutout Kendai Takasaki. They limited Urawa Gakuin to just 1 run.

And now they're here in the finals! Albeit an hour late due to the rain. Crowds have stayed away sadly, and so the atmosphere won't be as strong for a final as it could be.

Toukai Dai-yon (Hokkaido)
SS Tomita Yuuki
2B Kanemura Kousei
RF Yamamoto Kouhei
C Ogawa Kouhei
1B Sou Kangi (#7)
LF Shiota Gen (#13)
P Oosawa Shiiya
3B Tachibana Susumu
CF Watase Taiki

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
2B Nakai Kidzuku
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
RF Matsumoto Teppei (#17)
1B Ueda Ryouya
C Kamon Yuusuke
LF Kinoshita Shougo (#9)

__________________________________________________

13:30 - First Pitch!

1st Inning
Grounder to 2nd and Nakai can't quite get his footwork down and can't field the ball! Official scorers give a single.

Sac bunt. KAMON throws it away! All safe and Tomita goes to 3rd. Toukai Dai-yon with a big chance!

Kanemura steals 2nd without a throw!!

Oowaki-kantoku not doing the squeeze, and Yamamoto strikes out.

Ogawa not making the same mistake, hits a fly to right. Tomita tagging up, relay throw on a rope... Just safe! Toukai Dai-yon take advantage of the unforced errors and lead 1-0!

Sou gets hit! That's not like Hiranuma at all.

Hiranuma finally gets out of the first striking out Shiota on a slider. Could've been worse, but still not the way you want to start.

Shinohara ready to start the counterstrike as he singles past Kanemura into center. Nakai showing bunt, but gets ahead 2-0. Does actually attempt to lay it down, but rolls it foul towards the 1st base batter's circle.

Lots of attention to Shinohara, but Oosawa is behind Nakai 3-1. The bunt is still laid down.

Huh, Oosawa hits Hiranuma on his right knee. The American cynic side of me wonders about that.

Intentional or not, Yamamoto with a single through the right side! Shinohara will score and we're back on even terms! 1-1!

Azuma-kantoku trying to start his running game, but Yamamoto is thrown out easily. Side retired, but level game!

2nd Inning
Toukai throwing punches! Oosawa with a poke into center for a base hit.

Tachibana flubs the bunt! Hiranuma with a great sliding catch, and Oosawa is a dead duck! 2 down!

Another HBP from Hiranuma? Did that really hit Watase?

Oowaki has nothing to lose with the top of the lineup, so he sends Watase! Throw is in, no call, Watase losing his balance... OUT!

I think he may have been safe, but was waiting to Watase to steady himself. When his foot came off the bag, out he went.

Oosawa the first ace to have a clean inning. Ueda and Kamon both try to hit the deep ball, but fly out to left.

3rd Inning
There are a lot of HBP this game! After 2 quick outs, Hiranuma hits Yamamoto! That's 4 HBP, 2 apiece!

Oowaki-kantoku tries the hit and and run, but Ogawa strikes out.

Kinoshita hangs in there, and from a 1-2 count draws a walk! No bunting from Shinohara, but he swings on the first pitch and pops it up! He fouls out for the 1st out, and now Nakai is squaring to bunt.

He's in trouble though as he falls behind 0-2, and pops out.

More trouble for Oosawa as he walks Nakai! Now Hiranuma gets to the on-deck circle!

SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oosawa is able to paint the outside corner and strike out Hayashinaka! 2 out, but Hiranuma gets to bat.

Grounder to 2nd! Kanemura boots it! Hurries, throws, in plenty of time. 3 out.

4th Inning
Toukai batters making Hiranuma work. First 3 batters go at least 7 pitches deep. Oosawa doesn't get a single, but does get a 2-out walk.

Unfortunately that's all they get.

Yamamoto (Kouta) with a blooper to left! Kouta sees the fielders ease up and breaks for 2nd! Throw is high and late! Oh dear!

Mastumoto bunt, and Oosawa spins to throw to 3rd! Its wide and all safe!

Comebacker by Ueda! Oosawa has it! Goes to 3rd again!!

SAFE AGAIN!!!!

As if to compound the error he tries again thinking he has Kouta hung! Manrui!

Oosawa needs time, badly.

First pitch hits Kamon! But no dead ball as he didn't try to move away.

SANSHIN! Kamon can only hold his breath as that curve supposedly hits the bottom of the zone. One down, and a long way to go.

SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He throws out the curve again and Kinoshita is over and in front of it! Foul tips it into Ogawa's glove and there's 2 outs! Can he do it?

Count goes to 1-2 on Shinohara!

Not biting on the curve this time.

Grounder to short! Tomita goes to 3rd!!

OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's done it! Oosawa gets out of a manrui, no out jam!!!! ありえない！！！

5th Inning
Pressure's on now. Toukai Dai-yon playing for 1 run as after a Tomita single, Oowaki-kantoku calls for a bunt. Yamamoto strikes out meekly though, so nothing doing.

The game seems to be heading to a stalemate status where both teams struggle to gain traction. Oosawa almost has a 1-2-3 inning before the break, but Kanemura boots a ball on a Hiranuma grounder and the inning continues.

Now Hiranuma goes to take 2nd! Throw from Ogawa not in time!

But Yamamoto hits a comebacker to Oosawa and he goes to 1st for the 3rd out. Oosawa holds serve and we hit the break in a tie at 1. Both pitchers have settled down since the 1st and have been able to keep putting up bagels. Who will break first?

6th Inning
First pitch from Hiranuma is a single past Nakai to right! Sac bunt follows of course.

Shiota hit by Hiranuma! That's his 4th!

And Oosawa takes 2nd without a throw! The Tsuruga Kehi continues to be concerned about the double steal.

No matter as Tachibana foul tips into Kamon's glove and Toukai Dai-yon strands 2 more runners in scoring position!

Tsuruga Kehi is desperate to get runners. So much so that Ueda tries a bunt for a base hit, but is out by a good margin. Oosawa just needs 4 pitches to get his 3 outs! That's not good at all.

7th Inning
Watase blooper to center... Nakai chasing it as others converge, but it falls into the triangle!

Tomita bunting. NOT BUNTING!

It's a buster swing and he puts it right through the middle for a base hit! Big chance in the lucky 7!

Now they bunt, and that passes. 2 chances to get the runner in.

Yamamoto gets jammed! Nakai coming in, can't make the catch, but it's so hard to tell the runners have to stay! 4-3 and there's 2 outs.

Hiranuma's out of the jam! Ogawa grounds out to 3rd and 2 more runners are stranded! How is this going to affect the morale of the Hokkaido champs?

Kinoshita wth a leadoff walk! Azuma-kantoku going for it as #15 Kurisu is sent in to run.

SANSHIN!

Shinohara chases the high fastball! 1 down.

Nakai grounder to 2nd moves the runner to 3rd.

But Hayashinaka swings on the first pitch and it's a can of corn! Kouhei is there for the 3rd out!

8th Inning
#7 Mori comes in to play RF, Matsumoto shifts to LF

Sou with a fly to right center, Kouta over to get it.

IT FALLS IN! He had me fooled! And maybe that was the point!

But the ball bounces away from Kouta and that allows Sou to reach 2nd!

Bunt and Hiranuma goes to 3rd! It's in time. NO!

The slide knocks out the ball and he's safe! Shinohara pleads his case, but to no avail! And in the meantime Shiota takes 2nd!

SQUEEZE!!!!!!!!!!

But it's a pitchout! No chance from Oosawa to make contact and Kehi's done their homework from yesterday! Shiota is rundown and there 1 out!

Toukai Dai-yon tried to go to the well twice, but got burned! And now Oosawa is rung up on an inside fastball! 2 down!

Hot grounder to the right side! Ueda smothers it! Goes to 1st and there's 3 out!

They take the bat away from Oosawa and it backfires! We're still tied and all the momentum is with Tsuruga Kehi!

Hiranuma with a walk. Another sac bunt.

NO WAY!!

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Matsumoto with a deep drive to left! Shiota giving chase!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MATSUMOTO'S DONE IT AGAIN!!!

2-run HR gives his team the definitive 3-1 lead!!

I'm not sure there has been one person offensively that has done more for their team than Matsumoto.

The side is retired, but that's doesn't matter! Tsuruga Kehi is just 3 outs away from the Senbatsu title!

9th Inning
Not going away yet! Watase with a single through the right side!

BUT A BUNT? YOU NEED 2 RUNS!

It's successful, but why??

#17 Sakemoto to hit for Kanemura.

SANSHIN!!!!!!!!

No chances for the pinch hitter! He goes down swinging!

And that's it! Yamamoto hits one back to Hiranuma! Goes to 1st and they've done it! Tsuruga Kehi has won the Senbatsu title 3-1 over Toukai Dai-yon!!

I need a moment. Be back after ending ceremonies.

Ok, there's time beforehand.

