With the first day of Senbatsu perhaps not going as planned for some teams, would this set the tone for the games to come?
Our 2nd day of Senbatsu begins with another possible favorite in Kaisei squaring off against another 21st century team in Kouyou.
Kaisei has some good players on both sides. Ace Shirane dominated the Chuugoku region, striking out 90 in 77 innings and sporting a 3 K/BB ratio. Offensively, look for C Idei and 3B Itohara to drive the ball to the wall and beyond. And if that weren't enough, LF Emoto and Shirane himself can add some pop as well.
This will be a tough task for Kouyou. They are not particularly great with the bat (.255 AVG) and their ace Fujita is nothing spectacular. With little that stands out for Kouyou, they are certainly facing a huge uphill battle if they want to advance.
Kaisei (Shimane) - Chuugoku Champions
3B Itohara Kento
2B Iwata Taru
SS Oohata Yuuto
C Idei Tooru
P Shirane Naoki
CF Honda Hiroaki
LF Emoto Shouhei
RF Oka Shinichirou
1B Mori Daiki
Kouyou (Wakayama) - 21st Century Bid
SS Mori Toshirou
3B Tsumura Yuuki
CF Yamamoto Jyunjui
1B Nishyama Tatsuya
2B Nishioka Toshiki
C Ootsuki Tsukasa
LF Chouda Ryuusei (#18)
P Fujita Tasuya
RF Gotou Takuma
__________________________________________________
9:01 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Fujita starts off the game throwing 2 sliders for strikes. These are sitting in the mid 110's. A fastball away hits the low-mid 130's. He eventually gets Itohara to pop one up to left for the first out.
Iwata chops one back to Fujita for the 2nd out.
And Oohata swings at one down in the dirt for strike 3, and Fujita is off to a good start.
Bottom 1st
Shirane is throwing the heat at the Kouyou batter, hitting 141, then 142 and 143. While the control isn't quite there, he gets leadoff batter Mori to swing at strike 3.
And then Tsumura strikes out looking on a pitch that is called on the outside part. 2 down.
We finally see a couple of breaking balls coming in the high 110's. That's quite a difference.
Yamamoto, in the 8th pitch of the AB, singles through to right field.
And now he tries to steal 2nd! Idei with the throw, but Yamamoto just beats it out! Chance for Kouyou!
Nishiyama though flies softly to center ending the inning.
Top 2nd
Fujita is really locating his off-speed stuff. The fastball not as much.
Idei gets under one and pops out to 2nd. Shirane on the other hand gets a hold of one and puts it into left for a single.
But the batters are still being fooled. Honda waves at one, grounding it to 2nd. Shirane stalls just long enough to let Honda reach base.
Again though Emoto gets on top of a pitch and grounds softly to 2nd for the 3rd out. If I were Kaisei I would ignore the fastball and look for that change.
Bottom 2nd
Wow. Shirane is just mowing down the batters.
Nishioka goes down swinging.
Ootsuki strikes out looking.
and Chouda grounds out to 2nd.
Top 3rd
Oka takes a fastball up the middle for a leadoff hit.
Mori squares around to bunt, but he pops it up! Nishiyama comes in to make the catch, and as Mori comes back to the dugout, I'm sure Nonomura-kantoku is none to pleased. Sure enough, the camera catches Mori standing and Nonomura scolding him for popping out.
2nd time around the lineup and Fujita is having a bit of trouble going 3-1 on Itohara and eventually walking him. So now there's runners on 1st and 2nd for Kaisei with only 1 down.
Iwata with a hard grounder to the left side! Mori dives over, stops it! Throw to 2nd from the seat of his pants for one, relay to first... double play!
WOW! What a great play from Mori to turn 2 there, and Kaisei is held scoreless here in the 3rd!
Bottom 3rd
Shirane is certainly using his wide arsenal of pitches to baffle the Kouyou hitters.
Fujita hits a grounder right at Mori, but it bouncers off his foot and straight up! He tracks the ball which actually takes him right to 1st base for the out!
Oh ho ho...
Gotou comes up to bat and I hear the band playing "Zankoku na tenshi no teze". Win.
But he grounds out to 3rd for the 2nd out.
Shirane seems to be having some trouble this inning going full on both Gotou and Mori. While Mori bails him out swinging on a high pitch, it's something to watch out for.
Top 4th
Oohata gets under a rising fastball and flies out to center.
Idei gets a bit jammed on another fastball and grounds back to Fujita.
Shirane looks at an offspeed for strike 1, then can't check his swing on another for strike 2. But he managers to work the count full... then waves on a curve for strike 3.
Seems like they're still looking for the fastball.
Bottom 4th
Ah! Shirane is called for a dead ball on Tsumura, but on the replay it looks like he got away from the ball and wasn't hit! Tough luck for Kaisei.
AH!!! Shirane's pickoff throw to 1st is wide and gets by Mori! Tsumura advances to 2nd!!
Nonomura-kantoku immediately calls a conference on the mound.
Yamamoto squares to bunt, but it goes right into Idei's glove for strike 1. But Tsumura doesn't recognize it's not a dead-ball situation! Idei though double clutches and can't get the ball to 2nd in time!
And then Yamamoto can't lay down the bunt and has to swing away! A comebacker can't advance the runner and there's 1 down.
Shirane gets ahead of Nishiyama 1-2, but then lets him catch up! Full count... but he strikes him out looking! 2 down.
Once again ahead of Nishioka 0-2, but can't get a call on the outside corner. And then a wild pitch by Shirane lets Tsumura advance to 3rd!
And then Shirane loses Nishioka! Runners on the corners with 2 down!
Ootsuki with a grounder past a diving Iwata goes into right! Tsumura scores and Kouyou scores the first run of the game! 1-0! The phantom dead ball comes back to haunt Kaisei!
Ah! Chouda takes the first pitch to left! Emoto, already playing in charges, dives, but can't come up with the ball! It trickles towards center and Nishioka comes into score. 2-0 Kouyou!!
Nonomura-kantoku with another conference on the mound. Can Shirane stop the bleeding?
Fujita pops out to short to end the inning, but a blown call by the home plate umpire might have just cost Kaisei 2 runs. Give credit to Kouyou though, that timely hitting I mentioned about against Tenri in an earlier post... looks like they did it again.
Top 5th
Honda starts off the 5th with a leadoff walk. Emoto immediately squares to bunt and successfully puts it down. Now it's up to Oka to drive him in.
He falls behind 0-2 and waves on another slider down and away and there's 2 down.
Mori continues to flail at Fujita's offspeed stuff, and he grounds one to short. Compounding the issue, his headfirst slide into 1st base looked awful.
Cans someone please tell these kids that diving into 1st doesn't work? Please?
Bottom 5th
Ah back to Gotou and the Evangelion theme...
Now if only he could get a base hit. He instead flies out to Emoto in foul territory.
I may be a bit burned out as we start the HS baseball season again, but I always love the oen-dans.
Back to the game, Shirane certainly has settled down from last inning. Mori grounds to short and while the count goes full on Tsumura, he pops out to Itohara in foul territory for out number 3.
Top 6th
Itohara is certainly having the right idea. He takes an offspeed pitch the other way, but Chouda runs it down.
Iwata hits a liner, but right at Tsumura.
Oohata hits another fastball, but that's right at Yamamoto and Kaisei is quickly retired.
Bottom 6th
Yamamoto softly flies out to left to start the inning. Then after Shirane falls behind Nishiyama 3-1, he induces a grounder to short.
But then he plunks Nishioka in the back on a pitch.
And then on a 2-1 pitch from Shirane, Nishioka takes off for 2nd! Idei is looking ahead at making the throw he doesn't get the ball first!
Shirane's control issues are coming back as he walks Ootsuki! 2 down and runners on 1st and 2nd!
And Ishitani-kantoku is sending the runners on an 0-2 count??! The pitch is wide and Idea makes a snap throw to 3rd and they nail Nishioka! Certainly a curious call if you ask me.
Top 7th
Idei with a chopper right at Tsumura, but it takes a high hop off the infield and he can't field it! Runner on for Kaisei!
And Shirane looks at an offspeed pitch on the outside corner for strike 1. Then at 1-1 he looks at a fastball at the same corner.
Shirane with a grounder to 1st. Nishiyama with the throw to 2nd for one, and back to Fujita covering 1st and they get 2! Certainly though Shirane isn't the fastest runner out there, so they had time.
Once again, the batters are being fooled. Honda with a grounder to short, but Mori's throw is way off the mark! E6 keeps the inning going.
Emoto is jammed and he grounds out to 3rd. If Kaisei isn't in panic mode before, they might want to be now. 6 outs and down 2-0 can't be good.
Bottom 7th
Shirane strikes out Chouda to start the inning. Fujita grounds to 3rd for the 2nd out.
And Gotou and his Evangelion music lasts all of like 30 seconds as he attempts a safety bunt, but it's right at Iwata for the 3rd out.
Top 8th
Defensive change for Kouyou. #7 Suzuki Kenta takes over for Chouda in left.
Huh. I didn't notice this before, but Oka's music is also the Evangelion theme song. It's just that Kaisei's band is a bit soft. That's too bad.
Oka goes down like many others, whiffing on a offspeed down and away.
1 down and Nonomura-kantoku calls upon #17 Shinohara Makimasa to try and get the offense going. But lunges out at a pitch and grounds out to 2nd. 2 down for Kaisei.
Itohara takes a fastball and hits a grounder that goes through to right field for a base hit.
Iwata with a liner to center! Itohara makes the turn at 2nd and goes for 3rd! The throw is cutoff and Kaisei has runners at the corners with 2 down.
Ishitani-kantoku calls for a conference. Certainly they can't let the game get away from them.
Wow. I really haven't been counting, but Fujita is only at 95 pitches!
And another offspeed right in there for strike 1 on Oohata. A bail on a slider, and he's behind 0-2. Iwata takes off for 2nd, but the ball is in the dirt and there's no throw.
Oohata reaches down and golfs one, but it's right at Yamamoto and the side is retired! Chance for Kaisei is denied once again!
Bottom 8th
Defensive changes for Kaisei. Shinohara stays in the game and plays right. Oka goes from right to 1B.
And Shirane walks Mori on 4 straight! Nonomura-kantoku calls an immediate conference on the mound.
Tsumura bunts the runners over and Yamamoto steps up looking to extend the lead because certainly last inning had to concern them. But he goes down swinging for his 8th K.
EHH??? Ishitani-kantoku is having Mori steal 3rd??! But Idei's throw is late and he gets in there safely!
*flips through magazine*
Hm... he IS the main base stealer, but that has got to be a gutsy call there by Ishitani.
And Shirane walks his 2nd batter this inning! Is he finally tiring? Oh yeah, I didn't mention this before, but Shirane is built like a 1B, not a P. Interesting to see him on the mound, but he's been effective for the most part.
EH? Ishitani sends Nishiyama on a 1-2 pitch but Nishioka strikes out. Perhaps he's trying to go for the element of surprise because I certainly have every time he's done it.
Anyways, that retires the side. We head to the 9th inning with Kaisei still trailing by two and their Koshien tournament at risk.
Top 9th
Idei leads off the 9th, and is plunked on a 3-2 pitch that was going like 100kph.
And another offspeed backs Shirane off the plate! And a fastball up and in! 2-0! Finally he rifles one in there for a strike.
Shirane drives a hanging off speed pitch deep to left center! Suzuki goes over to get it, boots it! Then he loses the handle on the throw! And then Mori can't get the relay! Idei scores all the way from 1st and we have a one-run ballgame! It's 2-1 just like that!!
Wow. The fielders for that one play almost forgot how to play. Yeesh.
Ishitani calls for a conference. No outs and Kaisei is a base hit away from tying this game up!
Oh my god... Honda just looked silly on a 0-1 slider WAY outside. And bailed again on another one that hits him for a foul ball.
But Fujita gets Honda on an offspeed pitch that jams him. He pops up to 2nd for the first out.
Emoto up now and he repeats Honda's offense on an outside breaking ball for strike 1. This entire game Fujita's been throwing that ball for first-pitch strikes, now he's throwing it out of the zone to get the batters to chase!!
AHHH!!
Wild pitch by Fujita brings the tying run jsut 90 feet away! Both managers are yelling instructions!
Whoa. Fujita hits 139 on a fastball. That has some extra stuff on it.
Emoto bails on another pitch, but just gets a piece of it!
Fujita though pulls the string again and Emoto goes down swinging! Kouyou needs just one more out and they have the upset!
It comes down to Oka now. First pitch offspeed and he dribbles it foul. Another offspeed with some bite and there's 2 strikes!
Foul! He tries to sneak a fastball in, but Oka fouls it off!
SANSHIN!!!
Fujita pulls the string one more time and gets Oka to bite! Kouyou's done it! They've upset the Chuugoku champions Kaisei by a score of 2-1! Certainly a masterful performance by Fujita and in some ways Ishitani-kantoku. I think we have part of the reason why this team is successful. I don't think I've ever had a game where a manager really surprises me with his moves (in a good way) than Ishitani-kantoku.
For Kaisei, this is certainly disappointing. While it was a phantom call that cost them their runs, their approach at the plate was awful for the most part and in some cases they just looked silly. Shirane was good on the mound allowing 3 hits, but the 6 walks were costly.
Don't know what it is about this tournament, but the results have been interesting to say the least. And the home team has won each game. That's gotta be an odd occurrence.
Notable Players
WP - Fujita Tatsuya, CG, 1 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 3 BB
LP - Shirane Naoki, CG, 2 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 6 BB
Ootsuki Tsukasa (Kouyou) - 1-2, RBI, K, BB
Nishoka Toshiki (Kouyou) - 0-2, 2 K, BB, HBP, SB
Shirane Naoki (Kaisei) - 2-4, 2B, K
Iwata Taru (Kaisei) - 1-4
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Day 1 - Game 3 - Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) vs. Nichidai-san (Tokyo)
So apparently things so far have not been what they have seen. as Tenri falls to Tsuruga Kehi and Hanasaki Tokuharu 2-hits Kadena. So what will happen in the final game of opening day?
Nichidai-san comes in as a power squad averaging 3 doubles and a HR per game. Their corner fielders Sano/Negishi and Yokoo hit for ridiculous averages during the fall. Yamazaki and Kumasaka take main duties on the mound, but do not be surprised if Kumasaka and SS Yoshizawa are the pitchers this game to give their ace a rest.
Yamagata Chuo comes in the exact opposite of Nichidai-san. In 6 tournament games, they managed only 11 extra base hits (6 were triples and 4 of those were by SS Hosoya!). They don't walk, and they don't run either. So with runs at a premium, they'll have to supress Nichidai's offense. Ace Yokoyama and his breaking balls will have to be on target today to get the job done.
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - 21st Century Bid
SS Hosoya Rin
2B Narasaki Masanobu
C Hashiba Mitsuki
CF Takahashi Takumi
LF Nawa Tadashi
RF Koyama Naoya (#3)
3B Miura Taku
P Yokoyama Yuuya
1B Abe Gouta (#12)
Nichidai-san (Tokyo) - Kanto/Tokyo At-large
RF Takayama Shun
2B Ogihara Tatsurou
CF Hiraiwa Takuji
3B Yokoo Toshitake
P Yamazaki Sachiya
SS Yoshizawa Shougo
1B Sano Tomohito
LF Azegami Shou
C Suzuki Takahiro (#12)
__________________________________________________
16:02 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Yamazaki comes out throwing in the high 130's with a slider in the mid 120's.
Hosoya laces one into left for a leadoff hit!
And then Yamazaki falls behind Narasaki 3-0, but comes back with 2 strikes (albeit maybe low) to fill up the count. And a high pitch gets the runner out for the first out.
Hashiba with a grounder through to right! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
Hm... Yamazaki falls behind Takahashi 3-0 then gets a strike down and away. And a foul fills up the count once again. Takahashi continues to foul balls off as we approach the 9th pitch of the AB. A fastball inside at 141 gets him swinging for the 2nd out.
Yamazaki is still having issues, falling behind Nawa 2-1. And he lines one to left! Azegami runs over, then quickly changes directions back! He leaps and that's over his head!!! Hosoya comes in, Hashiba rounds 3rd as Azegami runs back to the LF wall! The throw finally comes in, but not before Nawa is in with a stand-up triple! Yamagata Chuo is up 2-0 early over Nichidai-san!!
Koyama grounds to 3rd to end the inning, but in a surprising opener the 21st century squad takes the lead!
Bottom 1st
Yokoyama is a lefty who throws in the mid-high 130's with a slider in the high 110's and a slow curve in the low 100's.
Takayama weakly grounds out to 2nd. Ogihara works the count full and pops one up to right center. Koyama runs over, continues to run over, and makes the catch in almost in center! And Hiraiwa grounds out to 3rd and just like that it's a 1-2-3 inning for Yokoyama to start the game.
Top 2nd
Miura goes down swinging for Yamazaki's 3rd K. Yokoyama looks at a ball right down the middle for strike 3.
Ow. Abe gets plunked in the back and the lineup turns back over to Hosoya.
And on the 1-2 pitch Abe takes off for 2nd! The throw is high and off line and he's in safely!
But Hosoya pops out to center to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Yokoo flies out to center after falling behind 1-2. Then Yokoyama falls behind Yamazaki 3-1 and he takes the pitch the opposite way to left center, and it falls in for a double!
And Yoshizawa hits one down the left field line... fair! Nawa runs over to get it, but Yoshizawa has a one-out double to pull Nichidai-san within 1. 2-1!
Sano flies out to deep right, and Yoshizawa advances to 3rd.
Azegami drills the first pitch to right center! The fielders converge, but it falls in behind them! Yoshizawa scores, Azegami is flying! He in with a stand-up triple and we're all knotted up at 2-2!
Suzuki pops up to Miura near the mound for the 3rd out, but Nichidai-san has come back to tie it up.
Top 3rd
Naraasaki flies out to left center. Hashiba strikes out swinging. And while Takahashi gets plunked, Nawa pops up the first pitch and Yoshizawa secures it for the 3rd out.
After the quick start by Yamagata Chuo, they now seem to be stifled by Yamazaki.
Bottom 3rd
Back to the top of the order for Nichidai and Takayama strikes out swinging.
Ogihara places one in shallow left center for a base hit.
Hiraiwa with a drive to center. Takahashi running back, back to the fence. Stops and...
HAITA!
Hiraiwa hits a homerun to dead center and Nichidai-san takes the lead 4-2! Wow!
Yokoo with a ball high down the right field side. Koyama runs over to the foul line, but that's over his head. Yokoo's in with a double! Could things be unraveling for Yamagata Chuo?
Shouji-kantoku calls for a conference to settle things down.
Yamazaki with a cut swing lines one to left, but right at Nawa. 2 down.
Yoshizawa with a line drive, but foul. He grounds out to 2nd to end the inning, but Nichidai-san has taken the lead here in the 3rd!
Top 4th
Yamazaki seems to have settled down. He gets Koyama to ground to 2nd to start the inning, then strikes out Miura on an off-speed pitch. Finally, he strikes out Yokoyama looking on a pitch on the outside corner to retire the side!
Bottom 4th
Sano with a grounder to the left side. Miura goes over to field it, but a high bounce gets him and it goes into left for a base hit!
Azegami lays down the bunt. Miura charges in quickly, looks to 2nd, then decides to go to 1st for the putout.
The count goes full on Suzuki before he grounds out to 3rd. And Takayama is jammed popping out to Hosoya down the left field line.
Top 5th
Ow again? Abe is hit to start off the 5th.
Hosoya tries to put down a bunt, but it goes off of him. Down 1-2 and having to swing away, he strikes out looking.
And Abe takes off for 2nd! Throw from Ootsuka is slightly offline and he's safe!
Narasaki gets ahead 2-0, and drives a fastball to deep right center! Hiraiwa runs back but it's past him! Ootsuka comes in and Narasaki has a stand-up triple! It's 4-3!
And Hashiba lines one to center! That's in for a base hit! Narasaki scores and Yamagata Chuo has tied it up at 4-4!! Wow!
Takahashi flies out to left and Nawa pops out to Ootsuka at home plate to end the inning. BUT! Yamagata Chuo has tied the game at 4 against Nichidai-san!!
Bottom 5th
Ogihara hits a grounder to short, but it's off Hosoya and into center!
Hiraiwa grounds to Miura who goes to 2nd for one, but there's no play at 1st.
Yokoo does an instant replay of Hiraiwa. 2 down.
Yokoyama gets ahead of Yamasaki 0-2, but Yamazaki shoots one through the infield to left and there's runners on 1st and 2nd for Yoshizawa.
