Saturday, July 4, 2009

Koshien slam anyone?

Man, what I would give for more onsen at Unzen Onsen. But there's no time as we arrive in Nagasaki. And here lies the team that looks for the Koshien sweep - Seihou. Led by Imamura Takeru and his intimidating and never-changing face, Seihou finally has the pitching to back up the explosive offense they've always had. Oddly enough, Imamura isn't getting as much attention as his counterpart Kikuchi. And as a fan of Seihou, I like the underdog. Let them focus on Hanamaki Higashi. Imamura will continue to dominate.

But first things first, they'll have to pass through the gauntlet of prefectural qualifying.

Those judged to give them the most trouble are Nagasaki Nichidai, Souseikan, Shikimachi Kougyou, Chinzei Gakuin, Nagasaki Shougyou, Keihou and Hasami. Worse yet for Seihou, Nagasaki Nichidai resides in their quadrant - so it's not going to be easy.

But needless to say, Imamura is expected to arrive at Koshien with the intent on repeating. Their first step will be on the 17th at Sasebo Stadium against the Kawatana-Nagasaki Aoyama winner.

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