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Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
2B Takahashi Yuusuke (#14)
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
RF Nagai Daichi
3B Aoki Riku
1B Takahashi Kazuki
SS Nakamura Ryuu
CF Takahashi Ryousuke
C Abe Koutarou
P Satou Ryousuke (#11)
Takasaki Kenkoudai Fukushi (Gunma)
CF Hirayama Takayuki
2B Hoshino Yuusuke
RF Wakimoto Naoto
1B Nagashima Ryouhei
C Tsuge Sena
LF Yamagami Takashi
3B Shibahiki Ryousuke (#15)
SS Yokomizo Takuto
P Ishige Rikito (#18)
__________________________________________________
15:50 - First Pitch
Top 1st
After Yuusuke strikes out looking, Ryuusei hits one clean back up the middle for a single. But while Nagai also hits one back up the middle, it's much slower and Yokomizo starts the 6-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
The last thing you want to do is give Kendai a free baserunner... and yet Ryousuke walks Hirayama!
But instead of stealing, with a lefty on the mound, Hoshino bunts the runner along.
But now on 2nd, Hirayama breaks for 3rd! Abe tries to be too quick and the ball goes all the way to the backstop!
Wakimoto grounds to short, and Nakamura goes to 1st ceding the run! Wakimoto is barely beaten out, but his team leads 1-0! Nagashima fouls out to Abe to end the inning.
Top 2nd
えええええええええええええ？？？？？？？？？
Aoki with a drive to right center! Hirayama going back to the wall!!!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where did this power come from?? Aoki completely laughs at the hamazake and drives a douten HR to the right side of the field! 1-1!
Ishige needs just 7 pitches to retire the next 3 batters, but Yamagata Chuo immediately gets the run back!
Bottom 2nd
Ryousuke is apparently going between his fastball and slow curve to try and throw off the batters.
Seems to be working as Kendai's batters are unable to make good contact on the ball and thusly reach base.
Top 3rd
Meanwhile, Yamagata's batters are having a hard time with Ishige's slower fastball (he only hits the high 120s). Koutarou and Satou Ryousuke both strike out.
Yuusuke hits a chopper to the right side, Nagashima tosses to Ishige but Yuusuke beats him out to the bag!
Ryuusei with a single down the left field line! Yamagami is up with it quickly and Yuusuke can only take 2nd on the hit.
Nagai giving Ishige a long AB, spoiling pitch after pitch.
Finally on the 11th pitch, Ishige gets him to pop it up! Tsuge in foul territory on 1st side makes catch!
Bottom 3rd
Well, this isn't good. Satou Ryousuke is giving free passes! First he hits Yokomizo... and then walks Ishige!!
Hirayama with the bunt, Aoki with it fires to... nobody!!!
Nobody is covering 1st! All safe!!
Shouji-kantoku calls for time. And Aoyagi-kantoku sends in #16 Mochida to run for Ishige, his day is done!
Hoshino grounder to 1st, Kazuki double clutches but goes home! They get the force. 1 down.
Wakimoto down 1st base line.. FAIR!!!! It gets by Kazuki and the runners are off to the races! One in..2 in! AHHH!!!
Nagai throws the ball away! Hoshino comes in and it's 3 runs to the good! 4-1 Kendai on Wakimoto's triple!
That's it for Satou. Ace Ishikawa comes in to take the hill.
He gets the second out by getting Nagasima to line out to left.
Tsuge with a ball back up the middle! Wakimoto scores and its 5-1.
Yamagami with a ball through the left side, and that's for a base hit.
Ishikawa re-loads the bases! He walks Shibahiki and it really can be an early end for Yamagata Chuo!
He falls behind Yokomizo 3-1 before filling up the count. Grounder to 3rd, Aoki takes it himself for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Ace Takahashi Kazuki takes over on the hill. And already he makes a bid for best Takahashi in the game as he strikes out Aoki, the other Takahashi Kazuki, then gets a groundout from Nakamura.
Bottom 4th
Kendai's Kazuki gets a base hit to center, but he doesn't try to steal a base, and Ishikawa retires the next 3 batters.
Top 5th
Takahashi Ryousuke sends a ball down the right field line for a double.
Koutarou reaches down and lines a ball down the left field side! Yamagami has to chase after it and Ryousuke scores! 5-2!
Yuusuke singles through the left side! Koutarou goes to 3rd, but halts there.
Ryuusei with a ball back up middle! Ryousuke scores and its a 2-run ballgame! 5-3!
Big chance for Yamagata Chuo to pull within 1 or tie it, but Nagai hits one to short! Yokomizo starts the 6-4-3 double play to finish the inning.
Bottom 5th
Ishikawa playing with fire again. He walks Nagashima to lead off the inning, and the Yamagami with one down! But Kendai is not doing their running game at all with Ishikawa on the hill! He gets the next 2 batters out and we hit the break with Kendai Takasaki playing a much different game but tentatively still ahead.
Top 6th
It's a quick inning for Kazuki as he retires the side in just 8 pitches.
Bottom 6th
Hirayama with a one out single to right, and now they start running! He takes off for 2nd, but Koutarou gives no throw!
Hoshino singles to center and that will score Hirayama! Kendai gets back one of the runs and lead 6-3!
And he takes of for 2nd, and again with no throw!
Ishikawa retires the next 2 batters but Kendai starting to show their speed.
Top 7th
Kazuki gives up a one out walk to Koutarou, but Yuusuke's bid for a basehit with 2 outs is robbed by Yokomichi.
Bottom 7th
Yamagami with a ball to the left side. Nakamura runs it down, quick throw to 1st, but Kazuki's stretch can't quite get the ball!
Shibahiki follows that up with a single up the middle and they threaten to open the game up!
But Yokomizo grounds into the 4-6-3 double play and the deficit remains at 3.
Top 8th
Nagai with a 1-out bloop single, but they're hitting everything into the air but not hard. They're easy plays for the defense and Yamagata Chuo is running out of time.
Bottom 8th
(I held on as long as I can, but it's pretty much it for me today)
Besides, it kinds of goes awry as Kendai adds on 2 more runs and should be on their way to the Best 8.
Top 9th
Yamagata Chuo goes quietly in order and Kendai Takasaki hits the best 8 with an 8-3 win.
Showing posts with label Yamagata Chuo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yamagata Chuo. Show all posts
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Day 9, Game 1 - Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) v. Toukai Dai-yon (Minami Hokkaido)
Today finishes up the 2nd round and begins the acceleration towards the final. 3 spots on Day 11 are left and Yazu, Oumi and Kendai Takasaki await their opponents. My guess is, all 3 would like to know their opponent sooner rather than later, because those 3 are playing musical chairs with the winner actually being the loser. Because the last one standing draws the winner of Meitoku Gijyuku and Osaka Touin.
But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. First up, two rather unlikely teams in Yamagata Chuo and Toukai Dai-yon battle it out for a spot in the round of 16.
Toukai Dai-yon shocked a lot of us when they outplayed Wakao-kantoku and Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku to the tune of 6 runs and tossing a 5-hitter. Yes, Fukuoka is uncharacteristically weak for a metropolitan prefecture, but coming from Hokkaido? And from a tier 3 school in Toukai Dai-yon?
Yikes.
The biggest surprise? Ace Nishijima Ryouta. Not only was it a 5-hitter he throw, but he struck out 12 while walking 3.
12!
Those are number that you would expect to see when they're in prefectural play. Not at Koushien. It's not like he throws hard - in fact his velo is average for an ace pitcher (~mid-130s fastball). 9 were swinging, so perhaps it was due to poor plate discipline, but we'll just have to see if he can repeat his performance.
As for Yamagata Chuo, that was one of the days my body was pretty much shutting down on me. But from what I remember, I questioned whey they replaced Hayasaka when he was so effective. And it was that in the 9th inning, with Komatsu having gone to their 4th pitcher, that they completely collapsed as they watched as Yamagata Chuo score 4 runs to take the lead - and eventually win 9-8.
Suffice it to say, this team has flaws. Ace Ishikawa was responsible for putting his team in the hole giving up 6 runs in less than 4 innings of work. Their 2nd year reliever Satou was far more effective, despite the fact he gave up 6 free passes (he did only give up 2 hits in his 5.1 IP of work).
On offense, yes they scored 9 runs, but it was thanks to the bottom of the lineup. That's nice to see, but at the same time having the heart of your order go 3-13 looks really bad.
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
2B Takahashi Yuusuke (#14)
LF Satou Miharu (#13)
RF Nagai Daichi
3B Aoki Riku
1B Takahashi Kazuki
SS Nakamura Ryuu
CF Takahashi Ryousuke
C Abe Koutarou
P Satou Ryousuke (#11)
Toukai Dai-yon (Minami Hokkaido)
CF Takahashi Iwami
2B Ookawara Akira
SS Fukuda Ryouta
LF Ookouchi Wataru
1B Abe Yoshi
RF Takada Shou
P Nishijima Ryouta
C Ueno Jyunki
3B Wakahara Shunnosuke
____________________________________________________________
09:30 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Nishijima already working on his K count. Yuusuke goes down on 3 straight with the finisher being a fastball on the outside edge.
2 down, and Nagai gets the first base hit as he just aims the ball and bloops it into left for a base hit. Aoki grounds to short though, and the inning is over.
Bottom 1st
And as expected, Satou takes the hill first instead of in relief. He strikes out Iwami on a slider to start the inning.
After that he gets 2 easy groundouts and its a scoreless first.
Top 2nd
Kazuki with a drive to deep left center, Iwami sprinting to the wall.. makes the running catch! One down.
2 quick outs now as Nakamura grounds to 1st.
And 2 K's for Nishijima as he gets Ryousuke looking on yet another fastball.
Bottom 2nd
Ookouchi goes after the very slow curve, but can't get a level swing, grounding to 3rd.
There are a lot of batters just looking. Yoshi becomes another such K victim as Ryousuke paints the edge of the zone.
Takada grounds to 1st, Yoshi tosses to Nishijima for the 3rd out.
Top 3rd
More struggles on offense. Koutarou and Satou Ryousuke ground to short.
Ishiakwa tries the slow curve, but Yuusuke pounds it to right field for a base hit.
Koharu then singles past a chasing Ookawara into right.
Nishijima clamps down and gets Nagai on a slider in the dirt for the 3rd out.
