Day 3 - Game 1 - Seiryou (Ishikawa) vs. Naruto (Tokushima)

(I wish I could've had a proper writeup, but technical difficulties delayed me from doing so...)

Seiryou (Ishikawa)
SS Kitamura Takumi
3B Aihara Tomoya
LF Machiba Daisuke
C Kanoya Atsushi
2B Maruyama Masashi
1B Satou Hiroshi
P Iwashita Daiki
RF Fukami Naoto
CF Oono Jyunpei

Naruto (Tokushima)
2B Nakano Yuuki
CF Koumoto Yuujirou
SS Kawano Yuuto
1B Ise Hayato
RF Inaoka Kenta
C Kusaka Hiroki
3B Matsumoto Takanori
P Bandou Yuugo
LF Narukawa Shuuji

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08:00 - First Pitch!

Top 1st
Kitamura opens the game with a single through the gap at short.  1st year Aihara showing bunt but falls behind 1-2.  He still shows it, lays it down, but right to Bandou!  He goes to 2nd, AH!

He throws it high and everyone's safe!

Moriwaki-kantoku calls for time as Machiba steps in.

Bunt!  But he pops it up and Ise charges in to catch it.

For those not familiar with Bandou, he's your run of the mill ace.  Fastball in the high-120s-low 130s and a change/slider in the 110s.  But nothing's going well as he walks Kanoya to load the bases!

Maruyama up with a great chance, and flies to center.  Koumoto with the catch, they go to 3rd... and they get the runner!  And they get him before the runner from 3rd scores so no run!!  Bandou gets out of the jam with poor baserunning for Seiryou!

Bottom 1st
Nakano with ball back up the middle off Kitamura's glove and into center for a base hit!

Wild pitch from Iwashita!  Nakano heads to 2nd, going for 3rd!  Throw from Kanoya is way in time and that's poor baserunning on Naruto's part.

After a groundout from Koumoto, Kawano with a blast to left!  That's to the wall and he's in with a double!

Iwashita clamps down and whizzes a 140 kph fastball by him for strike 3!  Side retired, but both teams a bit sloppy out on the bases.

Top 2nd
Bandou settling in after a shaky opening frame.  Satou works the count full, but grounds to 3rd.  Iwashita chases a cutter away for the 2nd out.  And while Fukami makes solid contact, it's right to Kawano who tosses to 1st for the 3rd out.

Bottom 2nd
Ok, for Seiryou ace Iwashita.  He throws high 130s-low 140, looks like a slider in the high 120s-low 130s.

Hangs a pitch over the plate and Inaoka booms one to right center for a leadoff double! Kusaka to bunt, but pops it up!  Satou charging in makes the catch, fires to 2nd and doubles off Inaoka!

Matsumoto grounds to 3rd and Iwashita gets off the hook!

Top 3rd
Bandou cruising along.  He gets Oono to grounds out to short, the Kitamura to chase a ball out of the zone, and then a routine grounder to Nakano by Aihara.

Bottom 3rd
Bandou with a dying fly to center, Ono makes the neat sliding catch for the first out.  Narukawa a bit ahead of the Iwashita offering, and grounds to Maruyama.

And it's a proper 1-2-3 inning for Iwashita as Nakano flies out to Michiba in foul territory.

Top 4th
Ooh.  Bandou looks perhaps to get a generous call on a fastball outside to catch Machiba looking.  Did hit his target though.

Kanoya down to 2 strikes and chases an offspeed pitch low.  Makes contact, but Naruyama with the easy catch.

Maruyama though stubborn at the plate, fouls off a couple, almost takes off his 3rd base coach's head as he spins to the ground, and is rewarded by getting hit.  Well, he's on base. 

It doesn't look like Seiryou has Bnadou timed out just yet.  So Hayashi-kantoku sets the game in motion!  Maruyama breaks for 2nd and the throw is late and wide.

But Satou golfs a ball to left that Narukawa fields for the 3rd out.

Bottom 4th
Same problem for Naruto right now.  Outside of the two hangers, the offense has had trouble sizing up Iwashita's pitches.