First off, I want to tip my hat to the losers Toukai Dai-yon. You do not know how hard it is for a team from Hokkaido to be competitive. In a scene where teams practice almost all year round, teams in Hokkaido have to deal with snow. That doesn't make for ideal conditions. Yes, they're just as rural as other prefectures, but Hokkaido is it's own place, much like Okinawa, but without the success.

I still do not know how they did it, for 7 innings they held one of the most dangerous teams to just 1 run. Hiranuma didn't even have a base hit. Sadly it can take just one pitch to decide a game. And that 1 pitch went to the man of the past 2 days. The man that was even more dangerous than Hiranuma, Matsumoto Teppei.

And so Hokkaido is denied again. But congratulations to the team that helped get their prefecture there for the first time in 50+ years. You were truly worthy of reaching the game, now matter how you managed to do it.

Tsuruga Kehi has been well deserving of winning the title. Hiranuma is an ace in his own regard, but this time around he has his teammate to thank.

Funny thing is, I wonder if he was in the doghouse. After going 3-4 and a HR short of the cycle against Naradai Fuzoku, he went 0-3 against Sendai Ikuei and was benched against Shizuoka only coming in as a defensive replacement. Though that may have had to do more with the handedness of the pitcher more than anything else.

And then there's the Osaka Touin game. Oh dear lord the Osaka Touin game.

3-4, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs and a broken Osaka Touin ace.

And in the final, just one hit.

One, 2-run homerun that gives his team the title. I'm not sure one person not on the mound has had a better 2 days than him.

The ending ceremonies are going on, and when the captain Miyazaki picks up the runner-up banner for Toukai Dai-yon, you can tell he's holding back. And you can tell that the rest of them are holding back too. One of them can't and is already crying. Chances are, they won't get another chance like this again and that this has slipped them by. If you're Osaka Touin, you can say we'll get back in the summer and revenge our failures. Toukai Dai-yon may be able to say that they can get back, but cannot say with any certainty that they will be able to revenge this loss.

That's why this final restored my faith in 高校野球 if even for a little bit.  Two schools from regions who have not had total victory got a chance to do so. While it's unrealistic to think that every school out there who plays has an equal chance every year, I always hope that those schools that get here have some modicum of success.

But as this year has shown, there is a gap between schools, between regions. And I have no illusions that that gap will probably not get any narrower anytime soon. And that's why I generally root again the major schools who time and again compete for the title. It's why I loved the Maebashi Ikuei - Nobeoka Gakuen final 2 years ago. And it's why I was happy to see this final.

So the books are closed until the summer where 47 schools will battle it out for the big prize, the Natsu Koushien title. No doubt we'll see some of those teams here again. But for all it'll be a long road back.

If you're wondering where Day 10 went, I'm counting the rest day as a day. Seeing a day 9 and 10 makes me think that there's no break, then I have to realize they're talking about actual game days.

Anyways, we are one day away from finding out who our spring champion is for 2015. I have to wonder if that may already have been decided.

Think about this. Over the last 3 calendar years, Osaka Touin has been to Koushien 5 times, the only time they didn't make it was senbatsu last year.

Of those 5 appearances, they have won it all 3 times.

And the times they did not win?

• 2013 Summer - They lost in the 3rd round to Meitoku Gijyuku (Kishi Jyunichirou, now at Takushoku Daigaku)
• 2013 Spring - They lost in the 3rd round to Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Fujita Ryuuji, now at Rikkyou Daigaku)

That's just mindboggling. You want to talk about a dominant program? This is Exhibit A.

I already had mentioned before the tournament started that I found it surprising with Tanaka's peripherals that Osaka Touin hadn't gone farther in the Kinki Super-Regionals. What I think we should have learned from before is that none of those titles matter - well, it doesn't matter if you are really looking at the main prize of winning senbatsu. Same thing goes for the Meiji Jingu tournament. Seriously, if you were the Kinki representative and if you winning the Meiji Jingu tournament would somehow allow Osaka Touin in, would you actually try to win?

Either way, they're here, and they're 2 games away from winning it (again).

Of course, that close game proved that they were vulnerable, unlike other times. The offense is not as explosive as usual, but can still give pop, which counts for something. Tanaka isn't a full-blown ace, but he's not average either.

Tsuruga Kehi is still a question mark. Outside of the first game, which was about as dominant a 3-0 game could be, they have squeaked by their opposition. Their offense is uneven and even small-ball based outside of Hiranuma, which puts a lot of pressure on Hiranuma to keep the score low. Now, chances are that freaky 5th inning versus Shizuoka probably won't happen since some of it I figure was weather-based. But, when facing Sendai Ikuei, he started showing signs of breaking down. Osaka Touin will no doubt push him to his limit.

Grudgingly, I still favor Osaka Touin. I hope my same friend is right in that Tsuruga Kehi will win this game, but I have my doubts.

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
2B Nakai Kidzuku
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
RF Matsumoto Teppei (#17)
1B Ueda Ryouya
C Kamon Yuusuke
LF Kinoshita Shougo (#9)

Osaka Touin (Osaka)
3B Nakayama Yuuto
2B Nagahiro Tomoki
RF Fujii Kenpei
CF Aoyagi Kouki
C Taniguchi Kazuki
SS Fukuda Kouki
1B Yoshizawa Kazuto (#12)
LF Harada Tomoki (#3)
P Tanaka Seiya

__________________________________________________

11:03 - First Pitch!

1st Inning
Shinohara really holding firm at the plate, taking a close pitch to get the count full. And is rewarded with a base hit through the right side. Naturally, Tsuruga Kehi goes with the bunt.

They're really going with the patience game here. Teams do not seem to be doing that a lot, so it's a surprise Azuma-kantoku has done it here. But it's working as Hayashinaka draws a walk.

Hiranuma also goes to the max on Tanaka.  But Tanaka wins on a high fastball! 2 down.

That leaves it to Yamamoto. And they are as patient as, aw... I wrote myself into a corner. Anyways, he again is not trigger happy and he draws a walk! The bases are loaded!!

Matsumoto playing the same game, but Tanaka gets ahead for the first time 1-2, then throws a pitch way up and in to waste it.

うそ!うそだろう?!!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoo hoo!!!!  Did that just happen? Matsumoto drives a pitch to left and while the outfielders run back, they know it's gone! It's 4-0 Tsuruga Kehi!!

There's the 3rd out, but man that is a great start for the Hokushinetsu champs!

Meanwhile Hiranuma sits down the Osaka Touin order. Gets some help from Kinoshita who makes a catch right at the 3rd base fence.

2nd Inning
What the heck? Tanaka is still getting rocked! Back to back gappers score another run and it's 5-0!

Osaka Touin getting something back as a grounder to short from Nakai gets the runner out at 3rd. Heads up play by Fukuda.

Hayashinaka with a ball the other way slicing down the line fair! And it gets by Fujii! Nakai scores and it's 6-0!

Tsuruga Kehi still making Tanaka pitch. Another walk. Another walk.  Manrui?!!

NO. NO F****IN WAY!!!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE DID IT AGAIN!! MATSUMOTO DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!

HE HIT HIS 2ND MANRUI HOME RUN!!

It's 10-0 Tsuruga Kehi and Tanaka is finally pulled. #11 Takayama comes in to take over and gets the last out.

Now, you may think I'm happy Osaka Touin is getting hammered. I am. But I'm not necessarily happy in the sense that the camera focuses on Tanaka and while he's getting instruction, he's holding back tears. You know he's going to be strong because 高校野球, but even I know at the end these are still kids. You can't tell me that that won't affect him. It could break him and we may not see him in the summer. He could work harder and get even stronger than before. But this is a moment for him and I do honestly feel sorry for him.

When I root against a school I root against the uniform, never the player.

Nothing going right for Osaka Touin. They get their first hit, then go down as Fukuda lines into a 3 unassisted double play.

3rd Inning
Tsuruga Kehi still getting base hits, but it's singles, not doubles and HRs. Takayama though gets out with no damage.

I'd remove Hiranuma, but this is still Osaka Touin, and Harada just hit a 1-out triple to deep left.

Hiranuma though can pitch aggressively and retires Takayama and Nakayama to strand the runner.

4th Inning
There will be no 3 consecutive manrui HRs as Matsumoto comes in with just a runner on 2nd.

Takayama finally sits him down catching him looking on a fastball just on the outside edge.

About the only thing of note as Ueda flies out is that he's the only one without a hit (0-3), while Yamamoto doesn't have an official AB (0-0, 2 BB, Sac bunt)

Huh, CF Yamamoto loses a fly ball to center and Nagahiro has a leadoff double. But three fly balls later, and the side is retired. Yamamoto does find the ball this time around for the 3rd out.

5th Inning
I've never seen Osaka Touin as cooked as they are now. Nakayama makes not 1, but 2 errors helping load the bases. With Hiranuma out, Takayama gets him to fly out to left. Thankfully for all sides, not another manrui HR.

