It would seem this year we are lacking in overpowering pitchers, instead preferring those that pitch to contact. Because for as much as I though Toukaidai Sagami dominated their game, their pitchers did not strike out a whole lot of batters. Same goes for Yuugakukan though their game was closer in nature.
So with both pitching staffs on equal footing, you'd have to give the edge perhaps to Toukaidai Sagami with their potential for extra base hits. It's not a good leg to stand on though.
Toukaidai Sagami (Kanagawa)
2B Chino Keijirou
CF Miyaji Kyouhei
SS Sugisaki Shigeki
RF Toyoda Hiroshi
1B Isoami Eito
C Nagakura Ren
LF Takeuchi Daiki
3B Kawaji Seitarou
P Ogasawara Masayuki
Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
2B Tsuchikura Makoto (#5)
CF Iida Koujirou
1B Hirobashi Keita
C Takamoto Kouhei
RF Uchigata Ryouta
SS Nakamura Kouta (#4)
3B Fujiwara Ryou (#16)
P Komago Ryuuji
LF Matsuda Kazuki
____________________________________________________________
13:25 - First Pitch!
1st Inning
Komago not off to a good start as he hits Chino.
Miyaji a ball up the middle... past a diving Tsuchikura! 2 on already for Sagami!
Sugisaki liner down the left field line.. fair!! And that gets by Matsuda to the wall! Both runners will score as Sugisaki slides into 3rd! 2-0!
Toyoda shot to short, but Nakamura gathers it in. Throws to 1st for the first out.
Isoami with a single past a diving Nakamura up the middle scoring Sugisaki and making it 3-0.
Nagaya single to right and the hit parade on the Ishikawa champs continues!
Takeuchi takes a pitch too close and strikes out looking for the 2nd out.
Komago throws the ball away on a pickoff throw! Isoami being sent home from 2nd, and there'll be no throw! It's now 4-0!!
Kawaji strikes out looking as well and the inning is finally over. But Yuugakukan spots the Kanagawa champs a 4-spot early.
Bottom 1st
Pretty routine inning for Ogasawara, gives up a 2-out hit to Hirobashi, but nothing else.
Top 2nd
After the shaky 1st, Komago settles down, easily gets Ogasawara to ground out, strikes out Chino on a slider away, and gets Miyaji to fly to cener.
Bottom 2nd
After pumping 140kph fastballs, he throws in the slider and strikes him out looking.
After a flyout to center, Fujiwara prevents the clean inning with a 1st pitch single to right. Though Komago hits one back to Ogasawara to end the inning.
Bottom 3rd
Chance for Yuugakukan as Tsuchikura's grounder to 3rd eats up Kawaji and goes into left. Then on Iida's bunt, Ogasawara tries to throw to 2nd, but pulls Sugisaki off the bag. But Hirobashi pops out, and then Takamoto flies out to left, and quickly the threat is neutralized.
Top 4th
Takeuchi leads off with a single to right. He's moved over by a bunt and a grounder to 2nd.
Chino pays it off with a single to right scoring Takeuchi and making it 5-0.
Miyaji with a ball fair down the left field line. Matsuda misplays it off the wall and Miyaji heads into 3rd with an RBI and now a 6-0 lead.
That'll be it for Komago. He goes to LF while #11 Honjyuou takes the hill. He gets a popout and the inning is over.
Bottom 4th
Meanwhile Yuugakukan goes down in order and this game may be mentally done before we hit the break.
____________________________________________________________
And with 2 more runs for Toukaidai Sagami in the 5th, it's 8-0 and this game has the feeling that it's over already. As for the rest of the game, Yuugakukan got a pair of runs to prevent the shutout, but fell 11-2.
Showing posts with label Yuugakukan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yuugakukan. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Day 7, Game 2 - Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto) v Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
Our brunch-time game pits two teams familiar to Koushien against one another.
Yuugakukan got a pretty clear road to the final, avoiding the dangerous teams up until the final where they somehow made 1 run stick against Kanazawa. Despite the weak competition, the team batted a ghastly 0.255, and 0.236 in their final 3 games. That's terrible even by rural prefectual standards and if you adjust for competition, it is to put it nicely... awful.
That means ace Komago Ryuuji has to should almost all of the load. He's reported as hitting 146, but chances are it's more like around 140. So he's an above average pitcher velocity-wise. He does strike out >1 K/IP, and is supposedly very stingy with the walks. But you would be hard pressed to win 5 games without an offense to speak of.
Kyushu Gakuin also avoided most of the strong teams in prefecture until facing Buntoku in the finals. The team scored 6 or more runs in 5 of their 6 games and batted 0.340 for the tournament, and 0.340 in the final 3 games. They're consistent if nothing else, but the form suggests nothing special on either side of the ball.
Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto)
LF Wakahara Shouya
CF Hasegawa Hiromasa
2B Tomoda Akira
1B Murakami Munetaka
SS Yanai Kazuki
3B Motomura Yuugo
RF Matsushita Kazuki
P Ise Hiromu
C Nakahara Rikiya
Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
CF Iida Koujirou
SS Nakamura Kouta (#4)
2B Tsuchikura Makoto (#5)
C Takamoto Kouhei
1B Hirobashi Keita
RF Uchigata Ryouta
LF Matsuda Kazuki
P Komago Ryuuji
3B Kuriyama Koutarou (#13)
____________________________________________________________
10:20 - First Pitch!
1st Inning
Well, pretty much what you expected. Komago shuts down Kyushu Gakuin's offense - getting a K, while Ise gives up a 2-out hit, but nothing else.
Top 2nd
For being stingy with walks, Yanai is able to draw one with one out and is bunted over.
Matsushita wih a ball to the gap in right center! Yanai will score easily and Kyushu Gakuin opens the scoring! 1-0!
Ise is jammed but bloops it over Tsuchikura! Matsushita rounds 3rd and he'll score! 2-0!
Bottom 2nd
Hirabashi fly to shallow center, Hasegawa dives, but can't get it! Hirabashi goes for 2, Hasegawa fires to 2nd... OUT! Hirabashi tries for the extra base, but was denied!
And that's a shame because Uchigata singles to right.
However Matsuda grounds into the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom 3rd
One out walk to last batter Kuriyama, and Iida not bunting.
Instead, he singles to left!
Now Nakamura singles back up the middle! Kurayama comes in and it's 2-1!
Tsuchikura grounder to short and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball takes a high hop over Tsuchikura and into left! Iida will score and we're tied! That's a bad break.
Takamoto grounder to 1st.. Murakami boots it! Toss to first, it's high and wide! Nakamura can trot home and Yuugakukan has the 3-2 lead! Hirabashi grounds to 1st, but thanks to some breaks falling their way have the lead!
Bottom 4th
Yuugakukan showing offensive prowess they didn't during the prefecturals!
Matsuda with a single to right to start the inning. After a bunt, Kuriyama gets a single through the left side!
Now Iida with a base hit to right!! Matsuda comes around and he scores! 4-2!
Nakamura past the drawn in defense and that scores Kuriyama! Yuugakukan up 5-2 as Ise finally gets the last 2 outs.
5th Inning
Things quiet down before the break, but not before Yuugakukan threatened again after Uchigata tripled to right with one down. Ise got 2 groundouts and kept the deficit at 3.
It's surprising that Yuugakukan has this many hits given their prefectural batting average. Regardless it's probably a welcome sight.
Top 6th
Small chance as Yanai gets a 2-out blooper to center, but Motomura strikes out looking to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
Yuugakukan with 3 hits after 2 outs to load the bases and threatens to blow it open. Ise shimmies out of that jam getting Hirabashi to fly to right.
Rest of game
The game pretty much goes quiet until the 9th where Kyushu Gakuin gets a run back, but at the cost of 2 outs.
With no runners on and 2 outs, PF Fujishima grounds to 2nd to end the game. Yuugakukan shocking everyone with their hits wins 5-3!
Yuugakukan got a pretty clear road to the final, avoiding the dangerous teams up until the final where they somehow made 1 run stick against Kanazawa. Despite the weak competition, the team batted a ghastly 0.255, and 0.236 in their final 3 games. That's terrible even by rural prefectual standards and if you adjust for competition, it is to put it nicely... awful.
That means ace Komago Ryuuji has to should almost all of the load. He's reported as hitting 146, but chances are it's more like around 140. So he's an above average pitcher velocity-wise. He does strike out >1 K/IP, and is supposedly very stingy with the walks. But you would be hard pressed to win 5 games without an offense to speak of.
Kyushu Gakuin also avoided most of the strong teams in prefecture until facing Buntoku in the finals. The team scored 6 or more runs in 5 of their 6 games and batted 0.340 for the tournament, and 0.340 in the final 3 games. They're consistent if nothing else, but the form suggests nothing special on either side of the ball.
Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto)
LF Wakahara Shouya
CF Hasegawa Hiromasa
2B Tomoda Akira
1B Murakami Munetaka
SS Yanai Kazuki
3B Motomura Yuugo
RF Matsushita Kazuki
P Ise Hiromu
C Nakahara Rikiya
Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
CF Iida Koujirou
SS Nakamura Kouta (#4)
2B Tsuchikura Makoto (#5)
C Takamoto Kouhei
1B Hirobashi Keita
RF Uchigata Ryouta
LF Matsuda Kazuki
P Komago Ryuuji
3B Kuriyama Koutarou (#13)
____________________________________________________________
10:20 - First Pitch!