Bottom 3rd
Satou allows his first baserunner after walking Nishijima to start the inning. Ueno bunts him along.
And just to show you how low-scoring of an environment this is, Wakahara is also showing bunt.
He hasn't offered yet and gets ahead 2-0. He may not have been meaning to bunt at all as he tries to poke a ball somewhere at 2-1. Does it again at 2-2 and hits a soft liner to Nakamura behind 2nd.
Iwami swings and misses on the outside fastball and the side is retired.
Top 4th
I think Nishijima, knowing this will be a low-scoring game, isn't going for K's but instead bad contact. That would in general use less pitches and save him for later.
And he gets 3 groundouts in 12 pitches. Not bad considering normal pitch counts for a full game starter can go easily into the 120s.
Bottom 4th
Satou hasn't given up a hit, but he issues his 2nd walk to start an inning. Ookawara is the recipient and Fukuda looks to bunt him along.
Even with 2 strikes he tries the bunt, but he pushes it foul and goes down for the first out.
Ookouchi swings away, but flies out to right for the 2nd out.
Ookawara takes things into his own hand and breaks for 2nd! Throw is in the dirt and Koutarou has no play!
SANSHIN!!!
But the ball gets away from Koutarou, and Yoshi reaches safely! The opening run stands 90 feet away now as Shouji-kantoku calls time.
SANSHIN!!!
Satou gets Takada on another slider and this time Koutarou stays with it and tags Takada for the 3rd out!
Top 5th
More futility at the plate Takahashi Ryousuke hits an easy grounder to 2nd. Koutarou gets ahead 3-1, but winds up chasing the slider for a K.
And Satou Ryousuke swings on the first pitch and flies out to Iwami in left center for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Nishijima too tries going on the first pitch, but its a routine fly to left.
Satou Ryousuke finally gets a strike on a slow pitch to Ueno, and strikes him out on a fastball.
Wakahara tries for the drag bunt, but that doesn't work. The teams have combined for 3 hits, and one team has all of them. There are only two walks, and the other team has both of them.
I see enchousen coming.
Top 6th
Yuusuke continues the futility at the plate swinging at a slider outside for another K.
Koharu hits a foul fly to left, Ookouchi has space to make the catch for the out.
And Nagai with a very weak swing grounds right to Yoshi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 6th
Questionable call here, though Satou has thrown a lot of pitches.
#4 Okuyama comes in for Yuusuke and goes to 2B. Ishikawa comes in for Koharu and takes the hill. Satou Ryousuke goes to LF.
And immediately Iwami gets a base hit - a sharp grounder through the right side.
No bunt for Ookawara, but he goes down swinging lunging at a ball outside.
Oowaki-kantoku elects for the hit and run, but Fukuda flies out to right. And while Toukai Dai-yon finally gets their first hit, they can't do anything with it as Ookouchi hits a hard grounder to 3rd to end the inning.
Top 7th
Nishijima finally tries the eephus with 2 out to Nakamura, but it's a ball. Nakamura actually considered bunting it before realizing it was too far away.
But regardless, Nishijima not surprisingly sets down the side in order.
Bottom 7th
#16 Imagawa hits for Yoshi. And hits the first pitch sharply past Aoki for a base hit!
Takada bunts him along, but now you're asking for a base hit, and Nishijima can't oblige. He pops out to Nakamura for the 2nd out.
Ishikawa blows a 148 kph fastball by Ueno for the 3rd out. Toukai Dai-yon is getting more opportunities with Ishikawa on the hill, but still can't do anything about it.
Top 8th
#13 Tomita comes in for PH Imagawa and takes over at 1B.
Oh? Nishijima gives up his first walk to Koutarou with 1 out!Ryousuke bunts him along to 2nd hoping for a one-timer from Okuyama.
Nishijima not even at 100 pitches, but on his 95th he walks Okuyama on 4 straight.
And he misses again to Ishikawa to start his AB! And again!
And again!!! 3-0 to Ishikawa!
Finally a fastball down the middle for a strike. And another to fill up the count.
SANSHIN!!!!
On his 101st pitch Ishikawa can't make contact on the fastball and the side is retired!
Interesting note - whenever he's thrown the eephus, his control as gone away for a little while...
Bottom 8th
They will go with Ishikawa for the rest of the game. #7 Takahashi Ryuusei comes in for Satou Ryousuke and takes over in LF.
Wakahara tries the safety bunt, but Aoki charges in and makes a great throw for the out.
Iwami screamer up the 3rd base line... fair!! Aoki can't get this one and Iwami has a double!
Ookawara not bunting, but Oowaki-kantoku has the hit and run! Ookawara strikes out but Koutarou doesn't throw to 3rd! 2 down, but a run stands 90 feet away!
Ishikawa falling behind Fukuda, count goes to 3-1. But he pops it up! Ryousuke comes in, then has to make a last minute adjustment - but still makes the catch for the 3rd out!
Top 9th
Nagai singles past a diving Wakahara! Yamagata Chuo with only their 2nd leadoff runner!
AHH!! Aoki pops up his bunt! Koharu makes the running catch for the first out!
Kazuki grounder to the left side, Wakahara goes to 2nd for the out.
And with Nakamura grounding out to 2nd, Yamagata Chuo will have to play for enchousen!
Bottom 9th
Ookouchi tries to work the count and get on base, but Ishikawa gets the outside corner for strike 3!
Tomita grounds out to 2nd and we may be headed to enchousen.
Takada ball up the 1st base line... fair!!! Koharu can't get it and it's down the line! He's in with a double and the sayonara run is in scoring position!
Shouji-kantoku calls time as Oowaki-kantoku sends in #17 Yamamoto to run for Takada.
Liner! But Ishikawa snags it and Nishijima can only give a wry smile as we're headed to enchousen!
Top 10th
Yamamoto stays in the game at RF.
Nishijima perhaps running low on gas as he walks Ryousuke to start the inning.
Snap throw from Ueno, WIDE!!!! It goes into right as Ryousuke goes to 2nd! Yamamoto throws to 2nd... HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ooukouchi has to run it down and Ryousuke has 3rd base! Oh, what were they thinking??
Oowaki-kantoku calls time, though they're in bad shape.
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nishijima strikes out Koutarou looking for the first out! Can he get the team out of this big pinch?
NO!
Ryuusei singles through the left side and Yamagata Chuo takes the 1-0 lead!
And now Ryuusei takes off for 2nd! Throw from Ueno... short and goes into center!!
Ryuusei taking off for 3rd, throw from Iwami... HIGH!!!!!!!
It goes off Wakahara's stretched out glove and into Toukai's dugout! Ryuusei score on another pair of errors and they lead 2-0!!
Okuyaam singles to center and Toukai may be finished! Shouji-kantoku taking no chances has Ishikawa bunt the runner over to try and get on more run.
But Nishijima strikes out Nagai swinging. Destruction complete though and their ship is left in critical condition.
Bottom 10th
Ueno strikes out swinging on 3 straight.
Wakahara chopper to right side. Kazuki with it, tosses to Ishikawa, but he can't find the bag! Wakahara beats him out and they can bring the douten runner to the plate.
Iwami barely avoids strike 3 once, but gets completely frozen when a change goes over for strike 3. Wakahara takes 2nd, but his run doesn't matter.
Last chance in Ookawara.
But Ishikawa can't (isn't?) throwing a strike?! He falls behind 3-0, and then finally fires one in. Fastball fouled off and the count runs full...
Fouled off...
Grounder to 2nd, Okuyama fumbles it slightly, but goes to 1st and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo survives in enchousen 2-0!
I joked about the lack of offense in the game, but in reality both teams were desperate to score a run and conversely knew that they would need to prevent 1 run. And it was that thinking, that pressure in enchousen that finally got to Toukai Dai-yon and allowed Yamagata Chuo to advance.
Some people would joke that neither team should win given how awful the offenses were. But that's not fair to the kids. They can only play with the talent they're given and if that results in a game like this - so be it.
But you can tell from the Dai-yon player's faces that it's no laughing matter. 21 years they waited only to have it end in this matter? They weren't even alive the last time Dai-yon went. It's a painful way to go.
Yamagata Chuo survives yet again. But for how much longer is debatable.
But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. First up, two rather unlikely teams in Yamagata Chuo and Toukai Dai-yon battle it out for a spot in the round of 16.
Toukai Dai-yon shocked a lot of us when they outplayed Wakao-kantoku and Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku to the tune of 6 runs and tossing a 5-hitter. Yes, Fukuoka is uncharacteristically weak for a metropolitan prefecture, but coming from Hokkaido? And from a tier 3 school in Toukai Dai-yon?
Yikes.
The biggest surprise? Ace Nishijima Ryouta. Not only was it a 5-hitter he throw, but he struck out 12 while walking 3.
12!
Those are number that you would expect to see when they're in prefectural play. Not at Koushien. It's not like he throws hard - in fact his velo is average for an ace pitcher (~mid-130s fastball). 9 were swinging, so perhaps it was due to poor plate discipline, but we'll just have to see if he can repeat his performance.
As for Yamagata Chuo, that was one of the days my body was pretty much shutting down on me. But from what I remember, I questioned whey they replaced Hayasaka when he was so effective. And it was that in the 9th inning, with Komatsu having gone to their 4th pitcher, that they completely collapsed as they watched as Yamagata Chuo score 4 runs to take the lead - and eventually win 9-8.
Suffice it to say, this team has flaws. Ace Ishikawa was responsible for putting his team in the hole giving up 6 runs in less than 4 innings of work. Their 2nd year reliever Satou was far more effective, despite the fact he gave up 6 free passes (he did only give up 2 hits in his 5.1 IP of work).
On offense, yes they scored 9 runs, but it was thanks to the bottom of the lineup. That's nice to see, but at the same time having the heart of your order go 3-13 looks really bad.
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
2B Takahashi Yuusuke (#14)
LF Satou Miharu (#13)
RF Nagai Daichi
3B Aoki Riku
1B Takahashi Kazuki
SS Nakamura Ryuu
CF Takahashi Ryousuke
C Abe Koutarou
P Satou Ryousuke (#11)
Toukai Dai-yon (Minami Hokkaido)
CF Takahashi Iwami
2B Ookawara Akira
SS Fukuda Ryouta
LF Ookouchi Wataru
1B Abe Yoshi
RF Takada Shou
P Nishijima Ryouta
C Ueno Jyunki
3B Wakahara Shunnosuke
____________________________________________________________
09:30 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Nishijima already working on his K count. Yuusuke goes down on 3 straight with the finisher being a fastball on the outside edge.
