32 teams in 32 days - Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo)

And now for the hometown favorites Houtoku Gakuen.  Here for the 2nd straight year, they're trying to revive themselves as a true title contender as their success in their backyard (the stadium is just a 15 minute drive down Mukougawa) has waned in recent years.

Road to Senbatsu
Hanshin Regionals - D Block

• def. Takaradzuka 9-0 (7 inn)
• def. Kenritsu Amagasaki 11-1 (5 inn)
• def. Nishinomiya Higashi 8-1 (7 inn)

Hyogo Prefecturals

• def. Akasi Minami 14-2 (7 inn)
• def. Himeji Kougyou 8-1 (7 inn)
• def. Akashi Shougyou 3-2
• def. Ichikawa 8-0 (7 inn)
• def. Sanda Shousei 9-2

Kinki Super-Regionals

• def. Kansaidai Hokuyou 8-6
• def. Fukuchiyama Seibi 1-0
• lost Chiben Wakayama 16-8 (8 inn)

And herein lies the problem for Houtoku Gakuen.  They did not really face a upper tier team until the quarterfinals of the super-regionals.  And for the most part they did what they were supposed to - have a mercy-rule victory.  The only exceptions being a game against unknown Akashi Shougyou where a good draft prospect, Matsumoto Wataru (松本 航) who throws in the low 140s, shut down Houtoku for 6 innings.  The other being a game against Kansaidai Hokuyou where ace Nakamura Makoto (中村 誠) struggled to keep his team in the game.

#10 Tanaka Kazuma (田中 和馬) is the other pitcher mainly used by kantoku Nagata Yuuji (永田 裕治).  Another less used option is C Kishida Yukinori (岸田 行倫) though he also plays SS (?!).

What's a bit puzzling is that I saw pictures of Nakamura wearing #2 and Kishida wearing #6, which begged the question of who was the ace during that time... but I digress.

What's odd is that outside of the boxscores, I cannot get any more information on other players other than digests of complete games.  Ishigaki Shouji (石垣 昭二) is their 3B and has had several extra base hits in the super-regionals.  The aforementioned Kishida also was successful at the plate, but the XBH were against lesser competition.  SS Tsuchiya Yuusuke (土谷 勇輔) and 2B Mishina Hayato (三品 勇人) may provide solid defensive work on the left side.

But with little information on the actual players, it generally means there are no big stars on the team. Not that it's necessarily an indicator of how successful a team can be (hello, Maebashi Ikuei) though. But a team that's lightly tested and who struggled against fellow Koushien participants does not give the team positive marks for a long run unless they get an easier road.

Next up, fellow semifinalist Riseisha!

32 teams in 32 days - Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama)

So once again, Takashima-kantoku (高嶋 仁) and his Chiben Wakayama squad return to Koushien. Though in recent years they have not been as competitive and this actually is their first trip back to Senbastsu in 3 years.  What was a dominant team though has had weaknesses in one part of their game or another.  Has time passed Takashima-kantoku by? Surely there are some that do not like his old-school managing, and you could make an argument he resides in a prefecture that is not as strong as others.  But he did manage to have successful runs in the past.

Road to Senbatsu
Newcomer Tournament

• def. Kishikawa 10-3 (mercy rule?)
• def. Kainan 5-2
• lost Shinguu 6-3

Wakayama Prefecturals - 2nd Stage

• def. Arita Chuo 6-0
• def. Shirtisu Wakayama 6-3
• def. Kainan 6-5

Kinki Super-Regionals

• def. Ichikawa 10-1 (7 inn)
• def. Naradai Fuzoku 10-0 (5 inn)
• def. Houtoku Gakuen 16-8 (8 inn)
• lost Ryuuokudai Heian 6-4

I don't know if Takashima-kantoku is getting wiser or not, but he played this in a manner that I would have done.  First of all, in the newcomer tournament, winning the first game means you get to skip straight to the 2nd stage prefecturals (i.e. quarterfinals).  So there is a big incentive to at least win the first game.  They did that easily against Kishikawa.  Now, I haven't been able to see who Takashima-kantoku sent out there for the next 2 games, but given they were going to get a month off before their next game, they went on to win against Kainan before in-consequently falling to Shinguu.

