Tuesday, July 19, 2011

93rd Koushien Qualifying - July 13th-19th (Hokushinetsu Prefectures)

Niigata
With a day off on the 12th, play would begin on the 13th with the 2nd round.
  • 5-8 seed Sado, who made it to senbatsu, starts their run with a 12-1 win over Kamo.
  • 3 seed Nagaoka Oote finds themselves having to rally multiple times against Takada Kitashiro including scoring 3 in the 9th just to tie the game! They would advance with a 8-7 win in 10, but it has to be a wakeup call for them. We'll have to see how they do against Tookamachi Sougou.
  • At Midori-no-mori, 5-8 seed Tookamachi wins easily over Sanjyou Sougou.
  • Top seed Nihon Bunri methodically picks apart Kashiwazaki 7-0 in 7 innings. Odjiya Nishi is next on the docket.
  • 2 seed Hokuestu lets Niigata pull within 1 in the bottom of the 8th but 2 in the 9th gives them enough cushion.
  • 4 seed Chuuetsu too has issues in their first game. They fall behind 3-0, then 5-1 to Sanjyou before scoring 2 in the 7th and in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5.
  • 5-8 seed Sekine Gakuen wins handily 6-2 over Arai and will play Nagaoka Kougyou next.
  • It seems like the 5-8 seeds are having a better time of things as Gosen defeats Aikawa 11-1 in 6.
  • Teikyou Nagaoka continues to carry the name of their parent university as they win 1-0 over Takada.
  • Niigata Meikun takes a 5-2 lead and cruises to a 6-4 win over Muikamachi.
  • Niigata Dai-ichi comes back with 2 in the bottom of the 9th to steal the win away from Niigata Kouyou.
No day off between Rounds 2 and 3, as teams start turning around faster between games.
  • Nagaoka Oote recovers after the shaky start to mercy rule Tookamachi Sougou.
  • Niigata Kenou Kougyou needed their early 3-0 lead as Niitsu Kougyou would start trying to make a comeback. However Kenou continued to score runs to keep the distance. Niitsu would pull within 1 at 9-8 but could never pull level.
  • Nihon Bunri will play Teikyou Nagaoka as both win their games with little trouble.
  • Hokuetsu after stumbling in the 1st against Niigata Kougyou, scores 10 unanswered to win 11-5. Their opponent will be Shirone who themselves score 10 unanswered in the last 3 innings to defeat Niigata Shougyou 11-8.
  • Chuuetsu plays yet another close game, this time against Niigata Sangyoudai Fuzoku once again scoring a sayonara run in the bottom of the 9th. Their next opponent will be Bunsui as Sanjyou Higashi cannot prevent the mercy rule from being called in the 7th.
  • Sado advances with a 5-1 win over Nagaoka, but will have a tough test against Niigata Meikun.
  • Tookamachi is the first seeded team to fall as Murakami Sakuragaoka mercy rules them 10-2 in 7.
  • Gosen and Maki will face off in the round of 16 with solid wins.
  • Sekine Gakuen's victory in the 3rd round means that Tookamachi, Nihon Bunri's seeded opposition in their quadrant was the only one not to advance to the round of 16. Sekine's opponent will be Niigata Dai-ichi.
Nagano
Round 2
  • Saku Chousei shows little rust in their first game mercy ruling Iiyama Kita.
  • Maruko Shigakukan edges out Nagano Shougyou 3-2.
  • Toukai Dai-san has no trouble with Nakano Risshikan 10-0 in 6.
  • Matsumoto Kougyou down 6-1 scores 10 (10!) in the top of the 8th to win 11-7 over Ina Yayoigaoka.
  • Nagano Nichidai easily dispatches Matsumoto Arigasaki 10-2 in 7.
  • Iiyama scores 3 in the 8th to defeat Okaya Kougyou 4-3.
  • At Ueda Prefectural on the 13th we had 3 close games as Shinonoi records a sayonara victory against Matsumoto Misuzugaoka 4-3, Hotaka lets Suzuka Engei pull within 1 in the bottom of the 9th but win 3-2, and Shimo-Suwa Kouyou pulls off a last minute win over Ikeda Kougyou.
  • Matsushou Gakuen, absent as of late in Nagano looks to make a comeback with a 7-0 win over Tatsuno.
  • Shimo-Ina Nougyou score 4 in the 8th to cut a 5-0 deficit down to 1, but can't find the equalizer to Nozawa Kita.
  • Chikyuu Kankyou (translated means Global Environment) has actually done decently in recent years, starts their run with a 7-2 win over Tagawa.
  • Koumi scores a run in the 8th and 9th to defeat Nagano Minami 2-1.
Round 3
  • Saku Chousei struggles against Shinonoi winning 2-1 though they did only give up 4 hits.
  • Hotaka Shougyou pulls a minor upset against Maruko Shigakukan 8-5.
  • Toukai Dai-san moves onto the round of 16 with a 3-1 win over Suwa Seiryou.
  • Nagano Nichidai wins its 2nd consecutive game 10-2 in 7. Ina Kita is their victim this time.
  • Akaho pings Shima-Suwa Kouyou for a run in 4 consecutive innings to win 5-4.
  • Nagano tries to make a game out of it, pulling within 1 right after Komoro Shougyou expanded their lead to 5, but can't produce the douten run.
  • Chikyuu Kankyou 1-hits Okaya Minami winning 6-0.
  • Matsushou Gakuen spots 6 runs to Kami-Ina Nougyou in the top of the 1st, but slowly works their way back culminating with 2 in the 9th for the win!
Round 4
  • Saku Chousei is back on track with a 9-0 win over Akaho in 7.
  • Chikyuu Kankyou's run ends with a 4-1 loss to Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri. Too bad, they had interesting uniforms.
We're in the best 8 now and the matchups are as follows:
  • Saku Chousei v. Nagano
  • Iiyama v. Matsushou Gakuen
  • Matsumoto Dai-ichi v. Nagano Nichidai
  • Toukai Dai-san v. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri
I wouldn't be surprised to see Saku Chousei v. Matsushou Gakuen, and Nagano Nichidai v. Tokyo Shidai Shiojiri in the semis.