2 down, and Nagai gets the first base hit as he just aims the ball and bloops it into left for a base hit. Aoki grounds to short though, and the inning is over.
Bottom 1st
And as expected, Satou takes the hill first instead of in relief. He strikes out Iwami on a slider to start the inning.
After that he gets 2 easy groundouts and its a scoreless first.
Top 2nd
Kazuki with a drive to deep left center, Iwami sprinting to the wall.. makes the running catch! One down.
2 quick outs now as Nakamura grounds to 1st.
And 2 K's for Nishijima as he gets Ryousuke looking on yet another fastball.
Bottom 2nd
Ookouchi goes after the very slow curve, but can't get a level swing, grounding to 3rd.
There are a lot of batters just looking. Yoshi becomes another such K victim as Ryousuke paints the edge of the zone.
Takada grounds to 1st, Yoshi tosses to Nishijima for the 3rd out.
Top 3rd
More struggles on offense. Koutarou and Satou Ryousuke ground to short.
Ishiakwa tries the slow curve, but Yuusuke pounds it to right field for a base hit.
Koharu then singles past a chasing Ookawara into right.
Nishijima clamps down and gets Nagai on a slider in the dirt for the 3rd out.
Bottom 3rd
Satou allows his first baserunner after walking Nishijima to start the inning. Ueno bunts him along.
And just to show you how low-scoring of an environment this is, Wakahara is also showing bunt.
He hasn't offered yet and gets ahead 2-0. He may not have been meaning to bunt at all as he tries to poke a ball somewhere at 2-1. Does it again at 2-2 and hits a soft liner to Nakamura behind 2nd.
Iwami swings and misses on the outside fastball and the side is retired.
Top 4th
I think Nishijima, knowing this will be a low-scoring game, isn't going for K's but instead bad contact. That would in general use less pitches and save him for later.
And he gets 3 groundouts in 12 pitches. Not bad considering normal pitch counts for a full game starter can go easily into the 120s.
Bottom 4th
Satou hasn't given up a hit, but he issues his 2nd walk to start an inning. Ookawara is the recipient and Fukuda looks to bunt him along.
Even with 2 strikes he tries the bunt, but he pushes it foul and goes down for the first out.
Ookouchi swings away, but flies out to right for the 2nd out.
Ookawara takes things into his own hand and breaks for 2nd! Throw is in the dirt and Koutarou has no play!
SANSHIN!!!
But the ball gets away from Koutarou, and Yoshi reaches safely! The opening run stands 90 feet away now as Shouji-kantoku calls time.
SANSHIN!!!
Satou gets Takada on another slider and this time Koutarou stays with it and tags Takada for the 3rd out!
Top 5th
More futility at the plate Takahashi Ryousuke hits an easy grounder to 2nd. Koutarou gets ahead 3-1, but winds up chasing the slider for a K.
And Satou Ryousuke swings on the first pitch and flies out to Iwami in left center for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Nishijima too tries going on the first pitch, but its a routine fly to left.
Satou Ryousuke finally gets a strike on a slow pitch to Ueno, and strikes him out on a fastball.
Wakahara tries for the drag bunt, but that doesn't work. The teams have combined for 3 hits, and one team has all of them. There are only two walks, and the other team has both of them.
I see enchousen coming.
Top 6th
Yuusuke continues the futility at the plate swinging at a slider outside for another K.
Koharu hits a foul fly to left, Ookouchi has space to make the catch for the out.
And Nagai with a very weak swing grounds right to Yoshi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 6th
Questionable call here, though Satou has thrown a lot of pitches.
#4 Okuyama comes in for Yuusuke and goes to 2B. Ishikawa comes in for Koharu and takes the hill. Satou Ryousuke goes to LF.
And immediately Iwami gets a base hit - a sharp grounder through the right side.
No bunt for Ookawara, but he goes down swinging lunging at a ball outside.
Oowaki-kantoku elects for the hit and run, but Fukuda flies out to right. And while Toukai Dai-yon finally gets their first hit, they can't do anything with it as Ookouchi hits a hard grounder to 3rd to end the inning.
Top 7th
Nishijima finally tries the eephus with 2 out to Nakamura, but it's a ball. Nakamura actually considered bunting it before realizing it was too far away.
But regardless, Nishijima not surprisingly sets down the side in order.
Bottom 7th
#16 Imagawa hits for Yoshi. And hits the first pitch sharply past Aoki for a base hit!
Takada bunts him along, but now you're asking for a base hit, and Nishijima can't oblige. He pops out to Nakamura for the 2nd out.
Ishikawa blows a 148 kph fastball by Ueno for the 3rd out. Toukai Dai-yon is getting more opportunities with Ishikawa on the hill, but still can't do anything about it.
Top 8th
#13 Tomita comes in for PH Imagawa and takes over at 1B.
Oh? Nishijima gives up his first walk to Koutarou with 1 out!Ryousuke bunts him along to 2nd hoping for a one-timer from Okuyama.
Nishijima not even at 100 pitches, but on his 95th he walks Okuyama on 4 straight.
And he misses again to Ishikawa to start his AB! And again!
And again!!! 3-0 to Ishikawa!
Finally a fastball down the middle for a strike. And another to fill up the count.
SANSHIN!!!!
On his 101st pitch Ishikawa can't make contact on the fastball and the side is retired!
Interesting note - whenever he's thrown the eephus, his control as gone away for a little while...
Bottom 8th
They will go with Ishikawa for the rest of the game. #7 Takahashi Ryuusei comes in for Satou Ryousuke and takes over in LF.
Wakahara tries the safety bunt, but Aoki charges in and makes a great throw for the out.
Iwami screamer up the 3rd base line... fair!! Aoki can't get this one and Iwami has a double!
Ookawara not bunting, but Oowaki-kantoku has the hit and run! Ookawara strikes out but Koutarou doesn't throw to 3rd! 2 down, but a run stands 90 feet away!
Ishikawa falling behind Fukuda, count goes to 3-1. But he pops it up! Ryousuke comes in, then has to make a last minute adjustment - but still makes the catch for the 3rd out!
Top 9th
Nagai singles past a diving Wakahara! Yamagata Chuo with only their 2nd leadoff runner!
AHH!! Aoki pops up his bunt! Koharu makes the running catch for the first out!
Kazuki grounder to the left side, Wakahara goes to 2nd for the out.
And with Nakamura grounding out to 2nd, Yamagata Chuo will have to play for enchousen!
Bottom 9th
Ookouchi tries to work the count and get on base, but Ishikawa gets the outside corner for strike 3!
Tomita grounds out to 2nd and we may be headed to enchousen.
Takada ball up the 1st base line... fair!!! Koharu can't get it and it's down the line! He's in with a double and the sayonara run is in scoring position!
Shouji-kantoku calls time as Oowaki-kantoku sends in #17 Yamamoto to run for Takada.
Liner! But Ishikawa snags it and Nishijima can only give a wry smile as we're headed to enchousen!
Top 10th
Yamamoto stays in the game at RF.
Nishijima perhaps running low on gas as he walks Ryousuke to start the inning.
Snap throw from Ueno, WIDE!!!! It goes into right as Ryousuke goes to 2nd! Yamamoto throws to 2nd... HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ooukouchi has to run it down and Ryousuke has 3rd base! Oh, what were they thinking??
Oowaki-kantoku calls time, though they're in bad shape.
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nishijima strikes out Koutarou looking for the first out! Can he get the team out of this big pinch?
NO!
Ryuusei singles through the left side and Yamagata Chuo takes the 1-0 lead!
And now Ryuusei takes off for 2nd! Throw from Ueno... short and goes into center!!
Ryuusei taking off for 3rd, throw from Iwami... HIGH!!!!!!!
It goes off Wakahara's stretched out glove and into Toukai's dugout! Ryuusei score on another pair of errors and they lead 2-0!!
Okuyaam singles to center and Toukai may be finished! Shouji-kantoku taking no chances has Ishikawa bunt the runner over to try and get on more run.
But Nishijima strikes out Nagai swinging. Destruction complete though and their ship is left in critical condition.
Bottom 10th
Ueno strikes out swinging on 3 straight.
Wakahara chopper to right side. Kazuki with it, tosses to Ishikawa, but he can't find the bag! Wakahara beats him out and they can bring the douten runner to the plate.
Iwami barely avoids strike 3 once, but gets completely frozen when a change goes over for strike 3. Wakahara takes 2nd, but his run doesn't matter.
Last chance in Ookawara.
But Ishikawa can't (isn't?) throwing a strike?! He falls behind 3-0, and then finally fires one in. Fastball fouled off and the count runs full...
Fouled off...
Grounder to 2nd, Okuyama fumbles it slightly, but goes to 1st and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo survives in enchousen 2-0!
I joked about the lack of offense in the game, but in reality both teams were desperate to score a run and conversely knew that they would need to prevent 1 run. And it was that thinking, that pressure in enchousen that finally got to Toukai Dai-yon and allowed Yamagata Chuo to advance.
Some people would joke that neither team should win given how awful the offenses were. But that's not fair to the kids. They can only play with the talent they're given and if that results in a game like this - so be it.
But you can tell from the Dai-yon player's faces that it's no laughing matter. 21 years they waited only to have it end in this matter? They weren't even alive the last time Dai-yon went. It's a painful way to go.
Yamagata Chuo survives yet again. But for how much longer is debatable.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Day 8, Game 2 - Urawa Gakuin (Saitama) vs. Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
Our sandwich game of the day features the Kanto champs Urawa Gakuin facing off against the Tohoku Friendship bid team of Yamagata Chuo.
Urawa Gakuin looked rather pedestrian in their win over Tosa in their first game. The team managed just 6 hits and displayed an inability to move the runners over. Not exactly a recipe for success. They were rather patient though drawing 5 walks. Though I suppose getting hit 7 times also helps too...
On the mound, Ojima did his job striking out 8 batters in a 4-0 victory. But striking out that many is a bit odd really considering he manages about 7 K's per inning in the fall. Assuming better competition, you'd think that number would get worse.