To the prefecturals and once again Takashima-kantoku held back his main starters as much as possible to defeat both Arita Chuo and Shiritsu Wakayama to ensure a spot in the super-regionals.  With the final against Kainan meaningless other than the fall prefectural title, they fell to Kainan.

Once they hit the super-regionals, they sent out their 2 main starters, ace Nakano Rei (中野 嶺) and #10 Adzuma Yuusuke (東妻 勇輔) who pitched all but 1/3 of an inning in all 4 games.  Both starters split time on the mound each game with exception of the Houtoku Gakuen game where Azuma was asked to go the full distance, despite giving up 5 in the first 2 innings (Chiben scored 5 themselves, but didn't pull away until the 5th inning).  As you can see from the videos (or lack thereof), I do not have any info on either pitcher

Here's the thing though.  If Takashima-kantoku was worried about giving up too much info on his pitchers, he wouldn't have sent out either Nakano or Azuma in the semifinals or finals given that Kinki receives 6 bids.  Now, you could argue that being in the semifinals isn't enough, but unless you're totally blown out I figure you're safe.  So while I think he played the regionals/prefecturals correctly, I think once he got to the Super-Regionals either he tried to win it all - even though winning it is not the end goal, nor is it necessary, or he knew that he could only throw those other pitchers in the prefecturals.

Which then makes me wonder about the strength of their staff.  Azuma certainly went his longest stint in the Houtoku Gakuen game and perhaps could be excused for giving up 3 in the 8th.  And given the review of Ryuukokudai Heian, you could understand the runs that they gave up.  But at the same time, it is an indictment of their potential at Senbatsu if they perhaps cannot hold their own in region.

Offensively, in many of their games, they went for extra bases early and often.  However, it screeched to a halt against Heian, where C Nishiyama Touma (西山 統麻) recorded the only extra base hit.  Ignore that game and Katayama Shouta (片山 翔太) with to a lesser extent Ooishi Kaito (大石 海斗) and Oobatake Tatsuya (大畑 達矢) provided most of the spark in the offense.

Well, for handicapping Chiben Wakayama's chances, they did not really face a seasoned opponent until the super-regional semifinal, and in those last 2 games, the pitching did falter. The offense being slowed considerably by Heian also raises a red flag.  So, probably Chiben's chanes this senbatsu appears to be similar to their runs in recent years, win a game or two and then bow out when they face a tough opponent.

Next up, the hometown 18 of Houtoku Gakuen!

32 teams in 32 days - Ryuukokudai Heian (Kyoto)

Ryuukokudai Heian makes its 2nd consecutive and 38th total appearance at senbatsu having won the Kinki Super-Regionals.  Heian has been a recurring character at Koushien, though achieving total victory has been out of their grasp.  Winning the Kinki super-regionals may be a good sign, but how are they really?

Road to Senbatsu
Regionals - Block F

• def. Kyoto Kougakkan 6-0
• def. Doushisha 9-0
• def. Kyoto Subaru 11-1 (5 inn)

Kyoto Prefecturals

• def. Kyoto Gakuen 8-1 (7 inn)
• def. Kyoto Shouei 11-2
• def. Nishi-Jyouyou 11-1 (6 inn)
• def. Fukuchiyama Seibi 10-5

Kinki Super-Regionals

• def. Oumi 5-0
• def. Chiben Gakuen 2-1
• def. Riseisha 11-7
• def. Chiben Wakayama 6-4

Meiji Jingu Tournament

• def. Mie 5-4 
• lost Nihon Bunri 6-5

Thank God for Heian's baseball website.  It's a great website that has a lot of information that I don't need to dig up elsewhere.

Looking at their roster from last summer, it's amazing they only kept as many as 4 people from that roster:

1. Shimada Yuuto 嶋田 侑人 (#5)
2. Arita Kouji 有田 浩之 (#7)
3. Kobayashi Kazuki 小林 和気 (#12)
4. Ishikawa Takuya 石川 拓弥 (#16)

and still turn around to win the Kinki super-regionals!  To boot, only Ishikawa is left on the roster at all (starting SS)!