Yokoyama is being careful with Yoshizawa, but he falls behind 2-0! And Yoshizawa drives one to deep left! Nawa, who is playing a bit towards center can't run it down and it two-hops to the wall! He clears the bases with a double and just like that Nichidai-san re-establishes their 2 run lead! 6-4!
Then Yokoyama walks Sano for his first walk in the game. We're only in the 5th and he's at 100 pitches.
Azegami pops up to short to end the inning, but does Yamagata Chuo have another rally in them?
Top 6th
Yamagata instead is responding by swinging away early. And the result is a 8 pitch inning by Yamazaki resulting in two comebackers and a grounder to short.
Bottom 6th
Suzuki with a grounder back up the middle. Hosoya tracks it down and makes a fine throw to 1st for the out!
Takayama finally gets his first base hit as he bloops a ball into shallow center.
Akihara grounds one to 3rd, Miura goes over to field it, but instead of blocking it, pulls up and reaches out with his glove... and misses! The ball goes into left for a base hit!
Hiraiwa hits a fly to right, deep enough to move Takayama to 3rd.
Yokoo with a liner into left for a base hit! Nichidai tacks on another run and it's 7-4!
Shouji-kantoku calls for a conference to once again settle things down.
But Yamazaki hits a drive to deep right! Koyama sprints back towards the right field wall, reaches out and makes the running catch! What a nice play by Koyama to end the inning. However, Yamagata Chuo falls further behind.
Top 7th
It certainly feels like they're pressing. Abe on a 1-1 count grounds back to Yamazaki. Hosoya hits a grounder up the 3rd base line to Yokoo who makes the play, and Narasaki reaches out and grounds one to 2nd to end the inning.
Bottom 7th
Yokoyama walks his 2nd batter in Yoshizawa to start the inning. He may be running out of gas.
Sano drives the first pitch to deep left center! The fielders converge, but it's off the top of the wall! Yoshizawa comes around all the way from 1st to score and it's now 8-4.
#16 Kobayashi Ryouji comes in to run for Sano. Meanwhile Azegami strikes out on 3 straight pitches.
AH! A passed ball allowed by Hashiba allows Kobayashi to advance to 3rd!
Suzuki hits a popup to shallow right. Kobayashi comes in but loses the ball! It falls in! Kobayashi scores and Suzuki takes 2nd on the misplay! 9-4 and it feels all but over for the boys from Yamagata.'
Takayama strikes out swinging and there's 2 down.
Ogihara grounds to 3rd. Miura with the throw and it's short! Abe can't gather it in and Ogihara is safe! And Suzuki races for home! Abe throws home, but the ball gets away from Hashiba! It's 10-4 and things have fallen apart quickly for Yamagata.
Hiraiwa with a sharp grounder, and another bad hop off the infield makes the ball bounce off Hosoya and into right! Koyama comes in but mishandles the ball. He throws to 2nd, but Hiraiwa is in on an RBI single. 11-4 Nichidai-san.
Another conference from Shouji-kantoku.
うわ。。。
Yokoo with a drive to deep right-center! Takahashi and Koyama converge, and it's Koyama who makes the running catch in front of the wall to end the inning.
But certainly it's too late now.
Top 8th
Defensive changes are in for Nichidai. Kobayashi stays in to play center. Hiraiwa moves to left and Azegami moves to 1B.
Hashiba walks to leadoff the inning. And now Takahashi is ahead 2-0. 3 pitches later though, he strikes out looking.
Nawa shoots one through to right, and Hashiba breaks for 3rd! Runners on the corners with 1 out!
And now Koyama draws a walk! Manrui for Yamagata, but they'll still need a lot of help.
Miura pops up to Suzuki for the 2nd out. Yokoyama now trying to help his cause.
Ahhhh~~~ He can't hold his swing and Yamagata is turned away.
Bottom 8th
Defensive changes for Yamagata Chuo. #9 Saitou Daisuke comes in for Koyama in right, while #15 Inage comes in for Miura at 3B.
Yamazaki with a base hit to left starts off the inning for Nichidai.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Yoshizawa just crushes the first ball down the left field line! And that's a no doubt about it homerun. 13-4 Nichidai!
And Shouji finally pulls the plug on Yokoyama. #11 Takeda Naoki comes in to pitch.
And new CF Kobayashi puts him to the test with a safety bunt! Naoki fields it, but the throw in short and Kobayashi easily beats it out.
Azegami with a drive to center! Takahashi goes over, but he can't get to it! It's all the way to the wall! Kobayashi scores as Azegami hits a stand-up triple! 14-4.
Naoki settles down after that getting Suzuki to foul out and striking out Takayama and Ogihara swinging to end the inning. Last ups for Yamagata Chuo.
Top 9th
And they go down quietly. PH #17 Sakurai Ryou grounds out to 3rd. Hosoya grounds to 1st, and Narasaki flies out to left to end the game.
While the end result was certainly a blowout, at least Yamagata Chuo could say that they held their own against Nichidai-san for 5 innings. Certainly nothing to be ashamed about.
Notable Players
WP - Yamazaki Sachiya - CG, 4 ER, 6 H, 10 K, 5 BB
LP - Yokoyama Yuuya - 7+ IP, 11 R, 9 ER, 18 H, 3 K, 2 BB
Yoshizawa Shougo (Nichidai-san) - 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, BB
Hiraiwa Takuji (Nichidai-san) - 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
Yamazaki Sachiya (Nichidai-san) - 3-52B, 3 R
Hashiba Mitsuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, R, RBI, K, BB
Narasaki Masanobu (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-5, 3B, R, RBI
Nichidai-san comes in as a power squad averaging 3 doubles and a HR per game. Their corner fielders Sano/Negishi and Yokoo hit for ridiculous averages during the fall. Yamazaki and Kumasaka take main duties on the mound, but do not be surprised if Kumasaka and SS Yoshizawa are the pitchers this game to give their ace a rest.
Yamagata Chuo comes in the exact opposite of Nichidai-san. In 6 tournament games, they managed only 11 extra base hits (6 were triples and 4 of those were by SS Hosoya!). They don't walk, and they don't run either. So with runs at a premium, they'll have to supress Nichidai's offense. Ace Yokoyama and his breaking balls will have to be on target today to get the job done.
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - 21st Century Bid
SS Hosoya Rin
2B Narasaki Masanobu
C Hashiba Mitsuki
CF Takahashi Takumi
LF Nawa Tadashi
RF Koyama Naoya (#3)
3B Miura Taku
P Yokoyama Yuuya
1B Abe Gouta (#12)
Nichidai-san (Tokyo) - Kanto/Tokyo At-large
RF Takayama Shun
2B Ogihara Tatsurou
CF Hiraiwa Takuji
3B Yokoo Toshitake
P Yamazaki Sachiya
SS Yoshizawa Shougo
1B Sano Tomohito
LF Azegami Shou
C Suzuki Takahiro (#12)
__________________________________________________
16:02 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Yamazaki comes out throwing in the high 130's with a slider in the mid 120's.
Hosoya laces one into left for a leadoff hit!
And then Yamazaki falls behind Narasaki 3-0, but comes back with 2 strikes (albeit maybe low) to fill up the count. And a high pitch gets the runner out for the first out.
Hashiba with a grounder through to right! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
Hm... Yamazaki falls behind Takahashi 3-0 then gets a strike down and away. And a foul fills up the count once again. Takahashi continues to foul balls off as we approach the 9th pitch of the AB. A fastball inside at 141 gets him swinging for the 2nd out.
Yamazaki is still having issues, falling behind Nawa 2-1. And he lines one to left! Azegami runs over, then quickly changes directions back! He leaps and that's over his head!!! Hosoya comes in, Hashiba rounds 3rd as Azegami runs back to the LF wall! The throw finally comes in, but not before Nawa is in with a stand-up triple! Yamagata Chuo is up 2-0 early over Nichidai-san!!
Koyama grounds to 3rd to end the inning, but in a surprising opener the 21st century squad takes the lead!
Bottom 1st
Yokoyama is a lefty who throws in the mid-high 130's with a slider in the high 110's and a slow curve in the low 100's.
Takayama weakly grounds out to 2nd. Ogihara works the count full and pops one up to right center. Koyama runs over, continues to run over, and makes the catch in almost in center! And Hiraiwa grounds out to 3rd and just like that it's a 1-2-3 inning for Yokoyama to start the game.
Top 2nd
Miura goes down swinging for Yamazaki's 3rd K. Yokoyama looks at a ball right down the middle for strike 3.
Ow. Abe gets plunked in the back and the lineup turns back over to Hosoya.
And on the 1-2 pitch Abe takes off for 2nd! The throw is high and off line and he's in safely!
But Hosoya pops out to center to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Yokoo flies out to center after falling behind 1-2. Then Yokoyama falls behind Yamazaki 3-1 and he takes the pitch the opposite way to left center, and it falls in for a double!
And Yoshizawa hits one down the left field line... fair! Nawa runs over to get it, but Yoshizawa has a one-out double to pull Nichidai-san within 1. 2-1!
Sano flies out to deep right, and Yoshizawa advances to 3rd.
Azegami drills the first pitch to right center! The fielders converge, but it falls in behind them! Yoshizawa scores, Azegami is flying! He in with a stand-up triple and we're all knotted up at 2-2!
Suzuki pops up to Miura near the mound for the 3rd out, but Nichidai-san has come back to tie it up.
Top 3rd
Naraasaki flies out to left center. Hashiba strikes out swinging. And while Takahashi gets plunked, Nawa pops up the first pitch and Yoshizawa secures it for the 3rd out.
After the quick start by Yamagata Chuo, they now seem to be stifled by Yamazaki.
Bottom 3rd
Back to the top of the order for Nichidai and Takayama strikes out swinging.
Ogihara places one in shallow left center for a base hit.
Hiraiwa with a drive to center. Takahashi running back, back to the fence. Stops and...
HAITA!
Hiraiwa hits a homerun to dead center and Nichidai-san takes the lead 4-2! Wow!
Yokoo with a ball high down the right field side. Koyama runs over to the foul line, but that's over his head. Yokoo's in with a double! Could things be unraveling for Yamagata Chuo?
Shouji-kantoku calls for a conference to settle things down.
Yamazaki with a cut swing lines one to left, but right at Nawa. 2 down.
Yoshizawa with a line drive, but foul. He grounds out to 2nd to end the inning, but Nichidai-san has taken the lead here in the 3rd!
Top 4th
Yamazaki seems to have settled down. He gets Koyama to ground to 2nd to start the inning, then strikes out Miura on an off-speed pitch. Finally, he strikes out Yokoyama looking on a pitch on the outside corner to retire the side!
Bottom 4th
Sano with a grounder to the left side. Miura goes over to field it, but a high bounce gets him and it goes into left for a base hit!
Azegami lays down the bunt. Miura charges in quickly, looks to 2nd, then decides to go to 1st for the putout.
The count goes full on Suzuki before he grounds out to 3rd. And Takayama is jammed popping out to Hosoya down the left field line.
Top 5th
Ow again? Abe is hit to start off the 5th.
Hosoya tries to put down a bunt, but it goes off of him. Down 1-2 and having to swing away, he strikes out looking.
And Abe takes off for 2nd! Throw from Ootsuka is slightly offline and he's safe!
Narasaki gets ahead 2-0, and drives a fastball to deep right center! Hiraiwa runs back but it's past him! Ootsuka comes in and Narasaki has a stand-up triple! It's 4-3!
And Hashiba lines one to center! That's in for a base hit! Narasaki scores and Yamagata Chuo has tied it up at 4-4!! Wow!
Takahashi flies out to left and Nawa pops out to Ootsuka at home plate to end the inning. BUT! Yamagata Chuo has tied the game at 4 against Nichidai-san!!
Bottom 5th
Ogihara hits a grounder to short, but it's off Hosoya and into center!
Hiraiwa grounds to Miura who goes to 2nd for one, but there's no play at 1st.
Yokoo does an instant replay of Hiraiwa. 2 down.
Yokoyama gets ahead of Yamasaki 0-2, but Yamazaki shoots one through the infield to left and there's runners on 1st and 2nd for Yoshizawa.
Yokoyama is being careful with Yoshizawa, but he falls behind 2-0! And Yoshizawa drives one to deep left! Nawa, who is playing a bit towards center can't run it down and it two-hops to the wall! He clears the bases with a double and just like that Nichidai-san re-establishes their 2 run lead! 6-4!
Then Yokoyama walks Sano for his first walk in the game. We're only in the 5th and he's at 100 pitches.
Azegami pops up to short to end the inning, but does Yamagata Chuo have another rally in them?
Top 6th
Yamagata instead is responding by swinging away early. And the result is a 8 pitch inning by Yamazaki resulting in two comebackers and a grounder to short.
Bottom 6th
Suzuki with a grounder back up the middle. Hosoya tracks it down and makes a fine throw to 1st for the out!
Takayama finally gets his first base hit as he bloops a ball into shallow center.
Akihara grounds one to 3rd, Miura goes over to field it, but instead of blocking it, pulls up and reaches out with his glove... and misses! The ball goes into left for a base hit!
Hiraiwa hits a fly to right, deep enough to move Takayama to 3rd.
Yokoo with a liner into left for a base hit! Nichidai tacks on another run and it's 7-4!
Shouji-kantoku calls for a conference to once again settle things down.
But Yamazaki hits a drive to deep right! Koyama sprints back towards the right field wall, reaches out and makes the running catch! What a nice play by Koyama to end the inning. However, Yamagata Chuo falls further behind.
Top 7th
It certainly feels like they're pressing. Abe on a 1-1 count grounds back to Yamazaki. Hosoya hits a grounder up the 3rd base line to Yokoo who makes the play, and Narasaki reaches out and grounds one to 2nd to end the inning.
Bottom 7th
Yokoyama walks his 2nd batter in Yoshizawa to start the inning. He may be running out of gas.
Sano drives the first pitch to deep left center! The fielders converge, but it's off the top of the wall! Yoshizawa comes around all the way from 1st to score and it's now 8-4.
#16 Kobayashi Ryouji comes in to run for Sano. Meanwhile Azegami strikes out on 3 straight pitches.
AH! A passed ball allowed by Hashiba allows Kobayashi to advance to 3rd!
Suzuki hits a popup to shallow right. Kobayashi comes in but loses the ball! It falls in! Kobayashi scores and Suzuki takes 2nd on the misplay! 9-4 and it feels all but over for the boys from Yamagata.'
Takayama strikes out swinging and there's 2 down.
Ogihara grounds to 3rd. Miura with the throw and it's short! Abe can't gather it in and Ogihara is safe! And Suzuki races for home! Abe throws home, but the ball gets away from Hashiba! It's 10-4 and things have fallen apart quickly for Yamagata.
Hiraiwa with a sharp grounder, and another bad hop off the infield makes the ball bounce off Hosoya and into right! Koyama comes in but mishandles the ball. He throws to 2nd, but Hiraiwa is in on an RBI single. 11-4 Nichidai-san.
Another conference from Shouji-kantoku.
うわ。。。
Yokoo with a drive to deep right-center! Takahashi and Koyama converge, and it's Koyama who makes the running catch in front of the wall to end the inning.
But certainly it's too late now.
Top 8th
Defensive changes are in for Nichidai. Kobayashi stays in to play center. Hiraiwa moves to left and Azegami moves to 1B.
Hashiba walks to leadoff the inning. And now Takahashi is ahead 2-0. 3 pitches later though, he strikes out looking.
Nawa shoots one through to right, and Hashiba breaks for 3rd! Runners on the corners with 1 out!
And now Koyama draws a walk! Manrui for Yamagata, but they'll still need a lot of help.
Miura pops up to Suzuki for the 2nd out. Yokoyama now trying to help his cause.
Ahhhh~~~ He can't hold his swing and Yamagata is turned away.
Bottom 8th
Defensive changes for Yamagata Chuo. #9 Saitou Daisuke comes in for Koyama in right, while #15 Inage comes in for Miura at 3B.
Yamazaki with a base hit to left starts off the inning for Nichidai.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Yoshizawa just crushes the first ball down the left field line! And that's a no doubt about it homerun. 13-4 Nichidai!
And Shouji finally pulls the plug on Yokoyama. #11 Takeda Naoki comes in to pitch.
And new CF Kobayashi puts him to the test with a safety bunt! Naoki fields it, but the throw in short and Kobayashi easily beats it out.
Azegami with a drive to center! Takahashi goes over, but he can't get to it! It's all the way to the wall! Kobayashi scores as Azegami hits a stand-up triple! 14-4.
Naoki settles down after that getting Suzuki to foul out and striking out Takayama and Ogihara swinging to end the inning. Last ups for Yamagata Chuo.
Top 9th
And they go down quietly. PH #17 Sakurai Ryou grounds out to 3rd. Hosoya grounds to 1st, and Narasaki flies out to left to end the game.
While the end result was certainly a blowout, at least Yamagata Chuo could say that they held their own against Nichidai-san for 5 innings. Certainly nothing to be ashamed about.
Notable Players
WP - Yamazaki Sachiya - CG, 4 ER, 6 H, 10 K, 5 BB
LP - Yokoyama Yuuya - 7+ IP, 11 R, 9 ER, 18 H, 3 K, 2 BB
Yoshizawa Shougo (Nichidai-san) - 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, BB
Hiraiwa Takuji (Nichidai-san) - 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
Yamazaki Sachiya (Nichidai-san) - 3-52B, 3 R
Hashiba Mitsuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, R, RBI, K, BB
Narasaki Masanobu (Yamagata Chuo) - 1-5, 3B, R, RBI
Day 1 - Game 2 - Kadena (Okinawa) vs. Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama)
So with Tenri upset in the opening round game, what will happen in this next matchup?
Admittedly I've been a bit harsh on the Kanto (ex Tokyo) region saying that it's a bit down this year with the exception of perhaps Toukaidai Sagami. Hanasaki Tokuharu was indeed the runner-up and was respectable against Hifumi and his squad.
Their offensive MO is similar to Tsuruga Kehi, except even more so. They're speedy and are very aggressive on the basepaths. They hit for a high average and draw more than their fair share of walks. In tournament games, they had an .403 AVG and a .480 OBP! Lookout for 2B Ootsuka. He has the most extra base hits (including 6 triples!) and is the most aggressive on the basepaths.
The weakness is their pitching. Southpaw Gomyou is their starter, but has major control issues. In fact, in tournament games his K/BB ratio was less than 1!! What's worse, his BB/9 during that span was at 9! The relievers #10 Yamaguchi and #11 Matsumoto ratios are better, but certainly they're both pitch-to-contact relievers.
Kadena doesn't quite stand out in any particular category. Their offense isn't speed-oriented nor power-oriented. This suggests a defensive-minded team. This is borne out in the super-regional scores where they yielded only 7 runs total and ace Ikehara Yuu's WHIP sat at less then 1. They'll need the defense considering that Ikehara isn't that dominating either. If they can't keep Hanasaki Tokuharu from reaching base, they could be in trouble.
Kadena (Okinawa) - Kyushu Champions
SS Yoshida Toshiki
LF Yamauchi Shougo
P Ikehara Yuu
C Majya Hiroya
3B Kyan Hayato
1B Yonaha Takahisa
2B Shimabukuro Takato
CF Itokazu Masaki
RF Nohara Yasuyuki
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) - Kanto Runner-up
SS Satou Takuya
2B Ootsuka Kentarou
3B Kimura Hayato
CF Totsuka Shun
RF Hashimoto Yuuki
P Gomyou Daisuke
LF Terai Masaaki
C Kiuchi Tatsuya
1B Hanabusa Yuuki
________________________________________
13:40 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
After Yoshida is "hit" with a pitch (i.e. called a ball instead of a HBP), he flies out to left-center.
Yamauchi pops up in foul territory and Kiuchi makes the catch near the back net.
And Ikehara is fooled badly by Gomyou's offspeed pitches and strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Ikehara certainly isn't a hard thrower. His pitches are topping out around 130kph. Satou laces one to center to start the inning. Ootsuka squares around late to bunt and advances the runner for Kimura.
And he hits a hard liner to right! Dohara runs back, leaps backwards, and makes the catch! That was a couple feet away from a possible triple!
And Totsuka gets under a curve and flies out to right to end the inning. But it's clear that Hanasaki is getting a good look at Ikehara's pitches.
Top 2nd
Hm... Gomyou throws around the same range as Ikehara, with a fastball in the low-mid 130's, one off-speed pitch around 120, and a slow curve at 110. Kadena 's batters look like they really don't have a plan of attack and some are being fooled badly by Gomyou,
Cleanup batter Majya grounds back to Gomyou. Kyan grounds to short, and Yonaha swings on a slider way away for the 3rd out.
