Onto our first full day of action to determine our Best 8 pits two teams from across the country.
Shoushikan in their first appearance waited until the last minute to defeat fellow first-timers Yamato Kouryou 2-1. Thanks to a manrui 2-run double by Seki, they advance to the next round.
And yet, he's rewarded by being demoted to the #9 spot in the order - go figure.
The problem for Shoushikan is that a lot of their hits against Yamato Kouryou were actually from the bottom of the lineup with the table setters recording 0 hits. In fact, their best hitter was Seki, which makes the decision to send him to the bottom doubly questionable.
As for ace Yoshikuni, outside of a shaky 1st inning he looked pretty good - but at the same time the Yamato Kouryou batters didn't look good themselves. So it's really hard to give him a whole lot of credit. He gets some for sure, but he will have a tougher time here in the 2nd round.
That's because they're facing off against Hokkaido champs Hokushou. Now, being champions of Hokkaido hasn't really meant much in recent years. In fact, mostly it's been a "congratulations, thanks for playing" type of deal with the sole exception being the 2004-2006 seasons for Komadai Tomakomai.
They'll try to break it this year once again with ace Oogushi. But he's no different than any other pitcher out there right now really. And that's their problem.
Because while the offense did put up 7 runs against Komono, there was a lot of timely hits, but not a lot of power behind them. That's ok, as long as you continue to execute and get those timely hits. In a single game tournament format, that is a lot to ask of a team time and time again.
Still, having experience is better than having none, and Hokushou does have that over Shoushikan. They probably are the favorites to advance given the team makeup.
Shoushikan (Kagoshima) - Kyushu 3/4 seed
LF Nakamura Haruki
3B Sakanoue Masashi (#15)
CF Takeyama Masahiro
1B Imayoshi Kouhei
RF Hangeishi Yoshitsune
SS Hazeyama Ryouta (#16)
C Matsuura Hidehiko
P Yoshikuni Takuya
2B Seki Takuya
Hokushou (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Champions
RF Takayama Daisuke
2B Igarashi Ryuutarou
CF Yoshida Yuuto
C Obata Hiroki
SS Tomita Kaito
1B Domon Kanata
3B Nishiya Keisuke (#15)
P Oogushi Kazuya
LF Sawada Takumi
____________________________________________________________
09:01 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Nakamura up and swinging, but fooled really badly on Oogushi's slow curves. Then gets "blown away" by a 125 kph fastball.
Sakanoue tries the safety bunt, but fouls it off.
Oogushi records his 2nd K as Sakanoue chases a slider down and away.
Takeyama reaches out and pokes a ball off the end of the bat into right for a base hit.
But the Shoushikan batters look rather lost at the plate, as if they've never seen someone throw like this. Imayoshi chases a screwball away and goes down for Oogushi's 3rd K already!
Bottom 1st
Takayama chases a high outside fastball and hits it right to Imayoshi. He has some trouble picking it up, but he manages to toss to Yoshikuni for the out.
Igarashi with a ball back up the middle past Yoshikuni and into center for a base hit!
But Yoshikuni has Igarashi caught breaking towards 2nd early! He tosses to Seki, but loses the ball in his tag attempt! He's safe!
It all seems odd because Yoshikuni took extra time to throw to 2nd, then threw it to Seki instead of Hazeyama who was covering the bag.
Yoshida up, and gets the count full after the Shoushikan battery call for an out pitch. And then Yoshikuni loses him!
Obata with a liner through to right! It's right at Hangeishi though and Igarashi has to hold at 3rd! Manrui for Hokushou early!
Yoshikuni hangs one! Tomita with a liner into left center! The outfield is in and has no chance for it! Takemura chases it all the way back to the wall as Tomita clears the bases with a triple! 3-0 Hokushou!
Things are not looking good for Shoushikan as Yoshikuni walks Domon on 4 straight.
Nishiya with a fly ball to right, but it's too short and Tomita can't advance.
But Hangeishi's throw is short and bounces past Imayoshi and dribbles towards home! Tomita charges home and scores on the error! 4-0 Hokushou!
The disastrous inning continues! Yoshikuni has his 2nd batter cheating off 1st! He throws to Imayoshi to start the rundown, but throws to 2nd too late and Domon slides in safely!
Finally Shoushikan gets out of the inning as Oogushi grounds to 3rd, but it's about as bad of a start as one could get.
Top 2nd
The comedy of errors continue, this time for Hokushou! Slow roller up the 1st base line and Domon can't pick it up! By the time he does it's too late!
Oy. Shoushikan gives it right back as Hangeishi is picked off 1st. All Ayukawa-kantoku can do is sigh.
Hazeyama has to chase a ball on the outer half and grounds to 2nd.
Oogushi has a little trouble pitching to Matsuura, but comes back to strike him out looking on a fastball down the middle.
Bottom 2nd
Sawada tries to bunt for a hit, but is easily retired by Yoshikuni.
Back to the top of the order, and Takayama hits a comebacker to Yoshikuni for his 2nd assist.
Hokushou oen-dan playing a faster version of Touch.
Igarashi with a grounder to the left side, Sakanoue dives but can't get it. Hazeyama backing up the play has it go off him and towards the foul line for a base it.
Now the oen-dan is playing Train-Train for Yoshida.
And the battery, so concerned about Hokushou stealing bases winds up walking Yoshida.
Obata with a solid liner, but right at Hangeishi for the 3rd out.
Top 3rd
Yoshikuni goes after the 1st pitch and fouls out to Domon near the bullpen.
Seki finally up, but he hits one back to Oogushi for the 2nd out.
And in a 5-pitch inning Nakamura grounds to 3rd!
Bottom 3rd
Tomita with a hard ball to 3rd, and it takes a high hop over Sakanoue into left for a base hit! Boy, when things don't go your way..
Domon is called by Kawakami-kantoku to bunt the runner over leaving it to Nishiya to get the runner home.
But all he can do is fly out to center.
Oogushi grounds to short and that's the inning.
Top 4th
The difference really between the two aces is that when Oogushi misses, it's in a safe place for the most part. Yoshikuni's missed over the plate and that's hurt him.
Sakanoue battling with Oogushi, but gets jammed and hits a soft popup to Igarashi in front of 2nd.
Takeyama doing the same, getting some decent cuts in, but fouling them all off. But Oogushi goes up and in and there's nothing Takeyama can do but miss and strike out.
Also what seems odd is that Oogushi isn't hitting 130, yet it looks like the batters can't catch up to it.
And Imayoshi is frozen on a fastball down the middle for Oogushi's 6th K!
Bottom 4th
Sawada with a good swing, but Takeyama races back from his moved up position to make the catch.
Sakanoue with a great smother of a short hop and throw to 1st for the 2nd out.
Yoshikuni can't get his first 1-2-3 inning as he walks Igarashi on 4 straight.
And that costs him! On the very next pitch, Yoshikuni again misses inside over the plate and Yoshida drives it to left center! That's over everyone's heads and that means Igarashi will score from 1st on the double to make it 5-0!
Obata just gets under one and flies to left for the 3rd out, but Hokushou continues to extend their lead!
Top 5th
Hangeishi making good contact, makes Takayama back up a bit to make the catch for the first out.
Hazeyama chases a screwball outside for Oogushi's 7th K.
And Matsuura pops out to Igarashi for the 3rd out.
Bottom 5th
Tomita is retired for the first time has Yoshikuni gets him to swing and miss at a ball inside.
Domon first pitch grounds to 3rd, and then shortly thereafter Nishiya flies out to left! Yoshikuni has his first 1-2-3 inning of the game, but that's little consolation as his team finds themselves down a 5-spot to the Hokkaido champions as we hit the break!
Top 6th
Yoshikuni goes after the first pitch and grounds to short.
Seki finally gets on base, but by getting hit, not getting a hit.
Back to the top of the lineup and Nakamura. Behind by 5 runs, Ayakawa-kantoku is not bunting for a one-shot at a run.
That seems to backfire when he chases a screwball for the 2nd out.
Sakanoue takes a ball the other way into left for the teams 2nd hit of the game!
Takeyama with a ball to shallow center. Yoshida charging in, slides, but it falls in front of him! Seki comes in to score and Shoushikan is on the board at 5-1!
Sadly Imayoshi's struggles at the plate continue. He swings over another screwball for his 3rd K. But Shoushikan has finally started to cut down the deficit.
Bottom 6th
It finally looks like Yoshikuni has settled down as he gets Oogushi to ground to 1st.
But then Sawada turns around and hits one past a diving Sakanoue. Hazeyama backs up the play, but the throw isn't nearly in time.
Kawakami-kantoku tries the hit and run with Takayama, but he fouls out to Hazeyama.
Kawakami-kantoku continues to push the action as Sawada takes off for and steals 2nd!
But Yoshikuni finally retires Igarashi, though it's a hard liner to center.
Top 7th
Hangeishi starts off the Lucky 7 with a ball back up the middle for a leadoff single!
This time around though Ayakawa-kantoku does have Hazeyama bunt the runner along.
Matsuura though goes down swinging for the 2nd out. That's 10 K's for Oogushi!
Yoshikuni with a ball at 3rd, and it's just out of Nishiya's reach into left! Hangeishi has to hold up at 3rd as Kawakami-kantoku calls for time.
That brings up Seki for a timely hit.
He does it! On Oogushi's 100th pitch he scorches one past a diving Domon into right to score Hangeishi! It's 5-2! Looks like Shoushikan is finally making inroads!
But Nakamura still can't get a hit. He flies out to right to end the inning. 1 run is nice, but that won't get it done.
Bottom 7th
Yoshida with a high shallow popup down the left field line. Hazeyama and Takamura converge, but neither is calling for it! It falls in!! Yoshida, running all the way, reaches 2nd on the misplay!
Obata gets ahead on Yoshikuni, but winds up grounding to short unable to advance the runner.
Tomita with a grounder to the left side. Hazeyama with a great diving stop!! Throw to 3rd... and they get Yoshida! Nice play by the defense!
But Matsuura can't handle a pitch from Yoshikuni and Tomita advances to 2nd!
The unforced error hurts Shoushikan once again! Domon with a ball back up the middle, gets by a diving Seki into center! The throw home is cutoff and Hokushou extends the lead back to 4 at 6-2!
Nishiya grounds to short, but giving back a run kills the momentum that Shoushikan was building.
Top 8th
Down 4 with 2 innings to go means that Shoushikan will have to go for it and not sacrifice outs.
And Oogushi helps Shoushikan out here to start as he walks Sakanoue on 4 straight. Takeyama hits a chopper in front of the plate. Obata fields it up the 1st base line, fair! He quickly fires to first and just gets a sprinting Takeyama.
Imayoshi with a ball to center, Yoshida coming in and it drops in front! Sakanoue holds up at 3rd.
Ayukawa-kantoku, needing all he can get, pinch runs for cleanup batter Imayoshi. #6 Niihara comes in to run for him.
Hangeishi with a ball up the 1st base line. Domon with it, gives up the run for the out as he tags Hangeishi. 6-3 Hokushou.
Hazeyama chases another ball outside and hits it back to Oogushi for the 3rd out. One run not enough for Shoushikan at this rate.
Bottom 8th
#13 Maruyama comes in for PR Niihara to take over at 1B.
Hokushou fine to go down in order at this point as Oogushi looks poised to close it out.
Top 9th
7-8-9 batters due up for Shoushikan.
Matsuura goes down swinging on 3 straight for Oogushi's 11th K.
#18 Beppu will come in to hit for Yoshikuni.
Oogushi going after the batters with a 3-run lead. Beppu behind 0-2 pops out to Igarashi.
Seki with no chance to tie the game, swings on the first pitch and pops out to Nishiya to end the game! Hokushou advances to the Best 8 for the 2nd time in 4 years!
Hokushou was in control for most of the game as Shoushikan ace Yoshikuni stumbled out of the blocks. He finally settled down while the offense finally got going in the 2nd half of the game, but by then it was too late.
Meanwhile, the Shoushikan batters had the hardest time with Oogushi as he racked up 12 K's in the game - and we know he's probably one of the slowest pitchers out there which makes it all the more curious.
Things will not get any easier for them though as in all likelihood they will face Urawa Gakuin barring an amazing upset by Yamagata Chuo. The Kanto champions may be too much for Oogushi and the boys from Otaru to handle.
Notable Players
Oogushi Kazuya (Hokushou) - W, CG, 3 ER, 7 H, 12 K, BB, HBP
Tomita Kaito (Hokushou) - 2-4, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K
Yoshida Yuuto (Hokushou) - 2-2, 2 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB
Igarashi Ryuutarou (Hokushou) - 2-3, 2 R, BB, SB
Takeyama Masahiro (Shoushikan) - 2-4, RBI, K
Seki Takuya (Shoushikan) - 1-3, R, RBI, HBP
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Day 8-11 Coverage
As mentioned before Haru Koushien started, I will be assisting in a convention over the next 4 days. As a result, I will not be able to liveblog the games. I may be able to catch the last game of Day 8 live, and perhaps go back and watch one of the earlier games - but probably not much more than that.
If you want to watch the games yourself, you can catch them at the MBS site using the link to the left. Otherwise, recaps will be posted post-tournament.
If you want to watch the games yourself, you can catch them at the MBS site using the link to the left. Otherwise, recaps will be posted post-tournament.
Day 7, Game 3 - Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui) vs. Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate)
Our final game of the day has a team looking for their 2nd win at Koushien versus one who already has 2 this Koushien and looking for more.
Moriokadai Fuzoku finally got their first win in their 10th appearance at Koushien (spring & summer) with a 4-3 win over first timers Yasuda Gakuen. They were helped by some inexperience fielding at Koushien by Yasuda Gakuen (if you've ever been there during the day, the crosswinds can be hell for a defense not ready for it).
Even still they collected 11 hits, including a much needed HR by Mochidzuki. The hits were spread out amongst the lineup though Miura had the most success going 3-3 with a walk.
Tsuruga Kehi's on the other hand has had to play 2 games and is currently on 1 days' rest. First on their docket was an Okinawa Shougaku squad that didn't seem ready to play, then after trading punches with Kyoto Shouei, it was a manrui walk of all things that proved to be the difference.
The 2-3-4 battery of Yonemitsu, Yamada and Kita for Tsuruga Kehi were a combined 7-11 with a double, a triple and a homerun in that game - that after being 3-13 in their first game, so again, small sample size.
Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui) - Hokushinetsu Runner-up
CF Mine Kentarou
3B Yonemitsu Issei
1B Yamada Seiya
C Kita Ryouta
SS Asai Hiroya
LF Kobayashi Yuudai
RF Iwata Shinya
2B Yamane Takaki
P Kishimoto Jyunki
Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate) - Tohoku 3 seed
CF Nabana Hiroki (#15)
LF Yoshida Arashi (#14)
SS Mochidzuki Naoya
RF Matsumoto Yuuki (#8)
2B Miura Chisato
3B Sariishi Haruki
1B Fukuoka Kippei
C Nabekawa Kazuki
P Oikawa Gou
____________________________________________________________
14:23 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Oikawa is a very quick worker on the mound and Mine grounds to 3rd.
He turns around though and hits Issei to give Tsuruga a runner.
Just as quickly though he gets Yamadato ground into the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 1st
Nabana with a bloop single down the right field line!
Yoshida tries to bunt him along, but pops it up! Yamada charges in and makes the catch for the first out!
Mochidzuki up and he quickly pops up to 2nd. And Matsumoto chases a letter high fastball away for the 3rd out
Top 2nd
The action going fast as Kita quikly grounds to 3rd, Asai watches a slider hit the outside corner, and Kobayashi grounds to short. Both pitchers seem to be on their game early, and there's really nothing to write!
Bottom 2nd
Miura lines a base hit down the left field line, but Kobyashi cuts it down quickly to limit him to a single.
Sariishi trying to bunt, but fails! After taking a couple, Sekiguchi-kantoku goes for the hit-and-run! But he pops it up! Iwata with the catch for the first out.
And then on back to back pitches Fukuoka and Nabekawa just golf the ball into the air for two popups and Miura's can't advance from 1st!
Top 3rd
So according to the announcers, he has a cut ball, a fork and one more that I can't remember.
One down, and Yamane is able to work a walk against Oikawa. Kishimoto looking to lay down the bunt down, and it takes a great stretch by Fukuoka to prevent the ball from going into right.
Single to right by Mine! Matsumoto has to play it on an awkward hop as Yamane rounds for home!
Matsumoto fires a bullet home on the fly to Nabekawa... OUT!!!
Nabekawa makes a great catch and block and they get Yamane out at the plate! Very nicely done!
Bottom 3rd
For Kishimoto they mention a splitter and I believe a forkball.
Oikawa with a ball to right, Iwata has to play it on a hop! Moriokadai has their 3rd leadoff batter on base!
Nabana with a hard bunt up the 1st base side that Yamada quickly fields, tries to go to 2nd, but loses the ball and kicks it up the line! He retrieves it and makes the play at 1st instead.
And now Yoshida holds off on a ball low for a walk!
Mochidzuki with a bomb to left! Boy that sure sounded good, but Kobayashi in front of the warning track to make the catch. Oikawa does advance to 3rd.
Matsumoto up to try and break the deadlock.
But Kishimoto gets him to swing on a curve for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Issei with a base hit to center right! Nabana overruns it, but Issei ends up at 2nd anyways! Chance for Tsuruga!
Azuma-kantoku having Yamada swing away, and he grounds to 3rd! Sariishi looks Issei back and makes the play at 1st. One down.
Kita with a grounder into the gap in left. Mochidzuki runs it down, turns, jumps and fires to 1st... OUT!
Fukuoka with another great stretch, but it's the great play by Mochidzuki that gets Moriokadai their 2nd out!
Asai with a hit to left! Yoshida fires home, but he doesn't have Matsumoto's arm! Issei slides in safely and Tsuruga Kehi has the 1-0 lead on Asai's timely hit!
Wasn't that bad of a pitch either, it was outside, he just turned on it and singled to left.
Kobayashi pops out to Nabekawa to end the inning, but Asai drives in the first run!
Bottom 4th
Miura with his 2nd base hit, a single through the left side. That's 4 leadoff runners for Moriokadai. Sariishi moves him over hoping someone gets a base hit.
Fukuoka advances him to 3rd with a grounder to 1st, but now there's 2 outs.
Hm... Kishimoto with a 4 pitch walk to Nabekawa and Kita goes out to talk to him.
Two more balls to Oikawa... Another one inside and it's 3-0! Fastball over for a strike. Another one, and Oikawa fouls it off. Full count and Nabekawa will be off to the races.
Fouled off again.
Oikawa is jammed! Slow roller up the left side is gobbled by Issei who goes to 1st for the 3rd out! Once again Morioka is unable to score after getting the leadoff runner on! It's not as bad as Kanzei, but it starting to get there.
Top 5th
Now it's Tsuruga's turn to get consecutive leadoff batters on! Oikawa walks Iwata to start the inning and is immediately bunted over by Yamane.
And Kishimoto gets a hold of one! Yoshida immediately running back, but he was playing in and he has no chance! It falls at the base of the wall and Iwata scores to make it 2-0!
Tsuruga's showing Moriokadai how it's done! Mine with his 2nd hit to left and there's runner on 1st and 2nd.
Issei blasts a grounder that makes Oikawa hit the deck! Kishimoto scores to make it 3-0, and that looks like that's going to be it for Oikawa. Matsumoto comes in from RF to pitch while #13 Toyota replaces Oikawa and goes to RF.
Matsumoto gets Yamada to flyout to center, stopping the streak of consecutive hits.
Kita with a popup in foul territory. Sariishi chasing it to the camera well, reaches up. Falls in!
Umpire calls out! Saiishi caught it! Nice play to retire the side!
Bottom 5th
Nabana works hard to get the count full, only to swing at a shoulder-high fastball and go down.
Yoshida is frozen on a fastball that runs back over the plate for strike 3.
Mochiduzki gets ahead 3-0, but winds up with the count full, and chases a ball outside. He makes contact, but pops it up to Yamada for the 3rd out.
So while Moriokadai Fuzoku has had more opportunities to score, it's been Tsuruga Kehi who has actually taken advantage of them.
Top 6th
Matsumoto doing well in relief, inducing 3 easy flyouts from the 5-6-7 batters and Moriokadai is back on the bats.
Bottom 6th
Matsumoto turns around and gets his first base hit, turning on a fastball and hitting a single to right. Miura with 2 base hits bunts him over instead of swinging away.
And when Sariishi flies out to center, there's 2 outs. Will they leave yet another leadoff runner on base?
Sadly yes. Fukuoka gets under yet another pitch and pops it up. Yamane makes the catch and Moriokadai is still not on the board,
Top 7th
Matsumoto continues to hold the line. Where he had three flyouts last inning, he gets 3 groundouts this inning all with very little stress.
Bottom 7th
But Moriokadai's had plenty of opportunities and have been unable to score. Now time is running short on their Koushien run,
On a fastball that Kita stands up for, Nabekawa give it a flat swing and levels it into cener.
Toyota tries to lay down the bunt, but it's right at Kishimoto who goes to 2nd for the out. #18 Tomori runs for Toyota.
Back to the top of the lineup and Nabana flies out to center. Yoshida flies out to left, and yet another runner is left stranded.
Top 8th
Tomori stays in to play CF as Nabana moves to RF.
Matsumoto is making it look easy out there. He goes 1-2-3 again to retire all 11 batters he has faced!
Bottom 8th
But Moriokadai can do no better. In fact all Kishimoto needs is 6 pitches and the side is retired.
Top 9th
Guess I jinxed Matsumoto. I mention he's retired all the batters he's faced and he gives up a hit to Asai.
Two outs later Azuma-kantoku sends Asai who bends out of the way of the tag and is safe.
No matter though as Yamane grounds to 1st for the out. Great work by Matsumoto to only give up one hit, but his team still trails with just 3 outs to go..
Bottom 9th
Sariishi can't get the rally started, swinging on a slider in the left-handed batters' box.
Fukuoka bloops one in to shallow left center for his first hit of Koushien. He'll get some pats on the back as #17 Akama comes in to run for him.
Meanwhile #9 Ooshiro comes in to hit for Nabekawa.
But Kishimoto swings and misses on a slider for the 2nd out.
Last chance as #7 Saitou comes in to hit for Tomori. He's not just hacking though, he's trying to extend the game and runs the count full.
SANSHIN!!!!!!!
Kishimoto puts a slider right on the inside corner and that ends the ballgame!!
Kishimoto puts through a wonderful performance and shuts out Moriokadai Fuzoku to advance into the Best 8! Despite giving up the lead runner in 6 of the first 7 innings, he does not let a runner advance past 2nd base!
Moriokadai Fuzoku probably has a lot of regrets in this game. Leaving so many men on base and not scoring a run has to burn a little in that dugout. But at the same time, the team did break their winless streak at Koushien, and that counts for something. Now that the first win is out of the way, perhaps more will come from this team.
For Tsuruga Kehi a 3-0, rather stressless win is probably just what they needed as they'll get 2 day's rest before they face yet another strong team in Seikou Gakuin who has now gone the farthest they've ever gone - and no doubt will be looking for more.
Notable Players
Kishimoto Jyunki (Tsuruga Kehi) - W, CG, SHO, 7 H, 7 K, 2 BB
Yonemitsu Issei (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, HBP
Asai Hiroya (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-4, RBI
Matsumoto Yuuki (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 4.2 IP, 0 ER, H, K
Miura Chisato (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 2-3
Oikawa Gou (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 1-2
Moriokadai Fuzoku finally got their first win in their 10th appearance at Koushien (spring & summer) with a 4-3 win over first timers Yasuda Gakuen. They were helped by some inexperience fielding at Koushien by Yasuda Gakuen (if you've ever been there during the day, the crosswinds can be hell for a defense not ready for it).
Even still they collected 11 hits, including a much needed HR by Mochidzuki. The hits were spread out amongst the lineup though Miura had the most success going 3-3 with a walk.
Tsuruga Kehi's on the other hand has had to play 2 games and is currently on 1 days' rest. First on their docket was an Okinawa Shougaku squad that didn't seem ready to play, then after trading punches with Kyoto Shouei, it was a manrui walk of all things that proved to be the difference.
The 2-3-4 battery of Yonemitsu, Yamada and Kita for Tsuruga Kehi were a combined 7-11 with a double, a triple and a homerun in that game - that after being 3-13 in their first game, so again, small sample size.
Tsuruga Kehi (Fukui) - Hokushinetsu Runner-up
CF Mine Kentarou
3B Yonemitsu Issei
1B Yamada Seiya
C Kita Ryouta
SS Asai Hiroya
LF Kobayashi Yuudai
RF Iwata Shinya
2B Yamane Takaki
P Kishimoto Jyunki
Moriokadai Fuzoku (Iwate) - Tohoku 3 seed
CF Nabana Hiroki (#15)
LF Yoshida Arashi (#14)
SS Mochidzuki Naoya
RF Matsumoto Yuuki (#8)
2B Miura Chisato
3B Sariishi Haruki
1B Fukuoka Kippei
C Nabekawa Kazuki
P Oikawa Gou
____________________________________________________________
14:23 - First Pitch!
Top 1st
Oikawa is a very quick worker on the mound and Mine grounds to 3rd.
He turns around though and hits Issei to give Tsuruga a runner.
Just as quickly though he gets Yamadato ground into the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 1st
Nabana with a bloop single down the right field line!
Yoshida tries to bunt him along, but pops it up! Yamada charges in and makes the catch for the first out!
Mochidzuki up and he quickly pops up to 2nd. And Matsumoto chases a letter high fastball away for the 3rd out
Top 2nd
The action going fast as Kita quikly grounds to 3rd, Asai watches a slider hit the outside corner, and Kobayashi grounds to short. Both pitchers seem to be on their game early, and there's really nothing to write!
Bottom 2nd
Miura lines a base hit down the left field line, but Kobyashi cuts it down quickly to limit him to a single.
Sariishi trying to bunt, but fails! After taking a couple, Sekiguchi-kantoku goes for the hit-and-run! But he pops it up! Iwata with the catch for the first out.
And then on back to back pitches Fukuoka and Nabekawa just golf the ball into the air for two popups and Miura's can't advance from 1st!
Top 3rd
So according to the announcers, he has a cut ball, a fork and one more that I can't remember.
One down, and Yamane is able to work a walk against Oikawa. Kishimoto looking to lay down the bunt down, and it takes a great stretch by Fukuoka to prevent the ball from going into right.
Single to right by Mine! Matsumoto has to play it on an awkward hop as Yamane rounds for home!
Matsumoto fires a bullet home on the fly to Nabekawa... OUT!!!
Nabekawa makes a great catch and block and they get Yamane out at the plate! Very nicely done!
Bottom 3rd
For Kishimoto they mention a splitter and I believe a forkball.
Oikawa with a ball to right, Iwata has to play it on a hop! Moriokadai has their 3rd leadoff batter on base!
Nabana with a hard bunt up the 1st base side that Yamada quickly fields, tries to go to 2nd, but loses the ball and kicks it up the line! He retrieves it and makes the play at 1st instead.
And now Yoshida holds off on a ball low for a walk!
Mochidzuki with a bomb to left! Boy that sure sounded good, but Kobayashi in front of the warning track to make the catch. Oikawa does advance to 3rd.
Matsumoto up to try and break the deadlock.
But Kishimoto gets him to swing on a curve for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Issei with a base hit to center right! Nabana overruns it, but Issei ends up at 2nd anyways! Chance for Tsuruga!
Azuma-kantoku having Yamada swing away, and he grounds to 3rd! Sariishi looks Issei back and makes the play at 1st. One down.
Kita with a grounder into the gap in left. Mochidzuki runs it down, turns, jumps and fires to 1st... OUT!
Fukuoka with another great stretch, but it's the great play by Mochidzuki that gets Moriokadai their 2nd out!
Asai with a hit to left! Yoshida fires home, but he doesn't have Matsumoto's arm! Issei slides in safely and Tsuruga Kehi has the 1-0 lead on Asai's timely hit!
Wasn't that bad of a pitch either, it was outside, he just turned on it and singled to left.
Kobayashi pops out to Nabekawa to end the inning, but Asai drives in the first run!
Bottom 4th
Miura with his 2nd base hit, a single through the left side. That's 4 leadoff runners for Moriokadai. Sariishi moves him over hoping someone gets a base hit.
Fukuoka advances him to 3rd with a grounder to 1st, but now there's 2 outs.
Hm... Kishimoto with a 4 pitch walk to Nabekawa and Kita goes out to talk to him.
Two more balls to Oikawa... Another one inside and it's 3-0! Fastball over for a strike. Another one, and Oikawa fouls it off. Full count and Nabekawa will be off to the races.