Kantoku Harada Hidehiko (原田 英彦) used a bevy of pitchers to win the title, and as far as I know of never had a pitcher go a full 9 innings.  That is impressive because he seems to be more flexible than other managers regarding this issue.  And furthermore, none of these were used last year and he still managed to be successful!

#11 Takahashi Keiji (高橋 奎二)

• vs. Mie (5.1 IP, 66 pitches, ER, 3 H, 2 K, BB)
• vs. Chiben Wakayama (5 IP, 2 R)
• vs. Riseisha (5.2 IP, 6 R)
• vs. Chiben Gakuen (5.1 IP, R)
• vs. Oumi (8.1 IP, 0 ER)

Keiji apparently was given the task of starting every super-regional game as well as the Meiji Jingu opener over Mie.  He's pretty much your standard lefty, throwing in the low-mid 130s with a slider in the 110s and a slow curve around 100.

#1 Nakata Ryuuji (中田 竜次)

• vs. Nihon Bunri (5.2 IP, 64 pitches, ER, 3 H, 4 K, BB)
• vs. Chiben Gakuen (3.1 IP, 0 ER)
• vs. Oumi (0.2 IP, 0 ER)

Nakata also pitched in regional block play, but it's odd that he wasn't used much in prefectural play and then only when the game was out of hand against Nihon Bunri.  It could be the case that he only has the ace number by seniority only, though the performances seem to suggest that perhaps Harada-kantoku is holding him back.  Even then though, why send him out at Meiji Jingu where more cameras could be watching?  There is precious little information on him though, and the only thing I did find is that he supposedly has reached 145 on the gun.  However, reported speeds tend to be fast, so perhaps upper 130s/low 140s is right.

#10 Inudzuka Takaya (犬塚 貴哉)

• vs. Nihon Bunri (2+ IP, 61 pitches, 5 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 4 BB)
• vs. Mie (1.2 IP, 27 pitches, 0 ER, 0 H, K, BB)
• vs. Chiben Wakayama (2.1 IP, 0 ER)
• vs. Riseisha (3.1 IP, R)

Inudzuka in addition pitched in regional block play games.  Harada-kantoku appeared to trust him enough to finish out the game against Mie, as well as start him against Nihon Bunri (though apparently control issues led to his poor outing).  However, otherwise his performances look rather stellar.

#18 Tamaru Yura (田丸 由羅)

• vs. Nihon Bunri (0.1 IP, 9 pitches, 0 ER, 1 H)
• vs. Chiben Wakayama (1.2 IP, 2 R)

Now Tamaru is an interesting person in that he is a side-armer/submariner with a seemingly violent motion.  However, he was used rather sparingly pitching a grand total of 2 innings.

#17 Minato Youichi (湊 耀一)

• vs. Nihon Bunri (1 IP, 14 pitches, 0 ER, 2 K, BB)

Other than this game, Minato came out only in the regional block play games.  He was the last reliever used against Nihon Bunri, so it's possible Harada-kantoku got him some in-game experience ahead of senbatsu.

Harada also had used Motouji Reiji (元氏 玲仁) and Aoyama ? (青山?) in regional block play, though they weren't seen in any level higher than that and chances are they were part of the expanded roster allowed in the prefecrual tournaments.  Carrying more than 5 on an 18 man roster probably is overkill.

It is apparent though that Harada-kantoku is limiting pitcher's pitch counts seeing though that no pitcher went higher than the 60-70 pitch limit.  Keiji appears to be tagged as Heian's more "used" pitcher.

Leadoff batter CF Tokumoto Kentarou (徳本 健太郎) is a pretty solid leadoff hitter.  Himeno Taisei (姫野大成), who bats cleanup (cleanup in Japan seems to include the #3 batter, which oddly by sabermetric terms is where the best hitter should be) also takes walks and had some solid extra base hits in the prefecturals.  Tsune Hiroshi (常 仁志), despite being near the bottom of the lineup also isn't afraid to take a walk.

I will be very interested to see how Harada-kantoku's setup plays at Koushien. It does appear that he will play matchups with his pitchers as well as not allow them to go for long stretches like most other schools would with their ace.  The team is not necessarily starved for runs either it would seem, so as long as the pitching holds, they might be one of the contenders for the title.