Bottom 2nd
After getting ahead of Hashimoto 1-2, Ikehara throws 3 straight balls to give up a leadoff walk.
Gomyou squares to bunt, but pulls it back and swings away! He hits the ball into the dirt towards short! Yoshida charges in and makes the throw, but it's not in time! Gomyou's fake bunt catches the Kadena defense off guard and now Hanasaki Tokuharu has runners at 1st and 2nd with no out!
Now Terai shows bunt late, but fouls it off. I like their strategy. Their initial plans aren't shown until the last minute. Now that the plan is shown, Terai squares early. He gets the bunt down, Ikehara runs to get it, but his footing goes out from under him! He recovers, throws to 1st, but it's not in time! All safe! Manrui now for Hanasaki Tokuharu!!
Madanbashi-kantoku calls for a conference on the mound as Kiuchi steps to the plate.
Kiuchi squares to squeeze! But he lets it go for strike 1. And now he swings away! It's a pop fly in foul territory! Yonaha goes over to make the catch for the 1st out.
Last batter Hanabusa looks to get the first run in, but falls behind 1-2! But a fastball way away, and a change low brings the count full! And Hanabusa is fouling off pitches trying to stay alive. And an offspeed pitch wide is ball 4! Ikehara loses another batter after getting ahead 1-2 and this time it costs him a run! 1-0 Hanasaki Tokuharu - and Ikehara is still in a large jam!
But he gets Satou to ground back to him! Ikehara goes home for one, Majya's throw to 1st is... in time for the double play! The 1-2-3 double play ends the inning but not before Hanasaki opens the scoring here in the 2nd!
Top 3rd
The wind continues to blow hard from RF to LF, so much so that the outfield cameras have a hard time staying still.
Meanwhile, Kadena continues to have trouble getting moving. Shimabukuro grounds out to 2nd to start the inning. Itokazu strikes out looking on a fastball inside. And while Nohara gets a hold of a slider, but it's right at Hashimoto for the 3rd out.
Gomyou and Ikehara are both quick workers on the mound, going straight into the next pitch after receiving the ball back.
Bottom 3rd
Ikehara continues to have control issues, walking the leadoff batter Ootsuka on 4 straight.
Kimura steps up to the oen-dan playing Ootsuka Ai's "Sakuranbo".
And Ikehara picks off Ootsuka from 1st! Oy.
Kimura pops one up behind Shimabukuro. He meanders back, but loses track of the ball! It falls in harmlessly behind him for a base hit!
I wonder if Iwai-kantoku is seeing something. Totsuka squares late to bunt down the 3rd base side. Ikehara goes over to field it, but Kyan charging calls him off. He fields it, but his throw loops high and Totsuka beats it out! All safe!
Hm... if Kadena's defense isn't their strength, then what is?
Now Iwai has Hashimoto swinging away, but he pops one up to left for Yamauchi. 2 down.
Gomyou's up with 2 down to help his cause. Ikehara gets ahead 0-2, but wastes 2 pitches away although Gomyou almost offers on the 2nd. A third pitch outside fills the count and now the batters will be taking off!
But Ikehara throws a 138kph fastball that Gomyou can't catch up to! He strikes out swinging and the inning is over!
Top 4th
Looking to get something going, leadoff batter Yoshida swings away at 2-0 but flies out to right.
And Yamauchi gets the first hit for Kadena! He lines a ball into left center for a single!
Ikehara gets jammed on a 2-0 pitch and grounds to 1st. Hanabusa bobbles it a bit, and goes to 1st for the out. Kadena does have a runner in scoring position, but there's 2 down.
Cleanup batter Majya steps to the plate looking for a timely hit, but he falls behind 0-2. The 3rd pitch is as expected fairly outside the zone for ball 1.
And Majya pops it up! Satou runs back while Terai charges in! Satou running back, running back, dives...
and makes the catch! With the wind still blowing around, Satou makes the great catch to end the inning and retain the lead!
Bottom 4th
Terai scorches a grounder up the 1st base line, but Yonaha blocks it and makes the play for the 1st out.
As Kiuchi steps up the outfield cameraman can't keep the shot stable. The wind must be really strong if that's the case.
Kiuchi hits a fly to right center. Nohara races over and makes the catch for the 2nd out. And a seeing-eye grounder gets into right center for a base hit!
And Iwai-kantoku finally gets the wheels going! Hanabusa takes off on the 1-0 pitch, but Majya rifles one to 2nd and Hanabusa is out by a wide margin! Nice play by Majya!
Top 5th
Kyan grounds a ball to 3rd for the 1st out. First pitch is hit by Yonaha to short and there's quickly 2 down.
And Shimabukuro grounds to 2nd, but Ootsuka misplays the ball and it bounces off of him and into right! E4.
Itokazu hits a pop fly to shallow center. Totsuka charges in, awkwardly lunges and makes the catch! Boy that did not look graceful at all, but it got the job done. Still 1-0 in favor of Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Bottom 5th
Satou hits the ball hard, but right at Itokazu for the out number 1.
Ootsuka chops one up the middle, but Shimabukuro charges and makes the throw ahead of a diving Ootsuka.
And Kimura takes a ball away down the right field line! Nohara runs over, but it's past his reach! Fair! Kimura is in with a 2-out double!
But Totsuka grounds one up the 3rd base line. Kyan makes the long throw to 1st and the side is retired!
Top 6th
Nohara with a grounder to the right side. Ootsuka makes the diving stop in the outfield! His throw to 1st... not in time! Leadoff infield hit for Nohara!
Yoshida up and he lays down the bunt to put the tying run in scoring position!
And the whistling from the Kadena oen-dan get that much louder... heh.
Yamauchi though falls behind 0-2. Gomyou's only given up 2 hits and his control looks better than before.
Iwai-kantoku is moving the defense around telling some to come in, others to move laterally. And a ball outside is held by Kiuchi, but to no call. 2-2.
And a change is whiffed by Yamauchi for strike 3! 2 down.
Ikehara now with a chance to help his own cause and tie the game.
But he grounds out to 2nd! Ootsuka makes the play and Kadena is denied!
Bottom 6th
Hashimoto pounds one into the ground and it goes high in the air! Yoshida charges in, but the ball goes under his glove for a base hit!
Gomyou quickly lays down the bunt to advance the runner to scoring position.
But just as quickly Terai hits a grounder right to Yonaha and there's 2 down.
And Ikehara gets ahead of Kiuchi 0-2, but Kiuchi hits a grounder to the right of Shimabukuro! He ranges over... makes a great diving stop. Gets up and the throw to 1st is in time! What a nice play by Shimabukuro to end the inning!
Top 7th
Kadena is still in the game down only by a run, but they have only 2 hits so far and time is quickly becoming short for these first timers.
Majya hits a ball back up the middle, but Gomyou knocks it down and makes the play at 1st.
Kyan rips a ball to left!!! He got a hold of it!! But it goes foul! Was that wind aided or would it have gone foul anyways? But man that ball was lasered out to left!
And he rips another one, but that's on the ground for Hanabusa who makes the 2nd out.
Yonaha whiffs on an offspeed pitch down and away for the 3rd out.
Bottom 7th
Hanabusa grounds one right to 3rd for the 1st out.
Satou reaches down and lines a pitch to left center for his 2nd hit today.
And Ikehara is called for a balk on a pickoff throw to 1st! Satou advances to 2nd.
Ootsuka with a hard hit ball at Yonaha! He blocks it, but it bounces into foul territory! Satou advances to 3rd on the infield single!
Kimura up now and SQUEEZE!!!
Kimura lays down the squeeze! Ikehara charges in glove tosses to home, but it's not in time! Majya fires to back to 1st to try and get Kimura and they do for the 2nd out. But he gets the job done and it's 2-0 in favor of Hanasaki Tokuharu!
Totsuka with a grounder to the left side. Yoshida is in front of it, AH!
The ball takes a high bounce off the infield and eats up Yoshida! He can't field it and it goes into left! Ootsuka rounds 3rd and goes home! Throw from Yamauchi is not in time! An unfortunate bounce for Kadena widens the deficit to 3. It's now 3-0 Hanasaki Tokuharu!
And Totsuka takes off 2nd on the 1-0 pitch! Majya with another rifle throw to 2nd to get Totsuka out by a mile and that's the inning. But Hanasaki can breathe a little easier as their lead stands at 3 with just 2 innings to play!
Top 8th
Kadena just can't seem to get a good read on the pitches. More often than not I'm seeing the batters bail on the offspeed pitches as they get fooled time and time again.
Shimabukuro gets on top of one as he grounds to 2nd.
Itokazu flies out lazily to center.
And Nohara pops out down the left field side in foul territory. Satou races over, dives and makes another fine play to retire the side!
Bottom 8th
WOW! Hashimoto just drives one to right field and before you can even say "Haita" that ball is 15 rows up the bleachers! Dear lord that was killed! It's 4-0 now!
And Madanbashi-kantoku pulls Ikehara for #10 Yamashiro. Ikehara goes to center while Yamashiro takes over for Itokazu in the 8-spot of the order.
Yamashiro is a side throwing lefty with an interesting delivery. Not only is he a side-thrower, but he seems to lunge to the left to exaggerate the effect! Gomyou pops out to Kyan in foul territory.
And boy does he work fast. He's throwing faster than Gomyou or Ikehara did! His speed is certainly not fast (mid 120's fastball with 110 offspeed), but it is throwing off the batters! Terai lunges and pops out to Majya behind the plate for the 2nd out.
And Ikehara does hit one, but Ikehara has time to run it down in left-center for the 3rd out. Rather impressive if you ask me. But unfortunately, Kadena is down to their last 3 outs.
Top 9th
#11 Kinjyou Shouta comes in to PH for Yoshida.
And he gets a hold of one down the left field line... Terai runs over... FOUL! Another hard hit pitch that just goes foul! Ah....
Instead of perhaps scoring a run, he gets jammed and weakly ground to short for out number 1.
#15 Sueyoshi Seiya comes in to PH for Yamauchi, but he goes down on 3 straight.
And that leaves Ikehara to try and extend the game for Kadena.
But he goes down looking on an offspeed pitch down the middle and the game is over! Gomyou completes a dominating performance against the Kyushu champions Kadena and win 4-0! I am shocked to see how Kadena performed in this matchup and wonder how if the competition they faces was truly that weak to be 2-hit here at Koshien.
But I don't want to take anything away from Hanasaki Tokuharu. They played a good game and certainly earned their matchup against Tsuruga Kehi.
Notable Players
WP - Gomyou Daisuke - CG, 0 R, 2 H, 7 K, 0 BB
LP - Ikehara Yuu - 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 12 H, 1 K, 3 BB
Hashimoto Yuuki (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-3, HR, 2R, RBI, BB
Satou Takuya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-4, R
Yamauchi Shougo (Kadena) - 1-3, K
Admittedly I've been a bit harsh on the Kanto (ex Tokyo) region saying that it's a bit down this year with the exception of perhaps Toukaidai Sagami. Hanasaki Tokuharu was indeed the runner-up and was respectable against Hifumi and his squad.
Their offensive MO is similar to Tsuruga Kehi, except even more so. They're speedy and are very aggressive on the basepaths. They hit for a high average and draw more than their fair share of walks. In tournament games, they had an .403 AVG and a .480 OBP! Lookout for 2B Ootsuka. He has the most extra base hits (including 6 triples!) and is the most aggressive on the basepaths.
The weakness is their pitching. Southpaw Gomyou is their starter, but has major control issues. In fact, in tournament games his K/BB ratio was less than 1!! What's worse, his BB/9 during that span was at 9! The relievers #10 Yamaguchi and #11 Matsumoto ratios are better, but certainly they're both pitch-to-contact relievers.
Kadena doesn't quite stand out in any particular category. Their offense isn't speed-oriented nor power-oriented. This suggests a defensive-minded team. This is borne out in the super-regional scores where they yielded only 7 runs total and ace Ikehara Yuu's WHIP sat at less then 1. They'll need the defense considering that Ikehara isn't that dominating either. If they can't keep Hanasaki Tokuharu from reaching base, they could be in trouble.
Kadena (Okinawa) - Kyushu Champions
SS Yoshida Toshiki
LF Yamauchi Shougo
P Ikehara Yuu
C Majya Hiroya
3B Kyan Hayato
1B Yonaha Takahisa
2B Shimabukuro Takato
CF Itokazu Masaki
RF Nohara Yasuyuki
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) - Kanto Runner-up
SS Satou Takuya
2B Ootsuka Kentarou
3B Kimura Hayato
CF Totsuka Shun
RF Hashimoto Yuuki
P Gomyou Daisuke
LF Terai Masaaki
C Kiuchi Tatsuya
1B Hanabusa Yuuki
________________________________________
13:40 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
After Yoshida is "hit" with a pitch (i.e. called a ball instead of a HBP), he flies out to left-center.
Yamauchi pops up in foul territory and Kiuchi makes the catch near the back net.
And Ikehara is fooled badly by Gomyou's offspeed pitches and strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Bottom 1st
Ikehara certainly isn't a hard thrower. His pitches are topping out around 130kph. Satou laces one to center to start the inning. Ootsuka squares around late to bunt and advances the runner for Kimura.
And he hits a hard liner to right! Dohara runs back, leaps backwards, and makes the catch! That was a couple feet away from a possible triple!
And Totsuka gets under a curve and flies out to right to end the inning. But it's clear that Hanasaki is getting a good look at Ikehara's pitches.
Top 2nd
Hm... Gomyou throws around the same range as Ikehara, with a fastball in the low-mid 130's, one off-speed pitch around 120, and a slow curve at 110. Kadena 's batters look like they really don't have a plan of attack and some are being fooled badly by Gomyou,
Cleanup batter Majya grounds back to Gomyou. Kyan grounds to short, and Yonaha swings on a slider way away for the 3rd out.
Bottom 2nd
After getting ahead of Hashimoto 1-2, Ikehara throws 3 straight balls to give up a leadoff walk.
Gomyou squares to bunt, but pulls it back and swings away! He hits the ball into the dirt towards short! Yoshida charges in and makes the throw, but it's not in time! Gomyou's fake bunt catches the Kadena defense off guard and now Hanasaki Tokuharu has runners at 1st and 2nd with no out!
Now Terai shows bunt late, but fouls it off. I like their strategy. Their initial plans aren't shown until the last minute. Now that the plan is shown, Terai squares early. He gets the bunt down, Ikehara runs to get it, but his footing goes out from under him! He recovers, throws to 1st, but it's not in time! All safe! Manrui now for Hanasaki Tokuharu!!
Madanbashi-kantoku calls for a conference on the mound as Kiuchi steps to the plate.
Kiuchi squares to squeeze! But he lets it go for strike 1. And now he swings away! It's a pop fly in foul territory! Yonaha goes over to make the catch for the 1st out.
Last batter Hanabusa looks to get the first run in, but falls behind 1-2! But a fastball way away, and a change low brings the count full! And Hanabusa is fouling off pitches trying to stay alive. And an offspeed pitch wide is ball 4! Ikehara loses another batter after getting ahead 1-2 and this time it costs him a run! 1-0 Hanasaki Tokuharu - and Ikehara is still in a large jam!
But he gets Satou to ground back to him! Ikehara goes home for one, Majya's throw to 1st is... in time for the double play! The 1-2-3 double play ends the inning but not before Hanasaki opens the scoring here in the 2nd!
Top 3rd
The wind continues to blow hard from RF to LF, so much so that the outfield cameras have a hard time staying still.
Meanwhile, Kadena continues to have trouble getting moving. Shimabukuro grounds out to 2nd to start the inning. Itokazu strikes out looking on a fastball inside. And while Nohara gets a hold of a slider, but it's right at Hashimoto for the 3rd out.
Gomyou and Ikehara are both quick workers on the mound, going straight into the next pitch after receiving the ball back.
Bottom 3rd
Ikehara continues to have control issues, walking the leadoff batter Ootsuka on 4 straight.
Kimura steps up to the oen-dan playing Ootsuka Ai's "Sakuranbo".
And Ikehara picks off Ootsuka from 1st! Oy.
Kimura pops one up behind Shimabukuro. He meanders back, but loses track of the ball! It falls in harmlessly behind him for a base hit!
I wonder if Iwai-kantoku is seeing something. Totsuka squares late to bunt down the 3rd base side. Ikehara goes over to field it, but Kyan charging calls him off. He fields it, but his throw loops high and Totsuka beats it out! All safe!
Hm... if Kadena's defense isn't their strength, then what is?
Now Iwai has Hashimoto swinging away, but he pops one up to left for Yamauchi. 2 down.
Gomyou's up with 2 down to help his cause. Ikehara gets ahead 0-2, but wastes 2 pitches away although Gomyou almost offers on the 2nd. A third pitch outside fills the count and now the batters will be taking off!
But Ikehara throws a 138kph fastball that Gomyou can't catch up to! He strikes out swinging and the inning is over!
Top 4th
Looking to get something going, leadoff batter Yoshida swings away at 2-0 but flies out to right.
And Yamauchi gets the first hit for Kadena! He lines a ball into left center for a single!
Ikehara gets jammed on a 2-0 pitch and grounds to 1st. Hanabusa bobbles it a bit, and goes to 1st for the out. Kadena does have a runner in scoring position, but there's 2 down.
Cleanup batter Majya steps to the plate looking for a timely hit, but he falls behind 0-2. The 3rd pitch is as expected fairly outside the zone for ball 1.
And Majya pops it up! Satou runs back while Terai charges in! Satou running back, running back, dives...
and makes the catch! With the wind still blowing around, Satou makes the great catch to end the inning and retain the lead!
Bottom 4th
Terai scorches a grounder up the 1st base line, but Yonaha blocks it and makes the play for the 1st out.
As Kiuchi steps up the outfield cameraman can't keep the shot stable. The wind must be really strong if that's the case.
Kiuchi hits a fly to right center. Nohara races over and makes the catch for the 2nd out. And a seeing-eye grounder gets into right center for a base hit!
And Iwai-kantoku finally gets the wheels going! Hanabusa takes off on the 1-0 pitch, but Majya rifles one to 2nd and Hanabusa is out by a wide margin! Nice play by Majya!
Top 5th
Kyan grounds a ball to 3rd for the 1st out. First pitch is hit by Yonaha to short and there's quickly 2 down.
And Shimabukuro grounds to 2nd, but Ootsuka misplays the ball and it bounces off of him and into right! E4.
Itokazu hits a pop fly to shallow center. Totsuka charges in, awkwardly lunges and makes the catch! Boy that did not look graceful at all, but it got the job done. Still 1-0 in favor of Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Bottom 5th
Satou hits the ball hard, but right at Itokazu for the out number 1.
Ootsuka chops one up the middle, but Shimabukuro charges and makes the throw ahead of a diving Ootsuka.
And Kimura takes a ball away down the right field line! Nohara runs over, but it's past his reach! Fair! Kimura is in with a 2-out double!
But Totsuka grounds one up the 3rd base line. Kyan makes the long throw to 1st and the side is retired!
Top 6th
Nohara with a grounder to the right side. Ootsuka makes the diving stop in the outfield! His throw to 1st... not in time! Leadoff infield hit for Nohara!
Yoshida up and he lays down the bunt to put the tying run in scoring position!
And the whistling from the Kadena oen-dan get that much louder... heh.
Yamauchi though falls behind 0-2. Gomyou's only given up 2 hits and his control looks better than before.
Iwai-kantoku is moving the defense around telling some to come in, others to move laterally. And a ball outside is held by Kiuchi, but to no call. 2-2.
And a change is whiffed by Yamauchi for strike 3! 2 down.
Ikehara now with a chance to help his own cause and tie the game.
But he grounds out to 2nd! Ootsuka makes the play and Kadena is denied!
Bottom 6th
Hashimoto pounds one into the ground and it goes high in the air! Yoshida charges in, but the ball goes under his glove for a base hit!
Gomyou quickly lays down the bunt to advance the runner to scoring position.
But just as quickly Terai hits a grounder right to Yonaha and there's 2 down.
And Ikehara gets ahead of Kiuchi 0-2, but Kiuchi hits a grounder to the right of Shimabukuro! He ranges over... makes a great diving stop. Gets up and the throw to 1st is in time! What a nice play by Shimabukuro to end the inning!
Top 7th
Kadena is still in the game down only by a run, but they have only 2 hits so far and time is quickly becoming short for these first timers.
