While we can talk about the last game a little more, the schedule pushes on. The afternoon session begins with two teams with soft-tossing pitchers. For Miyakonojyou Shougyou, this is only their 2nd appearance, and 28 years since their 1st. For Seibo, they look to mirror their spring run in 2008, but with a different result.
This seems like an even matchup, and while Deanna's report was only one game, I'm not sold on Seibou.
Miyakonojyou Shougyou (Miyazaki)
RF Yoshihara
LF Oosako
CF Fujimoto
SS Uchida
3B Matsubara
1B Tominaga
C Mera
P Shinzai
2B Yamashita
Seibou Gakuen (Saitama)
RF Sasaki
CF Honjyo
2B Koyasu
LF Kido
SS Nishimura
3B Kojima
1B Yamazaki
C Kawai
P Satou
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1:15 PM - First pitch!
Top 1st
After getting ahead of Yoshihara 2-2, Satou hits him. Oosako moves him along to scoring position, and a grounder by Fujimoto gets him 90 feet away.
And then cleanup batter Uchida draws a walk! Runners at the corners with 2 down.
Matsubara with a single through to right! Yoshihara scores and Miyakonojyou is up 1-0!
Tominaga with short chopper! Nishimura with the throw, but Tominaga beats it out! Manrui for Mera!
And he drives to deep right center! That's to the wall! Uchida and Matsubara score, Tominanga from 1st also scores! A bases clearing double for Mera! 4-0!!
Shinnishi lines out to Nishimura, but Miyakonojyou jumps to the early lead!
Bottom 1st
Shinnishi with a good start for Miyakonojyou as he retires the side in order.
Top 2nd
Yoshihara drives one to deep right center! He rounds 2nd going for 3rd! HE ROUNDS 3RD HEADING FOR HOME??!
Nishimura with the throw home, and... he's out! I can see why he'd try, but still, WHY?
So it's a triple with no one on base now.
Oosako grounds to 1st, but instead of going there himself, he tosses to Satou! But the toss isn't fast enough! Oosako beats it out! E3!
And then Fujimoto blasts one to deep right! That one hops the wall! Oosako rounds 3rd, but has to hold up! Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 down.
Uchida with a scorcher to 3rd! Kojima makes a great stop and strong throw to 1st to keep Miyakonojyou off the board!
Seibou is fournate that Yoshihara pressed the way he did, otherwise more runs would have been scored!
Bottom 2nd
Shinnishi once again sits down the Seibou batters in order. They're making contact, but nothing's being crushed.
Top 3rd
Matsubara singles past a diving Nishimura into left center to lead off the 3rd. And he's moved to 2nd by Tominaga.
Mera can't deliver this time, lazily flying out to center. Can Shinnishi help his own cause?
He hits a high chopper to Nishimura! Nishimura charges in, makes the throw, but Shinnishi beats it out!
Last batter Yamashita up now, falls behind 1-2. Evens the count. Singles past a reaching Kojima into left! Matsubara scores to make to 5-0!
Back to the top of the order and Yoshihara, but he grounds out to short to end the inning. Miyakonojyou though extends the lead.
Bottom 3rd
Yamazaki starts off the inning with a single to right. Kawai bunts him along to 2nd.
Satou can't drive him in as he grounds out to Shinnishi... what about Sasaki?
He pops out to shallow left and Shinnishi keeps them off the board.
Top 4th
Satou with a very quick 4th inning, needing only 9 pitches to retire the side. He's settled down, now what about the offense?
Bottom 4th
Miyakonojyou almost makes the same error Seibou did earlier by having the 1st baseman not go to the bag himself! But they do retire Honjyou.
Koyasu then manages to get a walk to give Seibou a runner. Kido though, grounds to Shinnishi who gets the lead runner.
Nishimura with a grounder to 3rd that should end the inning, but Matsubara's throw is wide! The inning is kept alive!
AH! Shinishi catches Kido napping between 2nd and 3rd! They start the rundown, but Kido gets back to 2nd, he's safe! But now Nishimura is caught off 1st! They throw down there, and he's out!
What a mess...
Top 5th
One down, Tominaga with a safety bunt! Kojima charges in, but by the time he gets the throw off, Tominaga's safe!
Mera with the bunt! Kawai watches it as it heads foul, but NO! The ball hits some dirt and comes back fair! All safe!!! 2 on for Shinnishi!
But he flies out to left for the 2nd out. Up to Yamashita again.
And it's a wild pitch! Runners advance!
However, Satou gets Yamashita to fly out to center to end the inning.
Bottom 5th
Shinnishi continues to hum along with little trouble, retiring the 6-7-8 batters in order as we head to the break.
HUH? Seibou's oen-dan does the chorus line dance??
Okay enough of that...
Top 6th
Satou records his first K here in the 6th as he retires the top of Miyakonojyou's order.
Bottom 6th
Satou gets on board after being hit by Shinnishi. But while he's moved to 2nd, neither pinch hitter #18 Kataoka, nor Koyasu can bring him home. Oosako makes a great leaping jump at the fence in foul territory to record the final out.
Top 7th
Kataoka stays into play right, while Sasaki goes to center.
Not to be outdone, Uchida's foul fly to right is run down by Kataoka who himself makes a leaping grab!
Matsubara then singles through the left side, just past Kojima and off Nishimura's glove!
Satou and Tominaga then start a battle at home, but on the 8th pitch they set the hit and run in motion. The ball goes right to Nishimura who doubles off Matsubara for the easy double play.
Bottom 7th
Seibou Gakuen will needs some "holy hopes" soon if they want their Koshien run to continue.
But they cannot find any answers to Shinnishi's pitching. He continues to induce grounders that his defense eats up.
Top 8th
Mera earns a leadoff walk and moved to 2nd. After a sac bunt, #13 Nagatomo comes in to pinch hit for Yamashita. But he pops out to shallow center for the 2nd out.
A little more trouble though as Satou hits Yoshihara.
Ah? Okamoto-kantoku relieves Satou for #10 Nobuta.
And he retires Oosako with a grounder to 2nd.
Bottom 8th
Time's running out for Seibou... They have only one hit so far, is there anything they can do?
#14 Miyamoto comes in for Nagatomo and takes 2nd. Shinnishi's day is done. Fujimoto comes in to pitch, while #18 Oshikawa comes in for Shinnishi and takes center.
Although Kawai gets on via an error, he's stranded. Seibou's run is probably over.
Top 9th
Defensive changes for Seibou. Kido moves from left to 1st, #11 Yamazaki Atsushi replaces Yamazaki Riki and goes to left.
After Nobuta retires the first 2 batters, Okamoto-kantoku relieves Nobuta for #17 Nagata.
First pitch is driven to deep left, and new LF Atsushi leaps at the wall and makes the catch!
Bottom 9th
#13 Hayakawa pinch hits for Kataoka, but grounds to short. 1 down.
Koyasu gets Seibou's 2nd hit with a single to left. Kido tries to put on the hit and run, but strikes out - Koyasu takes 2nd.
Nishimura up, and he bloops one down the right field line! That falls in for a base hit and Koyasu scores! Seibou is on the board! 5-1!!
And while Kojima would fight hard, he would line out to Tominaga to end the game.
So Miyakonojyou's tandem limits Seibou to just 3 hits, and go on for the 5-1 victory. For Seibou, it's tough to have their run end, but they played well and shouldn't be disappointed.
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