Fouled off again.
Oikawa is jammed! Slow roller up the left side is gobbled by Issei who goes to 1st for the 3rd out! Once again Morioka is unable to score after getting the leadoff runner on! It's not as bad as Kanzei, but it starting to get there.
Top 5th
Now it's Tsuruga's turn to get consecutive leadoff batters on! Oikawa walks Iwata to start the inning and is immediately bunted over by Yamane.
And Kishimoto gets a hold of one! Yoshida immediately running back, but he was playing in and he has no chance! It falls at the base of the wall and Iwata scores to make it 2-0!
Tsuruga's showing Moriokadai how it's done! Mine with his 2nd hit to left and there's runner on 1st and 2nd.
Issei blasts a grounder that makes Oikawa hit the deck! Kishimoto scores to make it 3-0, and that looks like that's going to be it for Oikawa. Matsumoto comes in from RF to pitch while #13 Toyota replaces Oikawa and goes to RF.
Matsumoto gets Yamada to flyout to center, stopping the streak of consecutive hits.
Kita with a popup in foul territory. Sariishi chasing it to the camera well, reaches up. Falls in!
Umpire calls out! Saiishi caught it! Nice play to retire the side!
Bottom 5th
Nabana works hard to get the count full, only to swing at a shoulder-high fastball and go down.
Yoshida is frozen on a fastball that runs back over the plate for strike 3.
Mochiduzki gets ahead 3-0, but winds up with the count full, and chases a ball outside. He makes contact, but pops it up to Yamada for the 3rd out.
So while Moriokadai Fuzoku has had more opportunities to score, it's been Tsuruga Kehi who has actually taken advantage of them.
Top 6th
Matsumoto doing well in relief, inducing 3 easy flyouts from the 5-6-7 batters and Moriokadai is back on the bats.
Bottom 6th
Matsumoto turns around and gets his first base hit, turning on a fastball and hitting a single to right. Miura with 2 base hits bunts him over instead of swinging away.
And when Sariishi flies out to center, there's 2 outs. Will they leave yet another leadoff runner on base?
Sadly yes. Fukuoka gets under yet another pitch and pops it up. Yamane makes the catch and Moriokadai is still not on the board,
Top 7th
Matsumoto continues to hold the line. Where he had three flyouts last inning, he gets 3 groundouts this inning all with very little stress.
Bottom 7th
But Moriokadai's had plenty of opportunities and have been unable to score. Now time is running short on their Koushien run,
On a fastball that Kita stands up for, Nabekawa give it a flat swing and levels it into cener.
Toyota tries to lay down the bunt, but it's right at Kishimoto who goes to 2nd for the out. #18 Tomori runs for Toyota.
Back to the top of the lineup and Nabana flies out to center. Yoshida flies out to left, and yet another runner is left stranded.
Top 8th
Tomori stays in to play CF as Nabana moves to RF.
Matsumoto is making it look easy out there. He goes 1-2-3 again to retire all 11 batters he has faced!
Bottom 8th
But Moriokadai can do no better. In fact all Kishimoto needs is 6 pitches and the side is retired.
Top 9th
Guess I jinxed Matsumoto. I mention he's retired all the batters he's faced and he gives up a hit to Asai.
Two outs later Azuma-kantoku sends Asai who bends out of the way of the tag and is safe.
No matter though as Yamane grounds to 1st for the out. Great work by Matsumoto to only give up one hit, but his team still trails with just 3 outs to go..
Bottom 9th
Sariishi can't get the rally started, swinging on a slider in the left-handed batters' box.
Fukuoka bloops one in to shallow left center for his first hit of Koushien. He'll get some pats on the back as #17 Akama comes in to run for him.
Meanwhile #9 Ooshiro comes in to hit for Nabekawa.
But Kishimoto swings and misses on a slider for the 2nd out.
Last chance as #7 Saitou comes in to hit for Tomori. He's not just hacking though, he's trying to extend the game and runs the count full.
SANSHIN!!!!!!!
Kishimoto puts a slider right on the inside corner and that ends the ballgame!!
Kishimoto puts through a wonderful performance and shuts out Moriokadai Fuzoku to advance into the Best 8! Despite giving up the lead runner in 6 of the first 7 innings, he does not let a runner advance past 2nd base!
Moriokadai Fuzoku probably has a lot of regrets in this game. Leaving so many men on base and not scoring a run has to burn a little in that dugout. But at the same time, the team did break their winless streak at Koushien, and that counts for something. Now that the first win is out of the way, perhaps more will come from this team.
For Tsuruga Kehi a 3-0, rather stressless win is probably just what they needed as they'll get 2 day's rest before they face yet another strong team in Seikou Gakuin who has now gone the farthest they've ever gone - and no doubt will be looking for more.
Notable Players
Kishimoto Jyunki (Tsuruga Kehi) - W, CG, SHO, 7 H, 7 K, 2 BB
Yonemitsu Issei (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, HBP
Asai Hiroya (Tsuruga Kehi) - 2-4, RBI
Matsumoto Yuuki (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 4.2 IP, 0 ER, H, K
Miura Chisato (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 2-3
Oikawa Gou (Moriokadai Fuzoku) - 1-2
Day 7, Game 2 - Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) vs. Naruto (Tokushima)
We're now into the round of 16, and first up is a battle between Naruto and Seikou Gakuin.
Naruto if you remember was deadlocked with Utsunomiya Shougyou before scoring in the 8th to pull out the victory. But they only managed just 5 hits off of the tandem of Iioka-Arai, which is not promising. Even the in-play outs were not really solid hits, so despite the win the offense looks to be a weakness.
For Seikou Gakuin, they had no problems with Masuda Shouyou, pulling away early and extending the lead for an 8-0 win. However, Masuda's defense was full of miscues that weren't necessarily errors that helped Seikou in their victory. In fact, I believe a Masuda miscue of some sort happened in every inning that Seikou scored in - if not more.
I'm sure Naruto won't be that shaky defensively, so I would expect Seikou's offense to be put in check. In addition, 7 of the 11 hits were done by their 3-4-5 hitters, so they'll probably need the rest of the lineup to step up going forward as well.
As for Ishii he struck out 9, but Masuda's offense is not very strong compared to others so that should be taken with a grain of salt.
I do expect this to be a close game, but I also expect Seikou Gakuin to have an advantage as well because they have a stronger middle of the lineup.
Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) - Tohoku Runner-up
SS Ishigaki Mitsuhiro (#16)
2B Ishino Yuuta
LF Yaoita Hyuuma
1B Sonobe Satoshi
RF Satou Shouhei
CF Isagi Jyun (#18)
3B Nishimura Daiki (#6)
C Hirose Kazumi
P Ishii Naru
Naruto (Tokushima) - Shikoku Runner-up
SS Kawano Yuuto
2B Nakano Yuuki
RF Inaoka Kenta
1B Ise Hayato
C Kusaka Hiroki
CF Koumoto Yuujirou
3B Matsumoto Takanori
P Bandou Yuugo
LF Narukawa Shuuji
___________________________________________________________
11:37 - First pitch!
Top 1st
It's wet as we start the 2nd game, but not terrible conditions.
Ishigaki with a blooper down the right field line! Nakano and Inaoka converge on it, but neither calls the other off! It falls in and then they collide! It's not serious, but it takes time for them to retrieve the ball. As a result Ishigaki is in with a triple!
And now Bandou walks Ishino, getting Moriwaki-kantoku up to call time.
Yaoita with a fly to center, that's deep enough to get Ishigaki in to give Seikou Gakuin the quick 1-0 lead!
Sonobe is a bit bemused when he gets called looking on a slider that looks rather low.
Satou picks him up though! He reaches down and laces a liner over a leaping Nakano and splits the outfield defense! It goes all the way to the wall for a triple and Seikou leads 2-0!
Isagi goes down trying to protect the bottom of the zone, but goes down swinging to end the inning. But they pick up a quick 2 run!
Bottom 1st
One down, Nakano with a solid single to left.
Inaoka up, gets hit on the hand! He's in quite a bit of pain, but after some "itai spray", he's back in the box (It was called a swing and thus a foul).
To add insult to injury, he's called out on a ball on the outside corner.
Ise with a single back up the middle! Nakano rounds 2nd and reaches 3rd and Naruto looks to take back a run.
But Kusaka can't do it! Ishii gets him to flyout to right and the threat is over!
Top 2nd
There's a delay as Inaoka receives treatment for the injured hand.
It looks like #18 Kitao is warming up on the mound while #16 Maekawa is throwing in case Inaoka can't continue.
But, after about a couple of minutes, he emerges and we're back playing again!
Nishimura laces a ball to left for a leadoff single! Hirose bunts the runner along for Ishii.
He has the buster style of swinging and hits a ball to deep center! Koumoto is there for the catch and a good throw means Nishimura can't advance!
And Bandou gets Ishigaki to chase a ball outside and groundout to Nakano to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Ishii still struggling with his command as he walks Koumoto to lead off the inning.
Matsumoto not bunting and grounds to 3rd! Nishimura goes to 2nd for 1, but Ishino's throw to 1st is wild! That allows Matsumoto to advance to 2nd!
Ah! Now Ishii hits Bandou right on the knee! That has to hurt! As he works his way to first, Naruto has a great chance with 1 down!
But Narukawa gets under one and flies out to center! 2 down as we go back to the top of the order and Kawano!
SANSHIN!
Ishii freezes him on a fastball down the middle and the side is retired!
Top 3rd
Seikou batters are attacking Bandou's pitches early in the count. Ishino flies out to right on a 0-1 count, Yaoita on a 1-0 count singles down the right field line.
Sonobe pops out to Kawano on a 1-1 count.
And Satou almost screws himself into the ground on that first swing. Bandou finally gets him on a slider in the dirt to end the inning.
Bottom 3rd
Bandou is keeping his team in the game, and with Ishii rather wild so far, it would behoove Naruto to take advantage of this opportunity to catch up.
Well, I guess Ishii is effectively wild. He pitches in to quite a few batters, perhaps too close, and so it proabably surprises them when the rifles one in where he wants it - as Nakano turns to walk back to the dugout.
Ishii goes high on Bandou, who winds up hitting a fly to center for the 2nd out.
And then on Ise he goes high and in and he defensive swings a grounder to 1st for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Isagi with a comebacker to Bandou's glove side, but he must have miscalculated on the bounce as it dips under his glove and past Nakano into center. Nishimura bunts him to 2nd.
Hirose with a half swing on a ball way outside, and the momentum of the ball seems to carry over Matsumoto into left! Runners at the corners with 1 out!
Ishii shows squeeze at first, but then tries to swing and fouls it off!
He fouls off another one, but right at Ishigaki on the on-deck circle! He's ok though.
And Ishii goes down and singles to left! Isagi scores to make it 3-0!
Ishigaki with a grounder to short! Kawano goes to 2nd for 1, but Nakano stops as he won't make it to first in time.
Ishino flies out to center and the runners are left stranded, but Seikou extends their lead.
Bottom 4th
Kusaka with a grounder to the left side. Ishigaki runs it down in the gap, turns and throws to 1st! Sonome makes a great pick on the short throw and gets the out!
And I guess the deep counts work for Ishii today. He goes full on Koumoto who strikes out on a slider in the dirt, then goes full on Matsumoto as well who grounds to 2nd.
Top 5th
Yaoita drives a ball down and away deep to left! Narukawa to the wall, jumps, and misses it! It deflects off the wall and he's in with a double!
Sonobe with a drive to center! Koumoto back to the wall! Jumps! Makes the catch! Nice play from Koumoto!
Satou with a fly to right, that's caught by Inaoka for the 2nd out, and right after Isagi flies out t Narukawa in shallow center and as quickly as Yaoita got to 2nd, the inning is over and he's stranded there!
Bottom 5th
Grounder to short from Bandou, goes 5-hole on Ishigaki! He lifts his glove up before securing the ball! E6 and leadoff runner on for Naruto! Narukawa bunts him along for the top of the lineup.
But Kawano is 0-2 so far.
AH!! He heard me. He crushes an Ishii offering deep to left! Yaoita running back, but it's off the wall for a double! Bandou scores to make it a 3-1 ballgame!
Nakano can't drive in the run as he flies out to left.
Inaoka with a slow roller up the right side, everyone charges for the ball, but no one is covering 1st! Ishino takes it and makes the only play, which is to check the runner at 3rd to see if they overran.
Kawano hasn't so everyone's safe!
AH!! And now Ishii hits Ise! Manrui for Naruto with Kusaka up!
Saitou-kantoku calls for time.
A strike and a foul ball puts Kusaka behind 0-2!
But Kusaka takes a ball away though the right side for a base hit! Kawano scores! Inaoka rounds 3rd he scores! Satou misses gripping the ball off the ground and that allows Ise to head to 3rd! 同点！
Koumoto up and Ishii can't believe he doesn't get the call on a 1-2 fastball on the outside corner! He does though get him to chase and hit a soft liner to Ishigaki for the 3rd out.
But Naruto strikes for 3 here in the 5th and we have a 4-inning ballgame left to play!
Top 6th
One down for Seikou and Hirose with a fly to right center, falls in for a base hit! Saitou-kantoku has Ishii bunt for a one-timer from Ishigaki.
But Ishigaki gets fooled on a curve and flies out to right to end the inning!
Bottom 6th
Matsuki with a slow grounder up the 3rd base line. Nishimura charging in, makes he quick throw and just beats out Matsuki for the out! Nice play by the hot corner!
And he freezes him on a fastball inside right at (or somewhat below) the knees!
But before Ishii can get a 1-2-3 inning, Narukawa spoils it with a grounder past Ishii's feet and into center!
Kawano battling at the plate fouls a couple off, but Ishii fires one inside one more time and gets Kawano out to end the inning!
Top 7th
Bandou hasn't done that bad of a job after the first. His control is much better and he is limiting runners on base.
Ishino pops out to shallow left, Yaoita chases a changeup down for the 2nd out.
Sonobe with a drive to center! Koumoto back to the fence, looks up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sonobe delivers with a fly to almost dead center! And he slipped after his swing! Either way it's 4-3!!
Satou hits a hard liner right to Matsumoto to end the inning, but cleanup batter Sonobe breaks the draw!
Bottom 7th
Nakano with a quick fly to center for the first out.
Inaoka works the count full, but chases a buried slider for the 2nd out!