Majya hits a ball back up the middle, but Gomyou knocks it down and makes the play at 1st.
Kyan rips a ball to left!!! He got a hold of it!! But it goes foul! Was that wind aided or would it have gone foul anyways? But man that ball was lasered out to left!
And he rips another one, but that's on the ground for Hanabusa who makes the 2nd out.
Yonaha whiffs on an offspeed pitch down and away for the 3rd out.
Bottom 7th
Hanabusa grounds one right to 3rd for the 1st out.
Satou reaches down and lines a pitch to left center for his 2nd hit today.
And Ikehara is called for a balk on a pickoff throw to 1st! Satou advances to 2nd.
Ootsuka with a hard hit ball at Yonaha! He blocks it, but it bounces into foul territory! Satou advances to 3rd on the infield single!
Kimura up now and SQUEEZE!!!
Kimura lays down the squeeze! Ikehara charges in glove tosses to home, but it's not in time! Majya fires to back to 1st to try and get Kimura and they do for the 2nd out. But he gets the job done and it's 2-0 in favor of Hanasaki Tokuharu!
Totsuka with a grounder to the left side. Yoshida is in front of it, AH!
The ball takes a high bounce off the infield and eats up Yoshida! He can't field it and it goes into left! Ootsuka rounds 3rd and goes home! Throw from Yamauchi is not in time! An unfortunate bounce for Kadena widens the deficit to 3. It's now 3-0 Hanasaki Tokuharu!
And Totsuka takes off 2nd on the 1-0 pitch! Majya with another rifle throw to 2nd to get Totsuka out by a mile and that's the inning. But Hanasaki can breathe a little easier as their lead stands at 3 with just 2 innings to play!
Top 8th
Kadena just can't seem to get a good read on the pitches. More often than not I'm seeing the batters bail on the offspeed pitches as they get fooled time and time again.
Shimabukuro gets on top of one as he grounds to 2nd.
Itokazu flies out lazily to center.
And Nohara pops out down the left field side in foul territory. Satou races over, dives and makes another fine play to retire the side!
Bottom 8th
WOW! Hashimoto just drives one to right field and before you can even say "Haita" that ball is 15 rows up the bleachers! Dear lord that was killed! It's 4-0 now!
And Madanbashi-kantoku pulls Ikehara for #10 Yamashiro. Ikehara goes to center while Yamashiro takes over for Itokazu in the 8-spot of the order.
Yamashiro is a side throwing lefty with an interesting delivery. Not only is he a side-thrower, but he seems to lunge to the left to exaggerate the effect! Gomyou pops out to Kyan in foul territory.
And boy does he work fast. He's throwing faster than Gomyou or Ikehara did! His speed is certainly not fast (mid 120's fastball with 110 offspeed), but it is throwing off the batters! Terai lunges and pops out to Majya behind the plate for the 2nd out.
And Ikehara does hit one, but Ikehara has time to run it down in left-center for the 3rd out. Rather impressive if you ask me. But unfortunately, Kadena is down to their last 3 outs.
Top 9th
#11 Kinjyou Shouta comes in to PH for Yoshida.
And he gets a hold of one down the left field line... Terai runs over... FOUL! Another hard hit pitch that just goes foul! Ah....
Instead of perhaps scoring a run, he gets jammed and weakly ground to short for out number 1.
#15 Sueyoshi Seiya comes in to PH for Yamauchi, but he goes down on 3 straight.
And that leaves Ikehara to try and extend the game for Kadena.
But he goes down looking on an offspeed pitch down the middle and the game is over! Gomyou completes a dominating performance against the Kyushu champions Kadena and win 4-0! I am shocked to see how Kadena performed in this matchup and wonder how if the competition they faces was truly that weak to be 2-hit here at Koshien.
But I don't want to take anything away from Hanasaki Tokuharu. They played a good game and certainly earned their matchup against Tsuruga Kehi.
Notable Players
WP - Gomyou Daisuke - CG, 0 R, 2 H, 7 K, 0 BB
LP - Ikehara Yuu - 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 12 H, 1 K, 3 BB
Hashimoto Yuuki (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-3, HR, 2R, RBI, BB
Satou Takuya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-4, R
Yamauchi Shougo (Kadena) - 1-3, K
Day 1 - Opening Game! - Tenri (Nara) vs. Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
Whee! We're finally at the first game of Senbatsu!! And it features one of my teams, Tenri Koukou out of Nara-ken! A new change at the top looks to create new changes on the field. They have been struggling as of late with success at Koshien, but with a strong defense they hope to finally make a deep run.
Tsuruga Kehi is generally a station-to-station team, depending on timely hitting and walks to get the job done. Normally, their left-handed lineup would be favorable for them, but Tenri's ace Numata is... you guessed it. A lefty.
There is hope for Tsuruga though if the left-handed matchup is unfavorable. Numata isn't necessarily able to go for a full game. And especially as the tournament progresses they'll need to save his arm. So closing duties will probably fall to #10 Nishiura Kenta or #12 Nishiguchi Tasuku - neither of which are as strong as Numata is. So if they can keep the game close and get to the bullpen, there is a chance they can win.
Tenri (Nara) - Kansai At-large
2B Iwasaki Ryouta (#6)
C Kamezawa Hideaki
CF Nakamura Shougo
SS Yasuda Kouki (#5)
LF Uchino Satoshi
1B Date Shougo
RF Hasegawa Shouma (#17)
P Numata Yuuga
3B Sakakura Yuuki (#4)
Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui) - Hokushinetsu Runner-up
CF Nishikiori Daisuke
2B Hayashi Rui
LF Nakao Yuuto
RF Yoshida Masataka
C Kubo Yuuta
SS Kanayama Yoshihiro
1B Okuno Kyouhei (#13)
P Takahara Yuusuke (#10)
3B Kawashita Ryuusei
__________________________________________________
10:35 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
The wind is blowing really hard at Koshien and it shows when leadoff batter Iwasaki pops one up to shallow right and Hayashi gets turned around! Iwasaki starts off with a leadoff double!
Kamezawa squares to bunt and lays it down. Okuno charges in, and makes the throw to 1st. Tenri already with a scoring opportunity!
Count 1-0 and Nakamura lines one down the left field line... FOUL! He comes back and works the count to 3-1... and just fouls one back to the backstop. Next pitch popped up to shallow left! Kanayama goes out, and it goes off his glove! Iwasaki charges home from 3rd! Kanayama quickly gets it, throws home... And it's a great throw! Kubo gets the throw and makes the tag for the out! Nice recovery from Kanayama, but perhaps Iwasaki shouldn't have gone on that play... But Nakamura takes the opportunity to get to 2nd and in scoring position.
Takahara falls behind Yasuda 3-0! He may have avoided the run, but he can't put runners on base! Finally, he gets a strike in.
And a pitch to the outside is driven by Yasuda to center! Nishikiori races back! Leaps, and it's over his head!! It's to the wall! Nakamura scores easily as Yasuda has a stand-up RBI triple!! It's 1-0 Tenri!!
Takahara continues to have trouble throwing strikes as he falls behind Uchino 2-0. And he drives one to right for a hit! Yasuda strolls home and it's 2-0 in favor of Tenri now!! If Takahara isn't careful, the game could be over quickly!
And finally on a 1-0 count, he gets Date to swing at one for a strike. And it looks like Date's been given the green light to swing away.
And swing away he does! He whiffs at a 1-2 changeup in the dirt and the inning is finally over. So the top of the 1st is finally over, but not before Tenri jumps out to a 2-run lead!
Bottom 1st
Numata takes care of Nishikiori quickly as he induces a grounder to short. Yasuda has a little trouble fielding it and makes a low throw, but it's dug out.
Hayashi falls behind 1-2, then swings at a ball down and away for the 2nd out.
And Nakao pops one up in foul territory. Sakakura gets under it and Tsuruga Kehi is down in order.
Top 2nd
Bench starter Hasegawa drives one to left! That's over a leaping Nakao, and Hasegawa's in with a stand up double!
Numata looks to bunt him along. But he falls behind 1-2 and has to swing away. He manages to work the count full, keeps himself alive, and hits a scorcher. But it's right at Hayashi. It gets the job done as Hasegawa moves to 3rd.
Last man Sakakura looks for a sac fly or a base hit to drive in the run. Takahara is finally throwing strikes. And Sakakura swings under a pitch on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
And Takahara gets Iwasaki to pop up in foul territory where Okuno makes the catch next to the fence for the 3rd out. A bit shaky still, but better than the 1st.
Bottom 2nd
Cleanup batter Yoshida swings at a pitch high to go down swinging.
Kubo flies out to Uchino on the left field line for the 2nd out.
Kanayama goes down swinging and the inning is quickly over.
Top 3rd
Kamesawa hits a grounder through the left side for a leadoff single.
Nishimura tries to bunt him along, but after falling behind has to swing away and flies out to right. But Yasuda comes right back and pops a high pitch into center for a bloop hit. Runners at 1st and 2nd and a chance for Tenri.
But Uchino pops one up in the infield and Kanayama secures it for the 2nd out.
Date comes up now with 2 out to try and drive in the run. He falls behind 1-2, but drives a ball through the left side! Kamesawa rounds for home as Nakao makes the throw. It's not in time and Tenri takes the 3-0 lead! Date breaks for 2nd and the throw by Kubo isn't in time! Runners on 2nd and 3rd for Tenri with 2 down!
But Hasegawa pops the 1st pitch to left and the inning is over. But Tenri extends their lead by another run!
Bottom 3rd
Okuno goes down swinging for the first out. That's the 4th K for Numata.
And Tsuruga Kehi gets their first hit as Takahara lines one to right for a single!
Kawashita lays down the bunt. Sakakura makes the throw, but Date can't get the handle on it and everyone's safe!
Numata's first pitch after that is a breaking ball wide. He can't be happy about that error.
And Nishikiori hits a grounder hard to the left side! Iwasaki runs it down and throws to 3rd to get the lead runner! But the throw to 2nd is wild and goes to the outfield! Kawashita advances to 3rd and there's runners at the corners with 2 down.
But Hayashi flies out to center and the inning is over.
Top 4th
Ookubo warms up as Takahara gets Numata to ground out to 1st.
Sakakura lines one into shallow center for a base hit.
And in an surprising move, Nishiura Jyouji (#15) comes to pinch hit for Iwasaki. He lays down the bunt to move the runner over for Kamezawa.
Ah! A pitch in the dirt is mishandled by Kubo and Sakakura advances to 3rd!
Kamezawa stays alive by fouling off a slow curve, and then another. He works the count full... and earns a walk! Runners at the corners and the inning is still alive for Nakamura.
Takahara can only seem to locate his slow curve, while his fastball is all over the map. He gets ahead of Nakamura 1-2, but a fastball inside evens the count.
And Takahara gets Nakamura to swing at a pitch in the dirt for strike 3! Kubo applies the tag and the inning is over!
Bottom 4th
Nishiura Jyouji stays in the game and plays 3rd. Sakakura moves to 2nd.
Numata gets Nakao to weakly ground out back to the mound for the first out.
Yoshida then takes the next pitch and bloops it down the right field line for a single.
Kubo grounds one through to right! Hasegawa misplays the ball! The runners break for 2nd and 3rd! Hasegawa's throw is not in time and now a base hit brings Tsuruga Kehi within 1!
Kanayama scorches one right at new 2B Sakakura! It bounces off his chest, but he manages to make the play at 1st. The runners were taking off on contact, so Yoshida comes in to score and it's now 3-1 Tenri.
And Numata gets Okuda to swing at a pitch down in the zone for the 3rd out. But Tsuruga Kehi is on the board!
Top 5th
Yasuda gets a hold of a 2-0 fastball, but it's a easy jog for Yoshida for the first out.
Uchino hits another 2-0 fastball, this time to center and this time for a base hit.
Takahara falls behind Date 2-0, but Tanaka-kantoku puts on the hit-and-run and Date fouls off a pitch above his eyeballs.
The next pitch he drills, but it's right at Kanayama who quickly throws to 1st! And Uchino is doubled off to end the inning!
Bottom 5th
In a surprising move, Tanaka-kantoku has pulled Numata and put in #12 Nishiguchi! I'm not sure what's going on here, but if Numata has truly left the game, this is terrible for Tenri! He needs to stay in the game longer if they are to keep their winning chances!
He gets Takahara to fly out to left, but Nishiguchi's control looks anything but good.
In fact, his pitches are all over the place and Kamezawa has to flail around to get them.
Kawashita gets a hold of a pitch in the zone and lines it to right!
Nishiguchi falls behind leadoff batter Nishikiori 2-0. He manages to get the count full, but walks him to advance the runners. This isn't good for Tenri at all...
Hayashi lays down the bunt. Nishiguchi goes to get it, but his throw is way high! But Hasegawa is backing up the play! He catches the ball and charges in! Kawashita motions back to 3rd, but if fooled when Hasegawa fakes a throw! Now he's caught between 3rd and home! Hasegawa throws it to Kamezawa who begins the rundown! Kawashita is tagged out, but not before the other runners advance to 2nd and 3rd.
And Nakao pops up to Nakamura for the 3rd out! Tenri is out of the inning, but will certainly have issues going forward.
Top 6th
Hasegawa hits a pop fly on a slow curve down the left field line for the 1st out. Nishiguchi gets under a fastball and pops that one to Hayashi in shallow right. And Sakakura flies out to left as Tenri is retired in order.
After a quick start by Tenri, they can't seem to get anything going against Takahara.
Bottom 6th
Nishiguchi's control continues to have issues. Yoshida golfs a low pitch and bloops it over Nishiura's head and into shallow left for a leadoff single. Kubo bunts him along to 2nd.
Kanayama falls behind 1-2 and Nishiguchi gets him to ground out to 3rd. Nishiura looks Yoshida back and makes the throw for the 2nd out.
Now it's Hayashi-kantoku's turn to make a change and #3 Ishibashi comes in to PH for Okuno,
Meanwhile Nishiguchi's control continues to be terrible. His first 2 pitches aren't even close. The 3rd is better, but still wide and it's 3-0. And another high and outside means ball 4.
Runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out for Takahara.
And Nishiguchi finally throws a strike. He actually gets ahead of Takahara 1-2! But Nishiguchi can't get the final blow! Takahara continues to foul off pitch after pitch after pitch! Doesn't even matter if it's in the zone, he's fouling it off! The AB has gone 9 pitches so far!
And it pays off!! On the 10th pitch of the AB, he takes a ball low and in and sends it past Date and down the right field line! Yoshida rounds 3rd and scores easily on the RBI double by Takahara! It's 3-2 Tenri, but Tsuruga is threatening to take the lead with a base hit!
Nighiguchi tries to get out of the jam, gets ahead of Kawashita 1-2. But again he has control issues.
But he gets Kawashita to ground to 1st. Except that Date can't get get a good hold of the ball! He loses it! He gets it back, tosses to Nishiguchi covering... but the diving Kawashita is safe!!! The error proves costly as Ishibashi comes home to score and we are tied up at 3-3!!
Runners at the corners with 2 down for Nishikiori. Nishiguchi gets ahead 0-2.
But Nishikiori lines one to right! Takahara scores, and Tsuruga Kehi takes the lead 4-3!!!
Runners at the corners again, still 2 down for Hayashi. Nishiguchi gets ahead of him 1-2.
And Nishikiori takes off for 2nd! Throw is cut off by Sakakura to prevent Kawashita from coming home.
And Hayashi grounds one to the left side. That's through for a base hit! Kawashita scores, Nishikiori rounds 3rd heading for home... he scores! It's now 6-3 in favor of Tsuruga Kehi! The error by Date has led to 4 runs!
Nakao comes to the plate as the 9th batter this inning. Nishiguchi finally ends the inning with a K, but the damage has been done. Inconsistent pitching and an untimely error takes a 2 run lead and turns it into a 3 run deficit.
Here I was thinking that the new manager might help Tenri, but honestly I think it may have gotten worse. At least back then I could question a squeeze bunt. But when it's this egregious as a pitching change knowing what your bullpen can (or in this case can't) do is unforgivable.
Top 7th
The wind has certainly been sucked out of Tenri's sails. Furthermore, they can't seem to figure out Takahara's pitching between his 120 kph fastball and his under-100 kph slow curve.
Nishiura softly lines out to left, while Yoshida makes a shoestring catch on a ball hit by Kamezawa. And Nakamura gets jammed and weakly grounds out to 2nd.
Down 3 with 6 outs to go after watching your team rally for 5 runs. I like Tenri, but I don't think it's possible.
Bottom 7th
#16 Inoue comes in for Hasegawa and takes over in right.
Yoshida leads off the 7th with a liner to right.
And after that, Tanaka-kantoku has seen enough. Nishiguchi is pulled for #10 Nishiura Kenta.
Kubo squares to bunt and successfully lays it down as Jyouji charges into make the throw.
Apparently Kenta can bring the heat as he throws a pitch 148 kph which Kanayama pops out in foul territory.
And another to Ishibashi. And another at 147... but it seems his control too is a bit lacking as well. Ishibashi reaches out on a pitch and hits it back to Kenta who makes the play at 1st to end the inning.
Top 8th
Takahara's pitches are inducing the Tenri batters to hit them into the air for easy outs.
With one down, Uchino strikes out, but the ball gets away from Kubo and he can't get a handle on it! Uchino reaches base on the passed ball.
Date gets under a ball and hits it to center. Nishikiori goes back, goes back, and makes a last second dash back to make the catch.
New RF Inoue comes up to bat, and Uchino takes off for 2nd! Kubo makes the throw and Uchino is out by a good margin! That ends the inning and Tenri will be down to their last 3 outs, down by 3.
Bottom 8th
Nishiura Kenta continues to throw uncontrollable fastballs towards home, hitting 150 kph twice, but both being way up in the zone. But he does get Takahara to strikeout on a change down in the zone.
Kawashita hits a hard one, but it's right at Date who walks to the bag for the 2nd out.
Nishikiori lines a straight 150kph ball back up the middle for a 2-out single.
And Hayashi-kantoku decides he wants to set the wheels in motion and has Nishikiori break for 2nd! Kamezawa's throw is short and late and Nishikiori is in safely!
Kenta continues to hit higher speeds with a 152 kph ball outside. And on the next pitch, he hits 151, but Hayashi takes that pitch and sends it into left-center! Nishikiori comes in to score and it's now 7-3 Tsuruga Kehi!
And now Kenta is called for a balk advancing Hayashi to 2nd.
But Nakao pops a 3-2 pitch into foul territory. Date and Kamezawa converge and actually collide, but Date comes up with the ball for the 3rd out. But the deficit is now at 4 with 3 outs to go. Is there any hope for Tenri?
Top 9th
Inoue steps back to the plate again for his first AB and slices one to left-center for a leadoff single.
And Kenta slices another slow curve, this time to left. And Nakao misplays it! He doubles back, but Inoue continues running! He's being waved home! The throw is... not in time! Kubo's throw to 2nd is also late as Kenta takes 2nd on the throw home! And now it's 7-4 just like that!
Sakakura looks to keep the momentum going. Meanwhile, Takahara has missed with his first two balls!
But he's given the green light and hits a grounder to 2nd! And while Kenta advances to 3rd on the putout, Tenri cannot afford to give up outs at this juncture!
And Hayashi-kantoku, not wanting to see the game slip late, hands the ball off. Not to ace Ookubo though, but to #11 Fujisawa Shouta (who is supposedly their C??). From the looks of Takahara in the dugout, he looks beat.
So it'll be Fujisawa to close out the game against the top of Tenri's order. But his first two pitches to Jyouji are balls! That doesn't look too good.
But Jyouji is given the green light! He swings away, but pops it up! Kanayama backpedals towards center, backpedals, and makes a last second lunge backwards... and makes the catch! Tenri is down to their final out!
Tenri's hopes now fall to Kamezawa. He falls behind though 1-2!
Ooohh. That pitch was 55 feet. And that one was maybe 59. Full count. And that one is 59 as well! Runners at the corners with 2 down.
Nakamura up now to extend the game.
AH!
Fujisawa hits him! Manrui for Tenri, but there 2 down!
Tsuruga Kehi calls for a conference as captain Yasuda steps to the plate.
First pitch in the dirt away for ball 1. Second pitched fouled back! Kubo running to the fence, but runs out of room!
Slow curve in for strike 2! Tenri down to their last strike...
Off-speed down and away, 2-2...
SANSHIN!! Yasuda looks at a ball that is called a strike on the outside corner! It may have been low, but he let it go by anyways, and in what could be called an upset is sent home by Tsuruga Kehi 7-4 in the opening game of the tournament!