Next up, runner-up and Koushien mainstay Chiben Wakayama and Takashima-kantoku...

32 teams in 32 days - Toyokawa (Aichi)

Congratulations are in order to Toyokawa for making their first ever Koushien!  They had some good chances in the past, but they finally put things together this fall and almost won the entire thing if not for a couple of errors late against Mie.

Road to Senbatsu
Higashi-Mikawa Regionals Round-Robin - Block F

• def. Kozakai 12-0 (5 inn)
• def. Atusmi Nougyou 7-1
• def. Toyokawa Nougyou 23-1 (5 inn)

Higashi-Mikawa Regionals 2nd Stage Play-in

• def. Gamagoori 12-3 (7 inn)

Higashi-Mikawa Regionals 2nd Stage

• def. Seishou 8-1 (7 inn)
• def. Atsumi Nougyou 8-1 (7 inn)

Aichi Prefecturals

• def. Toyota Kougyou 4-0
• def. Seijyou 11-0 (5 inn)
• def. Aichi Sangyoudai Mikawa 9-1 (7 inn)
• def. Chuukyoudai Chuukyou 10-0 (6 inn)
• lost Touhou 3-1

Tokai Super-Regionals

• def. Tokoha Kikugawa 6-4
• def. Oogaki Nichidai 6-3
• def. Shizuoka 3-2
• lost Mie 4-3

Holy crap is Aichi convoluted.  Perhaps in an attempt to give teams more chances they made it that much harder for teams to make it.  So, here's an explanation of how Toyokawa got out of Aichi:

First of all within the Higashi-Mikawa regionals, there is block play where groups of 4 play round-robin.  Top 2 teams of each block advance into the 2nd stage play in where block winners play a different block runner-up.  The winners of those games go to the 2nd stage main bracket, while the losers enter a repechage bracket.  Now, the teams that enter the main bracket automatically advance to the prefecturals while only the winner of the repechage advances.  While you think that playing in a bracket that all teams advance doesn't matter, finishing in the top 2 in the bracket means you get a seed and a first round bye. How that actually helps you playing 2 extra games to save 1 game in the prefecturals, I'm not sure.  Then you finally play the prefecturals.

Got it?

Thankfully for Toyokawa, their regional play went through with no hitches as they had just one non-mercy rule game and had to play a team twice (Atsumi Nougyou).

In the prefecturals, they finally had their first "tough" game as they had to go the full 9 to defeat Toyota Kogyou.  Then after 3 decisive victories, including one against Chuukyoudai Chuukyou, Toyokawa pressed for the win against Touhou, as kantoku Imai Youichi (今井 陽一) sent out their ace Tanaka Sora (田中 空良).  However, they would fall to Touhou 3-1.

Still, they advanced to the Super-Regionals but would not receive a bye.  Tanaka would take the hill for all the games in the super-regional, and did not face any pushovers.  And yet, his team trailed for just twice: 1-0 at the end of the 2nd inning versus Tokoha Kikugawa and that final half inning against Mie.

If Toyokawa is going to make a deep run, it will have to be on the back of Tanaka.  He throws in the upper 130s with a splitter to go with the standard slider/curve combo.  He pitches to a lot of contact.  But outside of him, there is very little on the other players.  Two of the offensive standouts for the team is leadoff batter 3B Nakamura Kazuya (中村 胤哉) who had 2 extra base hits against both Oogaki Nichdai and Mie, and LF Yamada Daichi (山田 大地) who also had some XBH against Shizuoka and Mie.  Strangely enough, cleanup batter SS Takakuwa Heishirou (高桑 平士郎) doesn't have much info and the only video is this one of a manrui HR.

Ace Tanaka seems to give Toyokawa a chance, but the extreme pitch to contact can be an issue.  If Tanaka can continue to keep batters off-balance (think Satou Kazuma from Obihiro Ootani), then they might just surprise some people.  Plus, their uniforms are interesting.

Next up, the Kinki region and champions Ryuukokudai Heian!