And once again Ishii goes full on his 7th batter, and this time the batter wins! Ise singles to left!
But Ishii gets Kusaka to swing on a slider away and flies out to center for the 3rd out!
Top 8th
Bandou working quickly trying to get his team back on the bats again. And he does just that retiring the side in order to keep the deficit at 1/
Bottom 8th
Defensive change, #5 Ihara comes in for Ishino and takes over at 2B
Koumoto swings down and lifts one to right center. Sakatani and Satou race over and it's Satou who makes the catch.
And after that it's back-to-back harmless flies to center to end the inning.
Top 9th
After retiring Ishii with relative ease, Ishigaki and Ihara go back to back full counts on Bandou. Ishigaki pops out to short, while in his first AB, Ihara earns a walk.
Yaoita grounds to short to end the inning, and it's now hang-on time for Seikou Gakuin!
Bottom 9th
9-1-2 due up for Naruto.
Narukawa quickly behind 1-2 and has to defend. Fouls one off, but he grounds to short! Ishigaki's throw is short, but Sonobe picks it for the 1st out!
One again Ishii gets ahead of Kawano 0-2 and he's on the defensive!
SANSHIN!!!
Fastball in side freezes him and there's 2 down! It's all up to Nakano!
He's behind now 1-2! Grounder to the right side, it's through! Nakano keeps the game alive for Inaoka!
Grounder up the 1st base line... foul!! 1st base umpire calls foul, though just! He's behind 1-2!
Pitch outside, doesn't swing, doesn't get call! 2-2!
Fouls one down the left field line! Yaoita chasing it down, dives.. just misses it! Inaoka is still alive!
Grounder to 2nd! Ihara with it! Goes to 2nd and game set! Sonobe's HR in the 7th proves to be the difference as Seikou Gakuin is the first to advance to the Best 8 with a 4-3 win over Naruto!
It was a valiant effort by Naruto to rally and tie the game in the 5th, but outside of that inning, they just couldn't figure out Ishii. At times he was inconsistent, even to the point of hitting a couple of batters. But when he needed the pitches he got them and so Seikou Gakuin moves on!
Seikou Gakuin has Sonobe to thank for pulling through for the team. Even outside of the actual scoring they had other chances to score, but just couldn't convert. If not for the HR, it's possible Naruto would have gained momentum with Bandou continuing to shut down the Seikou offense.
Notable Players
Ishii Naru (Seikou Gakuin) - W, CG, 0 ER, 8 H, 8 K, BB, 2 HBP
Sonobe Satoshi (Seikou Gakuin) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, K
Hirose Kazumi (Seikou Gakuin) - 2-3
Bandou Yuugo (Naruto) - L, CG, 4 ER, 10 H, 5 K, 2 BB
Kusaka Hiroki (Naruto) - 1-4, 2 RBI
Kawano Yuuto (Naruto) - 1-4, 2B, R, 3 K
Naruto if you remember was deadlocked with Utsunomiya Shougyou before scoring in the 8th to pull out the victory. But they only managed just 5 hits off of the tandem of Iioka-Arai, which is not promising. Even the in-play outs were not really solid hits, so despite the win the offense looks to be a weakness.
For Seikou Gakuin, they had no problems with Masuda Shouyou, pulling away early and extending the lead for an 8-0 win. However, Masuda's defense was full of miscues that weren't necessarily errors that helped Seikou in their victory. In fact, I believe a Masuda miscue of some sort happened in every inning that Seikou scored in - if not more.
I'm sure Naruto won't be that shaky defensively, so I would expect Seikou's offense to be put in check. In addition, 7 of the 11 hits were done by their 3-4-5 hitters, so they'll probably need the rest of the lineup to step up going forward as well.
As for Ishii he struck out 9, but Masuda's offense is not very strong compared to others so that should be taken with a grain of salt.
I do expect this to be a close game, but I also expect Seikou Gakuin to have an advantage as well because they have a stronger middle of the lineup.
Seikou Gakuin (Fukushima) - Tohoku Runner-up
SS Ishigaki Mitsuhiro (#16)
2B Ishino Yuuta
LF Yaoita Hyuuma
1B Sonobe Satoshi
RF Satou Shouhei
CF Isagi Jyun (#18)
3B Nishimura Daiki (#6)
C Hirose Kazumi
P Ishii Naru
Naruto (Tokushima) - Shikoku Runner-up
SS Kawano Yuuto
2B Nakano Yuuki
RF Inaoka Kenta
1B Ise Hayato
C Kusaka Hiroki
CF Koumoto Yuujirou
3B Matsumoto Takanori
P Bandou Yuugo
LF Narukawa Shuuji
___________________________________________________________
11:37 - First pitch!
Top 1st
It's wet as we start the 2nd game, but not terrible conditions.
Ishigaki with a blooper down the right field line! Nakano and Inaoka converge on it, but neither calls the other off! It falls in and then they collide! It's not serious, but it takes time for them to retrieve the ball. As a result Ishigaki is in with a triple!
And now Bandou walks Ishino, getting Moriwaki-kantoku up to call time.
Yaoita with a fly to center, that's deep enough to get Ishigaki in to give Seikou Gakuin the quick 1-0 lead!
Sonobe is a bit bemused when he gets called looking on a slider that looks rather low.
Satou picks him up though! He reaches down and laces a liner over a leaping Nakano and splits the outfield defense! It goes all the way to the wall for a triple and Seikou leads 2-0!
Isagi goes down trying to protect the bottom of the zone, but goes down swinging to end the inning. But they pick up a quick 2 run!
Bottom 1st
One down, Nakano with a solid single to left.
Inaoka up, gets hit on the hand! He's in quite a bit of pain, but after some "itai spray", he's back in the box (It was called a swing and thus a foul).
To add insult to injury, he's called out on a ball on the outside corner.
Ise with a single back up the middle! Nakano rounds 2nd and reaches 3rd and Naruto looks to take back a run.
But Kusaka can't do it! Ishii gets him to flyout to right and the threat is over!
Top 2nd
There's a delay as Inaoka receives treatment for the injured hand.
It looks like #18 Kitao is warming up on the mound while #16 Maekawa is throwing in case Inaoka can't continue.
But, after about a couple of minutes, he emerges and we're back playing again!
Nishimura laces a ball to left for a leadoff single! Hirose bunts the runner along for Ishii.
He has the buster style of swinging and hits a ball to deep center! Koumoto is there for the catch and a good throw means Nishimura can't advance!
And Bandou gets Ishigaki to chase a ball outside and groundout to Nakano to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd
Ishii still struggling with his command as he walks Koumoto to lead off the inning.
Matsumoto not bunting and grounds to 3rd! Nishimura goes to 2nd for 1, but Ishino's throw to 1st is wild! That allows Matsumoto to advance to 2nd!
Ah! Now Ishii hits Bandou right on the knee! That has to hurt! As he works his way to first, Naruto has a great chance with 1 down!
But Narukawa gets under one and flies out to center! 2 down as we go back to the top of the order and Kawano!
SANSHIN!
Ishii freezes him on a fastball down the middle and the side is retired!
Top 3rd
Seikou batters are attacking Bandou's pitches early in the count. Ishino flies out to right on a 0-1 count, Yaoita on a 1-0 count singles down the right field line.
Sonobe pops out to Kawano on a 1-1 count.
And Satou almost screws himself into the ground on that first swing. Bandou finally gets him on a slider in the dirt to end the inning.
Bottom 3rd
Bandou is keeping his team in the game, and with Ishii rather wild so far, it would behoove Naruto to take advantage of this opportunity to catch up.
Well, I guess Ishii is effectively wild. He pitches in to quite a few batters, perhaps too close, and so it proabably surprises them when the rifles one in where he wants it - as Nakano turns to walk back to the dugout.
Ishii goes high on Bandou, who winds up hitting a fly to center for the 2nd out.
And then on Ise he goes high and in and he defensive swings a grounder to 1st for the 3rd out.
Top 4th
Isagi with a comebacker to Bandou's glove side, but he must have miscalculated on the bounce as it dips under his glove and past Nakano into center. Nishimura bunts him to 2nd.
Hirose with a half swing on a ball way outside, and the momentum of the ball seems to carry over Matsumoto into left! Runners at the corners with 1 out!
Ishii shows squeeze at first, but then tries to swing and fouls it off!
He fouls off another one, but right at Ishigaki on the on-deck circle! He's ok though.
And Ishii goes down and singles to left! Isagi scores to make it 3-0!
Ishigaki with a grounder to short! Kawano goes to 2nd for 1, but Nakano stops as he won't make it to first in time.
Ishino flies out to center and the runners are left stranded, but Seikou extends their lead.
Bottom 4th
Kusaka with a grounder to the left side. Ishigaki runs it down in the gap, turns and throws to 1st! Sonome makes a great pick on the short throw and gets the out!
And I guess the deep counts work for Ishii today. He goes full on Koumoto who strikes out on a slider in the dirt, then goes full on Matsumoto as well who grounds to 2nd.
Top 5th
Yaoita drives a ball down and away deep to left! Narukawa to the wall, jumps, and misses it! It deflects off the wall and he's in with a double!
Sonobe with a drive to center! Koumoto back to the wall! Jumps! Makes the catch! Nice play from Koumoto!
Satou with a fly to right, that's caught by Inaoka for the 2nd out, and right after Isagi flies out t Narukawa in shallow center and as quickly as Yaoita got to 2nd, the inning is over and he's stranded there!
Bottom 5th
Grounder to short from Bandou, goes 5-hole on Ishigaki! He lifts his glove up before securing the ball! E6 and leadoff runner on for Naruto! Narukawa bunts him along for the top of the lineup.
But Kawano is 0-2 so far.
AH!! He heard me. He crushes an Ishii offering deep to left! Yaoita running back, but it's off the wall for a double! Bandou scores to make it a 3-1 ballgame!
Nakano can't drive in the run as he flies out to left.
Inaoka with a slow roller up the right side, everyone charges for the ball, but no one is covering 1st! Ishino takes it and makes the only play, which is to check the runner at 3rd to see if they overran.
Kawano hasn't so everyone's safe!
AH!! And now Ishii hits Ise! Manrui for Naruto with Kusaka up!
Saitou-kantoku calls for time.
A strike and a foul ball puts Kusaka behind 0-2!
But Kusaka takes a ball away though the right side for a base hit! Kawano scores! Inaoka rounds 3rd he scores! Satou misses gripping the ball off the ground and that allows Ise to head to 3rd! 同点！
Koumoto up and Ishii can't believe he doesn't get the call on a 1-2 fastball on the outside corner! He does though get him to chase and hit a soft liner to Ishigaki for the 3rd out.
But Naruto strikes for 3 here in the 5th and we have a 4-inning ballgame left to play!
Top 6th
One down for Seikou and Hirose with a fly to right center, falls in for a base hit! Saitou-kantoku has Ishii bunt for a one-timer from Ishigaki.
But Ishigaki gets fooled on a curve and flies out to right to end the inning!
Bottom 6th
Matsuki with a slow grounder up the 3rd base line. Nishimura charging in, makes he quick throw and just beats out Matsuki for the out! Nice play by the hot corner!
And he freezes him on a fastball inside right at (or somewhat below) the knees!
But before Ishii can get a 1-2-3 inning, Narukawa spoils it with a grounder past Ishii's feet and into center!
Kawano battling at the plate fouls a couple off, but Ishii fires one inside one more time and gets Kawano out to end the inning!
Top 7th
Bandou hasn't done that bad of a job after the first. His control is much better and he is limiting runners on base.
Ishino pops out to shallow left, Yaoita chases a changeup down for the 2nd out.
Sonobe with a drive to center! Koumoto back to the fence, looks up!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sonobe delivers with a fly to almost dead center! And he slipped after his swing! Either way it's 4-3!!
Satou hits a hard liner right to Matsumoto to end the inning, but cleanup batter Sonobe breaks the draw!
Bottom 7th
Nakano with a quick fly to center for the first out.
Inaoka works the count full, but chases a buried slider for the 2nd out!
And once again Ishii goes full on his 7th batter, and this time the batter wins! Ise singles to left!
But Ishii gets Kusaka to swing on a slider away and flies out to center for the 3rd out!
Top 8th
Bandou working quickly trying to get his team back on the bats again. And he does just that retiring the side in order to keep the deficit at 1/
Bottom 8th
Defensive change, #5 Ihara comes in for Ishino and takes over at 2B
Koumoto swings down and lifts one to right center. Sakatani and Satou race over and it's Satou who makes the catch.
And after that it's back-to-back harmless flies to center to end the inning.
Top 9th
After retiring Ishii with relative ease, Ishigaki and Ihara go back to back full counts on Bandou. Ishigaki pops out to short, while in his first AB, Ihara earns a walk.
Yaoita grounds to short to end the inning, and it's now hang-on time for Seikou Gakuin!
Bottom 9th
9-1-2 due up for Naruto.
Narukawa quickly behind 1-2 and has to defend. Fouls one off, but he grounds to short! Ishigaki's throw is short, but Sonobe picks it for the 1st out!
One again Ishii gets ahead of Kawano 0-2 and he's on the defensive!
SANSHIN!!!
Fastball in side freezes him and there's 2 down! It's all up to Nakano!
He's behind now 1-2! Grounder to the right side, it's through! Nakano keeps the game alive for Inaoka!
Grounder up the 1st base line... foul!! 1st base umpire calls foul, though just! He's behind 1-2!
Pitch outside, doesn't swing, doesn't get call! 2-2!
Fouls one down the left field line! Yaoita chasing it down, dives.. just misses it! Inaoka is still alive!
Grounder to 2nd! Ihara with it! Goes to 2nd and game set! Sonobe's HR in the 7th proves to be the difference as Seikou Gakuin is the first to advance to the Best 8 with a 4-3 win over Naruto!
It was a valiant effort by Naruto to rally and tie the game in the 5th, but outside of that inning, they just couldn't figure out Ishii. At times he was inconsistent, even to the point of hitting a couple of batters. But when he needed the pitches he got them and so Seikou Gakuin moves on!
Seikou Gakuin has Sonobe to thank for pulling through for the team. Even outside of the actual scoring they had other chances to score, but just couldn't convert. If not for the HR, it's possible Naruto would have gained momentum with Bandou continuing to shut down the Seikou offense.