Side retired in order for Osaka Touin. We're at the break and there's really little to say. The rest of the game may take just a couple of paragraphs.

6th Inning+
Players are being subbed in periodically by both teams. Nishitani-kantoku is giving his bench pitchers #11 Takayama an inning then passing it on to #10 Matsui.

Matsui unfortunately hits Nakai on the head. We have had more pitches hit off of players heads this year than I can remember in all the years past.

Nakayama almost has a 3rd error when his throw short hops Harada, but he stays with it and recatches the ball just in time for the 3rd out in the 7th.

Tsuruga Kehi doing situational play. Some sac bunts, and even a squeeze bunt in the 8th that scores 1. 11-0. But while it is validly pointed out that this is a non-leverage situation it's still practice.

Though by the 8th Hiranuma needs to go to a different position at least. He doesn't need to throw any more this game - even if he's at 90 starting the 8th.

But in true 高校野球 form, he finishes the game. Out of defiance maybe Fukuda give the ball one final drive, but perhaps the hamakaze knocks it down and Mori has it for the final out.

There really wasn't much to say after the first 2 innings. Tsuruga Kehi made Tanaka throw strikes, and when he did he was hit hard. When does a batter have 2 consecutive manrui HRs in a game. When does a a player get 2 manrui HRs in a Koushien??

Tsuruga Kehi, who had appeared to struggle on offense, just methodically dismantled the #1 team over the last 3 years.

And like I mentioned before, Tanaka finally lets the tears come out after the game. How can you not after giving up 10 runs in less than 2 innings of work? Was it wrong of Nishitani-kantoku to leave him in? Prolly not in Japanese terms. Being relieved like that after the work he's done would lose face.

But this is pretty bad.

No doubt though we'll see them back at Koushien, and Nishitani-kantoku will have them ready. Just hope Tanaka will be ok.

Tsuruga Kehi now has to be the front-runner to win after this game. They executed a strategy that I advocate to no end, but never see. Making a pitcher hang themselves. And it worked.

Please do it more often, underdog teams in 高校野球. It works.

And now to our 2nd quarterfinal. one of the main dangers in the field is still alive in Tsuruga Kehi. Hiranuma had supposedly been injured in the fall, and I had questions coming into Koushien, but he allayed them first up. Their last game though brought back some other concens.

Mainly, is his stamina at 100%? He started cracking late against the Meiji Jingu champs, though once you're facing a lineup for the 3rd or 4th time, the batter might start having the advantage in the matchup. So perhaps it's that, but seeing Sendai Ikuei with chances late is concerning, and he's only got 1 full day's rest.

The question for Shizuoka is can Muraki continue to walk the tightrope. He gave up 14 hits to Kisaradzu Sougou, but just 2 runs. I can't see that happening today and getting a win.

Shizuoka (Shizuoka)
RF Suzuki Shouhei
2B Ooshi Tomoki
CF Uchiyama Shun
C Horiuchi Kengo
SS Yasumoto Ryuuji
1B Hirano Hidemaru
LF Hirose Shun
P Muraki Fumiya
3B Sanpei Shinya (#13)

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
2B Nakai Kidzuku
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
LF Kinoshita Shougo (#9)
1B Ueda Ryouya
C Kamon Yuusuke
RF Mori Shigeki (#7)

__________________________________________________

11:15 - First Pitch!

1st Inning
Hiranuma with a uncharacteristic walk to start the game. But that gets wiped out by a 5-4-3 double play. A popout later and it's perhaps business as usual.

Shinohara grounder to short and Yasumoto flubs on the ball. E6 to start the game.

As usual, a bunt, but then there's 2 out for Hiranuma.

And there you go.

Hiranuma with a rare drive to right for a 2-run HR and Tsuruga Kehi quickly leads 2-0.

2nd Inning
Well, whatever ailed Hiranuma in the 1st is gone. Tack on 2 Ks in a clean inning,

More errors from Shizuoka. Sanpei makes a great diving stop then throws the ball pretty much into the stands. Sac bunt and then a base hit from Kamon makes it 3-0.

And I have no idea what Muraki was thinking trying to let a ball roll foul when it's been raining. It of course stops in fair territory.

Single loads the bases, but somehow Muraki strikes out Nakai and Muranaka to get out without further damage.

3rd Inning
Hiranuma still having some control issues, but I think this is more due to the rain than fatigue as he's not leaving anything dead center.

That and nothing's leaving the infield. At this point I'll assume he's on cruise control until I see otherwise.

Pitching change already as #10 Muramatsu comes in for Muraki.

Gets a dribbler from Hiranuma (that's a win), and then strikes out Yamamoto. Not a bad start.

But now here the gapper from Kinoshita to right center. The good feeling might be over.

Ueda with a similar ball to left. Hirose running, sliding, and makes the catch. That's a save if they ever needed one.

4th Inning
Suzuki gets the first hit for Shizuoka, but after a sac bunt, nothing doing.

For Tsuruga Keh. switching to the southpaw muramatsu seems to have muted their offense. Kamon gets his 2nd hit, but they too can't do anything after a sac bunt.

5th Inning
Horiuchi with a single through the left side. And now another walk.

Hirano with a buntto the right side and there's miscomunication. Ueda and Hiranuma bump into each other and there's no play. Manrui with no down!

But Hirose's attempt at a sac fly fails as it's too short.

And so Kuribayashi-kantoku goes for a squeeze?! It somehow works and it's 3-1, but there's 2 outs.

Hiranuma strikes out Sanpei to end the inning.

No, wait. There's an appeal and it was a foul instead of just a swing? So they call him back.

And now he hits a ball to center. Yamamoto going back, and it's off his glove and falls in! So somehow a strikeout that wasn't leads to a tie game?! 3-3.

Tsuruga Kehi gets retired in order and suddenly we're back to where we started. Yikes if you're for Tsuruga Kehi.

Break
But now the rain is coming down harder and the teams will have to wait it out as the groundscrew try to put some type of diamond dry on the field. I think we're in a delay.

6th Inning
After about 30 minutes or so, the teams retake the field. After about an inning, my ultaportable laptop decided to not be frozen anymore.

But the inning was uneventful anyways. Any momentum Shizuoka had had disappeared so I think it's just like a 4 inning,(well, now 3) sprint to the finish.

7th Inning
Yasumoto with a ball to left center. Yamamoto tries to make a sliding catch, but can't make it and Shizuoka has a double. The usual sac bunt moved him to 3rd.

And the squeeze bunt fails, and the runner is out. And soon enough the inning is over.

The squeeze bunt still lives in 高校野球. Maybe not as much, but it's still there.

Shinohara with a one out soft single to center. At this point, Tsuruga Kehi will take anything.

Boy, they are really pressing. A failed bunt and then a caught stealing? If you weren't convinced their offense perhaps wasn't as good as you thought, this might cement it.

8th Inning
Leadoff walk for Muramatsu. This was about the time Hiranuma became hittable - though that was Sendai Ikuei.

He gets a break when Sanpei hits it back to him for a 1-6-3 double play. Toss in a K, and Shizuoka's chance is gone.

Hayashinaka with a base hit, and Hiranuma bunts. That basehit might have been the best thing to happen to Shizuoka.

Tomoki saves a run as he climbs the ladder and high points Yamamoto's liner! That would have easily scored 1.

Kuribayashi-kantoku calls for time.

Looks like the message was, if you fall behind, 1st base is open. And indeed there is a walk.

Ueda pops out! He's left hitless as Tomoki makes the catch to end the inning!

9th Inning
Shizuoka is back to being ineffective against Hiranuma. Not that  when they were scoring the runs on solid hits anyways.

Uh oh, Muramatsu walks Mori with 1 down. Will they bunt?

Nope! First pitch flyout to right and we're about to head to enchousen!

I think though that Muramatus wants to make it interesting. 3-0 to Nakai becomes 3-2... and now a walk.

Kuribayashi-kantoku calls for time.

Oh, that sucks. Muramatsu misses on one pitch and Hayashinaka drives it to right. The infield is in, and that will fall in for a sayonara hit. Tsuruga Kehi wins at the death 4-3.

Well, I suppose it was going to suck at this point no matter when Shizuoka lost, but just 1 out from enchousen and things just fall apart.

But from the last couple of innings you had the feeling that while both teams were pressing, Tsuruga Kehi was having better success. And so I guess the ending could have been expected.

Muramatsu really did his best after being pressed into service early. I think he perhaps was reaching his limit, especially facing a team like Tsuruga Kehi. They were fortunate in scoring the runs they did because otherwise the offense struggled - as one would expect. I'm not sure if the break did benefit Hiranuma or not because he certainly didn't give in near the end.

But the offensive woes continue. It was a slog after Hiranuma's early HR, and it's like the rest of the team plays like a rural qualifer. That just won't do, and facing Osaka Touin next means that Hiranuma will be pressed hard to keep the score low.