Koumoto and Kawano both get on top of Iwashita's offerings and ground out.  Though on the latter it deflects off Iwashita's glove and Kitamura makes a good adjustment and quick throw for the out.

Ise finally makes good contact and the ball is too hot for Aihara as hit bounces off him and into left for a base hit.

Inaoka though continues Naruto's ineffectiveness as he chases a forkball for the 3rd out.

Top 5th
Hard shot from Iwashita eats up Matsumoto and actually deflects off his arm or hand and goes to 2nd base!

OW.

3B coach Kimura goes out to him and uses the "itai" spray, but that was a hard ricochet.  And after that, he's tested immediately with a sac bunt.  Waits to see if it goes foul, but fires a ball to 1st to get Fukami.  Looks like he's ok.

Oono just under a ball from Bandou and flies out to center.  Iwashita not advancing (perhaps respecting the arm?). Back to the top of the order and Kitamura.

Bandou putting himself in a bit of a pinch as he plunks Kitamura.  Aihara up next as Kawano goes to talk to Bandou, while now Hayashi sends a message to Aihara.

Bandou gets out of the inning as Aihara grounds to Nakano who goes the short way for the 3rd out.

Bottom 5th
Naruto making better contact it seems now.  Kusaka with a hard grounder to Maruyama for the first out.

Oh, it looks like Iwashita hung another one.  Matsumoto puts it to right center and it runs all the way to the wall for a double.  That's their 3rd one today.

Bandou with a liner back up the middle puts runners at the corners and this is Naruto's best chance since the 2nd.  Hayashi-kantoku calls time as #9 Narukawa steps in to bat.

Iwashits trying to give Narukawa nothing to hit, but he falls behind 3-1.

Comebacker to Iwashita!  He tries to look back Matsumoto before turning 2, but the delay means the relay from Kitamura is late!  Matsumoto scores and it's 1-0 Naruto!  That's a fundamental mistake there.  If you're going to try and turn 2 just go for it.  Otherwise, like here, you get neither.

Looks like Iwashita's continues to struggle here in the 5th as Narukawa takes 2nd on him, and then follows that up by walking Nakano after a prolonged AB.  Koumoto up and he's just as stubborn.

Iwashita finally gets out of the inning with a groundout, but a bit of a defensive hiccup costs them a run heading into the break.

Top 6th
Well, that's an inauspicious start for Bandou.  He walks Machiba on 4 straight.  And now cleanup batter Kanoya is showing bunt.  Not sure about that.

Well, that's better, Hayashi-kantoku tries the hit-and-run but Kanoya fouls it off.  Welp, they go for the bunt after all and Kanoya lays it down.

Maruyama with a rip down the 3rd base line.. FAIR!  It's past a diving Matsumoto and down the left field line!  Machiba will come around to score and it's 1-1 on the timely double!

Chance now for Seiryou to take the lead, but Satou swings and misses on a slider for the 2nd out.  Iwashita suffers a similar fate, though he manages to make contact and ground back to Bandou.  But it looks like we might have action on both sides to end the game!

Bottom 6th
Iwashita making a routine play a little more interesting as he makes Satou pick up a low throw.

Anyways, Ise slices a ball off the end of the bat and up the middle for a base hit.

And then Ise almsot gets caught off 1st.  Snap throw from Kanoya there in time, but Satou can't hold on to it.  That allows Inaoka to bunt the runner along looking for a one-timer from Kusaka.

Kusaka with a liner, but right to Machiba for the 3rd out.

Top 7th
Seiryou certainly hitting the ball harder, but it's right at players.  Fukami with a hard grounder to Ise, Oono one right to Matsumoto.

Kitano out in front of a ball outside, pulls it to short for the 3rd out.  Could be a matter of time though before those hard hit balls find the holes.

Bottom 7th
Iwashita flying open on a couple of pitches, walks his 2nd batter.  Bandou looking to bunt the runner along, but fouls off 2 balls and might have to swing away.  Still flashing it though, takes a ball.  Battery wary of a bust-and-run throws one way outside.

But he lays it down!  Iwashita fields it.  goes to 2nd, just beats Matsumoto to get the lead runner as the relay throw is not in time.  That brings up Narukawa who also shows bunt.

Iwashita not breathing heavily, but he is sweating a lot.