1st Inning
Well, pretty much what you expected. Komago shuts down Kyushu Gakuin's offense - getting a K, while Ise gives up a 2-out hit, but nothing else.
Top 2nd
For being stingy with walks, Yanai is able to draw one with one out and is bunted over.
Matsushita wih a ball to the gap in right center! Yanai will score easily and Kyushu Gakuin opens the scoring! 1-0!
Ise is jammed but bloops it over Tsuchikura! Matsushita rounds 3rd and he'll score! 2-0!
Bottom 2nd
Hirabashi fly to shallow center, Hasegawa dives, but can't get it! Hirabashi goes for 2, Hasegawa fires to 2nd... OUT! Hirabashi tries for the extra base, but was denied!
And that's a shame because Uchigata singles to right.
However Matsuda grounds into the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom 3rd
One out walk to last batter Kuriyama, and Iida not bunting.
Instead, he singles to left!
Now Nakamura singles back up the middle! Kurayama comes in and it's 2-1!
Tsuchikura grounder to short and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball takes a high hop over Tsuchikura and into left! Iida will score and we're tied! That's a bad break.
Takamoto grounder to 1st.. Murakami boots it! Toss to first, it's high and wide! Nakamura can trot home and Yuugakukan has the 3-2 lead! Hirabashi grounds to 1st, but thanks to some breaks falling their way have the lead!
Bottom 4th
Yuugakukan showing offensive prowess they didn't during the prefecturals!
Matsuda with a single to right to start the inning. After a bunt, Kuriyama gets a single through the left side!
Now Iida with a base hit to right!! Matsuda comes around and he scores! 4-2!
Nakamura past the drawn in defense and that scores Kuriyama! Yuugakukan up 5-2 as Ise finally gets the last 2 outs.
5th Inning
Things quiet down before the break, but not before Yuugakukan threatened again after Uchigata tripled to right with one down. Ise got 2 groundouts and kept the deficit at 3.
It's surprising that Yuugakukan has this many hits given their prefectural batting average. Regardless it's probably a welcome sight.
Top 6th
Small chance as Yanai gets a 2-out blooper to center, but Motomura strikes out looking to end the inning.
Bottom 6th
Yuugakukan with 3 hits after 2 outs to load the bases and threatens to blow it open. Ise shimmies out of that jam getting Hirabashi to fly to right.
Rest of game
The game pretty much goes quiet until the 9th where Kyushu Gakuin gets a run back, but at the cost of 2 outs.
With no runners on and 2 outs, PF Fujishima grounds to 2nd to end the game. Yuugakukan shocking everyone with their hits wins 5-3!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Day 5, Game 3 - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) vs. Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
Well, um, ok. We're now almost back on schedule, not that it matters since this is the last game of the day.
This game features the last summer/spring runner-ups Kousei Gakuin versus Ishikawa's Yuugakukan.
Kousei Gakuin's exploits have been well documented. They reached the finals last year where they lost to Nichidai-san. Meanwhile this past senbatsu, they reached the finals yet again only to use to Osaka Touin.
Being able to reach the finals in 2 different years is quite an accomplishment. This summer though was a bit of a challenge as they almost lost to Misawa and then to Aomori Gakuin in their first 2 games. After that they picked up the pace before being challenged one last time against Seiai.
There isn't much to say about them otherwise, just look at their game logs from the spring (sorry have to get this written up before the game starts). But brief summary, they probably have the talent to win it all, but they just have to get that win against a big team.
Yuugakukan had one of the tougher road a team could in Ishikawa. They had to face Kanazawa, Komatsu and then a resurging Seiryou, and outscored them 13-3. Yet their team batting average for the prefecturals was a paltry 0.293 (though a better 0.329 in the last 3 games).
Still it will be the tandem, much like Kaisei last year, of ace Hirai Shouya and 1B Kurohagi to carry the team.
It will be tough though in my quick opinion for Yuugakukan to win in this matchup - especially with Jyouma on the mound. He may be a better pitcher than Kanazawa.
Kousei Gakuin (Aomori)
RF Ameku
LF Murase
C Tamura
SS Houjyou
1B Takeda
3B Oosugi
P Jyouma
CF Kimura
2B Kishigawa (#14)
Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
SS Taniguchi
RF Onaka
C Kobayashi
P Kurohagi (#3)
3B Ootaki
1B Takiguchi (#13)
LF Kitaguchi
2B Oota (#16)
CF Hirai Kenta
____________________________________________________________
13:27 - First Pitch
Top 1st
Kurohagi, tasked with starting the game today, is throwing a lot of pitches, but getting the job done early. Ameku grounds to short, Murase goes down swinging.