Notable Players
Ishii Naru (Seikou Gakuin) - W, CG, 0 ER, 8 H, 8 K, BB, 2 HBP
Sonobe Satoshi (Seikou Gakuin) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, K
Hirose Kazumi (Seikou Gakuin) - 2-3
Bandou Yuugo (Naruto) - L, CG, 4 ER, 10 H, 5 K, 2 BB
Kusaka Hiroki (Naruto) - 1-4, 2 RBI
Kawano Yuuto (Naruto) - 1-4, 2B, R, 3 K
Day 7, Game 1 - Osaka Touin (Osaka) vs. Engaru (Hokkaido)
Our first game highlights the last team to take the field, and fittingly it is the team everyone is probably focusing on because they have a chance to make history.
Winning what is called 春夏連続優勝 used to be somewhat rare. It happened about once per decade:
They've lost a substantial portion of their roster from last year, but some pieces remain. All 2nd years from last years Natsu Koushien roster are now starters this year, with C Mori Tomoya and 3B Kasamatsu Yuuya holdovers from the starting 9.
Nishitani-kantoku apparently does a bit of juggling with the roster to make things work. When ace number Kusugawa is in the lineup, things look as normal:
Anyways, Kusugawa has been promoted over Takanishi into the ace position (Takanishi was on last year's roster). He's a sidearmer who can get it routinely into the upper 130s. But because of the fact that they continuously mercy rule their opponents he actually averages less than 5 innings per outing (42.3 IP in 9 appearances in the fall)! So oddly, none of the pitchers have been tested stamina-wise.
The team offensively can still hit (when do they not it seems?). Now, an ISO of 0.223 is certainly not their power level, but when you have 10+ hits in 8 of your 11 games, that is saying something. I can't even pick out players to watch because all of the starting 9 can hit! I mean, I guess I could say Mori because of last year, but that's about it.
So suffice it to say, little Engaru has a big task ahead of them. Against fellow 21st century team Iwaki Kaisei, Engaru won 3-0, but managed just 5 hits. Ace Maeda only gave up 3 hits, but only struck out 3 as well. That means a lot of balls in play, and against Osaka Touin, that probably isn't a good thing. Now perhaps Araya and Yanagibashi can help keep Engaru in it, but I'm pretty skeptical.
Osaka Touin (Osaka) - Kinki 3/4 seed
CF Mori Shinnosuke (#13)
2B Minemoto Takumi
C Mori Tomoya
RF Fukumori Hiroto
3B Kasamatsu Yuuya
LF Tamura Toki
1B Tsujita Daiki (#8)
SS Mizutani Yuuya
P Amimoto Kousuke (#11)
Engaru (Hokkaido) - 21st Century Team
CF Kamono Takaki (#10)
2B Sygau Kento
LF Araya Ibuki
3B Yanagibashi Kouki
1B Kudou Yoshiki
RF Kurokawa Jin
P Ooshiro Yuuki (#11)
SS Koumoto Kyouhei
C Yamashita Rio (#12)
____________________________________________________________
09:00 - First pitch!
Top 1st
This weren't the lineups I was expecting! But then again, perhaps Osaka Touin is taking it easy?
The siren goes off and Ooshiro has his first ou as Shinnosuke grounds out to 3rd.
Minemoto with a fly ball to center. Kamono dives, and misses the ball!! It goes to the fence! Araya runs over to assist but by the time they throw the ball back in, he's rounding 3rd!
It's a running home run!!!
Why in the world would you gamble like that unless you think you're going to lose anyways?! It's 1-0 Osaka Touin!
Now Tomoya bloops one between Sugai and Kamoto for a base hit!
Nothing special about Ooshiro it seems. Pretty much standard fare. He jams Fukumoto and hits an infield fly that he catches for the 2nd out.
Kasamatsu rips a ball deep but foul down the left side. Then gets hit by Ooshiro.
Well, if nothing else he's willing to pitch inside. He gets Tamura to fly out to deep center to end the inning, but an unnecessary gamble puts Engaru down early.
Bottom 1st
I just heard the FOX theme music. What?
Well, Kamono with a ball back up the middle. Minemoto ranges, dives, but can't get it! Engaru has a leadoff runner! Sugai successfully bunts him to 2nd.
Araya goes down on a good change low for the 2nd out. It's up to cleanup batter Yanagibashi.
Kamono takes off for 3rd! Throw from Tomoya in time, but Kamono slides in safely! Kasamtasu gets turned around trying to tag him that it allows Kamono to slide in!
Yanagibashi with a grounder up the middle! Minemoto ranges over, off his glove! It goes off his glove! Yanagibashi is in safe, but more importantly Kamono scores to make it 1-1!!
Kudou grounds to 3rd to end the inning, but Engaru comes right back to tie the game!
Top 2nd
Ooshiro's control issues persist as he hits Tsujita. Mizutani swings away but hits it right back at Ooshiro! He goes to 2nd for 1, but Koumoto is taken out to prevent the double play.
Amimoto bunts him along for the top of the order.
Shinnosuke with a ball back up the middle! Sugai runs over, but can't get to it! It heads to center as Mizutani is being sent home! Throw from Koumoto is late and Osaka Touin retakes the lead at 2-1!
Minemoto flies out to center to end the inning, but as expected Osaka Touin's offense is ready to go!
Bottom 2nd
As for Amimoto, he's a southpaw who throws like the rest it seems.
Kurokawa grounds to 3rd, but had a good hack opposite way that went foul.
Ooshiro calmly takes a change back to center for a base hit. Koumoto squaring to bunt, takes a couple of pitches, falls behind 1-2.
And he's called out an a curve that seems way wide...
Yamashita trying to extend the inning, lifts a ball to center, but too deep and Shinnosuke is there for the catch.
Top 3rd
Tomoya smartly takes an outside pitch the other way solidly for a leadoff single. Fukumori bunting the runner along? This seems rather out of character to have their cleanup batter bunt. He does lay down a well-executed bunt though.
Kasamatsu turns on a fastball in and drives it deep to left! Araya running back to the wall, and it's off the base! He eases to 2nd on an RBI double making it 3-1 Osaka Touin!
Oh dear lord.
Tamura crushes a ball down the right field line, just foul! Ace Maeda who had been warming up near the end of the first looks on.
Ooshiro goes a little too far in again and hits Tamura. Runners on 1st and 2nd now for Tsujita.
Double steal! Tsujita misses and Yamashita's throw to 3rd is in plenty of time to get Kasamatsu! 2 outs!
Ooshiro hits another batter, but it would have been a walk seeing though it was a full count.
And now Satou-kantoku calls back Maeda into the dugout. He's not putting him in?
Mizutani reaches out to block the ball after he gets fooled, but lines out to Sugai to end the inning.
How does the saying go? "Another inning, another run?"
Bottom 3rd
Kamono swings on the first pitch and grounds to 2nd. Sugai can't get around on an inside change and goes down for Amimoto's 2nd K.
And Araya grounds harmlessly to short to end the inning.
Top 4th
Amimoto swinging for the first time, grounds to 1st.
Ooshiro freezes Shinnosuke with a fastball that paints that wide outside corner that seems to exist.
Ooshiro gets ahead of Minemoto as well with two good curveballs, then tries to get him to chase 3 times but can't get a bite. But he does get him to ground to 1st. Kudou flips to him for the out and Ooshiro has his first 1-2-3 and scoreless inning!
Bottom 4th
Engaru's oen-dan is very strong, though I thought I heard someone had to borrow a band from a school nearby. Perhaps that was Iwaki Kaisei.
Amimoto gets Yanagibashi to chase a ball outside and grounds to 2nd.
Kudou also chases a ball away, but just misses and strikes out.
Kurokawa flies to Mizutani in shallow center and the side is retired.
Top 5th
Ooshiro retires Tomoya for the first time as he grounds out to 2nd. Even then it's a hard grounder.
Fukumori chases a fastball up and goes down swinging for Ooshiro's 2nd K.
And Kasamatsu grounds to 1st! Kudou stumbles a bit, but tosses to Ooshiro for his second 1-2-3 inning!
Bottom 5th
Ooshiro's day is done as Maeda comes in to hit for him. (Ooshiro had a base hit! Why hit for him?)
Maeda whiffs on three straight, and all three were away.
#13 Yanagihara hits for Koumoto. Is Satou-kantoku emptying the bench early?
He looks at strike 3 on the "outside" corner for the 2nd out.
Well, Yamashita is hitting for himself. Chases slider away for the 3rd out. Amimoto strikes out the side and we hit the break.
Ever had a feeling that the teams were playing as if the ending was already decided? Because man, it sure feels like it. It's almost like a scrimmage game.
Top 6th
Maeda stays in to pitch, #16 Satou comes in for PH Yanagihara to play SS.
Tamura swings on the first pitch and grounds to 2nd.
And perhaps Tsujita wants to sit the rest of the game. He's hit by Maeda for his 3rd HBP this game!
Mizutani takes an offering from Maeda the other way! Kurokawa running back to the ball, but will not get there! Tsujita scores on the triple to make it a 4-1 ballgame!
Amimoto not really bunting, takes 4 straight causing Satou-kantoku to call time.
Hard grounder to short, Satou can't field it cleanly, but still gets out at 1st. Mizutani scores to make it 5-1.
Minemoto with a single to right! Amimoto being sent home and the throw is cut off. 6-1, and why did they remove Ooshiro that early? Ok, get Maeda time on the mound, last game, etc. But still.
Tomoya with a blast to right! That's off the top of the padding! Minemoto sores on the RBI double to make it 7-1.
Fukumori working Maeda on the mound, as if he wasn't already. Maeda wins the battle, getting Fukumori to pop up to 2nd. Loses war by giving up more runs in 1 inning than the starter Ooshiro did in 5.
Bottom 6th
After 2 flyouts to center by Kamono and Sugai, Araya whiffs on a slider outside, but the ball gets by Tomoya and to the backstop. Araya reaches base.
He steals 2nd with no throw, but is left stranded after Yanagibashi grounds out to 3rd.
Top 7th
Well, that's a good start for Maeda. After falling behind Kasamatsu 3-0, he comes back to fill the count and get a comebacker for an out.
Tamura grounds out to 2nd, and that brings up Tsujita who probably wants to hits the ball, not get hit by the ball.
And he hits it in play! It's a popup that Sugai fields near the right field line, but in the end it's better than being hit a 4th time.
Bottom 7th
#18 Matsushita comes in to hit for Kudou.
Scorcher up the 3rd base line, past a diving Kasamatsu! That'll go to the wall as Matsushita is in with a leadoff double!
Another PH, this time #8 Aoki for Kurokawa. But he has less luck. He is frozen on an outside fastball for the K.
Maeda with a comebacker to Amimoto who catches Matsushita off the bag. He runs him down himself for the 2nd out.
Satou flies to center and the inning is over.
Top 8th
Matsushita stays in to play 1B and Aoki stays in to play RF.
After a groundout by Mizutani, #12 Kume comes in to hit for Amimoto meaning his day is done.
And Kume is welcomed with a dead ball. His AB done, he gives way for #16 Takagi for the bases.
Shinnosuke with his 2nd hit, a single back up the middle to center puts runners on 1st and 2nd, make that 2nd and 3rd as Maeda uncorks a wild pitch.
Maeda trying to be careful with Minemoto, but doesn't really give him something to hit knowing first base is open, though even walking to create the force is a risky proposition since Tomoya is up next.
And proceeds to lace a single through to right, scoring 2 to make it 9-1.
Tomoya takes 2nd on indifference.
Grounder to short from Fukumori and it bounces off of Satou. He retreives it but has no play and Minemoto scores from 3rd to make it 10-1.
Kasamatsu with a proper sac fly to right to score Tomoya and it's 11-1.
The long inning continues for Maeda as he walks Tamura. Tsujita grounds to short and the inning is over.
Bottom 8th
Takagi stays in the game at CF, pushing Shinnosuke to RF, pushing Fukumori to LF, and #1 Kusugawa comes in for Tamura and takes the hill.
And Engaru goes down in order highlighted by a ball up the middle by Kamono that is run down by Mizutani who spins and makes an accurate throw to 1st for the out. Probably a soft way to work in your ace I guess.
Top 9th
Maeda gets a 1-2-3 inning and it'll be his teams' last AB's.
Bottom 9th
Looks like there is some drizzle/rain as people have their umbrellas out.
More changes for Osaka Touin. #15 Murakami comes in for Shinnosuke and moves to LF. Fukumori heads back to RF. #3 Morinaka (who replaces Kinden who was injured and cannot play) takes over for Tsujita at 1B.
Araya starts off the inning with a single back up the middle, but while Yanagibashi, PH Maruyama and Aoki try their best, they are retired in order and the game is over.
Well, not really a whole lot to say. The game went about as expected in the end, though it seemed odd they weren't pulling away sooner. They're on and through to the next round without a hitch.
For Engaru, well, you got to go to your first Koushien, you got a win, and for a couple of innings you were close with Osaka Touin. Nothing to shake your head at really, it was a good showing.
Notable Players
Amimoto Kousuke (Osaka Touin) - W, 7 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K, 0 BB
Mori Tomoya (Osaka Touin) - 4-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Tsujita Daiki (Osaka Touin) - 0-2, R, 3 HBP
Yanagibashi Kouki (Engaru) - 1-4, RBI
Matsushita Kenya (Engaru) - 1-1, 2B
Winning what is called 春夏連続優勝 used to be somewhat rare. It happened about once per decade:
- 1962 - Sakushin Gakuin
- 1966 - Chuukyou Shougyou (now known as Chuukyoudai Chuukyou)
- 1979 - Minoshima
- 1987 - PL Gakuen
- 1998 - Yokohama (Matsuzaka Daisuke's famous tournament)
- 2010 - Kounan (Shimabukuro Yousuke's year)
- 2012 - Osaka Touin (Fujinami Shintarou)
They've lost a substantial portion of their roster from last year, but some pieces remain. All 2nd years from last years Natsu Koushien roster are now starters this year, with C Mori Tomoya and 3B Kasamatsu Yuuya holdovers from the starting 9.