Still not to completely put down Yamagata Chuo, Urawa Gakuin should get another game to ease into play. Facing Iwakuni Shougyou, they completely took advantage of a defensive alignment that did not match the potential of the Yamagata batters. As a result, many a time we saw the numbers on the outfielder's uniforms as they chased the balls back.
That won't happen against their opponent this game.
On the mound it was fairly clear that even against a team like Iwakuni Shougyou, the pitching staff allowed quite a few hits and scoring opportunities. They just so happened to snake out of the jams they got themselves into.
But again, that won't happen against this opponent.
So suffice it to say, Yamagata Chuo has their work cut out for them.
Urawa Gakuin (Saitama) - Kanto Champions
SS Takemura Haruki
2B Nie Hayato
CF Yamane Yuuta
3B Takada Ryouta
1B Kigure Naito
LF Saitou Ryousuke (#9)
C Nishikawa Genki
P Ojima Kazuya
RF Watanabe Takeru (#16)
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
____________________________________________________________
11:14 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Ryouhei working quickly off the mound, but Takemura singles through the right side.
Nie not bunting! Bust-and-run and he slices one to left center! Takada shading to right can't get to it and it gets by the outfield! Ryouhei easily coming home and it's already 1-0 Urawa Gakuin!
Yamane with a grounder to 3rd, Nakamura can't field it cleanly! His throw to 1st is late and Nie scores to make it 2-0!
Jyouji-kantoku calling time, but the situation already looking bad for the Tohoku Friendship team. Meanwhile #11 Takahashi Kazuki warms up.
Mori-kantoku tries the hit-and-run before having cleanup batter Takada bunt.
Kigure with a short fly to Daiki behind 2nd, and he misses it! The terrible start continues...
But Saitou lines out to left, and Nishikawa grounds to 3rd to put an end to the inning. Still, even before Yamagata Chuo gets a chance to pick up a bat they've spotted Uragaku 2 runs.
Bottom 1st
Takumi falling behind quickly 0-2, grounds to 3rd. Konno swings on the first pitch, gets jammed and grounds to short.
Ryouhei works the count a little, but winds up grounding back to Ojima to end the inning. Pretty simple to start with for the Uragaku ace.
Top 2nd
Ojima with a ball to the right side, Daiki with a great pick, turn, and throw for the 1st out.
Watanabe pops out to Haga behind the place, and Takemura follows suit soon after flying out to left. A really quick inning for Ryouhei after the long 1st
Bottom 2nd
Cleanup batter Kumagai gets ahead 3-0, takes a strike before getting a leadoff walk. Jyouji-kantoku plays for the run by having Nakamura bunt him over.
Haga working the count, gets ahead 2-1 but chases a fastball outside for strike 2. He manages to check his swing on a high fastball to run it full.
And Haga earns a walk! Runners on 1st and 2nd as Nishikawa comes out to talk to him.
Jyouji-kantoku tries the bunt and run?! But Daiki pops it up! Nishikawa goes back and chases it down for the 2nd out!
Matsuzawa with an odd step back while the pitch is thrown, winds up looking at strike 3 to end the inning. A good opportunity for Yamagata Chuo to get back a run winds up with none.
Top 3rd
It's another quick inning for Ryouhei as Uragaku's batters are swinging away early. 7 pitches and he retires the side! Now if the offense can pick it up.
Bottom 3rd
It's a quick 2 outs for Yamagata as Ryuusei grounds to short and Takada flies out to center.
Konno with a short grounder, Nie charges, but the ball deflects off his glove and Konno is safe!
But that's as far as he goes. Ojima gets Ryouhei to chase a fastball outside for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
A routine grounder to short becomes less so as Kanno's throw to 1st is way too high advancing Kigure to the next base
Kigure, heading home on contact, winds up being thrown out by Nakamura.
Ojima grounds out back to Ryouhei for the 3rd out. Urawa Gakuin threatening to score again, get their invitation pulled at home.
Bottom 4th
Kumagai with a ball to right, but easily handed by Watanabe.
Nakamura doing the same. Watanabe rounding to the ball, slips! He falls down as the ball does likewise and Nakamura winds up at 3rd base and Yamagata Chuo has a great opportunity!
Haga gets ahead 3-0, but Ojima fights back to make it full.
But Ojima gets him to climb the ladder and strike out swinging! 2 down!
And Ojima shuts the door! Daiki also climbs the ladder this time to end the inning and Nakamura is stranded at 2nd!
Top 5th
After a quick flyout by Watanabe, Ryouhei walks Takemura on 4 straight. Nie grounds to 1st, and Matsuzawa elects to take the out at 1st.
Yamane flies out to center, and despite the fast start, Yamagata Chuo has not let the game get away from them.
Bottom 5th
Defensive changes for Urawa Gakuin. #7 Hattori comes in for Watanabe and goes to LF. Saitou moves to his numbered position in RF.
Two quick outs for Yamagata as both Matsuzawa and Ryuusei ground out. Takada goes behind 0-2 before he is bailed out by getting hit.
Konno with a single through the right side and they now have runners on 1st and 2nd!
Ryouhei with a liner to right! The throw from Saitou is cutoff and Takada scores to make it a 1-run ballgame at 2-1! Mori-kantoku calls time.
That brings up cleanup batter Kumagai. And he's hit!! Manrui for Yamagata Chuo with Nakamura up!
#10 Yamaguchi warms up as Yamagata Chuo threatens to tie the game.
Ojima gets ahead of Nakamura 0-2. Tries to get him to chase high, but doesn't bite. Does it again and he fouls it off!
And as I expected, after doubling up high, they go down and away and Nakamura chases! Ojima gets out of the pinch giving up just the 1 run and as we head to the break Urawa Gakuin holds a slim 1-run lead over underdog Yamagata Chuo. If they're not careful Yamagata Chuo may do what Kochi did to Kanzei earlier.
Top 6th
Takada crushes a ball from Ryouhei!! Ryuusei chases the ball, but quickly gives up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when Yamagata Chuo looked to have some momentum come their way, Takada just smashes it back down with a no-doubt HR to left! Urawa Gakuin brings their lead back to 2 and 3-1!
AH! Hard grounder from Kigure bounds off and over Nakamura into left for a base hit!
And as quickly as that, Jyouji-kantoku makes a pitching change. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the mound while Ryouhei moves to 1st.
Saitou bunts the runner over for Nishikawa, who is promptly hit by Kazuki.
But Kazuki comes back to to get the outside corner on Ojima for the 2nd out!
Ah! A passed ball on Haga allows the runners to advance!
Hattori with a grounder to the left side! Nakamura dives, but it goes by him into left! Ryuusei's throw home is cutoff and both runners score to make it 5-1!
Takemura grounds to 2nd to end the inning, but Urawa Gakuin may finally be waking up.
Bottom 6th
Haga can't start the offense as he flies out to center. Daiki quickly grounds to 2nd.
New pitcher Kazuki works the count full and draws a walk. But Ryuusei tries the safety bunt and grounds back to Ojima for the 3rd out.
Top 7th
Nie grounds to 1st, and Ryouhei has to scramble and take it himself to the bag as Kazuki is late in covering.
Yamane singles to right as Urawa Gakuin looks for more runs.
Takada goes down and lines one to left! Ryuusei is there, but the ball takes a high hop and gets by Ryuusei and to the wall! That allows Yamane to score from 1st to make it 6-1!
Kigure grounds to 2nd, but advances Takada to 3rd.
However, Saitou does the same and the inning is over.
Bottom 7th
Takada bloops a ball back up the middle past a diving Nie for a base hit.
Konno chases a fastball outside and goes down for the 1st out. Ryouhei, pops up a pitch inside and Kigure secures it for the 2nd out.
Ojima missing high with his pitches, but Yamagata's batters for the most part have been chasing them - though not this inning.
Kumagai though swings on a 2-0 pitch and pops up to a backpedaling Nie for the 3rd out.
Top 8th
Nishikawa leads off the inning by grounding to 2nd on the first pitch. One pitch, one out. But then he turns around to walk Ojima on 4 straight. #1 Ishikawa warms up in the bullpen.
Hattori with a ball to the right side, gets past both Ryouhei and Daiki into right! Ojima stops at 2nd.
Kazuki having trouble finding the strike zone, falls behind 3-1.
Takemura hits a sharp grounder past Ryouhei down the 1st base line! Ojima comes in to score, Hattori being waved in as the throw goes to 3rd! Takemura slides in safely and it's 8-1 Uragaku!
Nie with the safety bunt! Nakamura charges in, throws to 1st. As he does, Takemura breaks for home! Nie's out at 1st, but the throw home from Ryouhei is late and Takemura makes it a 9-1 ballgame!
Yamane with a sharp shot through the left side for a base hit.
And as a result, Jyouji-kantoku pulls the plug on Kazuki. Ishikawa comes in for Kazuki and takes the hill.
Kigure with a hot shot to Nakamura, it's off his glove! Konno backs up the play and throws to 1st, but not nearly in time.
Oh dear. Kigure with a blast to left center past the defense and to the wall. Both runners easily score on the triple and it's 11-1 Urawa Gakuin.
Saitou pops up to Daiki behind 2nd for the 3rd out, but the game is well in hand.
Bottom 8th
Up 10, Ojima goes after the Yamagata batters as they go down easily in order.
Top 9th
Nishikawa starts off the 9th with a single through the left side. Ojima bunts him along for Hattori who's 2-2 on the day after coming in for Watanabe.
Ishikawa finally retires Hattori as he hits a soft liner to Daiki who makes a shoestring catch.
A wild pitch from Ishikawa gets away from Haga, sending Nishikawa to 3rd.
No damage done though as Takemura strikes out to end the inning.
Bottom 9th
Defensive changes for Uragaku, and they're a bit strange. Nishikawa, Kigure and Takada rotate such that Nishikawa is at 1B, Kigure is at 3B and Takada is behind the plate. Not sure why, but ok.
Meanwhile, #10 Yamaguchi comes in for Saitou and takes the hill. Ojima goes to RF.
#5 Takahashi Kenta comes in to hit for Ishikawa, and promptly sends one into right center splitting the defense for a double.
#15 Satou Miharu comes in to hit for Ryuusei. But he goes down looking for the 1st out.
Takada grounds to short and Yamagata Chuo is down to their last out.
Konno the last chance and he flies out to left and that's the ballgame. Urawa Gakuin soundly defeats Yamagata Chuo 11-1 and secure a place in the Best 8.