But then he doesn't get the borderline call on Tamura and winds up walking him.
Houjyou follows that up with a single to center and perhaps there's a 2-out rally?
Nope. Takeda grounds to 1st to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Taniguchi with a grounder to the left side. Houjyou makes a great stop and throw to just nail Taniguchi.
Jyouma gets ahead of Onaka, but after a couple of fastballs outside, gets him to swing at a 3rd one for the out.
Kobayashi grounds to 2nd, but Kishigawa throws the ball wide and pulls Takeda off the bag!
No harm done as Kurohagi flies out to left to end the inning.
Top 2nd
Kurohagi cruising along as he strikes out Oosugi to start the inning.
Jyouma with a grounder to short, but Taniguchi's throw is short and goes under Takiguchi! Jyouma winds up at 2nd on the error!
Kimura with a grounder to 2nd, that's off Oota and into right center! Jyouman being sent around 3rd and he scores! Back-to-back errors give Kousgei Gakuin the 1-0 lead!
Kishigawa tries the bunt, but pops it up! Kurohagi makes the catch, quickly spins and throws to 1st, but that's over Takiguchi! Oota there to back it up though.
Ameku up and Kimura takes off for 2nd! No throw and he's in safely!
Ameku with the perfect grounder through the left side for a base hit! Kimura holds up at 3rd and now it runners at the corners for Murase.
Now Ameku takes off for 2nd! Throw from Kobayashi is way late!
A lot of pressure building against Yuugakukan as Kurohagi falls behind 3-1...
But he fills up the count and gets Murase to ground to 3rd! Ootaki with the ball, makes the throw to 1st and Yuugakukan is out of the pinch!
Bottom 2nd
Well, that's odd. We're only in the 2nd and #18 Sekiguchi being sent in to replace Murase...
Ootaki leads off the inning with a base hit to left. Takiguchi tries to bunt him along, but instead winds up three bunting his way into an out!
Kitaguchi goes down on a slider down and away for Jyouma's 3rd K.
Oota weakly grounds out to 3rd to end the inning.
Top 3rd
Defensive changes for Yuugakukan. #10 Mizugami comes in for Takiguchi and replaces him at 1B. #4 Fujiguchi comes in for Oota and goes to 2B.
Tamura with a hard liner, but right to 2nd for the first out.
Houjyou gives a Kurohagi pitch a deep ride, but Kenta tracks it down before the wall.
Takeda grounds out to new 2B Fujiguchi and it's a much needed 1-2-3 inning for Kurohagi.
Bottom 3rd
Kenta with a grounder to short. Houjyou makes a great stop and throw to retire Kenta. Jyouma quickly finishes off the inning by getting a comebacker from Taniguchi and a groundout by Onaka.
Top 4th
Oosugi leads off the inning with a single to center. Jyouma bunts him to 2nd, but he's left stranded when both Kimura and Kishigawa ground out to Fujiguchi.
Bottom 4th
Jyouma cruising along, getting a flyout to right from Kobayashi, and after a somewhat lengthy AB where Kurohagi works the count full, he grounds to 2nd.
Jyouma then doesn't get the call on what he thinks were good pitches and walks Ootaki on 4 straight.
New 1B Mizugami singles back up the middle past Houjyou and there's runner at 1st and 2nd now for Kitaguchi.
Jyouma gets him to hit a grounder to 2nd. Kishigawa with a great charge and throw for the 3rd out.
Top 5th
Sorry for the abbreviated coverage a bit, I had to spend about a half inning figuring out Yuugakukan's defensive changes in the 3rd since ABC was doing a terrible job reporting it and the website wasn't updating for the longest time.
Anyways, top of the order and Ameku. He continues to work the count at the plate, but this time around grounds out to Mizugami.
Sekiguchi in for his first AB and after getting ahead 3-0, Kurohagi puts in 2 strikes to fill the count, yet still loses him on a slider in the dirt.
Kurohagi has a fastball that sits in the low130's, and what seems like 2 off-speed pitches in the 100s and 110s.
Tamura with a comebacker up the middle into center for a base hit!
And it looks like I really didn't need that report on Kurohagi because Yamamoto-kantoku is sending in ace Hirai Shouya.
And there's more mass defensive changes, whee...
Houjyou with a grounder to short! Taniguchi with it and the runners were going on contact! Sekiguchi is caught in a rundown for the 2nd out! He stays in it long enough to get Houjyou to 2nd.
But Shouya gets Takeda to ground out to 3rd! Ootaki makes the throw to 1st and Yuugakukan is out of the jam!