As much as the players have to be disappointed, I still point to the decision by Tanaka-kantoku to make the early pitching change in the 5th. While Numata had given up a run, going to a bullpen that was shaky at best, and to a pitcher who had only 6.1 innings of work in the fall tournaments and yielding 7 walks, was uncalled for. Tsuruga Kehi certainly earned the win, but Tenri equally earned their loss.
Notable Players
WP - Takahara Yuusuke (Tsuruga Kehi) - 8.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 4 K, 0 BB
LP - Nishiguchi Tasuku (Tenri) - 2+ IP, 5 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, K
Yoshida Masataka (Tsuruga Kehi) - 3-3, 2R, K
Hayashi Rui (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-4, 3 RBI, K
Yasuda Kouki (Tenri) - 2-5, 3B, R, RBI, K
Uchino Satoshi (Tenri) - 2-4, 2B, R
Tsuruga Kehi is generally a station-to-station team, depending on timely hitting and walks to get the job done. Normally, their left-handed lineup would be favorable for them, but Tenri's ace Numata is... you guessed it. A lefty.
There is hope for Tsuruga though if the left-handed matchup is unfavorable. Numata isn't necessarily able to go for a full game. And especially as the tournament progresses they'll need to save his arm. So closing duties will probably fall to #10 Nishiura Kenta or #12 Nishiguchi Tasuku - neither of which are as strong as Numata is. So if they can keep the game close and get to the bullpen, there is a chance they can win.
Tenri (Nara) - Kansai At-large
2B Iwasaki Ryouta (#6)
C Kamezawa Hideaki
CF Nakamura Shougo
SS Yasuda Kouki (#5)
LF Uchino Satoshi
1B Date Shougo
RF Hasegawa Shouma (#17)
P Numata Yuuga
3B Sakakura Yuuki (#4)
Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui) - Hokushinetsu Runner-up
CF Nishikiori Daisuke
2B Hayashi Rui
LF Nakao Yuuto
RF Yoshida Masataka
C Kubo Yuuta
SS Kanayama Yoshihiro
1B Okuno Kyouhei (#13)
P Takahara Yuusuke (#10)
3B Kawashita Ryuusei
__________________________________________________
10:35 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
The wind is blowing really hard at Koshien and it shows when leadoff batter Iwasaki pops one up to shallow right and Hayashi gets turned around! Iwasaki starts off with a leadoff double!
Kamezawa squares to bunt and lays it down. Okuno charges in, and makes the throw to 1st. Tenri already with a scoring opportunity!
Count 1-0 and Nakamura lines one down the left field line... FOUL! He comes back and works the count to 3-1... and just fouls one back to the backstop. Next pitch popped up to shallow left! Kanayama goes out, and it goes off his glove! Iwasaki charges home from 3rd! Kanayama quickly gets it, throws home... And it's a great throw! Kubo gets the throw and makes the tag for the out! Nice recovery from Kanayama, but perhaps Iwasaki shouldn't have gone on that play... But Nakamura takes the opportunity to get to 2nd and in scoring position.
Takahara falls behind Yasuda 3-0! He may have avoided the run, but he can't put runners on base! Finally, he gets a strike in.
And a pitch to the outside is driven by Yasuda to center! Nishikiori races back! Leaps, and it's over his head!! It's to the wall! Nakamura scores easily as Yasuda has a stand-up RBI triple!! It's 1-0 Tenri!!
Takahara continues to have trouble throwing strikes as he falls behind Uchino 2-0. And he drives one to right for a hit! Yasuda strolls home and it's 2-0 in favor of Tenri now!! If Takahara isn't careful, the game could be over quickly!
And finally on a 1-0 count, he gets Date to swing at one for a strike. And it looks like Date's been given the green light to swing away.
And swing away he does! He whiffs at a 1-2 changeup in the dirt and the inning is finally over. So the top of the 1st is finally over, but not before Tenri jumps out to a 2-run lead!
Bottom 1st
Numata takes care of Nishikiori quickly as he induces a grounder to short. Yasuda has a little trouble fielding it and makes a low throw, but it's dug out.
Hayashi falls behind 1-2, then swings at a ball down and away for the 2nd out.
And Nakao pops one up in foul territory. Sakakura gets under it and Tsuruga Kehi is down in order.
Top 2nd
Bench starter Hasegawa drives one to left! That's over a leaping Nakao, and Hasegawa's in with a stand up double!
Numata looks to bunt him along. But he falls behind 1-2 and has to swing away. He manages to work the count full, keeps himself alive, and hits a scorcher. But it's right at Hayashi. It gets the job done as Hasegawa moves to 3rd.
Last man Sakakura looks for a sac fly or a base hit to drive in the run. Takahara is finally throwing strikes. And Sakakura swings under a pitch on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
And Takahara gets Iwasaki to pop up in foul territory where Okuno makes the catch next to the fence for the 3rd out. A bit shaky still, but better than the 1st.
Bottom 2nd
Cleanup batter Yoshida swings at a pitch high to go down swinging.
Kubo flies out to Uchino on the left field line for the 2nd out.
Kanayama goes down swinging and the inning is quickly over.
Top 3rd
Kamesawa hits a grounder through the left side for a leadoff single.
Nishimura tries to bunt him along, but after falling behind has to swing away and flies out to right. But Yasuda comes right back and pops a high pitch into center for a bloop hit. Runners at 1st and 2nd and a chance for Tenri.
But Uchino pops one up in the infield and Kanayama secures it for the 2nd out.
Date comes up now with 2 out to try and drive in the run. He falls behind 1-2, but drives a ball through the left side! Kamesawa rounds for home as Nakao makes the throw. It's not in time and Tenri takes the 3-0 lead! Date breaks for 2nd and the throw by Kubo isn't in time! Runners on 2nd and 3rd for Tenri with 2 down!
But Hasegawa pops the 1st pitch to left and the inning is over. But Tenri extends their lead by another run!
Bottom 3rd
Okuno goes down swinging for the first out. That's the 4th K for Numata.
And Tsuruga Kehi gets their first hit as Takahara lines one to right for a single!
Kawashita lays down the bunt. Sakakura makes the throw, but Date can't get the handle on it and everyone's safe!
Numata's first pitch after that is a breaking ball wide. He can't be happy about that error.
And Nishikiori hits a grounder hard to the left side! Iwasaki runs it down and throws to 3rd to get the lead runner! But the throw to 2nd is wild and goes to the outfield! Kawashita advances to 3rd and there's runners at the corners with 2 down.
But Hayashi flies out to center and the inning is over.
Top 4th
Ookubo warms up as Takahara gets Numata to ground out to 1st.
Sakakura lines one into shallow center for a base hit.
And in an surprising move, Nishiura Jyouji (#15) comes to pinch hit for Iwasaki. He lays down the bunt to move the runner over for Kamezawa.
Ah! A pitch in the dirt is mishandled by Kubo and Sakakura advances to 3rd!
Kamezawa stays alive by fouling off a slow curve, and then another. He works the count full... and earns a walk! Runners at the corners and the inning is still alive for Nakamura.
Takahara can only seem to locate his slow curve, while his fastball is all over the map. He gets ahead of Nakamura 1-2, but a fastball inside evens the count.
And Takahara gets Nakamura to swing at a pitch in the dirt for strike 3! Kubo applies the tag and the inning is over!
Bottom 4th
Nishiura Jyouji stays in the game and plays 3rd. Sakakura moves to 2nd.
Numata gets Nakao to weakly ground out back to the mound for the first out.
Yoshida then takes the next pitch and bloops it down the right field line for a single.
Kubo grounds one through to right! Hasegawa misplays the ball! The runners break for 2nd and 3rd! Hasegawa's throw is not in time and now a base hit brings Tsuruga Kehi within 1!
Kanayama scorches one right at new 2B Sakakura! It bounces off his chest, but he manages to make the play at 1st. The runners were taking off on contact, so Yoshida comes in to score and it's now 3-1 Tenri.
And Numata gets Okuda to swing at a pitch down in the zone for the 3rd out. But Tsuruga Kehi is on the board!
Top 5th
Yasuda gets a hold of a 2-0 fastball, but it's a easy jog for Yoshida for the first out.
Uchino hits another 2-0 fastball, this time to center and this time for a base hit.
Takahara falls behind Date 2-0, but Tanaka-kantoku puts on the hit-and-run and Date fouls off a pitch above his eyeballs.
The next pitch he drills, but it's right at Kanayama who quickly throws to 1st! And Uchino is doubled off to end the inning!
Bottom 5th
In a surprising move, Tanaka-kantoku has pulled Numata and put in #12 Nishiguchi! I'm not sure what's going on here, but if Numata has truly left the game, this is terrible for Tenri! He needs to stay in the game longer if they are to keep their winning chances!
He gets Takahara to fly out to left, but Nishiguchi's control looks anything but good.
In fact, his pitches are all over the place and Kamezawa has to flail around to get them.
Kawashita gets a hold of a pitch in the zone and lines it to right!
Nishiguchi falls behind leadoff batter Nishikiori 2-0. He manages to get the count full, but walks him to advance the runners. This isn't good for Tenri at all...
Hayashi lays down the bunt. Nishiguchi goes to get it, but his throw is way high! But Hasegawa is backing up the play! He catches the ball and charges in! Kawashita motions back to 3rd, but if fooled when Hasegawa fakes a throw! Now he's caught between 3rd and home! Hasegawa throws it to Kamezawa who begins the rundown! Kawashita is tagged out, but not before the other runners advance to 2nd and 3rd.
And Nakao pops up to Nakamura for the 3rd out! Tenri is out of the inning, but will certainly have issues going forward.
Top 6th
Hasegawa hits a pop fly on a slow curve down the left field line for the 1st out. Nishiguchi gets under a fastball and pops that one to Hayashi in shallow right. And Sakakura flies out to left as Tenri is retired in order.
After a quick start by Tenri, they can't seem to get anything going against Takahara.
Bottom 6th
Nishiguchi's control continues to have issues. Yoshida golfs a low pitch and bloops it over Nishiura's head and into shallow left for a leadoff single. Kubo bunts him along to 2nd.
Kanayama falls behind 1-2 and Nishiguchi gets him to ground out to 3rd. Nishiura looks Yoshida back and makes the throw for the 2nd out.
Now it's Hayashi-kantoku's turn to make a change and #3 Ishibashi comes in to PH for Okuno,
Meanwhile Nishiguchi's control continues to be terrible. His first 2 pitches aren't even close. The 3rd is better, but still wide and it's 3-0. And another high and outside means ball 4.
Runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out for Takahara.
And Nishiguchi finally throws a strike. He actually gets ahead of Takahara 1-2! But Nishiguchi can't get the final blow! Takahara continues to foul off pitch after pitch after pitch! Doesn't even matter if it's in the zone, he's fouling it off! The AB has gone 9 pitches so far!
And it pays off!! On the 10th pitch of the AB, he takes a ball low and in and sends it past Date and down the right field line! Yoshida rounds 3rd and scores easily on the RBI double by Takahara! It's 3-2 Tenri, but Tsuruga is threatening to take the lead with a base hit!
Nighiguchi tries to get out of the jam, gets ahead of Kawashita 1-2. But again he has control issues.
But he gets Kawashita to ground to 1st. Except that Date can't get get a good hold of the ball! He loses it! He gets it back, tosses to Nishiguchi covering... but the diving Kawashita is safe!!! The error proves costly as Ishibashi comes home to score and we are tied up at 3-3!!
Runners at the corners with 2 down for Nishikiori. Nishiguchi gets ahead 0-2.
But Nishikiori lines one to right! Takahara scores, and Tsuruga Kehi takes the lead 4-3!!!
Runners at the corners again, still 2 down for Hayashi. Nishiguchi gets ahead of him 1-2.
And Nishikiori takes off for 2nd! Throw is cut off by Sakakura to prevent Kawashita from coming home.
And Hayashi grounds one to the left side. That's through for a base hit! Kawashita scores, Nishikiori rounds 3rd heading for home... he scores! It's now 6-3 in favor of Tsuruga Kehi! The error by Date has led to 4 runs!
Nakao comes to the plate as the 9th batter this inning. Nishiguchi finally ends the inning with a K, but the damage has been done. Inconsistent pitching and an untimely error takes a 2 run lead and turns it into a 3 run deficit.
Here I was thinking that the new manager might help Tenri, but honestly I think it may have gotten worse. At least back then I could question a squeeze bunt. But when it's this egregious as a pitching change knowing what your bullpen can (or in this case can't) do is unforgivable.
Top 7th
The wind has certainly been sucked out of Tenri's sails. Furthermore, they can't seem to figure out Takahara's pitching between his 120 kph fastball and his under-100 kph slow curve.
Nishiura softly lines out to left, while Yoshida makes a shoestring catch on a ball hit by Kamezawa. And Nakamura gets jammed and weakly grounds out to 2nd.
Down 3 with 6 outs to go after watching your team rally for 5 runs. I like Tenri, but I don't think it's possible.
Bottom 7th
#16 Inoue comes in for Hasegawa and takes over in right.
Yoshida leads off the 7th with a liner to right.
And after that, Tanaka-kantoku has seen enough. Nishiguchi is pulled for #10 Nishiura Kenta.
Kubo squares to bunt and successfully lays it down as Jyouji charges into make the throw.
Apparently Kenta can bring the heat as he throws a pitch 148 kph which Kanayama pops out in foul territory.
And another to Ishibashi. And another at 147... but it seems his control too is a bit lacking as well. Ishibashi reaches out on a pitch and hits it back to Kenta who makes the play at 1st to end the inning.
Top 8th
Takahara's pitches are inducing the Tenri batters to hit them into the air for easy outs.
With one down, Uchino strikes out, but the ball gets away from Kubo and he can't get a handle on it! Uchino reaches base on the passed ball.
Date gets under a ball and hits it to center. Nishikiori goes back, goes back, and makes a last second dash back to make the catch.
New RF Inoue comes up to bat, and Uchino takes off for 2nd! Kubo makes the throw and Uchino is out by a good margin! That ends the inning and Tenri will be down to their last 3 outs, down by 3.
Bottom 8th
Nishiura Kenta continues to throw uncontrollable fastballs towards home, hitting 150 kph twice, but both being way up in the zone. But he does get Takahara to strikeout on a change down in the zone.
Kawashita hits a hard one, but it's right at Date who walks to the bag for the 2nd out.
Nishikiori lines a straight 150kph ball back up the middle for a 2-out single.
And Hayashi-kantoku decides he wants to set the wheels in motion and has Nishikiori break for 2nd! Kamezawa's throw is short and late and Nishikiori is in safely!
Kenta continues to hit higher speeds with a 152 kph ball outside. And on the next pitch, he hits 151, but Hayashi takes that pitch and sends it into left-center! Nishikiori comes in to score and it's now 7-3 Tsuruga Kehi!
And now Kenta is called for a balk advancing Hayashi to 2nd.
But Nakao pops a 3-2 pitch into foul territory. Date and Kamezawa converge and actually collide, but Date comes up with the ball for the 3rd out. But the deficit is now at 4 with 3 outs to go. Is there any hope for Tenri?
Top 9th
Inoue steps back to the plate again for his first AB and slices one to left-center for a leadoff single.
And Kenta slices another slow curve, this time to left. And Nakao misplays it! He doubles back, but Inoue continues running! He's being waved home! The throw is... not in time! Kubo's throw to 2nd is also late as Kenta takes 2nd on the throw home! And now it's 7-4 just like that!
Sakakura looks to keep the momentum going. Meanwhile, Takahara has missed with his first two balls!
But he's given the green light and hits a grounder to 2nd! And while Kenta advances to 3rd on the putout, Tenri cannot afford to give up outs at this juncture!
And Hayashi-kantoku, not wanting to see the game slip late, hands the ball off. Not to ace Ookubo though, but to #11 Fujisawa Shouta (who is supposedly their C??). From the looks of Takahara in the dugout, he looks beat.
So it'll be Fujisawa to close out the game against the top of Tenri's order. But his first two pitches to Jyouji are balls! That doesn't look too good.
But Jyouji is given the green light! He swings away, but pops it up! Kanayama backpedals towards center, backpedals, and makes a last second lunge backwards... and makes the catch! Tenri is down to their final out!
Tenri's hopes now fall to Kamezawa. He falls behind though 1-2!
Ooohh. That pitch was 55 feet. And that one was maybe 59. Full count. And that one is 59 as well! Runners at the corners with 2 down.
Nakamura up now to extend the game.
AH!
Fujisawa hits him! Manrui for Tenri, but there 2 down!
Tsuruga Kehi calls for a conference as captain Yasuda steps to the plate.
First pitch in the dirt away for ball 1. Second pitched fouled back! Kubo running to the fence, but runs out of room!
Slow curve in for strike 2! Tenri down to their last strike...
Off-speed down and away, 2-2...
SANSHIN!! Yasuda looks at a ball that is called a strike on the outside corner! It may have been low, but he let it go by anyways, and in what could be called an upset is sent home by Tsuruga Kehi 7-4 in the opening game of the tournament!
As much as the players have to be disappointed, I still point to the decision by Tanaka-kantoku to make the early pitching change in the 5th. While Numata had given up a run, going to a bullpen that was shaky at best, and to a pitcher who had only 6.1 innings of work in the fall tournaments and yielding 7 walks, was uncalled for. Tsuruga Kehi certainly earned the win, but Tenri equally earned their loss.
Notable Players
WP - Takahara Yuusuke (Tsuruga Kehi) - 8.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 4 K, 0 BB
LP - Nishiguchi Tasuku (Tenri) - 2+ IP, 5 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, K
Yoshida Masataka (Tsuruga Kehi) - 3-3, 2R, K
Hayashi Rui (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-4, 3 RBI, K
Yasuda Kouki (Tenri) - 2-5, 3B, R, RBI, K
Uchino Satoshi (Tenri) - 2-4, 2B, R
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Game blogging schedule
Unfortunately, my schedule during the Spring Koshien is a lot busier than normal. This means that I will not be able to blog as many of these games on the same day. Also remember that because this is the Senbatsu, MBS does not show games live but instead gives inning-by-inning archives on their website (see link on left). The 1st inning is usually provided about halfway through the game, so there's always a bit of a delay.
A new possibility is that Justin.tv may carry the games live, but it all depends on the people at the time. If it's available, I'll forward the link on that particular game post.
So my schedule of blogging games same day will look like this:
1st Round (3 games/day)
Day 1 (March 21) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 2 (March 22) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 3 (March 23) - Partial (Bowling league)
Day 4 (March 24) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 5 (March 25) - Partial/Full (Bowling league)
2nd Round (3 games/day)
Day 6 (March 26) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 7 (March 27) - None (Prior commitment)
Day 8 (March 28) - None (Prior commitment)
Quarterfinals (2 games/day)
Day 9 (March 29) - Partial? (I'll be returning that evening, so I may get to these games, but no guarantees)
Day 10 (March 30) - (Probably) Full (Even with bowling league I should be able to)
Semifinals
Day 11 (March 31) - Full (Archives pending)
Championship
Day 12 (April 1) - Full
I will try to get to the missed games in the first full week of April. I have Sakura-con to attend the weekend of the 2nd-4th, so I can't catch up then...
I apologize for the gaps in advance. I'd love to be able to do this full-time, but I can't make this my career right now unless I actually get paid for it. So all I can do is get to these when time permits...
A new possibility is that Justin.tv may carry the games live, but it all depends on the people at the time. If it's available, I'll forward the link on that particular game post.
So my schedule of blogging games same day will look like this:
1st Round (3 games/day)
Day 1 (March 21) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 2 (March 22) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 3 (March 23) - Partial (Bowling league)
Day 4 (March 24) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 5 (March 25) - Partial/Full (Bowling league)
2nd Round (3 games/day)
Day 6 (March 26) - Full (Archives pending)
Day 7 (March 27) - None (Prior commitment)
Day 8 (March 28) - None (Prior commitment)
Quarterfinals (2 games/day)
Day 9 (March 29) - Partial? (I'll be returning that evening, so I may get to these games, but no guarantees)
Day 10 (March 30) - (Probably) Full (Even with bowling league I should be able to)
Semifinals
Day 11 (March 31) - Full (Archives pending)
Championship
Day 12 (April 1) - Full
I will try to get to the missed games in the first full week of April. I have Sakura-con to attend the weekend of the 2nd-4th, so I can't catch up then...
I apologize for the gaps in advance. I'd love to be able to do this full-time, but I can't make this my career right now unless I actually get paid for it. So all I can do is get to these when time permits...