32 teams in 32 days - Mie (Mie)

So, before I actually did my research on all the schools, I had thought that Mie was a public school.  Color me surprised then when I found out that Miekou was a private school! And it carries the prefecture's namesake!

Despite that, they are an entertaining team to watch in my opinion. They're certainly not the best team, but for some reason I like watching them play.  Dunno if it's becuase of kantoku Okita Nobuo's (沖田 展男) coaching philosophy or what, but I do like seeing them (doesn't change the fact I'd like to see lesser known schools make it (like Ise).

Road to Senbatsu
Matsusaka/ Muro Regionals

• def. Matsusaka 10-0 (5/6 inn)

Mie Prefecturals

• def. Uji-Yamada Shougyou 8-0 (8 inn) [1 hitter!]
• def. Tsu Nishi 8-0 (7 inn)
• def. Inabe Sougou Gakuen 1-0
• def. Ise 5-1

Tokai Super-Regionals

• def. Chuukyoudai Chuukyou 9-2 (7 inn)
• def. Shizuoka Shougyou 10x-0 (6 inn)
• def. Toyokawa 4-3

Meiji Jingu Tournament

• lost Ryuukokudai Heian 5-4

Mie probably had one of the shorter roads to senbatsu. Helps though if you were the summer champion.  That allowed Mie to skip straight to the regional final.

Not to say thought that they didn't deserve it. After wiping out Matsusaka, they basically advanced to ISG where ace Imai Jyuutarou (今井 重太郎) had to put up his best performance.  Pitching opposite ace Ishigaki Koudai, who may have a future in the NPB (he touches 145 but sadly had his defense failed him in the super-regionals) and struck out 12 Mie batters on the night, Imai gave up just 6 hits and shutout ISG 1-0.

With that out of the way, it became a victory lap in the prefecturals as Ise never had a chance.

And so they went to the super-regional where Chuukyoudai Chuukyou awaited. Known more recently for that Koushien final against Nihon Bunri, they haven't quite returned to that form.  Even though they held on for a while, a 6-run 5th pretty much did them in.  Then, against a Shizuoka Shougyou squad who took advantage of ISG errors to advance, Mie put up numbers every inning as they just pulled away for the win.

But the good times came to a halt against Toyokawa in the final.  Imai would give up a point in the first 2 innings and then tacked on 1 more in the 8th for a 3-0 lead.  But Mie didn't give up.  An error  led to the first run for Mie, and then they managed to load the bases with 2 outs.  2B Sada Hiroki (佐田 泰輝) hit a grounder to the left side, Toyokawa SS Takakuｗa Hirashirou (高桑 平士郎) fielded it and made a running throw to 1st.  However, it short-hopped him and it got away. 2 more runners would score giving Mie the 4-3 lead.  Imai would close out the game and secure just their 4th super-regional title and first in 19 years.

But up against Ryuukokudai Heian, Imai struggled yet again as his team fell behind 5-0.  Mie did a good job rallying late, but it wouldn't be enough.

For Imai, I ound just 2 videos.  One from the fall, and the other video I found was this back in Natsu Koushien when he faced of all people Anraku (who he ended up walking) and Saibi.  I don't imagine his speed has improved (high 120s), though given their success I would imagine his control has.

Offensively, Mie's consistent hitters not surprisingly reside at the top of the lineup.  Leadoff batter and captain Nagano Hayato (長野 勇斗), and cleanup batters Seko Ren (世古 錬), and Nishioka Musashi (西岡 武蔵) provide most of the oomph in the offense.

I think Mie can give any team a good challenge - I liken them similar to Hanamaki Higashi in terms of their grittiness, rarely ever losing a game by a blowout loss.  Even against Saibi, they rallied late to make a 9-2 game a 9-7 game - and that was against Anraku no less.  They may not win a game, but they will make it entertaining nonetheless.

32 teams in 32 days - Toukai Dai-san (Nagano)

While perhaps I'm not a fan of Toukaidai Sagami, it doesn't mean I don't like all Toukaidai schools.  There's Toukai Dai-yon up in Hokkaido who is definitely an above-average team, but can't break through.  And in Nagano, Toukai Dai-san is the same.  While I would favor Chikyuu Kankyou (since an environmental school making it sounds really cooler), I kind of wanted Toukai to make it.