Bottom 5th
Fujiguchi up for his first AB and grounds out to Houjyou. Shouya up for his first AB too and on his first pitch hits a soft liner to Kishigawa.
The order flips over to the top and Taniguchi. He give the ball a good right to center, but Kimura is there for the catch near the wall.
We hit the break with Kousei Gakuin holding a thin 1-0 lead over Yuugakukan.
Top 6th
Oosugi post-break works a long AB against ace Shouya and works a 9 pitch walk.
Shouya uncorks a really wild pitch and Oosugi moves to 2nd.
Jyouma not bunting, but the result is the same with him grounding to 2nd and advacing the runner.
Kimura up and Yuugakukan is expecting a squeeze and the first two pitches are outside expecing one.
But on the 3rd pitch, Kimura doesn't show bunt and laces a ball back up the middle! Oosugi scores to make it 2-0 Kousei!
Kishigawa up and Nakai-kantoku has him bunt Kimura to 2nd for a one-timer from Ameku.
But Ameku goes down swinging on a forkball and the side is retired.
Bottom 6th
Onaka with another big fly to center, but again the park easily holds it and while Kimura is near the wall, it was rather routine.
Kobayashi up and Jyouma is mixing in quite a few more slow curves. Kobayashi swings on a fastball after one such ball and flies out to left.
Same with Kurohagi, but he holds off on the fastball, then swings on a slider inside in the dirt to end the inning.
Top 7th
One down and Tamura gets his 2nd straight hit as he powers one past Taniguchi into left.
Houjyou gets one near the end of his bat and hits a long fly to center.
Pitch in the dirt by Shouya is lost by Kobayshi! Tamura takes off for 2nd and gets in safely!
However, Takeda chases a fork down in the zone and that's the lucky 7 for Kousei Gakuin.
Bottom 7th
One down and Mizugami gets his 2nd hit in as many AB as his grounder trickles past Kishigawa and into right.
Jyouma falls behind Kitaguchi 3-0, and after a strike Kitaguchi hits a grounder to almost the same plate! This time Kishigawa is able to run it down and make a great throw to 1st for the out!
Hm... now he's behind Fujiguchi 3-1, but fills up the count. Wonder if he's getting tired?
Fujiguchi with the swing and grounds to short! Houjyou with the throw to 1st and the side is retired!
Top 8th
Oosugi one again gets ahead 3-0, then Shouya throws 2 strikes. This time around, Shouya throws a strike adn Oosugi grounds to short.
Shouya falls behind Jyouma too 3-1, but he gets him to also ground to short. Taniguchi makes a great play on a bad hop.
Shouya by the way for a quick report on him throws in the mid 130s and feature what I think is a forkball and curveball.
Kimura again works the count for the 3rd batter in a row and has his grounder sneak its way past Fujiguchi into right.
Kishigawa falls behind 0-2 and flies out to right to end the inning.
Bottom 8th
#14 Oohina in to hit for Shouya. His day is done.
Uh oh. Jyouma walks him on 4 straight! Nakai-kantoku calls time as ace Kanazawa goes to warm up.
Taniguchi with a hard liner to left! Sekiguchi moves to his left and makes the catch!
Onaka up and he lays down the bunt! It stays fair as they pick it up, but the umpires call the ball foul as it hits Onaka on his way to 1st!
And now Tamura snap throws to 1st on the next pitch, and Oohina is caught off base! He runs to 2nd but is tagged out! What bad luck for Yuugakukan!
Oonaka flies out to right and Yuugakukan is turned away yet again!
Top 9th
#12 Oozaki now enters for PH Oohina and takes the hill.
Ameku with a grounder to the right side, takes a high bounce, but Fujiguchi makes a great diving grab! Throw to 1st gets a shocked Ameku!
Sekiguchi has Ameku's back though as he slices one down the left field line fair for a double!
That starts to bring up the heart of the order, starting with Tamura. Oozaki falls behind Tamura 2-0, and Yamamoto-kantoku calls a conference.
3-0 count and Tamura drives a ball to deep left! Mizugami is there for the catch and Sekiguchi tags up! Relay throw almost has him but gets away.
That brings up Houjyou. Can he get another insurance run in?
MORE THAN THAT!!!!!!!
Houjyou grooves a ball right down the middle and sends it back to dead center! Kitaguchi running back to the wall, falls on his butt as the ball bounces off the first wall in dead center!
Houjyou with a 2-run HR to make it a 4-0 game and removes almost all doubt as we head into the bottom of the 9th!!
Takeda grounds back to Oozaki, and Nakai-kantoku, Jyouma, and oen-dan can breathe a little easier now.
Bottom 9th
Kobayashi starts the inning with a solid base hit to right.