And now the main feature of today, the Meiji Jingu champs Sendai Ikuei against one of the scarier pitchers in baseball, Hiranuma Shouta of Tsuruga Kehi. Let's sit back and enjoy this shall we?

Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi)
3B Satou Shouta
CF Aoki Reima
SS Hirasawa Taiga
C Gunji Yuuya
1B Sasaki Ryousuke
LF Kii Kaishuu
RF Sasaki Tooya
2B Yatsu Koudai
P Satou Sena

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
2B Nakai Kidzuku
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
LF Matsumoto Teppei (#17)
1B Ueda Ryouya
C Kamon Yuusuke
RF Mori Shigeki (#7)

__________________________________________________

11:55 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Well, that's a way to start. Hiranuma's sweeping slider makes Shouta fan the opposing dugout he swung so hard.

Aoki early on a slider outside and grounds out to short.

Hirasawa fighting valiantly at the plate fouling off several offerings, but grounding to 2nd in the end.

Bottom 1st
Sena, wanting to show there's 2 sided to this battle, pulls out his forkball and strikes out Shinohara.

Not so fortunate with Nakai as he connects on a high fastball and drives it to deep right center for a double!

Hayashinaka gets a fastball down the middle, but pulls it to Shouta. Looks back the runner, goes to 1st, but the throw is offline! Ryousuke makes the swipe tag though for the out.

Topping it off he goes 3 straight forkballs on Hiranuma and the side is retired!

Top 2nd
Gunji attacks the first pitch from Hiranuma and drives it to deep left center. However, he's just under it and Matsumoto runs it down for the out.

Then against the left Ryousuke, he goes inside with the slider, and ties him up for his 2nd K.

Kii flies out to right and 2 clean innings so far.

Bottom 2nd
Yamamoto hot shot up the middle, but Sena picks it out of the air and makes the play at 1st.

Matsumoto becones the 3rd victim to the forkball.

Ueda gets a great pitch down the middle, but doesn't hit it square. Tooya is there to end the inning.

Top 3rd
Hiranuma cruising along, gets a foul fly and yet another K. Sena grounds to short and should be the end of the inning, but Hayashinaka boots the ball! E6 and Sendai Ikuei has their first runner.

Doesn't last long though. Shouta flies out to center and the inning is over.

Bottom 3rd
One down for Mori and he hits a ball into the gap on the left side. Hirasawa runs it down, tumbles, and throws it anyways?! It's way offline, and to no one at all! That allows Mori to take 2nd. That was so not necessary.

With 1st open, I think Sena unintentionally intentionally walks Shinohara to create the force.

Sena tells them, he doesn't need it! He strikes out Nakai on a forkball, and Hayashinaka?

Yep, you guessed it! Another forkball and the side is retired!

Top 4th
Aoki with a roller up the 1st base line, Ueda there, but the ball bounces off the bag and away from Ueda! He should have moved up to the base to wait for it.

One down and Gunji hits a ball back up the middle. Hayashinaka with it, but he gets himself twisted around! He manages to toss to 2nd for the out.

Perhaps out of precaution, Azuma-kantoku switches the keystone positions.

Hiranuma gives his men a rest as he strikes out Ryousuke to retire the side.

Bottom 4th
Hiranuma for some reason can't hit Sena so far. Even when he leaves the forkball high he ends up being fooled and pulling it to 2nd.

But then he issues his 2nd walk to Yamamoto.

Azuma-kantoku needing runs sends Yamamoto! Throw from Gunji not in time!

Satou goes to his forkball and gets Matsumoto to ground to 3rd, and then Ueda makess contact, but it's just a grounder to short to end the inning! Sena's out of the inning, but he's leaving some of his pitches up.

Top 5th
Hiranuma doing everything possible to shut down the Sendai Ikuei offense. 8 pitches and the side is retired without hitting a ball into the outfield.

Bottom 5th
Kamon on the board with a liner to center! He's bunted to 2nd by Mori.

With the same situation as the 3rd, he walks Shinohara.

Nakai sharp grounder to 1st! Ryousuke tags the bag, throws to 2nd... but it's not in time!

Hayashinaka up to try and bring the 2 runners in.

Swings on a high fastball! Goes to right, and that will fall in! Kamon scores! Shinohara waved around, throw home... not in time! Hayashinaka breaks the deadlock and gives Tsuruga Kehi the 2-0 lead!

Hiranuma connects on a forkball and drives it to center! He's under it though and Aoki makes the catch. Sena's done well, but now his offense will have to come through as Hayashinaka gives his team the lead before the break!

Top 6th
But Sendai Ikuei needs runners first, and they can't even get that. Sena goes down on a slider for Hiranuma's 5th K. And neither Shouta or Aoki get the ball out of the infield either (only 3 balls have).

Yikes.

Bottom 6th
One down and a questionable dead ball is called. Replay shows the ball went clean through.

Ueda lines one to left and Kii is just there to make the catch.

But the dead ball costs Sena pitches as Kamon battles for 10 pitches before finally grounding out to short.

Top 7th
Lucky 7 for Sendai Ikuei and they need a lot of help.

Hirasawa blows the fastball inside on Hiranaka and he can't get around on it. Gunji grounds to 1st and there's quickly 2 outs.

Ryousuke with a ball to left, Matsumoto going back, and he's twisted around! The ball falls in and he's in with a double! Sasaki-kantoku then elects to send in #15 Seto to run for him.

No surprise why as they go for a hit and run! But Kii fouls it off.

And again! But this time it's inside! Kamon goes to 3rd and Seto is out by a wide margin! Inning over!

Bottom 7th
Seto stays in the game to play 1B.

One down and Shinohara, who finally gets to swing the bat, gets a single to left.

Nakai with a liner to center, but Aoki is in the right place to field it.

Azuma-kantoku sends Shinohara to 2nd! Throw from Gunji is not in time! But Hayashinaka grounds to short and the inning is over!

Top 8th
Kii ball down the left field line.. fair!! Kii slides in with a double! He's replaced by #10 Domeki, and #11 Tateyama hits for Tooya.

But he flies out to right.

Oh! Hiranuma hits Yatsu! Do they have a chance? Sena up to help his cause.

Hiranuma shuts the door there with a K.

Shouta with a chopper over Hiranuma! Nakai there, goes to 1st... OUT!  3 out and Sendai Ikuei will be down to their final 3 outs!

Bottom 8th
#17 Saida comes in for Domeki to play RF, #16 Yamamoto comes in for Tateyama to play RF.

Sena retires the side in order with little trouble, leaving it to his offense one last time.

Top 9th
3 outs from victory for Hiranuma.

SANSHIN!!! Aoki can only helplessly watch as the fastball tails back over the outside corner for strike 3!

Hirasawa looper to the right side... over a leaping Nakai into center! Sendai Ikuei can bring the tying run to the plate.

Gunji with a ball to right center, and that's in for a hit! Hirasawa takes 3rd! Now the tying runner is on base.

Seto slow grounder to 2nd! Nakai's only play is to 1st and a run scores! 2-1 and the douten runner is in scoring position!

Saida the last chance for Sendai Ikuei.

But he hits a grounder to 2nd! Nakai makes the throw to 1st and Tsuruga Kehi holds on!

It was certainly shaky there late for Hiranuma and the Hokushinetsu champs, but 2 runs is enough after all.

Whoo.

For about 6.2 innings, Sendai Ikuei could do nothing. But when they finally did something, Sasaki-kantoku sold out to score runs and it might have cost the in the 9th when Ryousuke and Kii were not available, having been lifted after their hits. Sena, for his part held Tsuruga Kehi to just 5 hits. It just so happens that 2 of them came in 1 inning and resulted in 2 runs.

Tsuruga Kehi wins, but it's concerning that Hiranuma faltered late. He's going to get little rest going forward and showing problems now isn't good. The offense only putting out 5 hits isn't good either. There are a lot of question marks this team is going to have to answer if they want to take the title, because in all probability Osaka Touin looms large.

Two days in, and we haven't had a competitive game to the end. Given, most of the matchups so far were profiled to be one-sided, but still it's rather boring so far. And I'm not sure Day 3 will help us any, though it can be if a key player is out.

That player is Tsuruga Kehi's ace Hiranuma. As per my most recent tweets he looks like he's a go. He had been injured at Meiji Jingu, so if he's available and 100%, Naradai Fuzoku is in a lot of trouble. He provides a big chunk both offense and defense for the team, so his presence is absolutely necessary for the team's success.