Nishitani-kantoku apparently does a bit of juggling with the roster to make things work. When ace number Kusugawa is in the lineup, things look as normal:
- P Kusugawa Tomoya
- C Mori Tomoya
- 1B Kinden Takuya
- 2B Minemoto Takumi
- 3B Kasamatsu Yuuya
- SS Mizutani Yukiya
- LF Tamura Toki
- CF Tsujita Daiki
- RF Fukumori Hiroto
- P Takanishi Ryouta
- P Kusugawa Tomoya -- RF
- C Mori Tomoya
- 1B Kinden Takuya
- 2B Minemoto Takumi -- BN
- 3B Kasamatsu Yuuya -- 2B
- SS Mizutani Yukiya
- LF Tamura Toki
- CF Tsujita Daiki -- 3B
- RF Fukumori Hiroto -- CF
Anyways, Kusugawa has been promoted over Takanishi into the ace position (Takanishi was on last year's roster). He's a sidearmer who can get it routinely into the upper 130s. But because of the fact that they continuously mercy rule their opponents he actually averages less than 5 innings per outing (42.3 IP in 9 appearances in the fall)! So oddly, none of the pitchers have been tested stamina-wise.
The team offensively can still hit (when do they not it seems?). Now, an ISO of 0.223 is certainly not their power level, but when you have 10+ hits in 8 of your 11 games, that is saying something. I can't even pick out players to watch because all of the starting 9 can hit! I mean, I guess I could say Mori because of last year, but that's about it.
So suffice it to say, little Engaru has a big task ahead of them. Against fellow 21st century team Iwaki Kaisei, Engaru won 3-0, but managed just 5 hits. Ace Maeda only gave up 3 hits, but only struck out 3 as well. That means a lot of balls in play, and against Osaka Touin, that probably isn't a good thing. Now perhaps Araya and Yanagibashi can help keep Engaru in it, but I'm pretty skeptical.
Osaka Touin (Osaka) - Kinki 3/4 seed
CF Mori Shinnosuke (#13)
2B Minemoto Takumi
C Mori Tomoya
RF Fukumori Hiroto
3B Kasamatsu Yuuya
LF Tamura Toki
1B Tsujita Daiki (#8)
SS Mizutani Yuuya
P Amimoto Kousuke (#11)
Engaru (Hokkaido) - 21st Century Team
CF Kamono Takaki (#10)
2B Sygau Kento
LF Araya Ibuki
3B Yanagibashi Kouki
1B Kudou Yoshiki
RF Kurokawa Jin
P Ooshiro Yuuki (#11)
SS Koumoto Kyouhei
C Yamashita Rio (#12)
____________________________________________________________
09:00 - First pitch!
Top 1st
This weren't the lineups I was expecting! But then again, perhaps Osaka Touin is taking it easy?
The siren goes off and Ooshiro has his first ou as Shinnosuke grounds out to 3rd.
Minemoto with a fly ball to center. Kamono dives, and misses the ball!! It goes to the fence! Araya runs over to assist but by the time they throw the ball back in, he's rounding 3rd!
It's a running home run!!!
Why in the world would you gamble like that unless you think you're going to lose anyways?! It's 1-0 Osaka Touin!
Now Tomoya bloops one between Sugai and Kamoto for a base hit!
Nothing special about Ooshiro it seems. Pretty much standard fare. He jams Fukumoto and hits an infield fly that he catches for the 2nd out.
Kasamatsu rips a ball deep but foul down the left side. Then gets hit by Ooshiro.
Well, if nothing else he's willing to pitch inside. He gets Tamura to fly out to deep center to end the inning, but an unnecessary gamble puts Engaru down early.
Bottom 1st
I just heard the FOX theme music. What?
Well, Kamono with a ball back up the middle. Minemoto ranges, dives, but can't get it! Engaru has a leadoff runner! Sugai successfully bunts him to 2nd.
Araya goes down on a good change low for the 2nd out. It's up to cleanup batter Yanagibashi.
Kamono takes off for 3rd! Throw from Tomoya in time, but Kamono slides in safely! Kasamtasu gets turned around trying to tag him that it allows Kamono to slide in!
Yanagibashi with a grounder up the middle! Minemoto ranges over, off his glove! It goes off his glove! Yanagibashi is in safe, but more importantly Kamono scores to make it 1-1!!
Kudou grounds to 3rd to end the inning, but Engaru comes right back to tie the game!
Top 2nd
Ooshiro's control issues persist as he hits Tsujita. Mizutani swings away but hits it right back at Ooshiro! He goes to 2nd for 1, but Koumoto is taken out to prevent the double play.
Amimoto bunts him along for the top of the order.
Shinnosuke with a ball back up the middle! Sugai runs over, but can't get to it! It heads to center as Mizutani is being sent home! Throw from Koumoto is late and Osaka Touin retakes the lead at 2-1!
Minemoto flies out to center to end the inning, but as expected Osaka Touin's offense is ready to go!
Bottom 2nd
As for Amimoto, he's a southpaw who throws like the rest it seems.
Kurokawa grounds to 3rd, but had a good hack opposite way that went foul.
Ooshiro calmly takes a change back to center for a base hit. Koumoto squaring to bunt, takes a couple of pitches, falls behind 1-2.
And he's called out an a curve that seems way wide...
Yamashita trying to extend the inning, lifts a ball to center, but too deep and Shinnosuke is there for the catch.
Top 3rd
Tomoya smartly takes an outside pitch the other way solidly for a leadoff single. Fukumori bunting the runner along? This seems rather out of character to have their cleanup batter bunt. He does lay down a well-executed bunt though.
Kasamatsu turns on a fastball in and drives it deep to left! Araya running back to the wall, and it's off the base! He eases to 2nd on an RBI double making it 3-1 Osaka Touin!
Oh dear lord.
Tamura crushes a ball down the right field line, just foul! Ace Maeda who had been warming up near the end of the first looks on.
Ooshiro goes a little too far in again and hits Tamura. Runners on 1st and 2nd now for Tsujita.
Double steal! Tsujita misses and Yamashita's throw to 3rd is in plenty of time to get Kasamatsu! 2 outs!
Ooshiro hits another batter, but it would have been a walk seeing though it was a full count.
And now Satou-kantoku calls back Maeda into the dugout. He's not putting him in?
Mizutani reaches out to block the ball after he gets fooled, but lines out to Sugai to end the inning.
How does the saying go? "Another inning, another run?"
Bottom 3rd
Kamono swings on the first pitch and grounds to 2nd. Sugai can't get around on an inside change and goes down for Amimoto's 2nd K.
And Araya grounds harmlessly to short to end the inning.
Top 4th
Amimoto swinging for the first time, grounds to 1st.
Ooshiro freezes Shinnosuke with a fastball that paints that wide outside corner that seems to exist.
Ooshiro gets ahead of Minemoto as well with two good curveballs, then tries to get him to chase 3 times but can't get a bite. But he does get him to ground to 1st. Kudou flips to him for the out and Ooshiro has his first 1-2-3 and scoreless inning!
Bottom 4th
Engaru's oen-dan is very strong, though I thought I heard someone had to borrow a band from a school nearby. Perhaps that was Iwaki Kaisei.
Amimoto gets Yanagibashi to chase a ball outside and grounds to 2nd.
Kudou also chases a ball away, but just misses and strikes out.
Kurokawa flies to Mizutani in shallow center and the side is retired.
Top 5th
Ooshiro retires Tomoya for the first time as he grounds out to 2nd. Even then it's a hard grounder.
Fukumori chases a fastball up and goes down swinging for Ooshiro's 2nd K.
And Kasamatsu grounds to 1st! Kudou stumbles a bit, but tosses to Ooshiro for his second 1-2-3 inning!
Bottom 5th
Ooshiro's day is done as Maeda comes in to hit for him. (Ooshiro had a base hit! Why hit for him?)
Maeda whiffs on three straight, and all three were away.
#13 Yanagihara hits for Koumoto. Is Satou-kantoku emptying the bench early?
He looks at strike 3 on the "outside" corner for the 2nd out.
Well, Yamashita is hitting for himself. Chases slider away for the 3rd out. Amimoto strikes out the side and we hit the break.
Ever had a feeling that the teams were playing as if the ending was already decided? Because man, it sure feels like it. It's almost like a scrimmage game.
Top 6th
Maeda stays in to pitch, #16 Satou comes in for PH Yanagihara to play SS.
Tamura swings on the first pitch and grounds to 2nd.
And perhaps Tsujita wants to sit the rest of the game. He's hit by Maeda for his 3rd HBP this game!
Mizutani takes an offering from Maeda the other way! Kurokawa running back to the ball, but will not get there! Tsujita scores on the triple to make it a 4-1 ballgame!
Amimoto not really bunting, takes 4 straight causing Satou-kantoku to call time.
Hard grounder to short, Satou can't field it cleanly, but still gets out at 1st. Mizutani scores to make it 5-1.
Minemoto with a single to right! Amimoto being sent home and the throw is cut off. 6-1, and why did they remove Ooshiro that early? Ok, get Maeda time on the mound, last game, etc. But still.
Tomoya with a blast to right! That's off the top of the padding! Minemoto sores on the RBI double to make it 7-1.
Fukumori working Maeda on the mound, as if he wasn't already. Maeda wins the battle, getting Fukumori to pop up to 2nd. Loses war by giving up more runs in 1 inning than the starter Ooshiro did in 5.
Bottom 6th
After 2 flyouts to center by Kamono and Sugai, Araya whiffs on a slider outside, but the ball gets by Tomoya and to the backstop. Araya reaches base.
He steals 2nd with no throw, but is left stranded after Yanagibashi grounds out to 3rd.
Top 7th
Well, that's a good start for Maeda. After falling behind Kasamatsu 3-0, he comes back to fill the count and get a comebacker for an out.
Tamura grounds out to 2nd, and that brings up Tsujita who probably wants to hits the ball, not get hit by the ball.
And he hits it in play! It's a popup that Sugai fields near the right field line, but in the end it's better than being hit a 4th time.
Bottom 7th
#18 Matsushita comes in to hit for Kudou.
Scorcher up the 3rd base line, past a diving Kasamatsu! That'll go to the wall as Matsushita is in with a leadoff double!
Another PH, this time #8 Aoki for Kurokawa. But he has less luck. He is frozen on an outside fastball for the K.
Maeda with a comebacker to Amimoto who catches Matsushita off the bag. He runs him down himself for the 2nd out.
Satou flies to center and the inning is over.
Top 8th
Matsushita stays in to play 1B and Aoki stays in to play RF.
After a groundout by Mizutani, #12 Kume comes in to hit for Amimoto meaning his day is done.
And Kume is welcomed with a dead ball. His AB done, he gives way for #16 Takagi for the bases.
Shinnosuke with his 2nd hit, a single back up the middle to center puts runners on 1st and 2nd, make that 2nd and 3rd as Maeda uncorks a wild pitch.
Maeda trying to be careful with Minemoto, but doesn't really give him something to hit knowing first base is open, though even walking to create the force is a risky proposition since Tomoya is up next.
And proceeds to lace a single through to right, scoring 2 to make it 9-1.
Tomoya takes 2nd on indifference.
Grounder to short from Fukumori and it bounces off of Satou. He retreives it but has no play and Minemoto scores from 3rd to make it 10-1.
Kasamatsu with a proper sac fly to right to score Tomoya and it's 11-1.
The long inning continues for Maeda as he walks Tamura. Tsujita grounds to short and the inning is over.
Bottom 8th
Takagi stays in the game at CF, pushing Shinnosuke to RF, pushing Fukumori to LF, and #1 Kusugawa comes in for Tamura and takes the hill.
And Engaru goes down in order highlighted by a ball up the middle by Kamono that is run down by Mizutani who spins and makes an accurate throw to 1st for the out. Probably a soft way to work in your ace I guess.
Top 9th
Maeda gets a 1-2-3 inning and it'll be his teams' last AB's.
Bottom 9th
Looks like there is some drizzle/rain as people have their umbrellas out.
More changes for Osaka Touin. #15 Murakami comes in for Shinnosuke and moves to LF. Fukumori heads back to RF. #3 Morinaka (who replaces Kinden who was injured and cannot play) takes over for Tsujita at 1B.
Araya starts off the inning with a single back up the middle, but while Yanagibashi, PH Maruyama and Aoki try their best, they are retired in order and the game is over.
Well, not really a whole lot to say. The game went about as expected in the end, though it seemed odd they weren't pulling away sooner. They're on and through to the next round without a hitch.
For Engaru, well, you got to go to your first Koushien, you got a win, and for a couple of innings you were close with Osaka Touin. Nothing to shake your head at really, it was a good showing.
Notable Players
Amimoto Kousuke (Osaka Touin) - W, 7 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K, 0 BB
Mori Tomoya (Osaka Touin) - 4-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Tsujita Daiki (Osaka Touin) - 0-2, R, 3 HBP
Yanagibashi Kouki (Engaru) - 1-4, RBI
Matsushita Kenya (Engaru) - 1-1, 2B
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Day 6, Game 3 - Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu) vs. Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama)
Interestingly, the organizers have shuffled games on days 5-7 such that even though teams have played their 2nd game already, here we have Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou and Hanasaki Tokuharu playing their first game. It probably has something to do with trying to even out the days of rest all the teams get.
Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou went relatively unchallenged through the prefecturals/super-regionals save for a 4-3 win in 11 against their bretheren Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou, and a 2-1 win against Tokoha Kikugawa. But in their first round matchup at Meiji Jingu, they would be soundly defeated by eventual champions Sendai Ikuei 6-2.
Apparently, Fujita-kantoku was the catcher the last time Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou went to Haru Koushien. 18 years later his eldest son, ace Fuijita Ryouhei has led his team back to Haru Koushien!
Ryouhei has started and finished all games except for the 2nd round of the prefectural taikai. There they used a triumvirate of pitchers who never saw any action after that. I can't find any other info on Fujita though, and the peripherals aren't really much different than other aces to find fault with or stand out.
Offensively, the team did post a 0.135 ISO in addition to a 0.336 batting average. The hit production for the most part though decreased as they faced Koushien-level schools though, so it might be a problem. The main drives is cleanup batter Takenaka Hiroki who has more triples (4) than doubles (3).
Opposing them are the Kanto runner-ups Hanasaki Tokuharu who unfortunately had to face eventual super-regional champions Urawa Gakuin twice. And defeating a team twice in the same season is never an easy proposition. In the super-regionals, they defeated a Yokohama Hayato squad known for playing up to their opponents, routed my favorite team Narashino 12-0 and held on to defeat Jyousou Gakuin 6-4 before blowing a lead late and losing in 10 to Urawa Gakuin.
Hanasaki Tokuharu primarily uses a tandem of ace Sekiguchi and reliever Kogure. Sekiguchi averages over a K/IP, but has a K:BB ratio of 18:24 in 33.2 IP., Kogure has a 6 K/9 rate, but has a K:BB ratio of 20:3.