Toyama
Round 1 came and gone without much excitement save for a 5-5 game between Takaoka and Tonami before Takaoka scores 5 to decide the issue, and Toyama hanging on for dear life against Fukuoka winning 9-8.

Round 2 so far has also gone by without much excitement save for Kouhou winning 8-6 in extra innings against Kamiichi, and... oh yeah... Toyama Higashi, a 3-4 seed, manages just 5 hits and strikes out 10 times, rallies for 2 in the 9th, but loses to Takaoka Nishi 3-2!

Fukui
Fukui's 1st day of action ended with a high-scoring affair between Usui and Maruoka. Usui build an 8-4 lead, and seemed to be in control. However in the bottom of the 8th, Maruoka scores 6 and shocks Usui by taking a 10-8 lead! But they say the last 3 outs are the hardest to get and in this case it was. Usui scores 4 to retake the lead! Maruoka tries to mount a final rally but falls a run short losing 12-11.

Final day of 1st round games saw the following:
  • Koshi use a pair of runs in the 6th and 7th to beat Asuwa 4-2.
  • Fujishima using a 4-run first to win 5-4 over Tsuruga.
  • Takefu Higashi outscoring Katsuyama 2-1 in the 6th. That was the final score too.
Ishikawa
The opening game in Ishikawa started off with a 14-9 win by Terai over Tsurugi.

The games on the first full day of competition included some wacky scores. Most notably was a 9-4 run by Noto to defeat Kanazawa Kouyou 12-11.

In other 1st round games, Daishouji Jitsugyou made a late comeback against Komatsu Kougyou, but would fall 1-run short at 7-6. Ootori Gakuen scores a run in the 8th and 9th innings to defeat Houdatsu 3-2.

Komatsu Shiritsu reversed a 4-run 8th but Kanazawa Fushimi to win 5-4. Nanao Shimonome down 7-1 score 4 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to bid sayonara to Touka Gakuen Oyamadai. Finally Daishouji scores 2 in the 10th to beat Suisei 6-4.

Shiga
Shiga opened play on the 14th with an extra inning affair. Mizoguchi outlasts Hikone Kougyou 2-1 in 11. Other 1st round games included:
  • Hikone Higashi, not seeded this year begins their march to Koushien with a 12-3 win over Yasu.
  • Maibara scoring 2 in the 9th to beat Shiga Tankidai Fuzoku 4-2.
  • Youkaichi withe 3 late runs, including the sayonara run in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Shiga Gakuen 6-5.
  • Hino's run in the 6th was enough to defeat Nagayama 5-4.
  • Kousen and Hachiman Kougyou do all their scoring in the final 4 innings capped off by 3 in the bottom of the 9th to give Kousen the 5-4 sayonara win.
  • Ika and Kousei spread their runs throughout the game, though Kousei wins by the same 5-4 score.
  • Kawase allows Higashi-Ootsu to come back from 4 down to send it into extras, though they win with a run in the 11th.
  • Rittou scores 2 in the bottom of the 8th to take a 6-3 lead over Notogawa. With just 3 outs to go, Notogawa scores 4 to take a 1-run lead! Rittou is unable to respond and Notogawa advances.
  • Ishiyama pulled off a miraculous comeback against Torahime. Down 6-0, Ishiyama begins their comeback with 3 in the lucky 7. Torahime scores 4 to make it a 7-run deficit. Ishiyama only manages 2 putting them down 10-5. In the bottom of the 9th, neither ace Fujimoto nor reliever Takahashi can prevent Ishiyama from scoring 6 to complete the comeback and win 11-10!
The first game of the 3rd round as well as games on the 19th were rained out due to Typhoon Ma-on.

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