32 teams in 32 days - Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku (Yamanashi)

Though perhaps we have seen Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku at Koushien a bit recently, this is just their 2nd time to reach senbatsu and it is their first appearance in 20 years!

Road to Senbatsu
Yamanashi Prefecturals

• def. Yamanashi Nourin 11-0 (5 inn)
• def. Yoshida 4-1
• def. Tsuru 5-1
• def. Hikawa 9x-2 (8 inn)
• def. Toukaidai Koufu 8-2

Super-Regionals

• def. Nichidai 5-2
• def. Kendai Takasaki 4-3
• lost Hakuoudai Ashikaga 3-1

So, as I mentioned with Kiryuu Dai-ichi, the Kanto super-regionals do not seem to be rather strong this past fall.  Which to go off topic for a second makes me even more and more furious that Yokohama was invited.  If the region was weak Yokohama should have found a way to get themselves in without the help of the JHBF.

But I digress...

Now, Yamanashi Gakuindai did have some solid games, starting with their semifinals and finals of the prefecturals.  Both Hikawa and Toukaidai Koufu are no slouches and the fact that Yamanashi Gakuindai defeated both handily is a positive sign.

However, go onto the Super-Regionals and it's a different matter.  Nichidai was a good story coming out of Kanagawa, but a 5-2 victory isn't necessarily that impressive despite the fact that Nichidai's 2 runs came in the 9th.  Next up was Kendai Takasaki, who I liken to a poor man's Hanamaki Higashi, and like them they played Yamanashi Gakuindai really close.  It had to take a 3-run bottom 8th for Yamanashi Gakuindai to advance.  And then in the semifinals, they just threw a whole bunch of pitchers at Hakuoudai (4 to be exact), in a 3-1 loss.  But they advanced far enough that the JHBF gave them a call the other day.

Kantoku Yoshida Kouji's (吉田 洸二) ace is Yamaguchi Daisuke (山口 大輔).  But this video is all the information I have on him.  No other data like how hard he throws or what pitches he throws.  Just that he's the ace.  Other than that, there are the other pitchers who threw in the Hakuoudai game such as #10 Ooshiro Teppei (大城 哲平), #3 Uehara Susumu (上原 進) and #18 Miyano Hiromu (宮野 大夢).

I'm surprised I'm able to find out so little on these teams.  If this keeps up I might need to give a post explaining why this might be the case.  Again, with not much to go on, it will be hard to project how far they can go.  To be honest though, given their resume it doesn't look like they'll get that far - though Yoshida-kantoku doesn't seem to be that hesitant to go to the other pitchers.