And guess what, they did!!

Road to Senbatsu
Nanshin Regionals

• def. Ina Kita 3-1
• def. Okaya Kougyou 3-0
• def. Suwa Seiryou 5-1
• lost Okaya Minami 6-2
• def. Matsukawa 7-6

Nagano Prefecturals

• def. Matsumoto Agatagaoka 4-2
• def. Ueda Higashi 3-0
• def. Matsushou Gakuen 3-1
• def. Iiyama 13-5 (7 inn)
• def. Chikyuu Kankyou 3-2

Hokushinetsu Super-Regionals

• def. Komatsu Ootani 2-0
• def. Niigata Meikun 7-5
• def. Hokuriku 5-2
• lost Nihon Bunri 6-5 (11 inn)

But it doesn't look like they really had an easy time of it.  Two close games to start against relative unknowns and then they lost to Okaya Minami in the Nanshin semi-finals.  With 6 teams advancing though they were fine and finished 3rd in a close game against Matsukawa.

But they really had to put the pedal to the metal once the prefecturals began.  But if by pedal to the metal you mean more close game, then yes they did.  They defeated Matsumoto Agatagaoka (whose campus is kitty corner from the HS from the Onegai! series) and Ueda Higashi, then put up a similar score this time against a weathered Matsushou Gakuen - their first real test.

After that win, they actually had an uncharacteristic blowout win over Iiyama before kantoku Fujii Kouji (藤井 浩二) let his ace rest, and still prevailed over Chikyuu Kankyou to win the prefecturals.

Onto the Super-Regionals and first up was a school that eliminated my friend's former school.  That would be no problem as ace Takai Julian(!!) (高井 ジュリアン) pitched a complete game 6-hitter.

Julian then went on to shut down Niigata Meikun for 8 innings before walking his team home in the 9th.  The worst may have been over, but they still needed at least one more win.  And Julian delivered that as he helped lead them wire-to-wire over Hokuriku to perhaps secure them a spot at senbatsu.

While Nihon Bunri sent their ace Iidzuka out, once again Fujii-kantoku sent out his reserves on the mound.  And you know what? They still almost won the super-regional behind the pitching of Nakamura Kaisei (中村 海誠) and Hirabayashi Shunta (平林 俊太).

So, onto the players.  Ace Julian as you can see is a righty, has the standard fare of pitches, but outside of that, and the fact that his mother is Filipino, I got nothing else on him.  For #11 Kaisei, I have this blurry video of him, and outside of the digests the only thing on Hirabayashi is that he throws in the low-mid 130s.

Offensively, the only player seemingly noted is C Hara Yuuji (原 雄士), who has a twitter account, but I'm not sure why he's mentioned.  One person who had success at the plate (as far as I can tell anyways) is Urano Masaya (浦野 雅也) who has several extra-base hits and is the team's cleanup hitter.  2B Aoki Koudai (青木 洸大) is mentioned as a good player in the field, and did have a triple in the super-regional final.

Pitching and defense certainly can win a title, and Toukai Dai-san seems like the Hokushinetsu version of Touyoudai Himeji, where they try to keep the score low and score enough runs to win.  It's hard to say given the little information we have on the pitching staff, so we'll just have to see how they do in their first test.  But region must be taken into account, and in that sense Toukai Dai-san would fall short. But then again Toyama Dai-ichi fell in that same category, and yet they reached the Best 8.

Next up, one of the more entertaining teams on the field, Mie!

32 teams in 32 days - Nihon Bunri (Niigata)

I've been hoping that Nihon Bunri somehow gets back to that magical year when they almost came back to defeat Chuukyoudai Chuukyou for the Natsu Koushien title.  However, they have for the most part retreated back into a Niigata powerhouse, but a passed over regular at Koushien.