Friday, March 19, 2010
82nd Spring Koshien Rosters
Here is the link for the team rosters for Koshien.
As you can see, there are gaps. This is because rosters were changed and new people were included. I took as many names as possible from the Homerun magazine that Westbay-san provided me. It's also why I found out that Maebashi Kougyou's manager was younger than me, and that he had totally turned around the numbers.
Names in ()'s are the best translations I could find for them.
As you can see, there are gaps. This is because rosters were changed and new people were included. I took as many names as possible from the Homerun magazine that Westbay-san provided me. It's also why I found out that Maebashi Kougyou's manager was younger than me, and that he had totally turned around the numbers.
Names in ()'s are the best translations I could find for them.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Brackets are up!
The draw has been done for the Spring Koshien and oy are there some match-ups to be had...
For the most part, the favored teams have been spread about the bracket.
Quadrant 1
Tenri (Nara) vs. Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
Tenri opens the 82nd Spring Invitational against new perennial team Tsuruga Kehi. Tenri still boasts a strong infield both defensively and offensively which makes up for slightly above-average pitching. Tsuruga Kehi seems to be in somewhat of a rebuliding phase, but was still good enough to earn a bid.
One thing to note is that Tenri changed their manager since Natsu Koshien. I have to admit there were times where I wondered what the manager was thinking sometimes, and I wonder if the school thought the same thing.
Expected winner - Tenri
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) vs. Kadena (Okinawa)
Hanasaki Tokuharu did earn their 2nd ever appearance, but the Kanto field seemed a bit weaker compared to prior years. While the lack of a staff ace isn't a "deal-breaker" (see Saga Kita), there's not much indication that Hanasaki Tokuharu is the 2nd coming of that. Hanasaki counters that with a penchant for being aggressive on the basepaths. Expect a bit of running from them.
Now Kadena is a newcomer to Koshien. The Kyushu super-regionals had some strong teams, but they were on the other side of the bracket. They did face Miyazaki Kougyou who defeated Kounan, so that does say something. Ikehara appears to be a dependable ace, but Yamashiro with his interesting sidearm delivery could prove useful as well (being a southpaw helps too).
Expected winner - Kadena
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) vs. Nichidai-san (Tokyo)
Yamagata Chuo's gift for receiving a 21st century bid and reaching Koshien for the first time? How about a matchup against Nichidai-san? Not exactly the fine "how-do-you-do". Ace Yokoyama will have to be in top form if he wants to have a shot at an upset because if he doesn't, Nichidai will be all over his pedestrian fastball. And while Nichidai-san is using a converted 1B as their ace, in general teams from the Tohoku region have trouble scoring runs (well, except for Aomori Yamada).
Oh yeah, I think I know another reason why Nichidai-san may have been selected. Certainly we've seen many Nichidai/Nihon teams in any given field, but could you imagine 3 Toukaidai teams (Sagami, Bouyou AND Sugao)? Seriously though, this team can rake. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be a bloodbath...
Expected winner - Nichidai-san
Kaisei (Shimane) vs. Kouyou (Wakayama)
This is Kaisei's 2nd consecutive year at senbatsu, and they have established themselves as one of the strong teams out of the Chuugoku region. While the region as a whole is somewhat weak, Kaisei has shown that they can compete against teams from more metropolitan regions at Koshien. They've were so strong that their 2 closest games were in the super-regional semifinal and finals against Kouryou and Kanzei. If ace Shirane can continue to hit close to 145 with good control, the team could go far in the tournament. Also, watch for C Idei and 3B Itohara - they can hit the ball very hard and very far.
And poor Kouyou. They're another 21st century team and they get no breaks. As I said in the team recap, they appear to be an average team who had a fortunate outing against one of the premier teams in Tenri.
Expected winner - Kaisei
Quadrant 2
Maebashi Kougyou (Gunma) vs. Miyazaki Kougyou (Miyazaki)
It's the battle of the technical schools to start off the 2nd quadrant. Maebashi certainly benefited from the weaker Kanto field, with notable games being the 8-8 & 4-2 games against Chiba Shougyoudai Fuzoku and the 8-0 loss to Toukaidai Sagami.
Miyazaki Kougyou faced quite stiff competition in the fall tournament from the prefecturals to the super-regionals. It remains to be seen if they can continue their efforts several months later. Ace Hamada isn't a fireballer, but has 4 different pitches in his arsenal (two-seam, slider, curve and change) to throw batters off.
There's one more thing... The manager of Maebashi Kougyou is only 25. He's younger than ME. And another thing... He's totally shaken up the numbers. Many of the people who wore the starting numbers are now wearing the bench number and vice versa... and I have no idea why.
Expected winner - Miyazaki Kougyou
Ritsumeikan Uji (Kyoto) vs. Kouryou (Hiroshima)
Ritsumeikan Uji earns their 2nd appearance, and faces the Chuugoku/Shikoku at-large team Kouryou. They've handed the ball to a 1st year (2nd year by tournament time) and have shown their mettle in the fall tournament - especially given the strong super-regional field.
Kouryou, while receiving the at-large bid and making the super-regional semifinals doesn't appear to be fielding as strong of a team is in years past and didn't have much competition in the fall tournament. Their name means they cannot be dismissed, but certainly we can say their team is unproven... with the exception of ace Arihara
Expected winner - Kouryou (okay, I changed my mind. So sue me.)
Kochi (Kochi) vs. Shinkou Gakuen (Hyogo)
Kochi is back for yet another go-around at Koshien. There is little information about the team other than their extra inning loss to Imabari Nishi in the super-regional final. Shinkou Gakuen had an bad loss to Ikuei in the prefectural semi-finals, but then turned around and beat Toyoudai Himeji in the 3rd place game, then Oumi and Fukuchiyama Seibi in the super-regionals before falling apart to Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku in the 8th inning of the semifinals. The question for Shinkou is which team will show up - the team that lost to Ikuei, or the team that played afterwards?
Expected winner - Kochi
Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate) vs. Chuukyoudai Chuukyou (Aichi)
Moriokadai Fuzoku reaches the Spring Koshien for the 2nd time in school history, but get to face summer champions Chuukyoudai Chuukyou in the first round. Not only that, you get to face the pitcher who kept the team in the game when the ace floundered. It's certainly an uphill climb. Remember that one-and-done talk I mentioned about Moriokadai? It certainly applies here...
Expected winner - Chuukyoudai Chuukyou
Quadrant 3
Takaoka Shougyou (Toyama) vs. Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama)
Takaoka Shougyou will look to deny Takashima-kantoku his record-breaking win. But any Chiben team that makes it to Koshien is generally a strong team. And with another non-fireball on the mound for Takaoka, it will make their task that much harder.
Expected winner - Chiben Wakayama
Kounan (Okinawa) vs. Kanzei (Okayama)
Shimabukuro is making is final rounds at Koshien, and his senior campaign begins against Kanzei - who makes their first appearance since Dass Romash was their ace. And he's looking to break their bad luck as they've been ousted in the first round in both the spring and summer Koshien tournaments, and both in the final inning.
Kanzei won't necessarily make it easy. They're back with hard throwing ace Kenta Yuuta, and did defeat Iwamichisuikan (fka Gonokawa) and took Kaisei to the wire. But will that be enough to send Kounan home early yet again?
Expected winner - Kounan (finally??!)
Teikyou (Tokyo) vs. Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku (Hyogo)
Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku won a tough Kinki super-regional but will immediately be thrown into the fire against potential favorite Teikou and ace Itou Takurou. Okamoto Ken will have to keep them in the game early, or risk having their run at Koshien ending before it even starting. Because as we all know, Teikyou has offense to spare.
Expected winner - Teikyou
Imabari Nishi (Ehime) vs. Mie (Mie)
Mie has had recent success as of late, reaching their 2nd Koshien tournament in a row (summer Koshien being the first). They'll look to build upon last year and defeat Shikoku super-regional champion Imabari Nishi. Even with no true ace, Imabari Nishi was able to defeat many of the powerhouse teams on the island in the super-regionals which is a testament to how these teams can just reload year after year.
Expected winner - Imabari Nishi (although I would like to see Mie give a good fight, if not upset)
Quadrant 4
Toukaidai Bouyou (Chiba) vs. Osaka Touin (Osaka)
Sadly, Toukaidai Bouyou isn't as strong as their sister Sagami. And ace Nagatomo suffers from control issues. Not something you want to have against Osaka Touin who can hit doubles for days. Certainly Osaka Touin's pitching isn't spectacular, but it certainly is a bit more serviceable. Bouyou will have a hard time carrying the Toukai University flag past the first round.
Expected winner - Osaka Touin
Oogaki Nichidai (Gifu) vs. Kawashima (Tokushima)
Kawashima is the last 21st century team to be covered, and they get another tough matchup against Oogaki Nichidai. Oogaki though depends primarily on speed to pressure the opposition, although some players do have some power. If they can limit Oogaki's speed they may have a chance. However, their offense appear to be less than average, so unless they can keep the score low, Kawashima has little chance.
Expected winner - Oogaki Nichidai
Jiyuugaoka (Fukuoka) vs. Toukaidai Sagami (Kanagawa)
Jiyuugaoka is the next team in line to come out of Fukuoka. Certainly their pitching staff is something to look out for (they did strike out a batter/inning). However, their 1st matchup is against the team that might have the #1 player in this year's upcoming draft... Hifumi Shinta. What's worse, he can kill you on either side, as he is by far the power hitter on the team. Barring a miracle, Jiyuugaoka will sadly be packing the Koshien infield and heading home...
Expected winner - Toukaidai Sagami
Hokushou (Hokkaido) vs. Akita Shougyou (Akita)
The final 1st round matchup is a bit sad for me. It's a battle of nearby teams in rural areas. It would have been nice to see both teams have a chance to advance. Sadly, only one can move on.
Akita Shougyou is the Tohoku Super-Regional winner, but it was predominantly on the back of ace Kataoka who gave up less than 1.5 BB/9. They'll have to depend on him heavily considering that their offense is merely average.
Hokushou certainly has ace Matano, who may not have as good of control as Kataoka, but also misses more bats, and has the benefit of a stronger offense who can find the gaps. And it always helps to have multiple ways to win the game.
Expected winner - Hokushou
For the most part, the favored teams have been spread about the bracket.
Quadrant 1
Tenri (Nara) vs. Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui)
Tenri opens the 82nd Spring Invitational against new perennial team Tsuruga Kehi. Tenri still boasts a strong infield both defensively and offensively which makes up for slightly above-average pitching. Tsuruga Kehi seems to be in somewhat of a rebuliding phase, but was still good enough to earn a bid.
One thing to note is that Tenri changed their manager since Natsu Koshien. I have to admit there were times where I wondered what the manager was thinking sometimes, and I wonder if the school thought the same thing.
Expected winner - Tenri
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) vs. Kadena (Okinawa)
Hanasaki Tokuharu did earn their 2nd ever appearance, but the Kanto field seemed a bit weaker compared to prior years. While the lack of a staff ace isn't a "deal-breaker" (see Saga Kita), there's not much indication that Hanasaki Tokuharu is the 2nd coming of that. Hanasaki counters that with a penchant for being aggressive on the basepaths. Expect a bit of running from them.
Now Kadena is a newcomer to Koshien. The Kyushu super-regionals had some strong teams, but they were on the other side of the bracket. They did face Miyazaki Kougyou who defeated Kounan, so that does say something. Ikehara appears to be a dependable ace, but Yamashiro with his interesting sidearm delivery could prove useful as well (being a southpaw helps too).
Expected winner - Kadena
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) vs. Nichidai-san (Tokyo)
Yamagata Chuo's gift for receiving a 21st century bid and reaching Koshien for the first time? How about a matchup against Nichidai-san? Not exactly the fine "how-do-you-do". Ace Yokoyama will have to be in top form if he wants to have a shot at an upset because if he doesn't, Nichidai will be all over his pedestrian fastball. And while Nichidai-san is using a converted 1B as their ace, in general teams from the Tohoku region have trouble scoring runs (well, except for Aomori Yamada).
Oh yeah, I think I know another reason why Nichidai-san may have been selected. Certainly we've seen many Nichidai/Nihon teams in any given field, but could you imagine 3 Toukaidai teams (Sagami, Bouyou AND Sugao)? Seriously though, this team can rake. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be a bloodbath...
Expected winner - Nichidai-san
Kaisei (Shimane) vs. Kouyou (Wakayama)
This is Kaisei's 2nd consecutive year at senbatsu, and they have established themselves as one of the strong teams out of the Chuugoku region. While the region as a whole is somewhat weak, Kaisei has shown that they can compete against teams from more metropolitan regions at Koshien. They've were so strong that their 2 closest games were in the super-regional semifinal and finals against Kouryou and Kanzei. If ace Shirane can continue to hit close to 145 with good control, the team could go far in the tournament. Also, watch for C Idei and 3B Itohara - they can hit the ball very hard and very far.
And poor Kouyou. They're another 21st century team and they get no breaks. As I said in the team recap, they appear to be an average team who had a fortunate outing against one of the premier teams in Tenri.
Expected winner - Kaisei
Quadrant 2
Maebashi Kougyou (Gunma) vs. Miyazaki Kougyou (Miyazaki)
It's the battle of the technical schools to start off the 2nd quadrant. Maebashi certainly benefited from the weaker Kanto field, with notable games being the 8-8 & 4-2 games against Chiba Shougyoudai Fuzoku and the 8-0 loss to Toukaidai Sagami.
Miyazaki Kougyou faced quite stiff competition in the fall tournament from the prefecturals to the super-regionals. It remains to be seen if they can continue their efforts several months later. Ace Hamada isn't a fireballer, but has 4 different pitches in his arsenal (two-seam, slider, curve and change) to throw batters off.
There's one more thing... The manager of Maebashi Kougyou is only 25. He's younger than ME. And another thing... He's totally shaken up the numbers. Many of the people who wore the starting numbers are now wearing the bench number and vice versa... and I have no idea why.
Expected winner - Miyazaki Kougyou
Ritsumeikan Uji (Kyoto) vs. Kouryou (Hiroshima)
Ritsumeikan Uji earns their 2nd appearance, and faces the Chuugoku/Shikoku at-large team Kouryou. They've handed the ball to a 1st year (2nd year by tournament time) and have shown their mettle in the fall tournament - especially given the strong super-regional field.
Kouryou, while receiving the at-large bid and making the super-regional semifinals doesn't appear to be fielding as strong of a team is in years past and didn't have much competition in the fall tournament. Their name means they cannot be dismissed, but certainly we can say their team is unproven... with the exception of ace Arihara
Expected winner - Kouryou (okay, I changed my mind. So sue me.)
Kochi (Kochi) vs. Shinkou Gakuen (Hyogo)
Kochi is back for yet another go-around at Koshien. There is little information about the team other than their extra inning loss to Imabari Nishi in the super-regional final. Shinkou Gakuen had an bad loss to Ikuei in the prefectural semi-finals, but then turned around and beat Toyoudai Himeji in the 3rd place game, then Oumi and Fukuchiyama Seibi in the super-regionals before falling apart to Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku in the 8th inning of the semifinals. The question for Shinkou is which team will show up - the team that lost to Ikuei, or the team that played afterwards?
Expected winner - Kochi
Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate) vs. Chuukyoudai Chuukyou (Aichi)
Moriokadai Fuzoku reaches the Spring Koshien for the 2nd time in school history, but get to face summer champions Chuukyoudai Chuukyou in the first round. Not only that, you get to face the pitcher who kept the team in the game when the ace floundered. It's certainly an uphill climb. Remember that one-and-done talk I mentioned about Moriokadai? It certainly applies here...
Expected winner - Chuukyoudai Chuukyou
Quadrant 3
Takaoka Shougyou (Toyama) vs. Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama)
Takaoka Shougyou will look to deny Takashima-kantoku his record-breaking win. But any Chiben team that makes it to Koshien is generally a strong team. And with another non-fireball on the mound for Takaoka, it will make their task that much harder.
Expected winner - Chiben Wakayama
Kounan (Okinawa) vs. Kanzei (Okayama)
Shimabukuro is making is final rounds at Koshien, and his senior campaign begins against Kanzei - who makes their first appearance since Dass Romash was their ace. And he's looking to break their bad luck as they've been ousted in the first round in both the spring and summer Koshien tournaments, and both in the final inning.
Kanzei won't necessarily make it easy. They're back with hard throwing ace Kenta Yuuta, and did defeat Iwamichisuikan (fka Gonokawa) and took Kaisei to the wire. But will that be enough to send Kounan home early yet again?
Expected winner - Kounan (finally??!)
Teikyou (Tokyo) vs. Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku (Hyogo)
Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku won a tough Kinki super-regional but will immediately be thrown into the fire against potential favorite Teikou and ace Itou Takurou. Okamoto Ken will have to keep them in the game early, or risk having their run at Koshien ending before it even starting. Because as we all know, Teikyou has offense to spare.
Expected winner - Teikyou
Imabari Nishi (Ehime) vs. Mie (Mie)
Mie has had recent success as of late, reaching their 2nd Koshien tournament in a row (summer Koshien being the first). They'll look to build upon last year and defeat Shikoku super-regional champion Imabari Nishi. Even with no true ace, Imabari Nishi was able to defeat many of the powerhouse teams on the island in the super-regionals which is a testament to how these teams can just reload year after year.
Expected winner - Imabari Nishi (although I would like to see Mie give a good fight, if not upset)
Quadrant 4
Toukaidai Bouyou (Chiba) vs. Osaka Touin (Osaka)
Sadly, Toukaidai Bouyou isn't as strong as their sister Sagami. And ace Nagatomo suffers from control issues. Not something you want to have against Osaka Touin who can hit doubles for days. Certainly Osaka Touin's pitching isn't spectacular, but it certainly is a bit more serviceable. Bouyou will have a hard time carrying the Toukai University flag past the first round.
Expected winner - Osaka Touin
Oogaki Nichidai (Gifu) vs. Kawashima (Tokushima)
Kawashima is the last 21st century team to be covered, and they get another tough matchup against Oogaki Nichidai. Oogaki though depends primarily on speed to pressure the opposition, although some players do have some power. If they can limit Oogaki's speed they may have a chance. However, their offense appear to be less than average, so unless they can keep the score low, Kawashima has little chance.
Expected winner - Oogaki Nichidai
Jiyuugaoka (Fukuoka) vs. Toukaidai Sagami (Kanagawa)
Jiyuugaoka is the next team in line to come out of Fukuoka. Certainly their pitching staff is something to look out for (they did strike out a batter/inning). However, their 1st matchup is against the team that might have the #1 player in this year's upcoming draft... Hifumi Shinta. What's worse, he can kill you on either side, as he is by far the power hitter on the team. Barring a miracle, Jiyuugaoka will sadly be packing the Koshien infield and heading home...
Expected winner - Toukaidai Sagami
Hokushou (Hokkaido) vs. Akita Shougyou (Akita)
The final 1st round matchup is a bit sad for me. It's a battle of nearby teams in rural areas. It would have been nice to see both teams have a chance to advance. Sadly, only one can move on.
Akita Shougyou is the Tohoku Super-Regional winner, but it was predominantly on the back of ace Kataoka who gave up less than 1.5 BB/9. They'll have to depend on him heavily considering that their offense is merely average.
Hokushou certainly has ace Matano, who may not have as good of control as Kataoka, but also misses more bats, and has the benefit of a stronger offense who can find the gaps. And it always helps to have multiple ways to win the game.
Expected winner - Hokushou
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Oh dear... there's more...
Now that I'm trying to cover all major facets of Koukouyakyuu, I realize there is a spring tournament that happens in all prefectures - some occurring while Senbatsu is going on!
So...
I don't really know how I'll cover both tournaments at once, especially while Senbatsu is running - but I'll give it a shot.
So...
I don't really know how I'll cover both tournaments at once, especially while Senbatsu is running - but I'll give it a shot.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
2010 High School Prospects - Pitchers
(Updated 3/11 with Hokushinetsu pitchers)
Well, I finished my side project so now I'm back online before the Koushien tournament to highlight players who could be considered in upcoming drafts that may not ever make it to Koushien. Remember, the road is very tough and littered with bad luck, and one player does not a team make... well most of the time.
Unlike the players who were highlighted for the Spring Koushien, there will probably be not as many videos on these players. They just don't get covered as much.
(This post is in progress as I get to pitchers from each region. And for those who wonder about velocity, 145-6 kph is 90 mph. +/- 14-15 kph for +/- 10 mph)
2010 Draft - Pitchers
Naruse Kousuke (成瀬 功亮) - Asahikawa Jitsugyou (Hokkaido) - 181cm/76kg - R/R
Suzuki Shunpei (鈴木 駿平) - Asahikawa Jitsugyou (Hokkaido) - 183cm/77kg - L/L
Naruse and Suzuki make up the pitching tandem of Asahikawa Jitsugyou.