But Kurohagi grounds to 2nd! Kishigawa goes to 2nd for one, throw to 1st... beats out a diving Kurohagi! Double play!
Ootaki grounds to 2nd, and Kishigawa makes the throw to end the game! Kousei Gakuin advances with a 4-0 win!
Well, another possible stumbling block came up in this game against Yuugakukan - their offense. They certainly can score runs, but it's not like in the dominating manner as say an Osaka Touin or Teikyou who are known for their offense. As they are, they can beat the teams that they need to beat - even if it's in clockwork manner. As I said before, it is being able to rise in the moment and win the big game.
Yuugakukan has a hard challenge in the first place drawing haru-natsu runnerups Kousei Gakuin. Sadly, they could only manage 3 hits against Jyouma. But their primary 2 pitchers had limited them to just 2 runs through 8 innings. So on the overall, I think Yuugakukan did a great job representing Ishikawa and should be proud of their efforts.
Notable Players
Jyouma Ryuuhei (Kousei Gakuin) - CG, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB
Houjyou Fumiya (Kousei Gakuin) - 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI
Kimura Takumi (Kousei Gakuin) - 2-4, RBI
Kurohagi Yukinari (Yuugakukan) - 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 K, 2 BB
Mizugami Yuuto (Yuugakukan) - 2-2
This game features the last summer/spring runner-ups Kousei Gakuin versus Ishikawa's Yuugakukan.
Kousei Gakuin's exploits have been well documented. They reached the finals last year where they lost to Nichidai-san. Meanwhile this past senbatsu, they reached the finals yet again only to use to Osaka Touin.
Being able to reach the finals in 2 different years is quite an accomplishment. This summer though was a bit of a challenge as they almost lost to Misawa and then to Aomori Gakuin in their first 2 games. After that they picked up the pace before being challenged one last time against Seiai.
There isn't much to say about them otherwise, just look at their game logs from the spring (sorry have to get this written up before the game starts). But brief summary, they probably have the talent to win it all, but they just have to get that win against a big team.
Yuugakukan had one of the tougher road a team could in Ishikawa. They had to face Kanazawa, Komatsu and then a resurging Seiryou, and outscored them 13-3. Yet their team batting average for the prefecturals was a paltry 0.293 (though a better 0.329 in the last 3 games).
Still it will be the tandem, much like Kaisei last year, of ace Hirai Shouya and 1B Kurohagi to carry the team.
It will be tough though in my quick opinion for Yuugakukan to win in this matchup - especially with Jyouma on the mound. He may be a better pitcher than Kanazawa.
Kousei Gakuin (Aomori)
RF Ameku
LF Murase
C Tamura
SS Houjyou
1B Takeda
3B Oosugi
P Jyouma
CF Kimura
2B Kishigawa (#14)
Yuugakukan (Ishikawa)
SS Taniguchi
RF Onaka
C Kobayashi
P Kurohagi (#3)
3B Ootaki
1B Takiguchi (#13)
LF Kitaguchi
2B Oota (#16)
CF Hirai Kenta
____________________________________________________________
13:27 - First Pitch
Top 1st
Kurohagi, tasked with starting the game today, is throwing a lot of pitches, but getting the job done early. Ameku grounds to short, Murase goes down swinging.
But then he doesn't get the borderline call on Tamura and winds up walking him.
Houjyou follows that up with a single to center and perhaps there's a 2-out rally?
Nope. Takeda grounds to 1st to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Taniguchi with a grounder to the left side. Houjyou makes a great stop and throw to just nail Taniguchi.
Jyouma gets ahead of Onaka, but after a couple of fastballs outside, gets him to swing at a 3rd one for the out.
Kobayashi grounds to 2nd, but Kishigawa throws the ball wide and pulls Takeda off the bag!
No harm done as Kurohagi flies out to left to end the inning.
Top 2nd
Kurohagi cruising along as he strikes out Oosugi to start the inning.
Jyouma with a grounder to short, but Taniguchi's throw is short and goes under Takiguchi! Jyouma winds up at 2nd on the error!
Kimura with a grounder to 2nd, that's off Oota and into right center! Jyouman being sent around 3rd and he scores! Back-to-back errors give Kousgei Gakuin the 1-0 lead!
Kishigawa tries the bunt, but pops it up! Kurohagi makes the catch, quickly spins and throws to 1st, but that's over Takiguchi! Oota there to back it up though.
Ameku up and Kimura takes off for 2nd! No throw and he's in safely!
Ameku with the perfect grounder through the left side for a base hit! Kimura holds up at 3rd and now it runners at the corners for Murase.
Now Ameku takes off for 2nd! Throw from Kobayashi is way late!