For a while there Yamagata Chuo held in there against the Kanto champions, despite giving up an early 2 runs. By the break they had pulled to within 1 and had a chance to actually tie it. But after the break Urawa Gakuin put their foot down and just blew by them and in to the quarterfinals. A good effort, but an expected result.
Which is good for Urawa Gakuin, but the stagnation of their offense after the quick strike 1st is a bit of cause for concern. Ojima did keep Yamagata Chuo to just the 1 run, but he walked 3 and hit 2 which is never a good thing. Things will only get harder from here, so they'll need to continue getting support from the offense to help out Ojima.
Notable Players
Ojima Kazuya (Urawa Gakuin) - W, 8 IP, ER, 4 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 2 HBP
Takada Ryouta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Yamane Yuuta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-4, 2 R, RBI
Hattori Masamitsu (Urawa Gakuin) - 2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-4, RBI, K
Takahashi Kenta (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-1, 2B
Urawa Gakuin looked rather pedestrian in their win over Tosa in their first game. The team managed just 6 hits and displayed an inability to move the runners over. Not exactly a recipe for success. They were rather patient though drawing 5 walks. Though I suppose getting hit 7 times also helps too...
On the mound, Ojima did his job striking out 8 batters in a 4-0 victory. But striking out that many is a bit odd really considering he manages about 7 K's per inning in the fall. Assuming better competition, you'd think that number would get worse.
Still not to completely put down Yamagata Chuo, Urawa Gakuin should get another game to ease into play. Facing Iwakuni Shougyou, they completely took advantage of a defensive alignment that did not match the potential of the Yamagata batters. As a result, many a time we saw the numbers on the outfielder's uniforms as they chased the balls back.
That won't happen against their opponent this game.
On the mound it was fairly clear that even against a team like Iwakuni Shougyou, the pitching staff allowed quite a few hits and scoring opportunities. They just so happened to snake out of the jams they got themselves into.
But again, that won't happen against this opponent.
So suffice it to say, Yamagata Chuo has their work cut out for them.
Urawa Gakuin (Saitama) - Kanto Champions
SS Takemura Haruki
2B Nie Hayato
CF Yamane Yuuta
3B Takada Ryouta
1B Kigure Naito
LF Saitou Ryousuke (#9)
C Nishikawa Genki
P Ojima Kazuya
RF Watanabe Takeru (#16)
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
____________________________________________________________
11:14 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Ryouhei working quickly off the mound, but Takemura singles through the right side.
Nie not bunting! Bust-and-run and he slices one to left center! Takada shading to right can't get to it and it gets by the outfield! Ryouhei easily coming home and it's already 1-0 Urawa Gakuin!
Yamane with a grounder to 3rd, Nakamura can't field it cleanly! His throw to 1st is late and Nie scores to make it 2-0!
Jyouji-kantoku calling time, but the situation already looking bad for the Tohoku Friendship team. Meanwhile #11 Takahashi Kazuki warms up.
Mori-kantoku tries the hit-and-run before having cleanup batter Takada bunt.
Kigure with a short fly to Daiki behind 2nd, and he misses it! The terrible start continues...
But Saitou lines out to left, and Nishikawa grounds to 3rd to put an end to the inning. Still, even before Yamagata Chuo gets a chance to pick up a bat they've spotted Uragaku 2 runs.
Bottom 1st
Takumi falling behind quickly 0-2, grounds to 3rd. Konno swings on the first pitch, gets jammed and grounds to short.
Ryouhei works the count a little, but winds up grounding back to Ojima to end the inning. Pretty simple to start with for the Uragaku ace.
Top 2nd
Ojima with a ball to the right side, Daiki with a great pick, turn, and throw for the 1st out.
Watanabe pops out to Haga behind the place, and Takemura follows suit soon after flying out to left. A really quick inning for Ryouhei after the long 1st
Bottom 2nd
Cleanup batter Kumagai gets ahead 3-0, takes a strike before getting a leadoff walk. Jyouji-kantoku plays for the run by having Nakamura bunt him over.
Haga working the count, gets ahead 2-1 but chases a fastball outside for strike 2. He manages to check his swing on a high fastball to run it full.
And Haga earns a walk! Runners on 1st and 2nd as Nishikawa comes out to talk to him.
Jyouji-kantoku tries the bunt and run?! But Daiki pops it up! Nishikawa goes back and chases it down for the 2nd out!
Matsuzawa with an odd step back while the pitch is thrown, winds up looking at strike 3 to end the inning. A good opportunity for Yamagata Chuo to get back a run winds up with none.
Top 3rd
It's another quick inning for Ryouhei as Uragaku's batters are swinging away early. 7 pitches and he retires the side! Now if the offense can pick it up.
Bottom 3rd
It's a quick 2 outs for Yamagata as Ryuusei grounds to short and Takada flies out to center.
Konno with a short grounder, Nie charges, but the ball deflects off his glove and Konno is safe!
But that's as far as he goes. Ojima gets Ryouhei to chase a fastball outside for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
A routine grounder to short becomes less so as Kanno's throw to 1st is way too high advancing Kigure to the next base
Kigure, heading home on contact, winds up being thrown out by Nakamura.
Ojima grounds out back to Ryouhei for the 3rd out. Urawa Gakuin threatening to score again, get their invitation pulled at home.
Bottom 4th
Kumagai with a ball to right, but easily handed by Watanabe.
Nakamura doing the same. Watanabe rounding to the ball, slips! He falls down as the ball does likewise and Nakamura winds up at 3rd base and Yamagata Chuo has a great opportunity!
Haga gets ahead 3-0, but Ojima fights back to make it full.
But Ojima gets him to climb the ladder and strike out swinging! 2 down!
And Ojima shuts the door! Daiki also climbs the ladder this time to end the inning and Nakamura is stranded at 2nd!
Top 5th
After a quick flyout by Watanabe, Ryouhei walks Takemura on 4 straight. Nie grounds to 1st, and Matsuzawa elects to take the out at 1st.
Yamane flies out to center, and despite the fast start, Yamagata Chuo has not let the game get away from them.
Bottom 5th
Defensive changes for Urawa Gakuin. #7 Hattori comes in for Watanabe and goes to LF. Saitou moves to his numbered position in RF.
Two quick outs for Yamagata as both Matsuzawa and Ryuusei ground out. Takada goes behind 0-2 before he is bailed out by getting hit.
Konno with a single through the right side and they now have runners on 1st and 2nd!
Ryouhei with a liner to right! The throw from Saitou is cutoff and Takada scores to make it a 1-run ballgame at 2-1! Mori-kantoku calls time.
That brings up cleanup batter Kumagai. And he's hit!! Manrui for Yamagata Chuo with Nakamura up!
#10 Yamaguchi warms up as Yamagata Chuo threatens to tie the game.
Ojima gets ahead of Nakamura 0-2. Tries to get him to chase high, but doesn't bite. Does it again and he fouls it off!
And as I expected, after doubling up high, they go down and away and Nakamura chases! Ojima gets out of the pinch giving up just the 1 run and as we head to the break Urawa Gakuin holds a slim 1-run lead over underdog Yamagata Chuo. If they're not careful Yamagata Chuo may do what Kochi did to Kanzei earlier.
Top 6th
Takada crushes a ball from Ryouhei!! Ryuusei chases the ball, but quickly gives up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when Yamagata Chuo looked to have some momentum come their way, Takada just smashes it back down with a no-doubt HR to left! Urawa Gakuin brings their lead back to 2 and 3-1!
AH! Hard grounder from Kigure bounds off and over Nakamura into left for a base hit!
And as quickly as that, Jyouji-kantoku makes a pitching change. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the mound while Ryouhei moves to 1st.
Saitou bunts the runner over for Nishikawa, who is promptly hit by Kazuki.
But Kazuki comes back to to get the outside corner on Ojima for the 2nd out!
Ah! A passed ball on Haga allows the runners to advance!
Hattori with a grounder to the left side! Nakamura dives, but it goes by him into left! Ryuusei's throw home is cutoff and both runners score to make it 5-1!
Takemura grounds to 2nd to end the inning, but Urawa Gakuin may finally be waking up.
Bottom 6th
Haga can't start the offense as he flies out to center. Daiki quickly grounds to 2nd.
New pitcher Kazuki works the count full and draws a walk. But Ryuusei tries the safety bunt and grounds back to Ojima for the 3rd out.
Top 7th
Nie grounds to 1st, and Ryouhei has to scramble and take it himself to the bag as Kazuki is late in covering.
Yamane singles to right as Urawa Gakuin looks for more runs.
Takada goes down and lines one to left! Ryuusei is there, but the ball takes a high hop and gets by Ryuusei and to the wall! That allows Yamane to score from 1st to make it 6-1!
Kigure grounds to 2nd, but advances Takada to 3rd.
However, Saitou does the same and the inning is over.
Bottom 7th
Takada bloops a ball back up the middle past a diving Nie for a base hit.
Konno chases a fastball outside and goes down for the 1st out. Ryouhei, pops up a pitch inside and Kigure secures it for the 2nd out.
Ojima missing high with his pitches, but Yamagata's batters for the most part have been chasing them - though not this inning.
Kumagai though swings on a 2-0 pitch and pops up to a backpedaling Nie for the 3rd out.
Top 8th
Nishikawa leads off the inning by grounding to 2nd on the first pitch. One pitch, one out. But then he turns around to walk Ojima on 4 straight. #1 Ishikawa warms up in the bullpen.
Hattori with a ball to the right side, gets past both Ryouhei and Daiki into right! Ojima stops at 2nd.
Kazuki having trouble finding the strike zone, falls behind 3-1.
Takemura hits a sharp grounder past Ryouhei down the 1st base line! Ojima comes in to score, Hattori being waved in as the throw goes to 3rd! Takemura slides in safely and it's 8-1 Uragaku!
Nie with the safety bunt! Nakamura charges in, throws to 1st. As he does, Takemura breaks for home! Nie's out at 1st, but the throw home from Ryouhei is late and Takemura makes it a 9-1 ballgame!
Yamane with a sharp shot through the left side for a base hit.
And as a result, Jyouji-kantoku pulls the plug on Kazuki. Ishikawa comes in for Kazuki and takes the hill.
Kigure with a hot shot to Nakamura, it's off his glove! Konno backs up the play and throws to 1st, but not nearly in time.