Narukawa lays one down, Aihara with it, throws it away!!  Runners advance to 2nd and 3rd and now Iwashita's in a big pinch as Hayashi-kantoku calls time.

Worse yet, it's back to the top of the order and Nakano...

After getting ahead 1-2, Iwashita throws two wide and fills up the count.  Ball high and it's manrui now for Koumoto!

Defensive change.  #10 Katou comes in for... Aihara and goes to 1B, and Satou goes to 3B?  That seems odd...

Oh, there goes the neighborhood!  Koumoto drives a ball to right center going all the way to the wall!  He slides in at 3rd, clearing the bases and Naruto takes a 4-1 lead!

Kawano flies out to left, but not deep enough as Koumoto has to hold.

Doesn't matter though, Ise collects his 3rd hit, dropping one in right to make it 5-1.  No change on the mound as Inaoka puts one back up the middle.  Kusaka gets his first hit thereafter with a ball through the gap in short.  No pitching change yet, and I don't know why, Iwashita's done.

That brings up Matsumoto for his 2nd AB this inning.

And just as I write that, Matsumoto blasts one to left.  That leaves for a manrui HR to make it 9-1.

Only now does Hayashi-kantoku send in #11 Muroki.  He goes in for Fukami as Iwashita goes to RF.

And Muroki strikes out Bandou to end the inning,  Sad that Hayashi-kantoku didn't trust his relief staff earlier.

Top 8th
Katou singles back up the middle, but they will need a lot more of those if they want to get back in the game.

Machiba works the count, fouls off a couple and earns a walk.  Moriwaki-kantoku calls time, though right now nothing to worry about.

Seiryou not bunting (thankfully). Kanoya with a hard ball right at Ise who knocks it down and takes it to 1st for the out.  Maruyama flies out to center, leaving it up to Satou to try and get any runs back.

He grounds out to short, and Naruto will soon be dormy to advance.

Bottom 8th
Muroki doesn't seem like a bad pitcher.  Fastball in the mid 130s and a change in the 110s.  Though, the control isn't there as he walks Narukawa.  He's replaced at 1B by #15 Tanaka.  Passed ball sends him to 2nd.

Guess we can see why perhaps Hayashi-kantoku didn't want to go to the bullpen.  Muroki tends to fly open the shoulder and throw balls wide.  He walks Nakano as well.

And after a sac bunt, Kawano blasts one to right over Iwashita's head for a triple.  11-1 Naruto as Muroki is replaced by #18 Hatanaka.

Hatanaka starts off his stint walking Ise.  Moriwaki-kantoku getting his bench players some time as #10 Maegawa hits for Inaoka.

He singles to center.  Kawano scores as Ise is thrown out trying to stretch to 3rd.  12-1.

Kusaka strikes out looking to end the inning, and mercifully for Seiryou, the game will end in one more half inning.

Top 9th
Maekawa stays in to play RF, Tanaka in LF.

Iwashita starts off with a grounder past Matsumoto, PH Yanase gets one past Ise.  He's replaced by #14 Muranaka.

Oono makes solid contact, singles to left center.  Iwashita scores to make it 12-2 as Moriwaki-kantoku calls time.

Huh.  Kitamura with a no-doubter to left center.  Narukawa doesn't give chase as it's now 12-5.

But still a long ways to go...

Bandou ticking off the first out, getting Katou to miss on a change.  Machiba goes on the first ball and flies out to center.  Quickly 2 outs as Kanoya steps in.

Kanoya with a chopper to the right side, Nakano charging in, fields it, but trips and tumbles over.

Maruyama lines out to Matsumoto and the game is over.

Sadly for Seiryou, bad bullpen management lead to 11 runs and ruin 6 good innings by the team.  It's a rather disappointing performance for a team that looked good early.  But Naruto did what good teams should do and take advantage of such an event.


Notable Players
Matsumoto Yuuto (Naruto) - 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
Kawano Yuuto (Naruto) - 2-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI
Nakano Yuuki (Naruto) - 1-2, 2 R, 3 BB
Kitamura Takumi (Seiryou) - 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
Iwashita Daiki (Seiryou) - 2-4, R