Road to Senbatsu
North Niigata Regionals

• def. Kamo Gyousei 10-0 (5 inn)
• def. Niigata Seiryou 13-0 (5 inn)

Niigata Prefecturals

• def. Sekine Gakuen 8-1 (7 inn)
• def. Hokuetsu 2-1
• def. Sanjyou 3-1
• def. Niigata Meikun 4-3

Hokushinetsu Super-Regionals

• def. Tsuruga Kehi 5-1
• def. Toyama Dai-ichi 4-0
• def. Chikyuu Kankyou 4-3 (10 inn)
• def. Toukai Dai-san 6-5 (11 inn)

Meiji Jingu Tournament

• def. Ryuukokudai Heian 6-5
• def. Imabari Nishi 10x-3 (7 inn)
• lost Okinawa Shougaku 9-8

Interestingly, Nihon Bunri had one of the longer roads to senbatsu, even if perhaps the road isn't as difficult as in other areas.  And yet they almost earned the Hokushinetsu region another bid if not for a comprehensive collapse giving up an 8 run lead against Okishou. Digests of their games can be found following the links.

Ace Iidzuka Satoshi (飯塚 悟史) somehow got known for his bat when in the Meiji Jingu tournament he went 3-8 with not 1, not 2, but 3 HR's!!  This after batting a paltry 0.143 in the Super-Regionals.  But his pitching got some notice when he had a short stint last summer against Osaka Touin and gave up a hit, walked and struck out 1 in 2 innings of work.  He generally throws in the upper 130s, touching 140 with a forkball to go with the standard arsenal.  However, in his final 3 games of work he gave up 5 runs in each outing.

Kodachi Otowa (小太刀 緒飛), who started the game against Osaka Touin was given the ball early in their run, but wasn't really trusted later on by kantoku Ooi Michio (大井 道夫).  Instead against Imabari Nishi, Ooi went with Fujita Yuuhei (藤田 優平), a lefty who doesn't dominate, but in his start against Imabari Nishi pitched efficiently throwing just 86 pitches in his 7 innings of work, striking out 2, walking 2 and giving up 3 runs on 8 hits.

Kodachi appears to be more comfortable at the plate, though in terms of consistently you may want to look at OF Hoshi Kenta (星 兼太), 3B Ikeda Takamasa (池田 貴将) and C Kamakura Kou (鎌倉 航).  These three by far were Nihon Bunri's better hitters, and each hit a HR against Okinawa Shougaku, though in that game, who didn't?

There certainly is a lot to possibly be optimistic about, especially with the Meiji Jingu performance.  But you have to remember it is still the Hokushinetsu region and success doesn't come as often.

Next up, the breakthrough of Toukai Dai-san from Nagano!

32 teams in 32 days - Kanto Dai-ichi (Tokyo)

Kanto Dai-ichi managed to climb out of the Tokyo Super-Regionals to earn the only bid from the JHBF.  In so doing, they revenged a loss to Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku from the summer in the final and unbeknownst to them eliminated their rival from senbatsu.

Road to Senbatsu
Block 8 Regionals

• def. Higashi 9-2 (7 inn)
• def. Komae 10-0 (5 inn)

Tokyo Super-Regionals

• def. Komagome Gakuen 4-3
• def. Ouji Sougou 7-0 (7 inn)
• def. Jyouhoku 6-1
• def. Adachi Nishi 7-0 (7 inn)
• def. Toukaidai Takanawadai 4-0
• def. Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku 7-6 (10 inn)

Meiji Jingu Tournament

• lost Okinawa Shougaku 8-3

Kanto Dai-ichi did not have to face many of the other strong teams as many of them got knocked out elsewhere in the bracket, and as shown in the scores above, decisively beat most of the teams they were supposed to beat.

There were some exceptions.  In the opening round of the Super-Regionals, Komagome Gakuen actually held a 3-0 lead before ace Hachiya fell apart in the final 2 innings.  And in that revenge match versus Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku, they let a 3-run slip away before scrapping out a sayonara win in the 10th.  And then against Okinawa Shougaku, they held a slim 3-2 lead before a puzzling decision by kantoku Yonezawa Takamitsu (米沢 貴光) to go with lightly used #11 Tanabe Ren (田邉 廉)

So now onto the team.