Oh dear. Kigure with a blast to left center past the defense and to the wall. Both runners easily score on the triple and it's 11-1 Urawa Gakuin.
Saitou pops up to Daiki behind 2nd for the 3rd out, but the game is well in hand.
Bottom 8th
Up 10, Ojima goes after the Yamagata batters as they go down easily in order.
Top 9th
Nishikawa starts off the 9th with a single through the left side. Ojima bunts him along for Hattori who's 2-2 on the day after coming in for Watanabe.
Ishikawa finally retires Hattori as he hits a soft liner to Daiki who makes a shoestring catch.
A wild pitch from Ishikawa gets away from Haga, sending Nishikawa to 3rd.
No damage done though as Takemura strikes out to end the inning.
Bottom 9th
Defensive changes for Uragaku, and they're a bit strange. Nishikawa, Kigure and Takada rotate such that Nishikawa is at 1B, Kigure is at 3B and Takada is behind the plate. Not sure why, but ok.
Meanwhile, #10 Yamaguchi comes in for Saitou and takes the hill. Ojima goes to RF.
#5 Takahashi Kenta comes in to hit for Ishikawa, and promptly sends one into right center splitting the defense for a double.
#15 Satou Miharu comes in to hit for Ryuusei. But he goes down looking for the 1st out.
Takada grounds to short and Yamagata Chuo is down to their last out.
Konno the last chance and he flies out to left and that's the ballgame. Urawa Gakuin soundly defeats Yamagata Chuo 11-1 and secure a place in the Best 8.
For a while there Yamagata Chuo held in there against the Kanto champions, despite giving up an early 2 runs. By the break they had pulled to within 1 and had a chance to actually tie it. But after the break Urawa Gakuin put their foot down and just blew by them and in to the quarterfinals. A good effort, but an expected result.
Which is good for Urawa Gakuin, but the stagnation of their offense after the quick strike 1st is a bit of cause for concern. Ojima did keep Yamagata Chuo to just the 1 run, but he walked 3 and hit 2 which is never a good thing. Things will only get harder from here, so they'll need to continue getting support from the offense to help out Ojima.
Notable Players
Ojima Kazuya (Urawa Gakuin) - W, 8 IP, ER, 4 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 2 HBP
Takada Ryouta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Yamane Yuuta (Urawa Gakuin) - 3-4, 2 R, RBI
Hattori Masamitsu (Urawa Gakuin) - 2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-4, RBI, K
Takahashi Kenta (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-1, 2B
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Day 6, Game 2 - Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) vs. Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
Game 2 has our only remaining Chuugoku team squaring off against the Tohoku Friendship representative.
Iwakuni Shougyou, probably the weakest of the three schools representing Chuugoku now stands as the only team remaining. Kanzei couldn't find home plate if it hit them in the head, and Kouryou make a valiant effort, but couldn't keep with with Saibi in enchousen. So they will try and make the valiant charge for the region.
The offense indeed had problems against Riseisha, only scoring when they were able to take advantage of a leadoff triple by Yokota. Otherwise, they really scuffled at the plate.
On the mound, Takahashi dispersed the baserunners though all the innings and never really let Riseisha have a chance at a big inning. The skill isn't a fully manageable skill since it depends on the opposition, but if he can continue to do that they might have a chance.
Yamagata Chuo comes in as the Tohoku Friendship bid. They actually reached the super-regional quarterfinal, so they're not necessarily like a 21st century team. But in looking at their resume, there's not a whole lot to go on. They reached the prefectural final only to lose to Sakata Minami 3-2. And after a mercy rule win over Aomori Kita, they fell to Seikou Gakuin 4-2.
From the little data we have, Yamagata Chuo had 4 pitchers who accounted for almost all their innings. Takahashi Ryouhei (28 inn), Nagai Daichi (21 inn), ace number Ishikawa Naoya (19.1 inn), Takahashi Kazuki (11 inn). Of the 4, Kazuki is the only southpaw. Sadly, I have almost no other information as to how hard they throw, what type of pitches they have, etc.
What I do know is that the statistics indicate that everyone averages around a K/IP except for Ryouhei (1 every 2), all have a WHIP under 1.00 except for Ishikawa (1.45). Nagai has the lowest ERA at 0.43, but has more walks than hits (7:9).
Offensively, the team batted 0.320, but against Seikou Gakuin managed just 5 hits. No one really stands out as an offensive threat though, so it's hard to say how they will do.
Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) - Chuugoku 3 seed
CF Nakamura Souichirou
2B Nakagawa Yuuki
P Takahashi Yuuya
1B Shigeoka Fumiya
RF Yokota Hiroki
C Kurisu Tooru
LF Shimizu Kouhei
SS Shigeishi Yuuji
3B Kamidera Yuu
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
____________________________________________________________
11:15 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, Ryouhei is pretty much like I expected. Low 130s, slider/curve.
Nakamura quckly grounds out to 1st for the opening out. Nakagawa takes a slider on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
But Yuuya hits a solid base hit through to right! And now Chuunai-kantoku sends him! Throw from Haga is not in time! The ace steals a base!
Shigeoka meanwhile fights at the plate, working the count full and fouling off several curveballs down in the zone.
Finally Ryouhei gets him to put it in play and it's a grounder to 2nd for the third out.
Bottom 1st
Ryuusei tries the safety bunt, but Kamidera is there and makes the throw to easily beat out a diving Ryuusei for the out. Konno swings on the very next pitch and also grounds out to 3rd.
But Yuuya ruins his own chance at a 1-2-3 inning as he walks Ryouhei.
Kumagai hacking away and falls behind 1-2
Ryouhei takes off for 2nd! Kurisu's throw is high and he's in safe!
And now Kumagai with a grounder past a diving Kamidera! Ryouhei is given the stop sign and scrambles back.
That's as far as he'lll get as Nakamura gets all twisted around and pops out Shigeoka to end the inning!
Top 2nd
After a groundout to short by Yokota, Kurisu hits one back up the middle! Satou runs over, but just misses the ball!
No matter though as Ryouhei gets Shimizu to ground into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 2nd
It's a rather routine inning for Yuuya as he gets Haga to groundout to 3rd. Satou hits a fly to center that Takada camps under for a while. And Matsuzawa hits a soft liner to Shigeishi.
Top 3rd
Shigeishi with a hot shot to 3rd! Nakamura blocks it, but it defects towards 2nd! He runs it down, but has to eat it! Kamidera bunts him along.
Back to the top of the order and Nakamura (Souichirou). He gets ahead 3-0, but Ryouhei comes back to fill the count with fastballs inside. Does it one more time and Souichirou can't get around on it and becomes the 2nd out.
And Nakagawa is jammed and grounder to 3rd! Hayate throws to first and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Takada lines a shot, but right to Kamidera at 3rd.
Back to the top of the order and Ryuusei, but he can't get around on an inside fastball and goes down for the 2nd out.
And Konno hits a grounder back up the middle! Shigeishi running over, picks it with the end of his glove and makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Ryouhei feeding Yuuya a steady diet of balls outside that he fouls off. He finally wins the battle by getting him to ground out to 2nd.
Shigeoka catches a slider in the zone and gets a base hit through the left side!
Two down for Kurisu and he singles past Ryouhei's glove into center! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Shimizu.
Sanshin! Shimizu can't reach an inside fastball and goes down to end the inning!
Bottom 4th
Ryouhei works the count full, but is called out on a letter high fastball.
Kumagai swinging early, grounds back to Yuuya.
And Nakamura is late on a fastball and goes down on 3 straight for a stress-free 1-2-3 inning!
Top 5th
Shigeishi with a drive the opposite way! Kumagai running back as Takada sprints to help, but it falls in! Shigeishi rounds for 3rd and will take it standing up!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Souichirou pushes the squeeze bunt to the right side! Ryouhei and Matsuzawa charging overplay the ball! Satou retrieves it and tries to beat Soichirou to the bag, but he can't get there! Shigeishi scores to make it 1-0 Iwakuni Shougyou!
And after a sac bunt, Jyouji-kantoku brings in a lefty to face Yuuya. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the hill while Ryuouhei moves to 1st.
And it works! Yuuya pops out Satou to end the inning, but Shigeishi's leadoff triple helps break the deadlock!
Bottom 5th
Haga with a grounder past a diving Kimidera for a base hit!
Satou lays down the bunt, Yuuya takes his time, and the throw to Nakagawa covering is not in time!
That brings up new P Kazuki. He's not bunting?!
No! And he gets ahead 3-1!
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kazuki with a drive to center right! The outfield's drawn in! They're running back, but they have no chance! It one hops to the wall! Haga scores! Satou right behind him! Kazuki with a 2-RBI triple gives Yamagata Chuo the lead! It's 2-1!
またぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Takada with a drive to right, and again the outfield is in! Yokota will chase that all the way to the wall! Takada with back-to-back triples extend the lead to 3-1!!
Back to the top of the lineup and Ryuusei. But on the first pitch he hits it back to Yuuya! Takada can't score as Yuuya goes to 1st.
And now Konno hits it to the right side. Yuuya with it again, looks Takada back and gets the 2nd out!
And the top of the lineup is useless! Ryouhei grouds to short and none of the top batters can get Takada in from 3rd! It's the bottom of the lineup that comes through here in the 5th to give Yamagata Chuo the lead here at the break!
Top 6th
Shigeoka with a ball to right for a leadoff hit!
Hit-and-run! Yokota with a grouner to the right side! Nakagawa chasing it to the outfield, picks it, turns, throws to 1st.. OUT! (Huh?)
Throws to 3rd!! Nakamura with the tag... OUT!!!
It's your standard 4-3-5 double play???!!!
Eh? I thought Yokoka had reached safely even with the dive, but on replay he was out! (STOP DIVING!)
Kurisu grounds out to 2nd and a promising inning goes to waste!
Bottom 6th
Kumagai first pitch singles past Kamidera for a leadoff single! Nakamura bunts him along.
えぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇ？？？？？？？？？？？？？？
Haga connects on a slider and sends it to left! The outfield is in again and Shimizu will chase that to the wall! Haga is in with a double and it's 4-1 Yamagata Chuo!!
Satou can't extend the lead as he pops out to Nakagawa.
Oy. Yuuya hits Kazuki to put runners at 1st and 2nd now! Fortunately, Takada can't check his swing on a ball away and the inning is over. But Yamagata Chuo is punishing mistakes by Yuuya.