A lot of pressure building against Yuugakukan as Kurohagi falls behind 3-1...
But he fills up the count and gets Murase to ground to 3rd! Ootaki with the ball, makes the throw to 1st and Yuugakukan is out of the pinch!
Bottom 2nd
Well, that's odd. We're only in the 2nd and #18 Sekiguchi being sent in to replace Murase...
Ootaki leads off the inning with a base hit to left. Takiguchi tries to bunt him along, but instead winds up three bunting his way into an out!
Kitaguchi goes down on a slider down and away for Jyouma's 3rd K.
Oota weakly grounds out to 3rd to end the inning.
Top 3rd
Defensive changes for Yuugakukan. #10 Mizugami comes in for Takiguchi and replaces him at 1B. #4 Fujiguchi comes in for Oota and goes to 2B.
Tamura with a hard liner, but right to 2nd for the first out.
Houjyou gives a Kurohagi pitch a deep ride, but Kenta tracks it down before the wall.
Takeda grounds out to new 2B Fujiguchi and it's a much needed 1-2-3 inning for Kurohagi.
Bottom 3rd
Kenta with a grounder to short. Houjyou makes a great stop and throw to retire Kenta. Jyouma quickly finishes off the inning by getting a comebacker from Taniguchi and a groundout by Onaka.
Top 4th
Oosugi leads off the inning with a single to center. Jyouma bunts him to 2nd, but he's left stranded when both Kimura and Kishigawa ground out to Fujiguchi.
Bottom 4th
Jyouma cruising along, getting a flyout to right from Kobayashi, and after a somewhat lengthy AB where Kurohagi works the count full, he grounds to 2nd.
Jyouma then doesn't get the call on what he thinks were good pitches and walks Ootaki on 4 straight.
New 1B Mizugami singles back up the middle past Houjyou and there's runner at 1st and 2nd now for Kitaguchi.
Jyouma gets him to hit a grounder to 2nd. Kishigawa with a great charge and throw for the 3rd out.
Top 5th
Sorry for the abbreviated coverage a bit, I had to spend about a half inning figuring out Yuugakukan's defensive changes in the 3rd since ABC was doing a terrible job reporting it and the website wasn't updating for the longest time.
Anyways, top of the order and Ameku. He continues to work the count at the plate, but this time around grounds out to Mizugami.
Sekiguchi in for his first AB and after getting ahead 3-0, Kurohagi puts in 2 strikes to fill the count, yet still loses him on a slider in the dirt.
Kurohagi has a fastball that sits in the low130's, and what seems like 2 off-speed pitches in the 100s and 110s.
Tamura with a comebacker up the middle into center for a base hit!
And it looks like I really didn't need that report on Kurohagi because Yamamoto-kantoku is sending in ace Hirai Shouya.
And there's more mass defensive changes, whee...
- #1 Hirai Shouya comes in Hirai Kenta's spot in the lineup and takes the hill.
- Kurohagi moves from the mound to 1B
- Mizugami moves from 1B to LF
- and Kitaguchi goes from LF to CF.
Houjyou with a grounder to short! Taniguchi with it and the runners were going on contact! Sekiguchi is caught in a rundown for the 2nd out! He stays in it long enough to get Houjyou to 2nd.
But Shouya gets Takeda to ground out to 3rd! Ootaki makes the throw to 1st and Yuugakukan is out of the jam!
Bottom 5th
Fujiguchi up for his first AB and grounds out to Houjyou. Shouya up for his first AB too and on his first pitch hits a soft liner to Kishigawa.
The order flips over to the top and Taniguchi. He give the ball a good right to center, but Kimura is there for the catch near the wall.
We hit the break with Kousei Gakuin holding a thin 1-0 lead over Yuugakukan.
Top 6th
Oosugi post-break works a long AB against ace Shouya and works a 9 pitch walk.
Shouya uncorks a really wild pitch and Oosugi moves to 2nd.
Jyouma not bunting, but the result is the same with him grounding to 2nd and advacing the runner.
Kimura up and Yuugakukan is expecting a squeeze and the first two pitches are outside expecing one.
But on the 3rd pitch, Kimura doesn't show bunt and laces a ball back up the middle! Oosugi scores to make it 2-0 Kousei!
Kishigawa up and Nakai-kantoku has him bunt Kimura to 2nd for a one-timer from Ameku.
But Ameku goes down swinging on a forkball and the side is retired.
Bottom 6th
Onaka with another big fly to center, but again the park easily holds it and while Kimura is near the wall, it was rather routine.
Kobayashi up and Jyouma is mixing in quite a few more slow curves. Kobayashi swings on a fastball after one such ball and flies out to left.
