7/8 Update - 1st main wave of prefecturals underway! (Kinki to Kyushu areas)

And westward ho we continue!

Osaka
First full day of games started on the 7th and nothing really of note.  Some teams like Riseisha and Osaka Touin won't play until next week.

It was a bit of a thud for Aino as they opened the tournament at the Kyocera Dome with a 14-0 loss to Kita-Kawachi Satsukigaoka.  Hannan managed to play a full game in the follow-up but lost 8-3 to Nisshin.

Hyogo
Remember Sumoto? Back in 2012 they got to 春甲子園 losing to Naruto 2-1 in the opening round.  Here they opened the Hyogo tournament at Akashi Tocalo versus Tomioka and won a hard-fought close game to win 4-3.

And on the 7th, over in Handkerchief Memorial Nigawa Gakuin rallied from down 8-1 with 10 unanswered runs for the gyakuten victory over Takaradzuka.

Fukuoka
Opening games in Kurume on the 6th were rained out, and the game of Kanda Kougyou vs. Tagawa Kagaku Gijyutsu were actually rained out 2 straight days.  When they finally played on the 8th, Kanda Kougyou won 13-2 in 5 innings.

The other match-up saw Fukuoka Dai-ichi edge out Hakuryou 4-3, then because of the schedule had to turnaround and play Ukiha Kyuushinkan the next day.  Not a problem because they won 12-2 in 6 innings thanks to an 8-run 6th.

In other games, Nishi-Nippon Tankidai Fuzoku had the unfortunate draw of an extra game, but Miike Kougyu 8-0 in 7.  Kashii Kougyou managed to tie the game against Ariake Tousen at 2-2 but lost 3-2 in 10.  And Yahata Chuo managed to outlast Wakamatsu 4-3 in a 13 inning marathon.

Two games went into enchousen scoreless.  Yanagigawa defeated Chikushigaoka with a run in the 10th while Kaho bid sayonara to Tokiwa also in the 10th.

Seeded Moji Gakuen had to scramble to make an early 4-0 lead over Sue stick, winning 8-6.  The same could not be said for Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku who was shutout 3-0 by Koga Kyouseikan!  And in a 3-3 in surprises at Kita-Kyushu Municipal, Iiduzka was in a close match with Shinguu before adding insurance runs in the 9th - but still managed to win by the small margin of 5-3.

Things did not improve over at Kasuga prefectural.  Chikuyou Gakuen managed the only run in the game against Seinan Gakuin, while Kurume Shougyou had to rally to defeat Yame 4-3!

And while they're not seeded, Fukuoka Koudai Jyoutou also won a slim 1-0 game to Fukuoka Kourinkan.

I'm sure by the time things end we'll probably see a regular in the finals.  But right now, the seeded teams look less than dominating and it's all up in the air right now.

Saga
Rain plagued Saga's opening day as well, pushing back games a day.  When the games finally began, Imari Shougyou gave the fans a show as they walked off against Karatsu Kougyou 2-1.

Nagasaki
Apparently Kyushu continues to have close games.  Kouka trailed Hokushou Nishi 2-0, tied it in the 8th and said sayonara in the 10th to advance.

Kumamoto
Oguni continued the trend, breaking a 3-3 tie with Shouyou with a run in the 11th on opening day, then Kumamoto Gakuendai Fuzoku rallying twice to win 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th over Tamana.

However, when it comes to the better teams in the prefecture, it's more business as usual with Kumamoto Kougyou and Hitsuyuukan advancing.

And I finally had a score that made me really cringe.  Tamana Kougyou scores no less than 5 runs in an inning blowing out Amakusa Kuratake 42-0 in 5 innings.

Oita
No real blowouts in Oita so far, with all games going 9 innings, and the largest winning margin being just 3 runs.  On opening day Oita Tsurusaki rallied from down 4-0 to take a 7-4 lead over Oita Kougyou, blew that lead in the final 2 innings before scoring the sayonara run in the 9th.

The first full slate of games saw Usa scoring the only run over Nakatsu Minami to win their game, then Beppu Shougyou erasing a 3-0 lead, scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Hita 4-3.

And today, Usa Sangyou Kagaku made a 2-0 lead over Usuki stick winning 2-1, and despite scoring a run in the first 5 innings, Mori needed one more in the bottom of the 9th to defeat Kunisaki 6-5, and former 甲子園 participant Hita Rinkou had one of the more "easier" games defeating Oita Houfu 5-2.

Miyazaki
Miyazaki was more "normal" in what you'd you see early on.  That's not to say we had close game here either.

Saito Shougyou held of an late rally from Hyuuga Gakuin to win 4-3, and Miyakonojyou rallied late to send the game against Miyakonojyou Shougyou into enchousen and won 6-5 in 12.  And in a intra-city affair Hyuuga gives up an early 2-0 lead to Hyuuga Kougyou, then comes back from down 5-2 to win 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th.

Kagoshima
I just realized I hadn't translated this bracket.  This will have to be done today, and I'll have an update on it in a separate post. (ごめん！)

Okinawa
Okinawa in the 2nd weekend seemed to start off rather innocuously.  Teams like Okinawa Suisan and Futenma advanced without incident.

But then turn to the 30th, and all heck broke loose.  Ginowan, generally a good team, loses 5-4 to Kitanakagusuku.  The biggest upset goes to Misato who went 14 innings against seeded Hokuzan and won 2-1!  That opens it up for Kounan, who has scored double digits in their 2 games so far.

Onto the 3rd week, and Gushikawa was involved in their 2nd extra inning game, this time losing 5-4 to Misato Kougyou 5-4 in 14 innings.  Seeded Mawashi was challenged by Futenma, but managed to win 3-0 but will have another tough matchup in Okinawa Suisan.  Even the fall Kyushu Super-Regional champions Okinawa Shougaku had an 8-4 win over Chuubu Shougyou, but gave up some runs late.  Yaeyama, on the other hand dealt with Yokatsu 6-3.

In other games, Urasoe Shougyou looks to be in rebuild mode, surviving Tomoshiro 3-1 and Chinen fought hard for a 3-1 win in 14 over Nanbu Kougyou.  Yaeyama Shoukou scored in 7 of the 8 innings to win 12-7 over Okinawa Tousen.  It doesn't look look for their prospects this year.