Offensively, their cleanup batter Wakatsuki Kenya is one of their main drivers, the other surprisingly is Mori Daiki who is usually in the bottom part of the order. The team is not afraid to take walks, though that is always predicated on how their opponents pitch more than anything else.
Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu) - Tokai Champions
LF Kawamura Renji
RF Niwa Kensuke (#16)
3B Azuma Taito (#4)
1B Takenaka Hiroki
C Kouyama Takurou
P Fujita Ryouji
CF Aoki Shouya
SS Noda Gento
2B Okimoto Takuya (#14)
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) - Kanto Runner-up
2B Yamamoto Ryuusei
3B Matsumoto Jyunpei
SS Kusumoto Taishi
C Wakatsuki Kenya
LF Furukawa Sumiya
1B Mori Daiki
CF Nozawa Takumi
P Sekiguchi Akihiro
RF Tada Tomoya
____________________________________________________________
13:45 - First pitch
Top 1st
Sekimoto is one of the few pitchers that can hit 140+ on the gun. Kawamura grounds to short for the first out.
Niwa fails to get around on a fastball inside and goes down swinging.
Meanwhile Azuma takes a ball away and pulls it back up the middle past a diving Yamamoto!
But Takenaka swings on a change down and away and it's a good start for Sekiguchi
Bottom 1st
Fujita seems to be more in the mold of most aces, in the 130s with a change in addition to the normal fare.
Ryuusei goes down swinging on a slider away for the first out. But they get a baserunner when Fujita hits Matsumoto. Iwai-kantoku elects to bunt him over for a one-shot.
Wakatsuki flies to right though and that ends the inning.
Top 2nd
Sekiguchi issues his first walk to Kouyama to start the inning. Fujita lays down the bunt, and Sekiguchi looks at 2nd before he picks up the ball, and doesn't pick up the ball! He misses again and everyone's safe!
So Aoki lays down another bunt and there's 2 runners in scoring position!
Noda delivers! He goes down on a slider and shoots it through to center! Kouyama scores, throw from Nozawa not in time! Noda winds up at 2nd on the throw and Kengifushou has the 2-0 lead!
Fujita-kantoku has Okimoto bunt to cycle the lineup back to the top and he lays one down.
Kawamura takes one back up the middle and that easily picks up Noda to make it 3-0!
Sekiguchi experiencing control isssues runs the count to 3-1, but Niwa's bunt attempt is popped up and caught by a diving Wakatsuki for the 3rd out. But a lot of balls in the zone and an error by the ace lead to an early deficit!
Bottom 2nd
Furukawa turns on a fastball and drills it to right center! Aoki runs it down, but not before Furukawa is in with a leadoff triple! Hanasaki Tokuharu poised to get the run back.
But Mori grounds to 3rd and can't get him in!
Nozawa gets the job done with a slow grounder to short. Hanasaki gets one of the runs back and it's now 3-1.
Sekiguchi chases 2 sliders in the dirt to go down swinging to end the inning, but they're slowing chipping away at the deficit.
Top 3rd
Azuma with his 2nd hit as he turns on an inside curve and singles to right. Takenaka bunts him along to 2nd.
Koyama with a ball the other way into right! Tada charging in, can't grab the ball! He doubles back allowing Azuma to score! It's 4-1 Kengifushou!
Fujita tries to bunt the runner over, but hits it right to Sekiguchi who starts the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning
Bottom 3rd
Tada gets Hanasaki's 2nd leadoff runner as he singles past Noda into left. Ryuusei bunts him along.
Fujita gets Matsumoto to chase a change low for the 2nd out.
Rack one more up for Fujita as he freezes Kusumoto on an outside fastball for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Kengifushou continues to hit off of Sekiguchi. Noda gets his 2nd hit, a one-out single through the right side.
And another base hit for Kawamura! He singles to left and that scores Noda to make it 5-1!
Niwa can't join the hit parade as he swings on a slider in the dirt to end the inning. But it's clear that Sekiguchi is just getting too much of the plate and the Kengifushou batters are just teeing off.
Bottom 4th
Wakatsuki with a drive to left-center! Kawamura running back to the fence, turns around!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wakatsuki does deliver with a solo HR to left! He gets a run back to make it 5-2, but there's still a long way to go.
And while Nozawa works a 2-out walk, he stranded when Sekiguchi grounds out back to Fujita.
Top 5th
Sekiguchi not doing himself any favors as he hits Azuma to start the inning.
Fujita-kantoku elects not to bunt with Takenaka or Kouyama, and both flyout to center.
Fujita can't check his swing on a fork in the dirt and that ends the inning. It's not a 1-2-3 inning, but it's a 0 on the board.
Bottom 5th
The rain seems to be coming down as people prepare their ponchos and umbrellas. Not serious though, seems like it's light if at all.
Outside of the middle of the lineup, very few have had success against Fujita.
Tada and Ryuusei both can't get the ball out of the infield, and while Matsumoto gets another 2-out walk, Kusumoto grounds to 1st and we hit the break.
Once again the pace is very fast. Sekiguchi's pitching has improved a bit here in the past inning, but missing in the wrong places have led to most of Kengifushou's runs. Wakatsuki and Furukawa seem to have some level of success, but the rest of the lineup will need to produce.
Top 6th
Rain is coming down a bit harder, but still not enough to get people to evacuate for cover.
Well, Sekiguchi has settle d down the last couple of innings. Outside of Aoki where he ran the count full before striking him out, he retires the other two batters with ease to hold the 3-run deficit.
Bottom 6th
Wakatsuki with a ball to shallow center. Aoki charging in, the ball goes in and pops out of his glove! It goes behind him and Wakatsuki reaches 2nd on the error!
Furukawa rightly swinging away, but Fujita induces a flyout to left.
Mori with a liner to right! It's in for a AH!!!
The ball bounces and skips by Niwa and goes all the way to the wall! Wakatsuki scores! Mori rounding 3rd, is held up! Hanasaki Tokuharu gets two breaks and get back a run! It's 5-3!
And Fujita-kantoku almost expectedly pulls Niwa and puts regular #9 Hayashi in left.
Nozawa with a chance to close the gap further pops it up! Azuma makes the catch for the 2nd out!
And Sekiguchi can't bring him in! He pops it up as well and Takenaka secures it to limit the damage!
Top 7th
Lucky 7 for Kengifushou, but it's lucky for Sekiguchi has he gets 2 quick groundouts to Yamamoto.
But Azuma gets his 3rd hit on a base hit to left, and then Sekiguchi hits Takenaka on a 55' changeup.
That gets Iwai-kantoku to call for time.
Kouyama with a grounder back up the middle. Yamamoto charges over, flat misses it! Goes into center and Azuma scores to bring the margin back to 3 at 6-3!
Fujita grounds to 1st, but mistakes by the Hanasaki defense continue to trip up the team.
Bottom 7th
Tada with his 2nd hit! He lines one to left to start the inning!
Iwai-kantoku not bunting at this point, Ryuusei grounds to short but does advance the runner. Matsumoto does the same on a grounder to 1st, so a run is 90 feet away.
But he'll be left there as Kusumoto swings on the first pitch and flies out to left to end the inning.
Top 8th
Sekiguchi issues his 2nd walk to Aoki and Kengifushou has another leadoff runner. Noda bunts him over for Okimoto.
He hits a grounder up the middle. Yamamoto ranges to his right, and it's off his glove! Nozawa backs him hip, but Aoki scores to make it a 7-3 game.
And now a wild pitch sends Okimoto to 2nd! Things are going from bad to worse!
2 down for Hayashi and he singles to right! Okimoto coming around to score! Throw in from Hayashi not in time! Wakatsuki fires to 2nd and gets Hayashi trying to advance. Inning over, but it's 8-3 and the life has seemed to leave Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Bottom 8th
Yeah, it seems to be the case. Fujita retires the 3-4-5 batters in just 7 pitches.
Top 9th
#10 Kogure comes in to finish the game for Sekiguchi.
After some nerves perhaps, Kogure gets Azuma to ground to 1st. But on what should be a routine play to short, Kusumoto slides over only to have the ball go 5-hole on him and into left....
Oy. And now a wild pitch sends him to 2nd...
But Kogure freezes Kouyama on a slider for the 2nd out.
And Kogure gets a 2nd K in his inning of work as Fujita chases a slider in the dirt for the 3rd out.
Bottom 9th
It's all but a formality now. Just 3 outs to go, and Fujita has thrown a cool 99 pitches.
Iwai-kantoku empties the bench.
#15 Suzuki in for Nozawa first pitch grounds to short. #12 Nedachi in for Kogure, works the count full, then hits a comebacker to Fujita for the 2nd out.
Tada will bat seeing as though he's 2-3, I guess so.
But Tada grounds to 1st, and that's the game. Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou advances with a sound 8-3 win over Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Not much to say here, Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou was pretty much solid throughout while Hanasaki Tokuharu struggled with defense the entire game. Nevertheless, Hanasaki Tokuharu was still working their way back before they would trip over themselves again.
It'll certainly be a learning lesson for the Kanto runner-ups. I'll expect their defense to improve before the summer. Meanwhile, Kengifushou will need a similar performance from the offense as they will in all likelihood face Osaka Touin in the next round.
Notable Players
Fujita Ryouji (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - W, CG, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB, HBP
Azuma Taito (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 3-4, 2B, 2 R, HBP
Noda Gento (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
Kawamura Renji (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 2-5, 2 RBI
Sekiguchi Akihiro (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - L, 8 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 HBP
Wakatsuki Kenya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
Tada Tomoya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-4
Furukawa Sumiya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 1-4, 3B
Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou went relatively unchallenged through the prefecturals/super-regionals save for a 4-3 win in 11 against their bretheren Shiritsu Gifu Shougyou, and a 2-1 win against Tokoha Kikugawa. But in their first round matchup at Meiji Jingu, they would be soundly defeated by eventual champions Sendai Ikuei 6-2.
Apparently, Fujita-kantoku was the catcher the last time Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou went to Haru Koushien. 18 years later his eldest son, ace Fuijita Ryouhei has led his team back to Haru Koushien!
Ryouhei has started and finished all games except for the 2nd round of the prefectural taikai. There they used a triumvirate of pitchers who never saw any action after that. I can't find any other info on Fujita though, and the peripherals aren't really much different than other aces to find fault with or stand out.
Offensively, the team did post a 0.135 ISO in addition to a 0.336 batting average. The hit production for the most part though decreased as they faced Koushien-level schools though, so it might be a problem. The main drives is cleanup batter Takenaka Hiroki who has more triples (4) than doubles (3).
Opposing them are the Kanto runner-ups Hanasaki Tokuharu who unfortunately had to face eventual super-regional champions Urawa Gakuin twice. And defeating a team twice in the same season is never an easy proposition. In the super-regionals, they defeated a Yokohama Hayato squad known for playing up to their opponents, routed my favorite team Narashino 12-0 and held on to defeat Jyousou Gakuin 6-4 before blowing a lead late and losing in 10 to Urawa Gakuin.
Hanasaki Tokuharu primarily uses a tandem of ace Sekiguchi and reliever Kogure. Sekiguchi averages over a K/IP, but has a K:BB ratio of 18:24 in 33.2 IP., Kogure has a 6 K/9 rate, but has a K:BB ratio of 20:3.
Offensively, their cleanup batter Wakatsuki Kenya is one of their main drivers, the other surprisingly is Mori Daiki who is usually in the bottom part of the order. The team is not afraid to take walks, though that is always predicated on how their opponents pitch more than anything else.
Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou (Gifu) - Tokai Champions
LF Kawamura Renji
RF Niwa Kensuke (#16)
3B Azuma Taito (#4)
1B Takenaka Hiroki
C Kouyama Takurou
P Fujita Ryouji
CF Aoki Shouya
SS Noda Gento
2B Okimoto Takuya (#14)
Hanasaki Tokuharu (Saitama) - Kanto Runner-up
2B Yamamoto Ryuusei
3B Matsumoto Jyunpei
SS Kusumoto Taishi
C Wakatsuki Kenya
LF Furukawa Sumiya
1B Mori Daiki
CF Nozawa Takumi
P Sekiguchi Akihiro
RF Tada Tomoya
____________________________________________________________
13:45 - First pitch
Top 1st
Sekimoto is one of the few pitchers that can hit 140+ on the gun. Kawamura grounds to short for the first out.
Niwa fails to get around on a fastball inside and goes down swinging.
Meanwhile Azuma takes a ball away and pulls it back up the middle past a diving Yamamoto!
But Takenaka swings on a change down and away and it's a good start for Sekiguchi
Bottom 1st
Fujita seems to be more in the mold of most aces, in the 130s with a change in addition to the normal fare.
Ryuusei goes down swinging on a slider away for the first out. But they get a baserunner when Fujita hits Matsumoto. Iwai-kantoku elects to bunt him over for a one-shot.
Wakatsuki flies to right though and that ends the inning.
Top 2nd
Sekiguchi issues his first walk to Kouyama to start the inning. Fujita lays down the bunt, and Sekiguchi looks at 2nd before he picks up the ball, and doesn't pick up the ball! He misses again and everyone's safe!
So Aoki lays down another bunt and there's 2 runners in scoring position!
Noda delivers! He goes down on a slider and shoots it through to center! Kouyama scores, throw from Nozawa not in time! Noda winds up at 2nd on the throw and Kengifushou has the 2-0 lead!
Fujita-kantoku has Okimoto bunt to cycle the lineup back to the top and he lays one down.
Kawamura takes one back up the middle and that easily picks up Noda to make it 3-0!
Sekiguchi experiencing control isssues runs the count to 3-1, but Niwa's bunt attempt is popped up and caught by a diving Wakatsuki for the 3rd out. But a lot of balls in the zone and an error by the ace lead to an early deficit!
Bottom 2nd
Furukawa turns on a fastball and drills it to right center! Aoki runs it down, but not before Furukawa is in with a leadoff triple! Hanasaki Tokuharu poised to get the run back.
But Mori grounds to 3rd and can't get him in!
Nozawa gets the job done with a slow grounder to short. Hanasaki gets one of the runs back and it's now 3-1.
Sekiguchi chases 2 sliders in the dirt to go down swinging to end the inning, but they're slowing chipping away at the deficit.
Top 3rd
Azuma with his 2nd hit as he turns on an inside curve and singles to right. Takenaka bunts him along to 2nd.
Koyama with a ball the other way into right! Tada charging in, can't grab the ball! He doubles back allowing Azuma to score! It's 4-1 Kengifushou!