Naradai Fuzoku (Nara)
LF Katou Kazuki
2B Maeda Yuudai
CF Ikeda Ryouta
3B Nakatani Ren
1B Ikeda Yuusuke
RF Ikefuchi Hayaki (#15)
P Sakaguchi Taisei
SS Matsushita Yuuhei
C Takahashi Koutarou

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
3B Shinohara Ryou
2B Nakai Kidzuku
SS Hayashinaka Yuuki
P Hiranuma Shouta
CF Yamamoto Kouta
LF Matsumoto Teppei (#17)
1B Ueda Ryouya
C Kamon Yuusuke
RF Mori Shigeki (#7)

__________________________________________________

09:00 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Right off the bat, it looks like his velocity looks okay. He's in the middle 130s with his fastball, and his delivery seems normal as Katou grounds to 3rd.

And once again his slider is in effect as he puts one outside that Maeda chases after for the 2nd out.

And Ryouta gets jammed, rolling a ball to Nakai that is easily put away for the 3rd out.

Bottom 1st
On the other side, Sakaguchi is having some issues to start, going 3-0 on Shinohara. He eventually fills up the count, but loses him.

After a sac bunt by Nakai, Sakaguchi continues to struggle with his control. Hayashinaka decides to go on a 2-0 pitch and pops out. He's rightly careful against Hiranuma, also falling behind 2-0, and then 3-0. With 1st open, they may just take it.

Sakaguchi manages to paint the outside corner, and then goes after him. He pops it up to center, where Ryouta makes the catch to retire the side. A successful 1st for the first timers.

Top 2nd
Naktani gets decent contact on a Hiranuma offering, but skies it to left. Yuusuke wasn't even on the fall roster and is starting here, but goes down swinging on 3 straight.

And Ikufuchi can't fare much better with a routine grounder to 3rd. Hiranuma looks perfectly fine, and we can probably put that to bed now.

Bottom 2nd
One down for Tsuruga Kehi, and bench starter Matsumoto lines a single to center for a base hit.

Sakaguchi leaves his fastball too much over the plate and Ueda takes it into the gap in right center! Ryouta runs it down, but the throw is cutoff as Matsumoto scores all the way from 1st to give Tsuruga Kehi a 1-0 lead!

Huh. Tsuruga Kehi's ouen-dan playing Okinawa's "Haisai oji-san"...

Kamon pops up a ball to shallow center. Matsushita going back, turns around as Ryouta comes in, and neither one has it! It falls in for a base hit! The wind is certainly blowing straight out (which is not common), and Sakaguchi is finding himself in a pinch!

Azuma-kantoku, doesn't want to risk the double play, and has Mori bunt the runners over.

Sakaguchi though gets out of the inning as Shinohara flies out to left to end the inning. He's given up the 1 run, but prevented further damage.

Top 3rd
Sakaguchi tries to bunt his way on, Kamon on it, throws to 1st... it's high and the throw brings Ueda into Sakaguchi and the ball is dislodged. However, the 1st base umpire calls the out.

Matsushita, despite having the advantage being opposite handed, chases a ball away for the 2nd out. Takahashi does the same for Hiranuma's 4th K as he's faced the minimum through 3.

Bottom 3rd
Nakai hits a decent pitch from Sakaguchi to shallow right. Ikefuchi runs in, but he can't make the catch! It gets behind him for a leadoff double. Hayashinaka lays down the bunt, and makes things a little difficult for Sakaguchi, but he makes the play.

Hiranuma knows what he needs to do, and booms a ball to center. Ryouta makes the catch and Nakai comes in to score. 2-0 Tsuruga Kehi.

Nakatani makes a nice smother on a hard hit ball from Yamamoto to get the final out, but the underdogs fall a little more behind.

Top 4th
And with Hiranuma on the mound, each run makes it feel infinitely harder.

Katou continues the theme of chasing the outside pitch and becomes the 5th victim.

Maeda and Ryouta fall quickly behind on the count and are retired. Hiranuma still facing the minimum through 4.

Bottom 4th
Matsumoto with a drive to right, Ikefuchi chasing after it, dives out of the picture... and it falls in! Matsumoto is booking it and reaches 3rd with no problem! Tsuruga Kehi threatening once again!

Ueda attacks the first pitch and hits it right at Sakaguchi! He stops it at his feet, checks the runner, and goes to 1st for the out. One bulled dodged.

Kamon also goes after the first pitch, but hits is right to Nakatani! Again Matsumoto can't come home as Nakantani makes the play at 1st. 2nd bullet dodged.

And now it's their #9 batter Mori... and he loses him! It's not a run, but it does flip the lineup over!

And Shinohara is battling at the plate trying to get a base hit to bring that runner home.

Sakaguchi leaves one over and Shinohara hits it to left. Katou going into foul territory, dives... and makes the catch! 3 out and the runner is stranded at 3rd! Shinohara doing his best to keep his team in the game.

Top 5th
But the offense just can't muster anything against Hiranuma. Nakatani jams an inside fastball back to Hiranuma. Yuusuke runs the count full, but goes after a low slider and goes down for the second time in as many ABs.

Ikefuchi with a grounder to short should end the inning, but Hayashinaka's throw to first short hops Ueda and he can't secure it! Hiranuma keeps his no-hitter, but the perfect game is done.

The error doesn't hurt them though as Sakaguchi goes after the first pitch and grounds it right to Ueda, who takes it himself for the 3rd out.

Bottom 5th
Tsuruga Kehi's batters really looking to attack Sakaguchi's pitchers as Nakai and Hayashinaka both hit balls to center.

Of course it's Hiranuma that makes the best contact, and drives a pitch to right, and off the wall for a double.

But they're certainly trying to open the game up as Yamamoto also hits a fly ball, this time to Ikefuchi to end the inning.

We're at the break, and the score is certainly close, but Naradai Fuzoku really hasn't shown any ability to mount an attack against Hiranuma.

Top 6th
And now the no-no is gone! Naradai's last batter Takahashi hits a hanging slider from Hiranuma and lines it to left for a base hit!

Tanaka-kantoku not electing for a bunt, instead goes for the hit-and-run. Katou winds up chasing a slider way far away, but that same pitch means Kamon's throw to 2nd is late. 2 down, but a runner in scoring position.

Hiranuma leaves another slider over the plate as Maeda makes contact, but its off the end of the bat and right to Ryouta for the 3rd out. Naradai Fuzoku at least avoids the no-hitter, but still haven't really found much success.

Bottom 6th
Bench starter Matsumoto making all kinds of problems for Naradai Fuzoku! This time it's another ball the opposite way into the huge gap in right center for a double! Azuma-kantoku now wants that extra run and has Ueda bunt him over.

But Kamon does the wrong thing again! He hits it right at Nakatani at 3rd! They almost get Matsumoto out, but do get Kamon at 1st for the 2nd out.

And once again Sakaguchi gets out of the jam! Mori goes after one way too high and flies out to Katou to end the inning. Another 0, which is good, but now they need crooked numbers of their own.

Top 7th
Ryouta actually gets a fastball down the middle, but he can only fly out to left. Nakatani then grounds out to 3rd.

And perhaps nonplussed with Yuusuke's ABs so far, #13 Koi comes in to hit for him.

Sadly, he fares absolutely no better, actually spinning himself to the ground to end the inning.

Bottom 7th
Koi stays in the game to play 1B.

And Sakaguchi apparently likes to be on the edge, because he leaves another one up for leadoff batter Shinohara, and he drives that all the way to the padding for a double. Tanaka-kantoku calls for time. Nakai bunts him over.

Hayashinaka hits a sac fly to left and makes it a 3-0 game. And with that Tanaka-kantoku makes a change.

• #11 Hayakidani comes in for 1B Koi to take the hill,
• Ikefuchi moves from RF to CF,
• Ryouta moves for CF to 1B,
• Sakaguchi goes to RF.

Things do not look good after the relief comes in. Hiranuma hits a liner to right for a single (though I suppose it could be worse), and then Yamamoto is walked on 4 straight - and that brings up Matsumoto who is a HR short of the cycle.

And of course because baseball, Hayakidani gets Matsumoto to ground to 3rd. Nakatani takes it himself to the bag for the force and the inning is over. No more damage done, but Tsuruga Kehi creeps away from Naradai Fuzoku a little further.

Top 8th
Ikefuchi with another grounder to short, and Hayashinaka airmails that one too! Ikefuchi beats out the leaping Nakai and gets on again due to an error!

And like the 6th, Tanaka-kantoku goes for a hit-and-run. Sakaguchi through strikes out, but Ikefuchi successfully steals the bag.

The story though ends the same. Matsushita chases a slider inside for the 2nd out. And Takahashi flies out to left.

Bottom 8th
New P for Naradai is #10 Nakayama.

And perhaps Tsuruga Kehi, wanting to shorten the game, get their hacks in. And all three at the bottom of the lineup fly out to left. It's a clean inning, but of little consolation.

Top 9th
And there's little to say about Nara's final 3 outs. Hiranuma goes about his business as all three end up retired and the game is over.

