Saturday, July 4, 2009

Stop me if you've heard of this one...

Well, I don't know if we'll get a visit from governor Higashikokubaru, but word is he's doing a lot to get Miyazaki back on the map in Japan. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped the prefecture, like other rural prefectures, from consolidating its villages and towns.

That's evidenced by the 51 team field for the prefectural qualifiers.

Miyazaki Shougyou, with the loss of ace Akagawa to the Yakult Swallows, still earns one of the top 8 seeds in the field. The other seeded teams includes recent Koshien participants such as St. Ursula, Nobeoka Gakuen, and Nichinan Gakuen. The other 4 are Miyakonojyou Shougyou, Miyazaki Gakuen, Miyazaki Shougyou, and Miyazaki Nougyou.

A favorite of mine when they received a 21st century bid was Miyakonojyou Izumigaoka. I think I just like them for their grittiness. They draw Hyuuga Kougyou as the first game of the day at Sun Marine Stadium on the 13th.

Interestingly, Miyazaki ranks in the middle when it comes to succes at Koshien. And in the last couple of years, their representatives have fared a little better getting through their first game before being eliminated. The winner here will hope to continue that trend.

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