Top 7th
The Lucky 7 for Iwakuni Shougyou begins with Shimizu getting their first walk off of Kazuki!
Shigeishi also playing the waiting game, runs the count full, and stays alive fouling off pitches.
It pays off! He gets around on an inside fastball and bloops it into shallow left! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Kamidera.
Safety bunt!
Both Satou and Ryouhei charge in at first, but Ryouhei doubles back to receive the throw for the 1st out. Back to the top of the order and Souichirou.
Base hit!! Souichirou singles through to center and that scores Shimizu! It's too hard though and Takada gets it in quickly to prevent Shigeishi from scoring. But it's now 4-2!
Nakagawa showing squeeze, but can't lay it down twice! Has to swings away and chases a curve in the dirt for the 2nd out!
Now that brings up Yuuya. Can he help his own cause?
Grounder to 3rd! Hayate blocks it in front of him, makes the quick throw...
OUT!!!
Ryouhei makes a great stretch and pick to just get out Yuuya and the inning is over! But they do get back one run, and that is manageable.
Bottom 7th
Ryuusei cannot get around on an inside fastball and goes down swinging.
Konno tries the safety bunt and it dies up the 3rd base line! Kurisu makes the desperate throw to 1st, but not in time!
Ryouhei with a base hit to right! Now runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
EH?
Jyouji-kantoku calls for a double steal with Kumagai at bat?! He misses and Kurisu throws out Konno with miles to spare! 2 out!
Now Kumagai walks and now there's runners on 1st and 2nd again! This time for Hayate who's 0-2 on the day. And he's quickly down 0-2.
And Hayate is still hitless. Grounder to 3rd is taken by Kamidera to the bag and the side is retired.
Top 8th
Shigeishi with his third hit of the day, a single past a diving Konno.
Yokota bunts him along. Getting a run in the 8th and 9th would tie the game after all.
But Kurisu hits a comebacker to Kazuki! He looks Shigeishi back and goes to 1st for the 2nd out!
Chuunai-kantoku goes to the bench. #10 Morimoto comes in to hit for Shimizu.
Like the man he replaced, he works the count full and fouls pitches off. And he works the walk! That brings up Shigeishi who is 3-3 on the day!!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time. This will be a key AB. What will they do with a man that has beaten them all day?
And they're going after him! A couple of pitches inside and Kazuki is ahead 1-2!
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shigeishi cannot get around on another fastball inside and he goes down swinging to end the inning!!
Bottom 8th
Morimoto stays in the game in LF.
2 outs and Kazuki slices a ball down the left field line! Shimizu chases that down near the wall and Kazuki has a double!
And his day is done on the mound. #15 Satou Miharu comes in to run for him.
Takada with another booming hit to left! Shimizu back to the wall, Miharu scores! Takada dives in with his 2nd triple of the day to make it 5-2!
Ryuusei with a grounder to 3rd. Kamidera with the throw to AHHH!!!
The ball is short and gets by Shigeoka! Ryuusei is safe and it's now 6-2!!
Kanno pops out to Kurisu to end the inning, but the game seems all but decided now.
Top 9th
#1 Ishikawa comes in for PR Miharu and takes the hill.
Last ups for Ganshou as #17 Saitou hits for Kamidera, but flies out to center.
Nakamura bloops in a single just fair down the right field line for a single!
#14 Fujioka comes in to hit for Nakagawa, but grounds out to 3rd.
Yuuya keeps the game alive for now with a single past Hayate into left. But Shigeoka flies to center and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo gets their first win at Koushien!
In an amazing display of power (but not HR power!), Yamagata Chuo puts up 6 on ace Yuuya and Iwakuni Shougyou and advance into the next round!
Well color me surprised. I never expected to see that. Even if the Ganshou outfield wasn't playing that far in, those balls would still go in for hits I think.
For Iwakuni Shougyou, it still have be considered a mild success. Defeating Riseisha is no small matter, even if you lose to Yamagata Chuo. They may be the first team I see gathering Koushien dirt, but I think it's well earned.
Yamagata Chuo moves on to face Kanto champs Urawa Gakuin. I don't think they'll take them as lightly - especially in the outfield. But I am intrigued about the upcoming game!
Notable Players
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 4.2 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 K
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - W, 3.1 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP
Takada Takumi (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-4, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI, K
Haga Takahiro (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI
Shigeoka Fumiya (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5
Nakamura Souichirou (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5, 2 RBI
Shigeishi Yuuji (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-4. 3B, R, K
Iwakuni Shougyou, probably the weakest of the three schools representing Chuugoku now stands as the only team remaining. Kanzei couldn't find home plate if it hit them in the head, and Kouryou make a valiant effort, but couldn't keep with with Saibi in enchousen. So they will try and make the valiant charge for the region.
The offense indeed had problems against Riseisha, only scoring when they were able to take advantage of a leadoff triple by Yokota. Otherwise, they really scuffled at the plate.
On the mound, Takahashi dispersed the baserunners though all the innings and never really let Riseisha have a chance at a big inning. The skill isn't a fully manageable skill since it depends on the opposition, but if he can continue to do that they might have a chance.
Yamagata Chuo comes in as the Tohoku Friendship bid. They actually reached the super-regional quarterfinal, so they're not necessarily like a 21st century team. But in looking at their resume, there's not a whole lot to go on. They reached the prefectural final only to lose to Sakata Minami 3-2. And after a mercy rule win over Aomori Kita, they fell to Seikou Gakuin 4-2.
From the little data we have, Yamagata Chuo had 4 pitchers who accounted for almost all their innings. Takahashi Ryouhei (28 inn), Nagai Daichi (21 inn), ace number Ishikawa Naoya (19.1 inn), Takahashi Kazuki (11 inn). Of the 4, Kazuki is the only southpaw. Sadly, I have almost no other information as to how hard they throw, what type of pitches they have, etc.
What I do know is that the statistics indicate that everyone averages around a K/IP except for Ryouhei (1 every 2), all have a WHIP under 1.00 except for Ishikawa (1.45). Nagai has the lowest ERA at 0.43, but has more walks than hits (7:9).
Offensively, the team batted 0.320, but against Seikou Gakuin managed just 5 hits. No one really stands out as an offensive threat though, so it's hard to say how they will do.
Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) - Chuugoku 3 seed
CF Nakamura Souichirou
2B Nakagawa Yuuki
P Takahashi Yuuya
1B Shigeoka Fumiya
RF Yokota Hiroki
C Kurisu Tooru
LF Shimizu Kouhei
SS Shigeishi Yuuji
3B Kamidera Yuu
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
____________________________________________________________
11:15 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, Ryouhei is pretty much like I expected. Low 130s, slider/curve.
Nakamura quckly grounds out to 1st for the opening out. Nakagawa takes a slider on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
But Yuuya hits a solid base hit through to right! And now Chuunai-kantoku sends him! Throw from Haga is not in time! The ace steals a base!
Shigeoka meanwhile fights at the plate, working the count full and fouling off several curveballs down in the zone.
Finally Ryouhei gets him to put it in play and it's a grounder to 2nd for the third out.
Bottom 1st
Ryuusei tries the safety bunt, but Kamidera is there and makes the throw to easily beat out a diving Ryuusei for the out. Konno swings on the very next pitch and also grounds out to 3rd.
But Yuuya ruins his own chance at a 1-2-3 inning as he walks Ryouhei.
Kumagai hacking away and falls behind 1-2
Ryouhei takes off for 2nd! Kurisu's throw is high and he's in safe!
And now Kumagai with a grounder past a diving Kamidera! Ryouhei is given the stop sign and scrambles back.
That's as far as he'lll get as Nakamura gets all twisted around and pops out Shigeoka to end the inning!
Top 2nd
After a groundout to short by Yokota, Kurisu hits one back up the middle! Satou runs over, but just misses the ball!
No matter though as Ryouhei gets Shimizu to ground into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 2nd
It's a rather routine inning for Yuuya as he gets Haga to groundout to 3rd. Satou hits a fly to center that Takada camps under for a while. And Matsuzawa hits a soft liner to Shigeishi.
Top 3rd
Shigeishi with a hot shot to 3rd! Nakamura blocks it, but it defects towards 2nd! He runs it down, but has to eat it! Kamidera bunts him along.
Back to the top of the order and Nakamura (Souichirou). He gets ahead 3-0, but Ryouhei comes back to fill the count with fastballs inside. Does it one more time and Souichirou can't get around on it and becomes the 2nd out.
And Nakagawa is jammed and grounder to 3rd! Hayate throws to first and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Takada lines a shot, but right to Kamidera at 3rd.
Back to the top of the order and Ryuusei, but he can't get around on an inside fastball and goes down for the 2nd out.
And Konno hits a grounder back up the middle! Shigeishi running over, picks it with the end of his glove and makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Ryouhei feeding Yuuya a steady diet of balls outside that he fouls off. He finally wins the battle by getting him to ground out to 2nd.
Shigeoka catches a slider in the zone and gets a base hit through the left side!
Two down for Kurisu and he singles past Ryouhei's glove into center! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Shimizu.
Sanshin! Shimizu can't reach an inside fastball and goes down to end the inning!
Bottom 4th
Ryouhei works the count full, but is called out on a letter high fastball.
Kumagai swinging early, grounds back to Yuuya.
And Nakamura is late on a fastball and goes down on 3 straight for a stress-free 1-2-3 inning!
Top 5th
Shigeishi with a drive the opposite way! Kumagai running back as Takada sprints to help, but it falls in! Shigeishi rounds for 3rd and will take it standing up!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Souichirou pushes the squeeze bunt to the right side! Ryouhei and Matsuzawa charging overplay the ball! Satou retrieves it and tries to beat Soichirou to the bag, but he can't get there! Shigeishi scores to make it 1-0 Iwakuni Shougyou!
And after a sac bunt, Jyouji-kantoku brings in a lefty to face Yuuya. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the hill while Ryuouhei moves to 1st.
And it works! Yuuya pops out Satou to end the inning, but Shigeishi's leadoff triple helps break the deadlock!
Bottom 5th
Haga with a grounder past a diving Kimidera for a base hit!
Satou lays down the bunt, Yuuya takes his time, and the throw to Nakagawa covering is not in time!
That brings up new P Kazuki. He's not bunting?!