Well, the score was certainly closer. But it still felt like a blowout because Naradai Fuzoku couldn't do anything at the plate. Just 3 runners, 2 errors and 1 hit was all they could muster against the heralded ace. The only thing that prevented the game from being a blowout was the ability of Sakaguchi to get out of jam after jam. It's probably the reason why Naradai went as far as they did.

So for Naradai Fuzoku it's back to the drawing board. They're certainly working on breaking the monopoly in Nara, so maybe we'll see the italicized yellow "N" in the stands again. As for Tsuruga Kehi, Hiranuma looks fine, and the team will go as far as either he can holdup, or their offense can stay viable. But they can be considered a contender.

Originally, when I had seen Tsuruga Kehi's gaudy scores in the super-regionals, I thought that they were on the warpath again - blowing out teams left and right, and showing no mercy. But a closer look at things suggest that they may be in a bit of trouble.

Their form through winning the super-regionals was excellent. Ace Hiranuma Shouta (平沼 翔太) was used sparingly in the prefecturals, and not in the championship game since they had already qualified. After that it was almost exclusively Hiranuma who with the exception of a pair of runs to small unknown Komoro Shougyou out of Nagano, threw up bagels.

That seemed to bode well for them leading up to the Meiji Jingu tournament, but the problem was that he seemed to struggle against Eimei though they would eventually win 7-5. But he would not take the hill against Kyushu Gakuin as they would fall badly 8-3. It would late be reported that he had suffered a lower foot injury.

All other things aside, this could prove to be fatal for Tsuruga Kehi. The next man up, Yamazaki Souichirou (山﨑 颯一郎), was ineffective against Kyushu Gakuin. And the two relievers that followed fared no better. Hiranuma is on the roster for the tournament, but as we've seen in years past, it could just be in name only as he may never take the field. He wasn't on the mound for practice games following the Meiji Jingu tournament so there's that too. And perhaps the last nail in coffin is that Azuma-kantoku is bringing in 3 more "relievers" outside of #18 Yamazaki - #10 Unno Ryuuichirou (海野 隆一朗), #11 Hara Ryou (原 綾) and #17 Matsumoto Souma (松本 早馬). Hara and Unno both started that disaster of a game against Kyushu Gakuin.

Finally, to beat a dead horse, Hiranuma is their cleanup batter as well. He hit 3 of the team's 4 HRs, and drove in 20% of the team's runs while going 16-32. If he's not in the lineup, their run production is cut dramatically. They still have some good hitters on the team, including leadoff hitter 3B Shinohara Ryou (篠原 涼), 2B Nakai Kidzuku (中井 基継), and CF Yamamoto Kouta (山本 皓大), but the loss of Hiranuma would be crippling.

Long story short, if Hiranuma is available and at near full strength, the team can be a force to be reckoned with. If he's unavailable, they may not get by Sendai Ikuei in the 2nd round.

And now onto our game of the day.

Osaka Touin had to smile even before reaching Koushien, seeing a lot of the powerhouses from other prefectures not even qualify. It just meant that they had less competition to face to get to and win the finals.

But the road has been far from easy. First was a ridiculous game versus Kaisei that they barely won 7-6. Then came facing Meitoku Gijyuku, for the 3rd straight year, and holding on to win that game. After an easy time against Yazu, they slowed down Kendai's running attack enough (with some fortunate events) to reach the semifinals.

And that resume presents a problem. Because their opponent appears to be a team that can beat them at their own game - Tsuruga Kehi.

Now, their offense slowed down last game as they only scored 7 runs against Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei, but they still average over 12 runs a game so far and do not have any signs of stopping. In fact, given some of their actions, they'd rather continue pummeling their opponents if given the opportunity.

If I were Mie, I honestly don't really know who I'd want to face. A seemingly weaker Osaka Touin squad (their team average is under 0.300!) that has done it before, or a ridiculously strong team (only Nakamoto has an average UNDER 0.300) that's never been there before...

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
1B Shinohara Ryou
3B Shimomura Takamasa
SS Asai Kouya
C Okada Kouta
CF Mine Kentarou
RF Oyana Shou
P Hiranuma Shouta
LF Yamamoto Akihiro
2B Nakamoto Takahiro

Osaka Touin (Osaka)
LF Nakamura Makoto
2B Minemoto Takumi
3B Katsuki Kazuya
1B Shouzui Yuuya (#8)
CF Mori Shinnosuke (#9)
RF Aoyagi Kouki (#13)
C Yokoi Yuuya
SS Fukuda Kouki
P Fukushima Kousuke

______________________________________________________

13:28 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Good start for Fukushima as he gets Shinohara to hit a weak grounder to 2nd. Shimomura though hits an easy single to right.

Asai with a lines single through to left, and could the engine already be revved up??

Okada almost takes out Fukushima with a hard liner back at him and he can only spin out of the way... Manrui for Tsuruga Kehi!!

Mine single to left! Shimomura scores as everyone moves up a station., 1-0 Kehi already!

OH MY.

Oyana just CRUSHED a ball to right. Aoyagi going back to the wall!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DEAR LORD.

Who the heck can stop this team? They took the challenge of facing Osaka Touin and just stepped all over it.

5-0 TSURUGA KEHI.

Hiranuma and Yamamoto groundout to 2nd, but this is beyond ridiculuous.

Bottom 1st
NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Nakamura drive to left center!!!

Mine going back to the wall! He looks up!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, then is it going to be this type of game? It's only 1 run, but it's a statement nonetheless. 5-1!

And now Minemoto draws a walk! Katsuki follows that up with a single to right! Nishitani-kantoku calling for the bunt from Shouzui! He fouls 2 off but lays the 3rd one down!

Mori scorcher up the 1st base line... FAIR!!!!!!! It gets past Shinohara and into right! Both runners are going to score and it's a 5-3 ballgame!! What the heck is going on here?!!

Huranuma retires Aoyagi and Yokoi to retire the side, and while Osaka Touin got the wrong end of that inning, it could have gone much worse.

Top 2nd
The engine goes into action again. Nakamoto singles back up the middle for a leadoff hit. Shinohara lays down a bunt to move him over to murderer's row.

Fukushima avoids one bullet as Shimomura flies out to center. But then he adds pressure to himself by throwing a wild pitch moving Nakamoto to 3rd. And then he walks Yokoi...

SANSHIN!!!

Fukushima comes out unscathed as he gets Okada to chase the cut ball for the 3rd out!

Bottom 2nd
Both pitchers having success against the bottom of the lineups. Hiranuma strikes out Fukuda on a changeup inside, while Fukushima flies out to center.

But he wants nothing to do with Nakamura and he walks him.

Minemoto with a drive to left.

Naw...

Can't be...

Mine going back to the wall.

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiranuma leaves it over the plate and Minemoto knows exactly what to do with it! Amazingly... we're tied at 5-5!!

Katsuki grounds out to 1st, but Osaka Touin has already made up the 5-run deficit!!

Top 3rd
Mine goes down swinging and perhaps Fukushima has settled down.

NOPE! NOT AT ALL!!!

OYANA DRIVE TO RIGHT! Does he have his 2nd HR???

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He does! It can get more ridiculous! Oyama with 5 RBIs already and he gives Tsuruga Kehi the 6-5 lead!!

And then he walks Hiranuma! Oh boy.

But once again, there is respite at the bottom of the lineup. Yamamoto strikes out, and Nakamoto pops up to Minemoto to end the inning.

But these teams are trading haymakers like there's no tomorrow!

Bottom 3rd
Shouzui working a long AB against Hiranuma but Hiranuma finally wins on the 12th pitch with a groundout to short.

Mori meanwhile gets his 2nd hit with a seeing eye-single to right.

But both Aoyagi and Yokoi uppercut two balls into 2 infield flies and Hiranuma finally as a clean frame.

Top 4th
In this type of game you cannot give the other team free runners. Yet Fukuda does just that as he bobbles the ball on Shinohara's groundout. Shimomura bunts him over.

But Shinohara goes on contact and Asai's grounder goes to short. But Fukuda goes to 3rd and he's caught! Asai doesn't even have time to get to 2nd.

Okada flies out to left and Fukushima holds serve.

Bottom 4th
Fukuda chopper up middle... it gets through! He finally gets his first hit of Koushien! Fukushima bunts him over.

Nakamura will not take another walk (though he should) and hits a hard bounder to 2nd. Nakamoto goes to 1st, and the runner advances.

Minemoto with his own liner slicing past Hiranuma into center! Fukuda scores and we're level again at 6-6!!

Katsuki earns a walk and that means Hiranuma has to face Shouzui - though he's 0-1 so far.

Shouzui with a fly to right, but the defense is playing in???!!

Mine and Oyana have to scramble back as the ball goes all the way to the wall!  Minemoto scores! Katsuki comes around.. he scores!!! Osaka Touin takes the lead on Shouzui's triple!! It's 8-6!!!

うそ！うそだろう！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

Mori with a drive to right! Oyana going towards the foul pole!!!!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mori with a 2-run HR gives Osaka Touin the 10-6 lead!!!