Naruse throws in the low-mid 140's with a large curve and slider. He appears to also have connections with Waseda Jitsugyou's ace Onoda.
Suzuki is a southpaw who throws only in the mid 130's, but has a curve, slider and screwball. He makes up for his lack of velocity with good control.
The duo managed to get to the fall Super-Regionals, but lost to Hokushou 7-0 in the first round.
Ueda Masato (上田 昌人) - Bushuukan (Hokkaido) - 182cm/82kg - R/R
Ueda has a fastball that tops out around mid-140 kph. He features a slider and curve. In the fall tournament, he defeated Hokkai 1-0 in the 2nd round before falling to Hokushou 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Hokkaido Super-Regional. In the Kita-Hokkaido Summer Koshien qualifiers, he took the team to the semifinals before losing to eventual representative Asahikawadai 11-4.
Suda Kiichi (須田 貴一) - Sapporo Dai-ichi (Hokkaido) - 180cm/77kg - R/R
Suda takes over duties as the staff ace for Sapporo Dai-ichi who represented Minami Hokkaido last summer. He throws in the high 130's with a slider and changeup. In the Super-Regionals he gave up 3 runs in 6 innings against Asahikawa Kougyou before yielding to the bullpen.
Shimazaki Ryou (島崎 良) - Kitami Hokuto (Hokkaido) - 177cm/76kg - R/R
Shimazaki is one of the harder throwers of the bunch hitting the mid-140's and compliments it with a slider and curve. He gained some notoriety after coming in as Kitami's ace in his freshman year, taking his team to the Kita-Hokkaido summer qualifiers and losing to eventual representative Komadai Iwamizawa 4-3 in 15 innings. However, he hasn't improved upon that inital appearance. While successfully bringing his team into contention, he cannot get past the first round, losing to Asahikawa Jitsugyou 4-3 in the 1st round of the summer prefectural qualifiers and losing to Hakodate Daigaku Yuuto 11-1 in the 1st round of the fall Super-Regionals.
Oosaka Yuuto(?) (大坂 優斗) - Hokkaido Sakae (Hokkaido) - 172cm/59kg - R/L
Oosaka is a soft tosser in the mid-130's with a curve and slider. There isn't much more information other than that the people following him have seen good progress in his 2 years. We may be hard pressed to find more information as they're in the same region as Komadai Tomakomai.
Hirata(?) Kouki (平田 晃基) - Shiraoi Higashi (Hokkaido) - 186cm/75kg - R/R
The flamethrower out of Hokkaido, Hirata can hit has high as 147 kph. He features a forkball and slider. His most notable performance was against Mukawa in Minami Hokkaido summer qualifiers last year where he held them to 2 runs in 7 innings.
Imazaki Junjirou (今崎 淳次郎) - Komadai Tomakomai (Hokkaido) - 183cm/70kg - L/L
Komadai Tomakomai has been looking for that ace to replace Tanaka Masahiro (who is now the ace of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles). Imazaki is the next pitcher to try and live up to his record. He throws only in the upper 130's though with a slider. Nonetheless, his most recent run in the fall led the squad to the semifinals falling to Sapporo Minami 6-3.
Imazaki Junjirou video here.
Oosako Shou (大浴 勝) - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) - 180cm/72kg - R/R
Oosako took over as Kousei's ace this fall and immediately took to the mound like a duck to water. In the 4 games of the fall Aomori qualifiers, he threw a total of 25 1/3 innings and yielded just 4 runs. 3 of those was in a complete game against prefectual powerhouse Aomori Yamada in a 5-3 win. There was reports of pain in his left ankle while pitching in that game, but being an ace in HS, he pushed on.
Kousei would win the #1 seed in the Tohoku super-regionals. After being rested in a 9-0 blowout against Nihon Tohoku, he would give up 5 runs to Honjyou in the 2nd inning, although only 1 would be earned.
Oosako sports a low 140kph fastball along with a curveball and slider.
Oosako video here.
Takahashi Genki (高橋 元気) - Noheji Nishi (Aomori) - 180cm/75kg - R/R
There's a small snippet of Takahashi pitching here. It's at the 1:10 mark in the video, and he's the team with the KG/NHJW written on it. It looks like a jumbled mess, but it stands for Kousei Gakuin Noheji West. Being the ace, he's #1.
Takahashi has an upper 130kph fastball with a slider and shuuto. He was good enough in the summer prefectual qualifiers to reach the semifinals after defeating their parent school Kousei Gakuin, 3-2. He was not as fortunate in the fall as he fell in the first game of the prefectural qualifiers 5-4 to Seiai.
Kazahari Ren (風張 蓮) - Ibonai (Iwate) - 179cm/74kg - R/R
Kazahari can light up the radar gun to the tune of around 147 kph and has a curveball and an above-average slider to throw off batters. In a 1-0 loss to Hanamaki Minami in the first round of the fall prefectural qualifiers he struck out 17. From the game reports I've been able to read, he has been able to strike out at least a batter an inning. (Remember though that Iwate isn't exactly known for their baseball talent). While the team itself isn't good, he has gotten the attention of the Chunichi Dragons and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Yoshida Ryou (吉田 陵) - Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) - 182cm/65kg - L/L
If filling in for Tanaka Masahiro's shoes weren't hard, how about filling in for Kikuchi Yuusei? That's the job for southpaw Yoshida. He started in the semifinal game at last year's summer Koshien when Kikuchi got injured, but looked shaky at best lasting only 3 innings against Chuukyoudai Chuukyou. Doesn't help when the manager seemed to have a short hook too.
Unlike Kikuchi who could fire the ball to the plate, Yoshida is a bit of a soft tosser throwing only in the low-mid 130kph range. He counters that though with a variety of pitches - curve, slider, sinker and supposedly a knuckleball.
For a non-powerhouse school, he did decent in the fall, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Senshuudai Kitami 4-2.
Being from the same school as the top draft pick helps get you some pub, and there are 2 videos (1, 2) of him in a 4th round game during the summer qualifiers against Ohno HS.
Kataoka Genki (片岡 元気) - Akita Shougyou (Akita) - 175cm/64kg - R/R
Kataoka hails from one of the better schools out of Akita. He can touch 140kph with his fastball and has a decent slider and curve. There isn't much more information out there on him though other than that he has a quick reaction on the mound and is very aware of the situation while on the mound as well.
Short video of him on the mound here.
Ujiie Yuugo (氏家 優悟) - Furukawa Gakuen (Miyagi) - 177cm/70kg - L/L
Ujiie is Furukawa's main ace. Being a lefty, he can get away with a slower fastball, topping out in the high 130's. Unlike other pitchers, he features a slider and a cutter. It's very effective though as his lines in the fall tournament were rather impressive.
Fall prefectural qualifiers - 36 IP, 19 H, 37 K, 9 BB, 7 ER (including a CG 7 K, 3 ER effort against Sendai Ikuei).
Tohoku super-regionals - 21 IP, 13 H, 9 BB, 5 ER (K info missing in his game against Highashi-Nihondai Shouhei).
Kanbara(?) Shouta (菅原 翔太) - Furukawa Gakuen (Miyagi) - 178cm/64kg - R/R
Kanbara debuted in the extra inning affair against Higashi-Nippondai Shouhei coming in the 10th inning and earning the win.
He can hit 145kph with his fastball and threw a slider in the game.
Kimura Kengo (木村 謙吾) - Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi) - 177cm/85kg - L/L
Kimura is the ace for Miyagi powerhouse Sendai Ikuei. Another relatively soft-tosser, Kimura has a max of 138kph but sports a large curve, slider and forkball.
Kimura has a lot of experience as a 2nd year. He was added to the 1st team as a freshman and even pitched for Sendai Ikuei at the summer Koshien (2008) and had the following lines:
1st round vs Komono (Mie) - 2.1 IP, 2 H, K, 2 BB, 0 ER
2nd round vs. Fukui Shougyou (Fukui) - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, BB, 0 ER
3rd round vs. Yokohama(!) (Kanagawa) - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 K, 6 BB, 2 ER
It's not often you see a freshman being thrown on the mound against Yokohama.
In his 2nd year, he took over main duties on the mound. He led the team to the 2009 summer prefectural finals, but lost 4-1 to Tohoku. Then in the fall he brought them to the quarterfinals only to see Furukawa Gakuen rout them 10-3.
Video footage of Kimura against Tohoku in said game.
Tanaka Kazuya (田中 一也) - Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi) - 183cm/76kg - R/L
Tanaka has come along to aid Kimura on the mound. He debuted against Kesennuma Kouyou in the prefectural semifinals of last year's summer Koshien qualifying pitching 8 innings of shutout ball with 15 K's.
He throws in the mid 140s with a slider. It's said though that he has other pitches such as a two-seam, curve and fork.
Abe Tatsuyoshi (阿部 達世志) - Tohoku Seikatsu Bunkadai (Miyagi) - 180cm/85kg - R/R
Abe is a righty who throws in the high 130's with a slider and curve. But his mention with other pitchers seems odd considering that remarks from his first year shows issues with walks and a lot of earned runs. But it's hard to tell considering the little information provided. His team reached the 4th round before losing to Rifu 7-4.
Itou Kazutoshi (伊藤 千寿) - Touryou (Miyagi) - 178cm/80kg - L/L
Itou earned the #10 jersey in his freshman year and has helped the team reach some respectability. Last summer, they reached the best 8 (losing to Sendai Ikuei) and in the fall reaching the super-regionals but losing in the 1st round to Aomori Yamada 4-2.
But... the odd thing is that in the box scores of the last couple of games, I don't see Itou's name as a pitcher. Then I find an article saying that he suffered ligament injuries to his left foot, and there's nothing about his timetable for return. Hard to say what will happen to him next.
(Darn it.. I was halfway finished with the Kanto region when my browser crashed and I lost all my work... I'll have to get back to it later....)
Tsukawara(?) Shouhei (塚原 頌平) - Tsukuba Shuuei (Ibaraki) - 182cm/75kg - R/L
Tsukawara had a good middle school career and was selected as an all-prefectural player in his 3rd year. He earned a spot on the team in his freshman year and became the ace this past summer debuting with a 4-hit shutout against Mito Kougyou. He would pitch in 4 games, yielding 14 hits and 4 runs in 24.1 IP. He also has some ability with the bat, hitting .471 and manning the hot corner when he wasn't pitching.
In the fall, Tsukuba Shuuei would reach the semifinals of the prefectural tournament, but fell hard against Mito Sakuranomaki 8-1.
On the mound, Tsukawara throws in the low 140's with a slider and forkball.
Kurata Yasuaki (倉田 泰明) - Kasumigaura (Ibaraki) - 181cm/76kg - R/R
Kurata throws in the high 130's occasionally hitting 140. He features a slider and curveball. He's notable in that his form may easily transition to the next level.
Satou Takuya (佐藤 拓也) - Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku (Tochigi) - 181cm/74kg - R/R
Nakayama Takumi (中山 匠) - Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku (Tochigi) - 186cm/79kg - R/R
Satou and Nakayama make up the pitching tandem at Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku.
Satou wears the ace number, throws around 140kph and has a curve and slider. But a little more attention has been paid to Nakayama. He was actually given the ace status in his freshman year, and helped lead the team to the semifinals of the summer prefectural tournament and the #1 seed out of the fall prefectural tournament. His stats for the summer included a 6.69 H/9, 9 K/9, and 1.03 BB/9 ratios.
However an injury appeared to sit him out for last year's summer qualifying in which they were eliminated in the first round. He returned for the fall tournament under #7 (implying he plays LF when not pitching) and became the reliever. The team once again earned the #1 seed out of Tochigi in the fall tournament, but lost in the first round of the super-regionals to Shiritsu Funabashi (Chiba #3).
Nakayama throws in the same range as Satou with a curve, slider and forkball.
Sumida Minato (角田 皆斗) - Tochigi Kougyou (Tochigi) - 179m/79kg - R/R
There is little information on Sumida other than that he can touch 140kph and that it appears he is changing his form on the mound. Tochigi Kougyou appears good enough to earn a seeded spot in the past year.
Abe Ryousuke (阿部 良亮) - Urawa Gakuin (Tochigi) - 186cm/79kg - R/R
Minami Atsuki (南 貴樹) - Urawa Gakuin (Tochigi) - 196cm/85kg - R/R
These two have already been reviewed in the Team Recap post.
Takeya(?) Masahiro (竹谷 政宏) - Sakado (Tochigi) - 178cm/72kg - R/R
While Takeya fastball is in the high 130/low 140 range, his slider seems to be above average and he also features a curve.
Sano Yasuo (佐野 泰雄) - Wako (Tochigi) - 176cm/74kg - L/L
It's hard what to make of Sano. The team has had little success in the tournaments, but his performances seem to be otherwordly. In his first round game this past summer, he won 4-0 striking out 18. And in a practice game against summer quarterfinalist Kawaguchi Seiryou he pitched a 2-0 shutout striking out 20. (Note though that because this game was held in the fall, it's probable that Kawaguchi Seiryou lost key players given they didn't even get past the 1st game in the sub-regional fall tournament.)
What makes this more puzzling is that his max fastball is 135kph. He has a slider and curve, but it could either be a good pitcher on a bad team, or an above average pitcher facing a terrible team.
Nakagawa Ryou (中川 諒) - Narita (Chiba) - 180cm/73kg - R/R
Nakagawa is another conundrum. Rated as an above-average arm, the last speed reports say that he throws generally around the 130kph mark. His success appears to lie with his change and slider which are above-average.
Ishigaki (?) (石垣 永悟) - Touin Gakuen (Kanagawa) - 183cm/73kg - R/R
Mori Daiki (森 大樹) - Touin Gakuen (Kanagawa) - 180cm/69kg - R/L
Ishigaki was featured in the team recap section, but Mori has been recently included as a player to watch. His max fastball was clocked at 137kph and mixed in with a slider and a curve with a large velocity difference apparently caught people's attention.
Nakano Justin (中野 ジャスティン) - Koujyou (Kanagawa) - 179cm/64kg - R/R
Yes, this is another case where a person has an American father although unlike Minami at Urawa Gakuin, Justin doesn't appear to have the stature bonus. He can touch 140 with his fastball and compliments it with a sharp slider as well as a curve.
Myou Daiki (明 大貴) - Keiou Gijyuku (Kanagawa) - 175cm/72kg - R/R
Keiou has regressed after their multi-year run at Koshien. I certainly believed that they were on their way to a level field with Yokohama. This year, the team is led by Myou, who can hit 140 with a slider and a split-finger fastball. There is also contention as to whether he has a curve or a two-seam fastball as well. This video is from his freshman year, and this was from the fall tournament last year as he now takes over the ace number.
Imaoka Ippei (今岡 一平) - Yokohama Hayato (Kanagawa) - 173cm/68kg - R/R
Imaoka has been mentioned before since Hayato reached the summer Koshien last year. Also barely reaching 140, his arsenal consists of a change and sinker. Apparently though, he separates himself on a different level with his smile. And I'm totally serious about that.
This is the first in a 24(!) part video highlighting the summer Kanagawa prefectural championship game against Touin Gakuen.
Onoda Jyunsuke (小野田 俊介) - Waseda Jitsugyou (Tokyo) - 178cm/68kg - R/R
Onoda has been on the radar for a while as a top-flight prospect who has Koshien experience and is adept at both the mound and the plate. He throws in the low 140's with a curve and slider and possibly a forkball. He does have some control issues walking about 4 batters/9.
Oddly enough, the only good video of him pitching was when he was a freshman in the summer Koshien qualifiers. There's this one from this past fall, but it's hard to get a good look at him.
Suzuki Keisuke (鈴木 健介) - Waseda Jitsugyou (Tokyo) - 173cm/72kg - R/L
Suzuki interestingly enough has the ace jersey even though Onoda is the higher ranking prospect. He throws in the low-mid 130s with a slider, change, and curve. Against lefties he may use the change exclusively.
Sekiya Keisuke (関矢 圭佑) - Meijidai Nakano (Tokyo) - 181cm/75kg - R/R
Nakamoto Ryou (中本 椋) - Meijidai Nakano (Tokyo) - 181cm/84kg - R/R
Another duo tandem here at Meijidai Nakano. Sekiya throws in the mid-upper 130's with a curve, slider and two-seam while Nakamoto is a ¾-thrower who ranges from upper-130's to lower-140's with a slider and curve.
One notable factoid is that Sekiya in middle school was on the same team with Enomoto Aoi who now plays for Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku.
Nishigata Haruki (西潟 栄樹) - Seiritsu Gakuen (Tokyo) - 181cm/75kg - R/R
Nishigata only throws in the upper 130's but in addition to the slider and curveball, he actually throws a knuckleball! And it doesn't seem like it's a novelty pitch, he actually uses it in game. He's shown some potential. In last year's summer Higashi Tokyo tournament, he struck out 15 in 8.2 IP. And in the fall, he had a 7-inning called perfect game against a combined team of Tokyo Toritsudai Fuzoku and Oushuukan Chuuto.
Katou Yukihiro (加藤 幸宏) - Nagano Nichidai (Nagano) - 175cm/71kg - R/R
Nagano isn't normally known for their ballplayers, but Katou does stand out. This past summer he was close to hitting the key 145 kph mark with his fastball and carries 3 off-speed pitches in a curve, slider and forkball.
It was good enough to help the team reach the summer Koshien and advance past the first 2 rounds before falling hard to Chuukyoudai Chuukyou. If you looked at the actual games though, Katou struggled with his control, continually hitting batters and getting himself into trouble. Velocity is always good, but with no control, it's useless.
Toujyou Masaki (東條 将樹) - Chuuetsu (Niigata) - 174cm/73kg - R/R
Toujyou has been the relief pitcher for Chuuetsu this past year - first for Watanabe and now for Kobayashi. He is a ¾-pitcher who has the same pitch profile as Katou although perhaps without the wildness. So far he appears to get at least a K/inning and comes in high leverage situations.
Kawaguchi Yoshinobu(?) (川口 貴信) - Seiryou (Ishikawa) - 177cm/72kg - R/R
Kawaguchi is another relief pitcher. He generally throws in the mid-130's with a slider and has good enough control to hit the corners. The team has had moderate success, but one has to wonder why Kawaguchi remains a reliever.
Kurimoto Toki (栗本 斗基) - Nihon Koukuu Ishikawa (Ishikawa) - 173cm/75kg - L/L
We've seen Kurimoto in action as he helped lead his team to Koshien last year. He throws in the high 130s with a slider and curve.
However, while he wears the ace number, he isn't able to go complete games. And his performance against Nihon Bunri suggests that his pitches might be easy to hit.
Hasegawa Yousuke (長谷川 陽亮) - Fukui Shougyou (Fukui) - 181cm/72kg - R/R
Tsuruga Kehi appears to be challenging Fukui Shougyou's grip in the prefecture. And pitching seems to be an issue. Hasegawa is certainly a fireballer - he can throw in the mid-upper 140s with a slider, curve and shuuto. But in his freshman year, he came in a Koshien game against Sendai Ikuei and proceeded to walk 2 and give up a hit. It's telling also that the team has not had much success since summer 2008 - and that in the boxscores I've been able to find, he is coming in relief.
Morimoto Shouta (森本 将太) - Fukui Koudai Fukui (Fukui) - 181cm/72kg - R/R
Son Fan Fun (宋 相勲) - Fukui Koudai Fukui (Fukui) - 187cm/85kg - R/R
Morimoto and Son are interesting in the fact that I have very few cases in which they are actually pitching. Much like the last couple of pitchers, these two are mainly relievers. Morimoto started against Tsuruga Kehi last summer giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in 7 innings. Son is an outfielder who takes the mound in relief - although I haven't found a box score that shows him pitching. And yes, if you can't tell Son is actually an exchange student from Korea. Still 187cm is pretty darned tall.
Morimoto throws in the low 140's with a slider. Son is the same, but features a slider, curve, fork and changeup.
Tokai -
Kinki -
Chuugoku -
Shikoku -
Kyushu -
Well, I finished my side project so now I'm back online before the Koushien tournament to highlight players who could be considered in upcoming drafts that may not ever make it to Koushien. Remember, the road is very tough and littered with bad luck, and one player does not a team make... well most of the time.
Unlike the players who were highlighted for the Spring Koushien, there will probably be not as many videos on these players. They just don't get covered as much.