While Haketa Akihiro (羽毛田 晶啓) wears the ace number, he was not predominantly used in the super-regionals.  That goes to #10, rookie lefty Abe Takeshi (阿部 武士).  But we have more information on Haketa.  He throws in the low 130s with a slider and forkball.  We even have more info on Tanabe, who imploded against Okishou, than Abe.  His specs are pretty much average, low 130s fastball with a slider and curve.

Offensively, there is C Ikeda ? (池田 瞳夢) who I don't have any batting info on, but was 2-4 against Okinawa Shougaku, and 1B Ookawa Kouki (大川 公輝) who was 4-4.

Kanto Dai-ichi appears to be a team that can handle its business against weaker competition, something that is very needed in single-elimination tournaments.  However, with just 3 games against tougher competition with mixed results, they may not be able to be considered as a favorite to win it all.

Next up, up to the mountainous Hokushinetsu region and champs Nihon Bunri!

On getting info on teams...

So in going through the reviews of teams invited to Senbatsu, you've seen that it can be difficult to get information on players one way or another.  More surprisingly, I have had difficulties with teams in the Kanto region.

But perhaps it shouldn't be surprising at all...

I say this because if I had the chance to help out a team trying to reach Koushien, I would scout the heck out of the schools I might be facing.  Anything to get an advantage, especially against the upper tier schools. In fact, we already see some of it being used in actual gameplay like Saibi vs. Hanamaki Higashi.

So why wouldn't I look on the internet for videos of players from opposing schools? Or games they have played in?

Which brings me to my point.  I already saw signs of it a couple of years back when a YouTube video of a school that had made Koushien was blurred out in places so that it would be difficult to identify players.  If it was like that back then, I would imagine it's still the case now.

So, I guess outside of the real superstar players who many will be taking videos of, it might be a little more difficult to find videos of players.

32 teams in 32 days - Yokohama (Kanagawa)

For me this selection was made by the JHBF for all the wrong reasons. Yokohama had lost to a 2nd tier team in Sano Nichidai while Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku from the Tokyo Super-Regional had reached the final, defeated several quality teams and almost beat Kanto Dai-ichi who they had beated last summer (remember though that here in the fall the 3rd years are not eligible to play).

So I admittedly will be looking at their resume with a lot of scrutiny now.

Road to Senbatsu
Kanagawa Prefecturals

• def. Yokohama Hayato 6-2
• def. Shounan 5-2
• def. Tachibana Gakuen (橘学苑) 3-2
• def. Keio Gijyuku 6-5 (10 inn)
• def. Toukaidai Sagami 4-0
• def. Nichidai 4-2

Super-Regionals

• def. Shiritsu Kawagoe 5-0
• lost Sano Nichidai 5-3

This resume doesn't help the JHBF's case at all in my opinion and it just furthers my theory that they wanted ratings and selected them over a more deserving Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku.

Against Keio, who was vying for top-tier status in prefecture several years ago, but has fallen to 2nd tier status Yokohama gave them 3 runs in the 8th, then had to rally in the 9th and 10th to pull out the victory.  Now, they did 3-hit Toukaidai Sagami, but Sagami has also kind of fallen to 2nd tier status.  And in the final, the Cinderella Nichidai squad kept up with Yokohama though they lost 4-2.

The Super-regional games do not help either as they expectedly defeated Shiritsu Kawagoe before falling to Sano Nichidai (who would lose one round later).

The ace still remains Itou Masashi (伊藤 将司) who has average velocity on his fastball and has a two-seamer and change in addition to the standard.  During the fall tournament though he only struck out 7.2 per 9 while almost issuing 4 walks in that same interval.  This despite the fact that people look at his 14 K performance against Marugame back in the summer.  Looking at his 9 K performance against Nichidai it was obvious that in that game he got his Ks knowing that Nichidai couldn't hold up on the high strike.

Offensively, probably the 2 consistent performers are the 2-3 combo of 1B Watanabe Yoshiaki (渡辺  佳明) and CF Asama Daiki (浅間 大基).  Cleanup batter Takahama Yuuto (高濱 祐仁), younger brother of Takuya who plays for Chiba Lotte is trying to be part of the power trio but hasn't quite lived up to that just yet.

Can Yokohama win a game?  Certainly. Can they win another one after that? Mm.... not so sure.