Aoyagi strikes out to end the inning, but Shouzui and Mori land back-to-back blows and is Tsuruga Kehi on the ropes?

Top 5th
Mine chases a slider outside for the first out.

Oyana will not get 3 consecutive HRs, but he does bloop a single to left.

おっと。。。

Fukushima hits Hiranuma on his right leg...

Yamamoto revenges that with a liner to right! Oyana comes around from 2nd to score and it's 10-7!!!

Nakamoto lifts a ball to right! Aoyagi having to scramble back! That's over his head as it bounds to the wall! Hiranuma scores on the double and it's 10-8!!

Shinohara oddly struggling at the top of the lineup. He goes down swinging on a changeup for the 2nd out.

And Shimomura grounds to 3rd! Katsuki with it, takes his time and makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out!

Tsuruga Kehi doesn't get all the runs back, but cuts the deficit to 2!

Bottom 5th
Shimomura makes a great play on a short hop to reture Yokoi.

Fukuda chases a shoulder-high fastball and flies out to right.

And Hiranuma flies out to deep center and we hit the break.

ドン。。。

Top 6th
Asai shut down after the 1st as he grounds to 3rd.

Okada with a grounder to the left side, Fukuda sells out and dives, but it's out of his reach.

But Mine groudns to short! Fukuda goes to 2nd for 1, throw to 1st... double play!!!  6-4-3 double play and Tsuruga Kehi fails to gain ground!

Bottom 6th
Both pitchers are over the 100 pitch mark now, with Hiranuma at exactly 100.

Even now, he still wants nothing to do with Nakamura, he walks him to start the inning.

Wild pitch from Hiranuma! Nakamura heads to 2nd!

Another wild pitch! It bounces in front and then goes all the way to the backstop and Nakamura heads to 3rd!

Minemoto draws a 4-pitch walk.

And that's it for Hiranuma. But he's still in the game.

But it's not #11 Umino, it's LF Yamamoto!! He and Hiranuma switch places!

Katsuki rudely welcomes him with a drive to left! That's over Hiranuma's head! Nakamura comes to score, Minemoto heads to 3rd, he's given the wave around! Katsuki has a 2-RBI double and Osaka Touin leads 12-8!!

Shouzui liner, but Asai makes the snag for the 2nd out!

Mori makes poor contact, but hits it to the right side to advance the runner to 3rd.

Aoyagi grounder to short, throw to first is short and goes off of Shinohara's glove! Katsuki scores and it's 13-8!!

And it looks like Aoyagi needs some treatment as his head slide into first scraped him up in some way, I think his arm.

It looks like they're thinking about an injury-runner, but I'm not sure the umpires will let that fly. After a delay, he comes out to 1st.

However, he gets caught off 1st and is run down to end the inning.

Top 7th
Tsuruga Kehi trying to hit their way out of the deficit.

Oyana with a sharp drive to center, but Mori sprinting back makes the catch.

Hiranuma with a liner to left, but Aoyaji makes the catch there too.

Yamamoto tries a different strategy with a safety bunt! Katsuki charges in, but his throw is late!

And Nakamoto pays that off! He drives one to left center and that'll go over the drawn in defense and to the wall! Yamamoto scores to make it 13-9!!

Shinohara flies out to left to end the inning, and now it's time that Tsuruga Kehi's enemy...

Bottom 7th
Yokoi draws a leadoff walk and Osaka Touin would like to play add-on. But Fukuda pops up his bunt and Okada makes the catch.

Fukushima flies out to left, and that brings out Nakamura again, who is actually just 1-2 with 2 BB and that HR.

Nakamura with a popup to shallow right center... Everyone converges on it, and it's Nakamoto who makes the sliding catch for the 3rd out!

Top 8th
Fukushima leaves a ball too close to the plate and Shimomura singles past a diving Fukuda.

Shimomura takes off for 2nd! Throw from Yokoi not even close! Through remember they're down 4.

Asai tries to stay alive, but flies out to right.

Nakatani-kantoku calling for time, Fukushima is sitting at 132 pitches.

Fukushima can't throw a strike! He falls behind Okada before getting a ball in. But he still winds up walking him and that brings up Mine who is 1-3 on the day with 2 Ks and a double play to his name.,

Mine drive to left, but it's not nearly deep enough. Nakamura is there for the catch.

And that brings up Oyana... he may be their last real chance in this game....

At first it looks like they're going to pitch around him, but two strong swings level the count.

Comebacker! Fukushima squats and squeezes the ball! Goes to 1st and Tsuruga Kehi comes up snake eyes!!

Bottom 8th
Minemoto with a single through the right side. Katsuki on the very next pitch hits a gapper to right center past the outfielders. Minemoto comes all the way around from 1st to score and make it 14-9.

Wild pitch from Yamamoto sends him to 3rd and this could be it. He then walks Shouzui, they get that back after he's caught trying to steal 2nd.

Still, Mori hits a sac fly to right to make it 15-9.

The day officially ends for Hiranuma. #10 Taniguchi comes in for him to take the hill while Yamamoto goes back to left. And while he hits the first batter, he gets Yokoi to fly to center to end the inning.

Top 9th
#17 Matsuoka hits for RP Taniguchi, and gives a pretty good AB. However Fukushima wins as he flies out to left.

Yamamoto with a grounder to the right side. Shinohara grabs the ball, tosses to Fukushima who barely beats Yamamoto to the bag for the 2nd out.

Nakamoto gets hit to flip the lineup over to the top and Yonemitsu.

And he singles through the right side. Nakamoto goes to 3rd, but they're still a long ways from a tie game.

Shimomura now steps in to try and keep the dream alive. Down 0-2, he takes two pitches Fukushima tries to paint the corner with.

But on the 3-2 pitch, Shimomura hits a liner to left! Nakamura is there for the catch and on his 160th pitch Fukushima closes out the game!! Osaka Touin prevails 15-9!!

Yet even in this crazy game, you have to feel for Tsuruga Kehi. They went through this entire tournament being the proverbial bully, and I even proclaimed then to be wearing the black hats. Yet, those words were spoken in hyperbole and we have to remember they are still kids.

And perhaps you need that confidence, that arrogance - whether visible or not, is necessary to win the tournament. For Tsuruga Kehi, it was more apparent and hence the black hat comments.

You can perhaps question not relieving Hiranuma in prior games to rest his arm - especially the Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei game. But in the end they played a great tournament and just ran into a team that could finally keep up with them.

And so we have our final set. It's an all central affair with Osaka Touin trying to win their 4th title against Mie who is trying to win their 1st.

Mie makes their first foray into the Best 4, who will join them next?

Kousei has barely survived their two games, needing some help from Bushuukan to win late, then only prevailed against Seiryou in 10 innings. It certainly doesn't feel like the teams from several years ago that reached 3 consecutive calendar finals.

And worse yet, they're facing the offensive juggernaut this year.

No, not Osaka Touin (again), but Tsuruga Kehi!

The Fukui representative have outscored their opponents 42-2! And simply put, until a team can prove that they're not who we see they are, they have to be considered one of, if not the favorite.

Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (Aomori)
3B Houjyou Hiroyuki
SS Adachi Yuuya
1B Moriyama Hiroki
2B Fukae Taisei
RF Arai Katsunori
LF Nakazaki Jyukiya (#16)
CF Arai Katsutaka
C Baba Ryuusei (#12)
P Goya Kai (#11)

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
1B Shinohara Ryou
3B Shimomura Takamasa
SS Asai Kouya
C Okada Kouta
CF Mine Kentarou
RF Oyana Shou
P Hiranuma Shouta
LF Yamamoto Akihiro
2B Nakamoto Takahiro

____________________________________________________________

10:55 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Interesting! After Houjyou grounds out to 3rd, he walks up to Moriyama in the on-deck circle and relays info about Hiranuma!

Meanwhile, Adachi draws a 4-pitch walk.

Moriyama not bunting.. works the count, and he draws a walk!

Fukae decides to go for it, but uppercuts the 2-1 pitch. Shimomura in foul territory makes the catch for the 2nd out.

SANSHIN!!

Hiranuma gets out of the inning as Katsunori is twisted on a fastball down and in for the 3rd out! Kousei certainly trying to work the count against Hiranuma, but can't get the timely to drive in the run.

Bottom 1st
Goya getting the bench start, definitely a bit tentative, but still attacking the Kehi batters.

Shinohara liner, but right at Moriyama. Shimomura with a foul fly, and Moriyama makes that catch near the fence for the 2nd out.

But then he walks Asai and Okada bak to back and without having to swing a bat they have a chance to score.

Ah, well....

Mine with a drive to right. Nakazaki not even moving.

That, my friends is a no-doubter. 3-0 Tsuruga Kehi.

Oyana follows that up with a single to center.