No! And he gets ahead 3-1!
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kazuki with a drive to center right! The outfield's drawn in! They're running back, but they have no chance! It one hops to the wall! Haga scores! Satou right behind him! Kazuki with a 2-RBI triple gives Yamagata Chuo the lead! It's 2-1!
またぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Takada with a drive to right, and again the outfield is in! Yokota will chase that all the way to the wall! Takada with back-to-back triples extend the lead to 3-1!!
Back to the top of the lineup and Ryuusei. But on the first pitch he hits it back to Yuuya! Takada can't score as Yuuya goes to 1st.
And now Konno hits it to the right side. Yuuya with it again, looks Takada back and gets the 2nd out!
And the top of the lineup is useless! Ryouhei grouds to short and none of the top batters can get Takada in from 3rd! It's the bottom of the lineup that comes through here in the 5th to give Yamagata Chuo the lead here at the break!
Top 6th
Shigeoka with a ball to right for a leadoff hit!
Hit-and-run! Yokota with a grouner to the right side! Nakagawa chasing it to the outfield, picks it, turns, throws to 1st.. OUT! (Huh?)
Throws to 3rd!! Nakamura with the tag... OUT!!!
It's your standard 4-3-5 double play???!!!
Eh? I thought Yokoka had reached safely even with the dive, but on replay he was out! (STOP DIVING!)
Kurisu grounds out to 2nd and a promising inning goes to waste!
Bottom 6th
Kumagai first pitch singles past Kamidera for a leadoff single! Nakamura bunts him along.
えぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇ？？？？？？？？？？？？？？
Haga connects on a slider and sends it to left! The outfield is in again and Shimizu will chase that to the wall! Haga is in with a double and it's 4-1 Yamagata Chuo!!
Satou can't extend the lead as he pops out to Nakagawa.
Oy. Yuuya hits Kazuki to put runners at 1st and 2nd now! Fortunately, Takada can't check his swing on a ball away and the inning is over. But Yamagata Chuo is punishing mistakes by Yuuya.
Top 7th
The Lucky 7 for Iwakuni Shougyou begins with Shimizu getting their first walk off of Kazuki!
Shigeishi also playing the waiting game, runs the count full, and stays alive fouling off pitches.
It pays off! He gets around on an inside fastball and bloops it into shallow left! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Kamidera.
Safety bunt!
Both Satou and Ryouhei charge in at first, but Ryouhei doubles back to receive the throw for the 1st out. Back to the top of the order and Souichirou.
Base hit!! Souichirou singles through to center and that scores Shimizu! It's too hard though and Takada gets it in quickly to prevent Shigeishi from scoring. But it's now 4-2!
Nakagawa showing squeeze, but can't lay it down twice! Has to swings away and chases a curve in the dirt for the 2nd out!
Now that brings up Yuuya. Can he help his own cause?
Grounder to 3rd! Hayate blocks it in front of him, makes the quick throw...
OUT!!!
Ryouhei makes a great stretch and pick to just get out Yuuya and the inning is over! But they do get back one run, and that is manageable.
Bottom 7th
Ryuusei cannot get around on an inside fastball and goes down swinging.
Konno tries the safety bunt and it dies up the 3rd base line! Kurisu makes the desperate throw to 1st, but not in time!
Ryouhei with a base hit to right! Now runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
EH?
Jyouji-kantoku calls for a double steal with Kumagai at bat?! He misses and Kurisu throws out Konno with miles to spare! 2 out!
Now Kumagai walks and now there's runners on 1st and 2nd again! This time for Hayate who's 0-2 on the day. And he's quickly down 0-2.
And Hayate is still hitless. Grounder to 3rd is taken by Kamidera to the bag and the side is retired.
Top 8th
Shigeishi with his third hit of the day, a single past a diving Konno.
Yokota bunts him along. Getting a run in the 8th and 9th would tie the game after all.
But Kurisu hits a comebacker to Kazuki! He looks Shigeishi back and goes to 1st for the 2nd out!
Chuunai-kantoku goes to the bench. #10 Morimoto comes in to hit for Shimizu.
Like the man he replaced, he works the count full and fouls pitches off. And he works the walk! That brings up Shigeishi who is 3-3 on the day!!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time. This will be a key AB. What will they do with a man that has beaten them all day?
And they're going after him! A couple of pitches inside and Kazuki is ahead 1-2!
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shigeishi cannot get around on another fastball inside and he goes down swinging to end the inning!!
Bottom 8th
Morimoto stays in the game in LF.
2 outs and Kazuki slices a ball down the left field line! Shimizu chases that down near the wall and Kazuki has a double!
And his day is done on the mound. #15 Satou Miharu comes in to run for him.
Takada with another booming hit to left! Shimizu back to the wall, Miharu scores! Takada dives in with his 2nd triple of the day to make it 5-2!
Ryuusei with a grounder to 3rd. Kamidera with the throw to AHHH!!!
The ball is short and gets by Shigeoka! Ryuusei is safe and it's now 6-2!!
Kanno pops out to Kurisu to end the inning, but the game seems all but decided now.
Top 9th
#1 Ishikawa comes in for PR Miharu and takes the hill.
Last ups for Ganshou as #17 Saitou hits for Kamidera, but flies out to center.
Nakamura bloops in a single just fair down the right field line for a single!
#14 Fujioka comes in to hit for Nakagawa, but grounds out to 3rd.
Yuuya keeps the game alive for now with a single past Hayate into left. But Shigeoka flies to center and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo gets their first win at Koushien!
In an amazing display of power (but not HR power!), Yamagata Chuo puts up 6 on ace Yuuya and Iwakuni Shougyou and advance into the next round!
Well color me surprised. I never expected to see that. Even if the Ganshou outfield wasn't playing that far in, those balls would still go in for hits I think.
For Iwakuni Shougyou, it still have be considered a mild success. Defeating Riseisha is no small matter, even if you lose to Yamagata Chuo. They may be the first team I see gathering Koushien dirt, but I think it's well earned.
Yamagata Chuo moves on to face Kanto champs Urawa Gakuin. I don't think they'll take them as lightly - especially in the outfield. But I am intrigued about the upcoming game!
Notable Players
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 4.2 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 K
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - W, 3.1 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP
Takada Takumi (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-4, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI, K
Haga Takahiro (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI
Shigeoka Fumiya (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5
Nakamura Souichirou (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5, 2 RBI
Shigeishi Yuuji (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-4. 3B, R, K
Friday, February 8, 2013
Team Preview - Yamagata Chuo & Masuda Shouyou
Well, it turns out there were two teams that weren't in my actual predictions:
Tohoku Memorial Bid - Yamagata Chuo (2nd appearance, 1st in 3 years) - C
Yamagata Chuo is still a curious choice to me. The exclusion of Sakata Minami made some sense, but I really did believe that Aomori Yamada would be invited.
But, with Yamagata Chuo receiving the Tohoku Memorial Bid, it's possible that the committee had different criteria for making this particular selection.
I have little on Yamagata Chuo, though actually a bit more than I first thought. They did have a in-prefecture quality win against Yonezawa Chuo in the semi-finals before losing to Sakata Minami 3-2 in the final.
Their ace is righty Ishikawa Naoya (石川直也), while their main reliever is southpaw Takahashi Kazuki (高橋和希) - yes, I managed to find videos. Their captain is Matsuzawa Shouta (松沢昇太), and their kantoku, Shouji Hideyuki (庄司秀幸) is a young 36 years old.
But that's about all I could find. They've had rather bad 1st round draws (Nichidai-san and Kyushu Gakuin back in 2010), and a more favorable one this year might lead to their first win at Koushien. Still, they probably won't get very far.
21st Century Bid - Masuda Shouyou (1st appearance) - C-
Masuda Shouyou was another surprising choice in my opinion, though in retrospect it was not as shocking of a selection as I first thought.
Their resume is unfortunately not very stellar. After some low scoring games in the prefectural tournament, they had to rally from behind in the semifinals to defeat Masuda Higashi 6-5, then staved off elimination twice (once in extra innings) to defeat Hamada by the same 6-5 score in 13 innings to win the Shimane title. Still, they were shutout 3-0 by Iwakuni in the first round.
Here I do not have much more information. Their manager is a very young (28) Hayato Katsuya (早戸克也), their captain is 3B Nakamoto Kouta (中本康太) and their ace is Terado Masashi(?) (寺戸雅).
But that's about all I can find.
So that covers the entire field. Now comes the wait until the draw!
Tohoku Memorial Bid - Yamagata Chuo (2nd appearance, 1st in 3 years) - C
Yamagata Chuo is still a curious choice to me. The exclusion of Sakata Minami made some sense, but I really did believe that Aomori Yamada would be invited.
But, with Yamagata Chuo receiving the Tohoku Memorial Bid, it's possible that the committee had different criteria for making this particular selection.
I have little on Yamagata Chuo, though actually a bit more than I first thought. They did have a in-prefecture quality win against Yonezawa Chuo in the semi-finals before losing to Sakata Minami 3-2 in the final.
Their ace is righty Ishikawa Naoya (石川直也), while their main reliever is southpaw Takahashi Kazuki (高橋和希) - yes, I managed to find videos. Their captain is Matsuzawa Shouta (松沢昇太), and their kantoku, Shouji Hideyuki (庄司秀幸) is a young 36 years old.
But that's about all I could find. They've had rather bad 1st round draws (Nichidai-san and Kyushu Gakuin back in 2010), and a more favorable one this year might lead to their first win at Koushien. Still, they probably won't get very far.
21st Century Bid - Masuda Shouyou (1st appearance) - C-
Masuda Shouyou was another surprising choice in my opinion, though in retrospect it was not as shocking of a selection as I first thought.
Their resume is unfortunately not very stellar. After some low scoring games in the prefectural tournament, they had to rally from behind in the semifinals to defeat Masuda Higashi 6-5, then staved off elimination twice (once in extra innings) to defeat Hamada by the same 6-5 score in 13 innings to win the Shimane title. Still, they were shutout 3-0 by Iwakuni in the first round.
Here I do not have much more information. Their manager is a very young (28) Hayato Katsuya (早戸克也), their captain is 3B Nakamoto Kouta (中本康太) and their ace is Terado Masashi(?) (寺戸雅).
But that's about all I can find.
So that covers the entire field. Now comes the wait until the draw!
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