Same with Kurohagi, but he holds off on the fastball, then swings on a slider inside in the dirt to end the inning.
Top 7th
One down and Tamura gets his 2nd straight hit as he powers one past Taniguchi into left.
Houjyou gets one near the end of his bat and hits a long fly to center.
Pitch in the dirt by Shouya is lost by Kobayshi! Tamura takes off for 2nd and gets in safely!
However, Takeda chases a fork down in the zone and that's the lucky 7 for Kousei Gakuin.
Bottom 7th
One down and Mizugami gets his 2nd hit in as many AB as his grounder trickles past Kishigawa and into right.
Jyouma falls behind Kitaguchi 3-0, and after a strike Kitaguchi hits a grounder to almost the same plate! This time Kishigawa is able to run it down and make a great throw to 1st for the out!
Hm... now he's behind Fujiguchi 3-1, but fills up the count. Wonder if he's getting tired?
Fujiguchi with the swing and grounds to short! Houjyou with the throw to 1st and the side is retired!
Top 8th
Oosugi one again gets ahead 3-0, then Shouya throws 2 strikes. This time around, Shouya throws a strike adn Oosugi grounds to short.
Shouya falls behind Jyouma too 3-1, but he gets him to also ground to short. Taniguchi makes a great play on a bad hop.
Shouya by the way for a quick report on him throws in the mid 130s and feature what I think is a forkball and curveball.
Kimura again works the count for the 3rd batter in a row and has his grounder sneak its way past Fujiguchi into right.
Kishigawa falls behind 0-2 and flies out to right to end the inning.
Bottom 8th
#14 Oohina in to hit for Shouya. His day is done.
Uh oh. Jyouma walks him on 4 straight! Nakai-kantoku calls time as ace Kanazawa goes to warm up.
Taniguchi with a hard liner to left! Sekiguchi moves to his left and makes the catch!
Onaka up and he lays down the bunt! It stays fair as they pick it up, but the umpires call the ball foul as it hits Onaka on his way to 1st!
And now Tamura snap throws to 1st on the next pitch, and Oohina is caught off base! He runs to 2nd but is tagged out! What bad luck for Yuugakukan!
Oonaka flies out to right and Yuugakukan is turned away yet again!
Top 9th
#12 Oozaki now enters for PH Oohina and takes the hill.
Ameku with a grounder to the right side, takes a high bounce, but Fujiguchi makes a great diving grab! Throw to 1st gets a shocked Ameku!
Sekiguchi has Ameku's back though as he slices one down the left field line fair for a double!
That starts to bring up the heart of the order, starting with Tamura. Oozaki falls behind Tamura 2-0, and Yamamoto-kantoku calls a conference.
3-0 count and Tamura drives a ball to deep left! Mizugami is there for the catch and Sekiguchi tags up! Relay throw almost has him but gets away.
That brings up Houjyou. Can he get another insurance run in?
MORE THAN THAT!!!!!!!
Houjyou grooves a ball right down the middle and sends it back to dead center! Kitaguchi running back to the wall, falls on his butt as the ball bounces off the first wall in dead center!
Houjyou with a 2-run HR to make it a 4-0 game and removes almost all doubt as we head into the bottom of the 9th!!
Takeda grounds back to Oozaki, and Nakai-kantoku, Jyouma, and oen-dan can breathe a little easier now.
Bottom 9th
Kobayashi starts the inning with a solid base hit to right.
But Kurohagi grounds to 2nd! Kishigawa goes to 2nd for one, throw to 1st... beats out a diving Kurohagi! Double play!
Ootaki grounds to 2nd, and Kishigawa makes the throw to end the game! Kousei Gakuin advances with a 4-0 win!
Well, another possible stumbling block came up in this game against Yuugakukan - their offense. They certainly can score runs, but it's not like in the dominating manner as say an Osaka Touin or Teikyou who are known for their offense. As they are, they can beat the teams that they need to beat - even if it's in clockwork manner. As I said before, it is being able to rise in the moment and win the big game.
Yuugakukan has a hard challenge in the first place drawing haru-natsu runnerups Kousei Gakuin. Sadly, they could only manage 3 hits against Jyouma. But their primary 2 pitchers had limited them to just 2 runs through 8 innings. So on the overall, I think Yuugakukan did a great job representing Ishikawa and should be proud of their efforts.
Notable Players
Jyouma Ryuuhei (Kousei Gakuin) - CG, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB
Houjyou Fumiya (Kousei Gakuin) - 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI
Kimura Takumi (Kousei Gakuin) - 2-4, RBI
Kurohagi Yukinari (Yuugakukan) - 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 K, 2 BB
Mizugami Yuuto (Yuugakukan) - 2-2
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