But thankfully for Goya, he strikes out Hiranuma to retire the side. But the Tsuruga Kehi offense is already up and running.

Top 2nd
Looks like the bottom of the lineup has abandoned the patient strategy. 9 pitches Hiranuma needs to retire the side in the 2nd.

Bottom 2nd
Yamamoto with a single to right to start the inning.

Ah.... Goya hits Nakamoto on the head. He looks ok, but is replaced at 1st for an injury runner in Oyana.

Goya meanwhile makes way for #10 Yagi.

And including a sac bunt, Yagi retires the side in order!

Top 3rd
10 pitches to retire the side - this game feels like it's over already.

Bottom 3rd
And one down, Mine and Oyana both single to left, Nakazaki's defense a bit shaky.

Yagi gets out of the inning as Hiranuma lines to 2nd and Fukae doubles off Oyana.

Top 4th
Fukae grounder up the 3rd base line... fair!! Shimomura can't make the diving catch and he's in with a double!

AH! And now a balk is called on Hiranuma! He never gets set.

But Hiranuma comes right back to get Katsunori to chase a slider in the dirt and jams Nakazaki into a short fly that he catches himself.

Bottom 4th
Yamamoto comes around to score when after a leadoff hit and a bunt+groundout move him to 3rd, Shimomura singles to center. 4-0.

Top 5th
More of the same from Kousei. Sadly nothing of note.

Bottom 5th
Leadoff single from Okada comes in after a bunt and double off the wall in center. 5-0.

Yamamoto with 2 down goes to deep right center and off the wall for a triple, 6-0.

Ace Nakagawa comes in for Yagi.

Nakamura welcomes him with a single through the right side, 7-0.

Shinohara grounds out to end the inning, and as we hit the break the only question left to ask is can Kousei prevent Kehi from scoring double digits?

Top 6th
3 up, 3 down...

Bottom 6th
#17 Takaku in for Nakazaki in LF.

Kehi is on the verge of scoring another run when Asai gets hit by Nakagawa, steals 2nd and takes 3rd on Baba's throwing error. Mine grounds to 3rd, so no run.

Top 7th
Fukae with the leadoff walk. One down, Takaku singles through the right side.

2 down and Takaku goes for 2nd and gets no throw from Okada.

Baba with a single to left, Fukae and Takaku score preventing the shutout at 7-2.

Bottom 7th
Nakagawa walks his counterpart, but otherwise pitches a clean frame. Kehi still siting at 7 runs.

Top 8th
Moriyama gets a 2-out single, but that's all that Kousei can muster.

Bottom 8th
#7 Kitanuki getting playing time in RF for Arai Katsunori.

PH #17 Matsuoka, in for Shinohara, draws a walk and is replaced by #16 Yonemitsu.

With 2 outs, #18 Matsmoto comes in for Katsutaka and goes to 1B, Moriyama goes to LF and Takaku goes to CF.

Top 9th
Didn't even need notice it was raining at Koushien.

Yonemitsu stays in to play 1B.

Captain Chiba gets an AB in the final frame, but like so many other innings, they go down in order as Tsuruga Kehi wins 7-2.

Sadly for Kousei their run ended about as quickly as it could have as Mine hit the 3-run HR in the 1st inning. After that they played a catchup game they couldn't win.

And so the same story repeats itself...

Kehi perhaps looked a little more "vulnerable" with Nakagawa shutting them down, but it could also be because they know they're playing in 2 days.

Moriokadai Fuzoku had a really tough matchup against Toukaidai Sagami and then had to play in less than desirable playing conditions. They held on 4-3, but there's not much you can take given that the conditions could have affected play.

Tsuruga Kehi has had no such trouble in their first two games, seemingly bucking the trend that scoring double digits leads to a letdown the next game as they defeated Sakaide Shougyou 16-0, then Kasukabe Kyouei 10-1.

Hiranuma has been shutting down the offenses inducing bad contact while also still striking out a fair number of batters.  Moriokadai Fuzoku, and more specifically Matsumoto should provide a good challenge for a team that hasn't apparently seemed to have faced one yet.

Winner goes to Best 8, but faces Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei. Go!

Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
1B Shinohara Ryou
3B Shimomura Takamasa
SS Asai Kouya
C Okada Kouta
CF Mine Kentarou
RF Oyana Shou
P Hiranuma Shouta
LF Yamamoto Akihiro
2B Yonemitsu Nagisa (#16)

Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate)
LF Takahashi Ryou
RF Itou Wataru
CF Nabana Hiroki
P Matsumoto Yuuki
2B Endou Makoto
1B Makishima Kento
SS Tachinami Ukyuu
3B Shibuya Yuuya
C Kozaki Fuuga

____________________________________________________________

16:15 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
One down for Tsuruga and Shimomura lines a single to left.

Asai not bunting, hits a deep drive to left. Ryou back against fence makes the catch. 1 down.

Having not advanced, Shimomura takes it upon himself and steals 2nd! That becomes redundant though when Matsumoto walks Okada.

But he avoids damage when Mine chases the 3-2 fastball outside of the zone.

Bottom 1st
Morioka's first couple of batters can't even get the ball past the mound.  Two quick outs for Hiranuma, before he turns around and walks Nabana.

Matsumoto can't do anything with it though as he flies to 2nd to end the inning.

Top 2nd
Oyana with a blooper to shallow left. Ryou charging in makes, but can't make catch. Oyana hustles and is in with a double.

One down now after a foul fly and Yamamoto hits a ball down the 1st base line... fair!  Oyana will score on that and Tsuruga Kehi takes a 1-0 lead!

Yonemitsu lays down the bunt, Matsumoto throws it away! Itou backs up so runners can't advance.

And now Shinohara gets hit by Matsumoto! He's in deep trouble early!

Liner! But Shibuya snares it, tags on 3rd and it's a 5 unassisted double play to end the inning! But Tsuruga Kehi takes the early lead!

Bottom 2nd
Endou drive to deep left! He's pumping his fist!  Yamamoto looks up!

HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One pitch is all Endou needs to tie the game at 1-1!

2 down now, and Shibuya singles to center looking for the gyakuten run.

But Sekiguchi-kantoku has him try to steal 2nd, but Okada throws him out to retire the side. However, Endou ties the score!

Top 3rd
Asai with a ball to left. Ryou running back to the fence! He looks up!!

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

And with one swing Asai takes the lead back for Tsuruga Kehi! 2-1!

They're not done yet! One down Mine singles back up the middle. He tries to steal 2nd, but on the hit-and-run, Oyana's bat hits Kozaki's glove! Catcher's interference is called and Oyana is awarded 1st!

Hiranuma single back up the middle! Mine being waved around! He'll score and it's 3-1!!  Still only one out for Matsumoto!

Yamamoto another single up the middle! Nabana already playing up, gets it in quickly.  Manrui for Tsuruga Kehi.

AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Matsumoto hits Yonemitsu! That'll drive in a run and it's 4-1!

Shinohara sharp grounder up 1st base line! Makishima makes stop, twirls, fires home... AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

He throws it too high! 2 runs will score on that error and it's 6-1!

Shimomura flyball to left, Ryou stumbles, but makes catch! Yonemitsu tags up and scores and its 7-1!

Asai up again, and he blasts one to right center! That's all the way to the wall for a triple and it's 8-1!

The last straw is  Okada's blooper just fair down the right field line. 9-1 and he is relieved. He goes to RF while #11 Sakurakouji comes in for Itou and takes the hill.

Mine liner to right, Matsumoto makes the leaping catch to finally retire the side. But Tsuruga Kehi once again puts the hurt on their opponents!

Bottom 3rd
Kozaki tries to help get Moriokadai back in the game with a single to center. But soon enough there's down after Ryou strikes out and Sakurakouji grounds into a fielder's choice.

Nabana gives the team a shot when he doubles to right center.

But nothing is going right for Matsumoto as he flies out to center to end the inning.

Top 4th
The woes continue for Moriokadai. Oyana's grounder to 2nd is flubbed allowing him to reach base.  After a sac bunt, Sakurakouji hits Yamamoto and then walks Yonemitsu, making it manrui.

Shinohara with another ball to 1st, but this time Makishima is ready and he goes home for the force.

Sakurakouji though hits Shimomura and that will force in a run. 10-1.

Moriokadai finally get 3 ours after Asai grounds to 2nd, but the long game is getting longer.

Bottom 4th
I'm having a hard time staying awake for some reason.

Back-to-back singles by Makishima and Tachinami provide some hope. But Hiranuma retires the next 2 batter and they're back to where they started.

(At this point my body basically said you're not staying up any longer, which was fine considering that by the time I opened my eyes it was 12-1, and then before I had put everything away and hit the sack it was 14-1. Needless to say Tsuruga Kehi is wearing about the blackest hat I've seen at Koushien having defeated scored double digits in 3 straight games and not letting up - even when sending in their bench players. Yikes.)