(This post is in progress as I get to pitchers from each region. And for those who wonder about velocity, 145-6 kph is 90 mph. +/- 14-15 kph for +/- 10 mph)
2010 Draft - Pitchers
Naruse Kousuke (成瀬 功亮) - Asahikawa Jitsugyou (Hokkaido) - 181cm/76kg - R/R
Suzuki Shunpei (鈴木 駿平) - Asahikawa Jitsugyou (Hokkaido) - 183cm/77kg - L/L
Naruse and Suzuki make up the pitching tandem of Asahikawa Jitsugyou.
Naruse throws in the low-mid 140's with a large curve and slider. He appears to also have connections with Waseda Jitsugyou's ace Onoda.
Suzuki is a southpaw who throws only in the mid 130's, but has a curve, slider and screwball. He makes up for his lack of velocity with good control.
The duo managed to get to the fall Super-Regionals, but lost to Hokushou 7-0 in the first round.
Ueda Masato (上田 昌人) - Bushuukan (Hokkaido) - 182cm/82kg - R/R
Ueda has a fastball that tops out around mid-140 kph. He features a slider and curve. In the fall tournament, he defeated Hokkai 1-0 in the 2nd round before falling to Hokushou 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Hokkaido Super-Regional. In the Kita-Hokkaido Summer Koshien qualifiers, he took the team to the semifinals before losing to eventual representative Asahikawadai 11-4.
Suda Kiichi (須田 貴一) - Sapporo Dai-ichi (Hokkaido) - 180cm/77kg - R/R
Suda takes over duties as the staff ace for Sapporo Dai-ichi who represented Minami Hokkaido last summer. He throws in the high 130's with a slider and changeup. In the Super-Regionals he gave up 3 runs in 6 innings against Asahikawa Kougyou before yielding to the bullpen.
Shimazaki Ryou (島崎 良) - Kitami Hokuto (Hokkaido) - 177cm/76kg - R/R
Shimazaki is one of the harder throwers of the bunch hitting the mid-140's and compliments it with a slider and curve. He gained some notoriety after coming in as Kitami's ace in his freshman year, taking his team to the Kita-Hokkaido summer qualifiers and losing to eventual representative Komadai Iwamizawa 4-3 in 15 innings. However, he hasn't improved upon that inital appearance. While successfully bringing his team into contention, he cannot get past the first round, losing to Asahikawa Jitsugyou 4-3 in the 1st round of the summer prefectural qualifiers and losing to Hakodate Daigaku Yuuto 11-1 in the 1st round of the fall Super-Regionals.
Oosaka Yuuto(?) (大坂 優斗) - Hokkaido Sakae (Hokkaido) - 172cm/59kg - R/L
Oosaka is a soft tosser in the mid-130's with a curve and slider. There isn't much more information other than that the people following him have seen good progress in his 2 years. We may be hard pressed to find more information as they're in the same region as Komadai Tomakomai.
Hirata(?) Kouki (平田 晃基) - Shiraoi Higashi (Hokkaido) - 186cm/75kg - R/R
The flamethrower out of Hokkaido, Hirata can hit has high as 147 kph. He features a forkball and slider. His most notable performance was against Mukawa in Minami Hokkaido summer qualifiers last year where he held them to 2 runs in 7 innings.
Imazaki Junjirou (今崎 淳次郎) - Komadai Tomakomai (Hokkaido) - 183cm/70kg - L/L
Komadai Tomakomai has been looking for that ace to replace Tanaka Masahiro (who is now the ace of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles). Imazaki is the next pitcher to try and live up to his record. He throws only in the upper 130's though with a slider. Nonetheless, his most recent run in the fall led the squad to the semifinals falling to Sapporo Minami 6-3.
Imazaki Junjirou video here.
Oosako Shou (大浴 勝) - Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) - 180cm/72kg - R/R
Oosako took over as Kousei's ace this fall and immediately took to the mound like a duck to water. In the 4 games of the fall Aomori qualifiers, he threw a total of 25 1/3 innings and yielded just 4 runs. 3 of those was in a complete game against prefectual powerhouse Aomori Yamada in a 5-3 win. There was reports of pain in his left ankle while pitching in that game, but being an ace in HS, he pushed on.
Kousei would win the #1 seed in the Tohoku super-regionals. After being rested in a 9-0 blowout against Nihon Tohoku, he would give up 5 runs to Honjyou in the 2nd inning, although only 1 would be earned.
Oosako sports a low 140kph fastball along with a curveball and slider.
Oosako video here.
Takahashi Genki (高橋 元気) - Noheji Nishi (Aomori) - 180cm/75kg - R/R
There's a small snippet of Takahashi pitching here. It's at the 1:10 mark in the video, and he's the team with the KG/NHJW written on it. It looks like a jumbled mess, but it stands for Kousei Gakuin Noheji West. Being the ace, he's #1.
Takahashi has an upper 130kph fastball with a slider and shuuto. He was good enough in the summer prefectual qualifiers to reach the semifinals after defeating their parent school Kousei Gakuin, 3-2. He was not as fortunate in the fall as he fell in the first game of the prefectural qualifiers 5-4 to Seiai.
Kazahari Ren (風張 蓮) - Ibonai (Iwate) - 179cm/74kg - R/R
Kazahari can light up the radar gun to the tune of around 147 kph and has a curveball and an above-average slider to throw off batters. In a 1-0 loss to Hanamaki Minami in the first round of the fall prefectural qualifiers he struck out 17. From the game reports I've been able to read, he has been able to strike out at least a batter an inning. (Remember though that Iwate isn't exactly known for their baseball talent). While the team itself isn't good, he has gotten the attention of the Chunichi Dragons and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Yoshida Ryou (吉田 陵) - Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) - 182cm/65kg - L/L
If filling in for Tanaka Masahiro's shoes weren't hard, how about filling in for Kikuchi Yuusei? That's the job for southpaw Yoshida. He started in the semifinal game at last year's summer Koshien when Kikuchi got injured, but looked shaky at best lasting only 3 innings against Chuukyoudai Chuukyou. Doesn't help when the manager seemed to have a short hook too.
Unlike Kikuchi who could fire the ball to the plate, Yoshida is a bit of a soft tosser throwing only in the low-mid 130kph range. He counters that though with a variety of pitches - curve, slider, sinker and supposedly a knuckleball.
For a non-powerhouse school, he did decent in the fall, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Senshuudai Kitami 4-2.
Being from the same school as the top draft pick helps get you some pub, and there are 2 videos (1, 2) of him in a 4th round game during the summer qualifiers against Ohno HS.
Kataoka Genki (片岡 元気) - Akita Shougyou (Akita) - 175cm/64kg - R/R
Kataoka hails from one of the better schools out of Akita. He can touch 140kph with his fastball and has a decent slider and curve. There isn't much more information out there on him though other than that he has a quick reaction on the mound and is very aware of the situation while on the mound as well.
Short video of him on the mound here.
Ujiie Yuugo (氏家 優悟) - Furukawa Gakuen (Miyagi) - 177cm/70kg - L/L
Ujiie is Furukawa's main ace. Being a lefty, he can get away with a slower fastball, topping out in the high 130's. Unlike other pitchers, he features a slider and a cutter. It's very effective though as his lines in the fall tournament were rather impressive.
Fall prefectural qualifiers - 36 IP, 19 H, 37 K, 9 BB, 7 ER (including a CG 7 K, 3 ER effort against Sendai Ikuei).
Tohoku super-regionals - 21 IP, 13 H, 9 BB, 5 ER (K info missing in his game against Highashi-Nihondai Shouhei).
Kanbara(?) Shouta (菅原 翔太) - Furukawa Gakuen (Miyagi) - 178cm/64kg - R/R
Kanbara debuted in the extra inning affair against Higashi-Nippondai Shouhei coming in the 10th inning and earning the win.
He can hit 145kph with his fastball and threw a slider in the game.
Kimura Kengo (木村 謙吾) - Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi) - 177cm/85kg - L/L
Kimura is the ace for Miyagi powerhouse Sendai Ikuei. Another relatively soft-tosser, Kimura has a max of 138kph but sports a large curve, slider and forkball.
Kimura has a lot of experience as a 2nd year. He was added to the 1st team as a freshman and even pitched for Sendai Ikuei at the summer Koshien (2008) and had the following lines:
1st round vs Komono (Mie) - 2.1 IP, 2 H, K, 2 BB, 0 ER
2nd round vs. Fukui Shougyou (Fukui) - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, BB, 0 ER
3rd round vs. Yokohama(!) (Kanagawa) - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 K, 6 BB, 2 ER
It's not often you see a freshman being thrown on the mound against Yokohama.
In his 2nd year, he took over main duties on the mound. He led the team to the 2009 summer prefectural finals, but lost 4-1 to Tohoku. Then in the fall he brought them to the quarterfinals only to see Furukawa Gakuen rout them 10-3.
Video footage of Kimura against Tohoku in said game.
Tanaka Kazuya (田中 一也) - Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi) - 183cm/76kg - R/L
Tanaka has come along to aid Kimura on the mound. He debuted against Kesennuma Kouyou in the prefectural semifinals of last year's summer Koshien qualifying pitching 8 innings of shutout ball with 15 K's.
He throws in the mid 140s with a slider. It's said though that he has other pitches such as a two-seam, curve and fork.
Abe Tatsuyoshi (阿部 達世志) - Tohoku Seikatsu Bunkadai (Miyagi) - 180cm/85kg - R/R
Abe is a righty who throws in the high 130's with a slider and curve. But his mention with other pitchers seems odd considering that remarks from his first year shows issues with walks and a lot of earned runs. But it's hard to tell considering the little information provided. His team reached the 4th round before losing to Rifu 7-4.
Itou Kazutoshi (伊藤 千寿) - Touryou (Miyagi) - 178cm/80kg - L/L
Itou earned the #10 jersey in his freshman year and has helped the team reach some respectability. Last summer, they reached the best 8 (losing to Sendai Ikuei) and in the fall reaching the super-regionals but losing in the 1st round to Aomori Yamada 4-2.
But... the odd thing is that in the box scores of the last couple of games, I don't see Itou's name as a pitcher. Then I find an article saying that he suffered ligament injuries to his left foot, and there's nothing about his timetable for return. Hard to say what will happen to him next.
(Darn it.. I was halfway finished with the Kanto region when my browser crashed and I lost all my work... I'll have to get back to it later....)
Tsukawara(?) Shouhei (塚原 頌平) - Tsukuba Shuuei (Ibaraki) - 182cm/75kg - R/L
Tsukawara had a good middle school career and was selected as an all-prefectural player in his 3rd year. He earned a spot on the team in his freshman year and became the ace this past summer debuting with a 4-hit shutout against Mito Kougyou. He would pitch in 4 games, yielding 14 hits and 4 runs in 24.1 IP. He also has some ability with the bat, hitting .471 and manning the hot corner when he wasn't pitching.
In the fall, Tsukuba Shuuei would reach the semifinals of the prefectural tournament, but fell hard against Mito Sakuranomaki 8-1.
On the mound, Tsukawara throws in the low 140's with a slider and forkball.
Kurata Yasuaki (倉田 泰明) - Kasumigaura (Ibaraki) - 181cm/76kg - R/R
Kurata throws in the high 130's occasionally hitting 140. He features a slider and curveball. He's notable in that his form may easily transition to the next level.
Satou Takuya (佐藤 拓也) - Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku (Tochigi) - 181cm/74kg - R/R
Nakayama Takumi (中山 匠) - Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku (Tochigi) - 186cm/79kg - R/R
Satou and Nakayama make up the pitching tandem at Bunsei Geidai Fuzoku.
Satou wears the ace number, throws around 140kph and has a curve and slider. But a little more attention has been paid to Nakayama. He was actually given the ace status in his freshman year, and helped lead the team to the semifinals of the summer prefectural tournament and the #1 seed out of the fall prefectural tournament. His stats for the summer included a 6.69 H/9, 9 K/9, and 1.03 BB/9 ratios.
However an injury appeared to sit him out for last year's summer qualifying in which they were eliminated in the first round. He returned for the fall tournament under #7 (implying he plays LF when not pitching) and became the reliever. The team once again earned the #1 seed out of Tochigi in the fall tournament, but lost in the first round of the super-regionals to Shiritsu Funabashi (Chiba #3).
Nakayama throws in the same range as Satou with a curve, slider and forkball.
Sumida Minato (角田 皆斗) - Tochigi Kougyou (Tochigi) - 179m/79kg - R/R
There is little information on Sumida other than that he can touch 140kph and that it appears he is changing his form on the mound. Tochigi Kougyou appears good enough to earn a seeded spot in the past year.
Abe Ryousuke (阿部 良亮) - Urawa Gakuin (Tochigi) - 186cm/79kg - R/R
Minami Atsuki (南 貴樹) - Urawa Gakuin (Tochigi) - 196cm/85kg - R/R
These two have already been reviewed in the Team Recap post.
Takeya(?) Masahiro (竹谷 政宏) - Sakado (Tochigi) - 178cm/72kg - R/R
While Takeya fastball is in the high 130/low 140 range, his slider seems to be above average and he also features a curve.
Sano Yasuo (佐野 泰雄) - Wako (Tochigi) - 176cm/74kg - L/L
It's hard what to make of Sano. The team has had little success in the tournaments, but his performances seem to be otherwordly. In his first round game this past summer, he won 4-0 striking out 18. And in a practice game against summer quarterfinalist Kawaguchi Seiryou he pitched a 2-0 shutout striking out 20. (Note though that because this game was held in the fall, it's probable that Kawaguchi Seiryou lost key players given they didn't even get past the 1st game in the sub-regional fall tournament.)
What makes this more puzzling is that his max fastball is 135kph. He has a slider and curve, but it could either be a good pitcher on a bad team, or an above average pitcher facing a terrible team.
Nakagawa Ryou (中川 諒) - Narita (Chiba) - 180cm/73kg - R/R
Nakagawa is another conundrum. Rated as an above-average arm, the last speed reports say that he throws generally around the 130kph mark. His success appears to lie with his change and slider which are above-average.
Ishigaki (?) (石垣 永悟) - Touin Gakuen (Kanagawa) - 183cm/73kg - R/R
Mori Daiki (森 大樹) - Touin Gakuen (Kanagawa) - 180cm/69kg - R/L
Ishigaki was featured in the team recap section, but Mori has been recently included as a player to watch. His max fastball was clocked at 137kph and mixed in with a slider and a curve with a large velocity difference apparently caught people's attention.
Nakano Justin (中野 ジャスティン) - Koujyou (Kanagawa) - 179cm/64kg - R/R
Yes, this is another case where a person has an American father although unlike Minami at Urawa Gakuin, Justin doesn't appear to have the stature bonus. He can touch 140 with his fastball and compliments it with a sharp slider as well as a curve.
Myou Daiki (明 大貴) - Keiou Gijyuku (Kanagawa) - 175cm/72kg - R/R
Keiou has regressed after their multi-year run at Koshien. I certainly believed that they were on their way to a level field with Yokohama. This year, the team is led by Myou, who can hit 140 with a slider and a split-finger fastball. There is also contention as to whether he has a curve or a two-seam fastball as well. This video is from his freshman year, and this was from the fall tournament last year as he now takes over the ace number.
Imaoka Ippei (今岡 一平) - Yokohama Hayato (Kanagawa) - 173cm/68kg - R/R
Imaoka has been mentioned before since Hayato reached the summer Koshien last year. Also barely reaching 140, his arsenal consists of a change and sinker. Apparently though, he separates himself on a different level with his smile. And I'm totally serious about that.
This is the first in a 24(!) part video highlighting the summer Kanagawa prefectural championship game against Touin Gakuen.
Onoda Jyunsuke (小野田 俊介) - Waseda Jitsugyou (Tokyo) - 178cm/68kg - R/R
Onoda has been on the radar for a while as a top-flight prospect who has Koshien experience and is adept at both the mound and the plate. He throws in the low 140's with a curve and slider and possibly a forkball. He does have some control issues walking about 4 batters/9.
Oddly enough, the only good video of him pitching was when he was a freshman in the summer Koshien qualifiers. There's this one from this past fall, but it's hard to get a good look at him.
Suzuki Keisuke (鈴木 健介) - Waseda Jitsugyou (Tokyo) - 173cm/72kg - R/L
Suzuki interestingly enough has the ace jersey even though Onoda is the higher ranking prospect. He throws in the low-mid 130s with a slider, change, and curve. Against lefties he may use the change exclusively.
Sekiya Keisuke (関矢 圭佑) - Meijidai Nakano (Tokyo) - 181cm/75kg - R/R
Nakamoto Ryou (中本 椋) - Meijidai Nakano (Tokyo) - 181cm/84kg - R/R
Another duo tandem here at Meijidai Nakano. Sekiya throws in the mid-upper 130's with a curve, slider and two-seam while Nakamoto is a ¾-thrower who ranges from upper-130's to lower-140's with a slider and curve.
One notable factoid is that Sekiya in middle school was on the same team with Enomoto Aoi who now plays for Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku.
Nishigata Haruki (西潟 栄樹) - Seiritsu Gakuen (Tokyo) - 181cm/75kg - R/R
Nishigata only throws in the upper 130's but in addition to the slider and curveball, he actually throws a knuckleball! And it doesn't seem like it's a novelty pitch, he actually uses it in game. He's shown some potential. In last year's summer Higashi Tokyo tournament, he struck out 15 in 8.2 IP. And in the fall, he had a 7-inning called perfect game against a combined team of Tokyo Toritsudai Fuzoku and Oushuukan Chuuto.
Katou Yukihiro (加藤 幸宏) - Nagano Nichidai (Nagano) - 175cm/71kg - R/R
Nagano isn't normally known for their ballplayers, but Katou does stand out. This past summer he was close to hitting the key 145 kph mark with his fastball and carries 3 off-speed pitches in a curve, slider and forkball.
It was good enough to help the team reach the summer Koshien and advance past the first 2 rounds before falling hard to Chuukyoudai Chuukyou. If you looked at the actual games though, Katou struggled with his control, continually hitting batters and getting himself into trouble. Velocity is always good, but with no control, it's useless.
Toujyou Masaki (東條 将樹) - Chuuetsu (Niigata) - 174cm/73kg - R/R
Toujyou has been the relief pitcher for Chuuetsu this past year - first for Watanabe and now for Kobayashi. He is a ¾-pitcher who has the same pitch profile as Katou although perhaps without the wildness. So far he appears to get at least a K/inning and comes in high leverage situations.
Kawaguchi Yoshinobu(?) (川口 貴信) - Seiryou (Ishikawa) - 177cm/72kg - R/R
Kawaguchi is another relief pitcher. He generally throws in the mid-130's with a slider and has good enough control to hit the corners. The team has had moderate success, but one has to wonder why Kawaguchi remains a reliever.
Kurimoto Toki (栗本 斗基) - Nihon Koukuu Ishikawa (Ishikawa) - 173cm/75kg - L/L
We've seen Kurimoto in action as he helped lead his team to Koshien last year. He throws in the high 130s with a slider and curve.
However, while he wears the ace number, he isn't able to go complete games. And his performance against Nihon Bunri suggests that his pitches might be easy to hit.
Hasegawa Yousuke (長谷川 陽亮) - Fukui Shougyou (Fukui) - 181cm/72kg - R/R
Tsuruga Kehi appears to be challenging Fukui Shougyou's grip in the prefecture. And pitching seems to be an issue. Hasegawa is certainly a fireballer - he can throw in the mid-upper 140s with a slider, curve and shuuto. But in his freshman year, he came in a Koshien game against Sendai Ikuei and proceeded to walk 2 and give up a hit. It's telling also that the team has not had much success since summer 2008 - and that in the boxscores I've been able to find, he is coming in relief.
Morimoto Shouta (森本 将太) - Fukui Koudai Fukui (Fukui) - 181cm/72kg - R/R
Son Fan Fun (宋 相勲) - Fukui Koudai Fukui (Fukui) - 187cm/85kg - R/R
Morimoto and Son are interesting in the fact that I have very few cases in which they are actually pitching. Much like the last couple of pitchers, these two are mainly relievers. Morimoto started against Tsuruga Kehi last summer giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in 7 innings. Son is an outfielder who takes the mound in relief - although I haven't found a box score that shows him pitching. And yes, if you can't tell Son is actually an exchange student from Korea. Still 187cm is pretty darned tall.
Morimoto throws in the low 140's with a slider. Son is the same, but features a slider, curve, fork and changeup.
Tokai -
Kinki -
Chuugoku -
Shikoku -
Kyushu -
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