Fujita tries to bunt the runner over, but hits it right to Sekiguchi who starts the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning
Bottom 3rd
Tada gets Hanasaki's 2nd leadoff runner as he singles past Noda into left. Ryuusei bunts him along.
Fujita gets Matsumoto to chase a change low for the 2nd out.
Rack one more up for Fujita as he freezes Kusumoto on an outside fastball for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Kengifushou continues to hit off of Sekiguchi. Noda gets his 2nd hit, a one-out single through the right side.
And another base hit for Kawamura! He singles to left and that scores Noda to make it 5-1!
Niwa can't join the hit parade as he swings on a slider in the dirt to end the inning. But it's clear that Sekiguchi is just getting too much of the plate and the Kengifushou batters are just teeing off.
Bottom 4th
Wakatsuki with a drive to left-center! Kawamura running back to the fence, turns around!
HAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wakatsuki does deliver with a solo HR to left! He gets a run back to make it 5-2, but there's still a long way to go.
And while Nozawa works a 2-out walk, he stranded when Sekiguchi grounds out back to Fujita.
Top 5th
Sekiguchi not doing himself any favors as he hits Azuma to start the inning.
Fujita-kantoku elects not to bunt with Takenaka or Kouyama, and both flyout to center.
Fujita can't check his swing on a fork in the dirt and that ends the inning. It's not a 1-2-3 inning, but it's a 0 on the board.
Bottom 5th
The rain seems to be coming down as people prepare their ponchos and umbrellas. Not serious though, seems like it's light if at all.
Outside of the middle of the lineup, very few have had success against Fujita.
Tada and Ryuusei both can't get the ball out of the infield, and while Matsumoto gets another 2-out walk, Kusumoto grounds to 1st and we hit the break.
Once again the pace is very fast. Sekiguchi's pitching has improved a bit here in the past inning, but missing in the wrong places have led to most of Kengifushou's runs. Wakatsuki and Furukawa seem to have some level of success, but the rest of the lineup will need to produce.
Top 6th
Rain is coming down a bit harder, but still not enough to get people to evacuate for cover.
Well, Sekiguchi has settle d down the last couple of innings. Outside of Aoki where he ran the count full before striking him out, he retires the other two batters with ease to hold the 3-run deficit.
Bottom 6th
Wakatsuki with a ball to shallow center. Aoki charging in, the ball goes in and pops out of his glove! It goes behind him and Wakatsuki reaches 2nd on the error!
Furukawa rightly swinging away, but Fujita induces a flyout to left.
Mori with a liner to right! It's in for a AH!!!
The ball bounces and skips by Niwa and goes all the way to the wall! Wakatsuki scores! Mori rounding 3rd, is held up! Hanasaki Tokuharu gets two breaks and get back a run! It's 5-3!
And Fujita-kantoku almost expectedly pulls Niwa and puts regular #9 Hayashi in left.
Nozawa with a chance to close the gap further pops it up! Azuma makes the catch for the 2nd out!
And Sekiguchi can't bring him in! He pops it up as well and Takenaka secures it to limit the damage!
Top 7th
Lucky 7 for Kengifushou, but it's lucky for Sekiguchi has he gets 2 quick groundouts to Yamamoto.
But Azuma gets his 3rd hit on a base hit to left, and then Sekiguchi hits Takenaka on a 55' changeup.
That gets Iwai-kantoku to call for time.
Kouyama with a grounder back up the middle. Yamamoto charges over, flat misses it! Goes into center and Azuma scores to bring the margin back to 3 at 6-3!
Fujita grounds to 1st, but mistakes by the Hanasaki defense continue to trip up the team.
Bottom 7th
Tada with his 2nd hit! He lines one to left to start the inning!
Iwai-kantoku not bunting at this point, Ryuusei grounds to short but does advance the runner. Matsumoto does the same on a grounder to 1st, so a run is 90 feet away.
But he'll be left there as Kusumoto swings on the first pitch and flies out to left to end the inning.
Top 8th
Sekiguchi issues his 2nd walk to Aoki and Kengifushou has another leadoff runner. Noda bunts him over for Okimoto.
He hits a grounder up the middle. Yamamoto ranges to his right, and it's off his glove! Nozawa backs him hip, but Aoki scores to make it a 7-3 game.
And now a wild pitch sends Okimoto to 2nd! Things are going from bad to worse!
2 down for Hayashi and he singles to right! Okimoto coming around to score! Throw in from Hayashi not in time! Wakatsuki fires to 2nd and gets Hayashi trying to advance. Inning over, but it's 8-3 and the life has seemed to leave Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Bottom 8th
Yeah, it seems to be the case. Fujita retires the 3-4-5 batters in just 7 pitches.
Top 9th
#10 Kogure comes in to finish the game for Sekiguchi.
After some nerves perhaps, Kogure gets Azuma to ground to 1st. But on what should be a routine play to short, Kusumoto slides over only to have the ball go 5-hole on him and into left....
Oy. And now a wild pitch sends him to 2nd...
But Kogure freezes Kouyama on a slider for the 2nd out.
And Kogure gets a 2nd K in his inning of work as Fujita chases a slider in the dirt for the 3rd out.
Bottom 9th
It's all but a formality now. Just 3 outs to go, and Fujita has thrown a cool 99 pitches.
Iwai-kantoku empties the bench.
#15 Suzuki in for Nozawa first pitch grounds to short. #12 Nedachi in for Kogure, works the count full, then hits a comebacker to Fujita for the 2nd out.
Tada will bat seeing as though he's 2-3, I guess so.
But Tada grounds to 1st, and that's the game. Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou advances with a sound 8-3 win over Hanasaki Tokuharu.
Not much to say here, Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou was pretty much solid throughout while Hanasaki Tokuharu struggled with defense the entire game. Nevertheless, Hanasaki Tokuharu was still working their way back before they would trip over themselves again.
It'll certainly be a learning lesson for the Kanto runner-ups. I'll expect their defense to improve before the summer. Meanwhile, Kengifushou will need a similar performance from the offense as they will in all likelihood face Osaka Touin in the next round.
Notable Players
Fujita Ryouji (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - W, CG, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB, HBP
Azuma Taito (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 3-4, 2B, 2 R, HBP
Noda Gento (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
Kawamura Renji (Kenritsu Gifu Shougyou) - 2-5, 2 RBI
Sekiguchi Akihiro (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - L, 8 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 HBP
Wakatsuki Kenya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
Tada Tomoya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 2-4
Furukawa Sumiya (Hanasaki Tokuharu) - 1-4, 3B
Day 6, Game 2 - Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) vs. Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata)
Game 2 has our only remaining Chuugoku team squaring off against the Tohoku Friendship representative.
Iwakuni Shougyou, probably the weakest of the three schools representing Chuugoku now stands as the only team remaining. Kanzei couldn't find home plate if it hit them in the head, and Kouryou make a valiant effort, but couldn't keep with with Saibi in enchousen. So they will try and make the valiant charge for the region.
The offense indeed had problems against Riseisha, only scoring when they were able to take advantage of a leadoff triple by Yokota. Otherwise, they really scuffled at the plate.
On the mound, Takahashi dispersed the baserunners though all the innings and never really let Riseisha have a chance at a big inning. The skill isn't a fully manageable skill since it depends on the opposition, but if he can continue to do that they might have a chance.
Yamagata Chuo comes in as the Tohoku Friendship bid. They actually reached the super-regional quarterfinal, so they're not necessarily like a 21st century team. But in looking at their resume, there's not a whole lot to go on. They reached the prefectural final only to lose to Sakata Minami 3-2. And after a mercy rule win over Aomori Kita, they fell to Seikou Gakuin 4-2.
From the little data we have, Yamagata Chuo had 4 pitchers who accounted for almost all their innings. Takahashi Ryouhei (28 inn), Nagai Daichi (21 inn), ace number Ishikawa Naoya (19.1 inn), Takahashi Kazuki (11 inn). Of the 4, Kazuki is the only southpaw. Sadly, I have almost no other information as to how hard they throw, what type of pitches they have, etc.
What I do know is that the statistics indicate that everyone averages around a K/IP except for Ryouhei (1 every 2), all have a WHIP under 1.00 except for Ishikawa (1.45). Nagai has the lowest ERA at 0.43, but has more walks than hits (7:9).
Offensively, the team batted 0.320, but against Seikou Gakuin managed just 5 hits. No one really stands out as an offensive threat though, so it's hard to say how they will do.
Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) - Chuugoku 3 seed
CF Nakamura Souichirou
2B Nakagawa Yuuki
P Takahashi Yuuya
1B Shigeoka Fumiya
RF Yokota Hiroki
C Kurisu Tooru
LF Shimizu Kouhei
SS Shigeishi Yuuji
3B Kamidera Yuu
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
____________________________________________________________
11:15 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, Ryouhei is pretty much like I expected. Low 130s, slider/curve.
Nakamura quckly grounds out to 1st for the opening out. Nakagawa takes a slider on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
But Yuuya hits a solid base hit through to right! And now Chuunai-kantoku sends him! Throw from Haga is not in time! The ace steals a base!
Shigeoka meanwhile fights at the plate, working the count full and fouling off several curveballs down in the zone.
Finally Ryouhei gets him to put it in play and it's a grounder to 2nd for the third out.
Bottom 1st
Ryuusei tries the safety bunt, but Kamidera is there and makes the throw to easily beat out a diving Ryuusei for the out. Konno swings on the very next pitch and also grounds out to 3rd.
But Yuuya ruins his own chance at a 1-2-3 inning as he walks Ryouhei.
Kumagai hacking away and falls behind 1-2
Ryouhei takes off for 2nd! Kurisu's throw is high and he's in safe!
And now Kumagai with a grounder past a diving Kamidera! Ryouhei is given the stop sign and scrambles back.
That's as far as he'lll get as Nakamura gets all twisted around and pops out Shigeoka to end the inning!
Top 2nd
After a groundout to short by Yokota, Kurisu hits one back up the middle! Satou runs over, but just misses the ball!
No matter though as Ryouhei gets Shimizu to ground into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 2nd
It's a rather routine inning for Yuuya as he gets Haga to groundout to 3rd. Satou hits a fly to center that Takada camps under for a while. And Matsuzawa hits a soft liner to Shigeishi.
Top 3rd
Shigeishi with a hot shot to 3rd! Nakamura blocks it, but it defects towards 2nd! He runs it down, but has to eat it! Kamidera bunts him along.
Back to the top of the order and Nakamura (Souichirou). He gets ahead 3-0, but Ryouhei comes back to fill the count with fastballs inside. Does it one more time and Souichirou can't get around on it and becomes the 2nd out.
And Nakagawa is jammed and grounder to 3rd! Hayate throws to first and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Takada lines a shot, but right to Kamidera at 3rd.
Back to the top of the order and Ryuusei, but he can't get around on an inside fastball and goes down for the 2nd out.
And Konno hits a grounder back up the middle! Shigeishi running over, picks it with the end of his glove and makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Ryouhei feeding Yuuya a steady diet of balls outside that he fouls off. He finally wins the battle by getting him to ground out to 2nd.
Shigeoka catches a slider in the zone and gets a base hit through the left side!
Two down for Kurisu and he singles past Ryouhei's glove into center! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Shimizu.
Sanshin! Shimizu can't reach an inside fastball and goes down to end the inning!
Bottom 4th
Ryouhei works the count full, but is called out on a letter high fastball.
Kumagai swinging early, grounds back to Yuuya.
And Nakamura is late on a fastball and goes down on 3 straight for a stress-free 1-2-3 inning!
Top 5th
Shigeishi with a drive the opposite way! Kumagai running back as Takada sprints to help, but it falls in! Shigeishi rounds for 3rd and will take it standing up!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Souichirou pushes the squeeze bunt to the right side! Ryouhei and Matsuzawa charging overplay the ball! Satou retrieves it and tries to beat Soichirou to the bag, but he can't get there! Shigeishi scores to make it 1-0 Iwakuni Shougyou!
And after a sac bunt, Jyouji-kantoku brings in a lefty to face Yuuya. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the hill while Ryuouhei moves to 1st.
And it works! Yuuya pops out Satou to end the inning, but Shigeishi's leadoff triple helps break the deadlock!
Bottom 5th
Haga with a grounder past a diving Kimidera for a base hit!
Satou lays down the bunt, Yuuya takes his time, and the throw to Nakagawa covering is not in time!
That brings up new P Kazuki. He's not bunting?!
No! And he gets ahead 3-1!
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kazuki with a drive to center right! The outfield's drawn in! They're running back, but they have no chance! It one hops to the wall! Haga scores! Satou right behind him! Kazuki with a 2-RBI triple gives Yamagata Chuo the lead! It's 2-1!
またぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Takada with a drive to right, and again the outfield is in! Yokota will chase that all the way to the wall! Takada with back-to-back triples extend the lead to 3-1!!
Back to the top of the lineup and Ryuusei. But on the first pitch he hits it back to Yuuya! Takada can't score as Yuuya goes to 1st.
And now Konno hits it to the right side. Yuuya with it again, looks Takada back and gets the 2nd out!
And the top of the lineup is useless! Ryouhei grouds to short and none of the top batters can get Takada in from 3rd! It's the bottom of the lineup that comes through here in the 5th to give Yamagata Chuo the lead here at the break!
Top 6th
Shigeoka with a ball to right for a leadoff hit!
Hit-and-run! Yokota with a grouner to the right side! Nakagawa chasing it to the outfield, picks it, turns, throws to 1st.. OUT! (Huh?)
Throws to 3rd!! Nakamura with the tag... OUT!!!
It's your standard 4-3-5 double play???!!!
Eh? I thought Yokoka had reached safely even with the dive, but on replay he was out! (STOP DIVING!)
Kurisu grounds out to 2nd and a promising inning goes to waste!
Bottom 6th
Kumagai first pitch singles past Kamidera for a leadoff single! Nakamura bunts him along.
えぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇ？？？？？？？？？？？？？？
Haga connects on a slider and sends it to left! The outfield is in again and Shimizu will chase that to the wall! Haga is in with a double and it's 4-1 Yamagata Chuo!!
Satou can't extend the lead as he pops out to Nakagawa.
Oy. Yuuya hits Kazuki to put runners at 1st and 2nd now! Fortunately, Takada can't check his swing on a ball away and the inning is over. But Yamagata Chuo is punishing mistakes by Yuuya.
Top 7th
The Lucky 7 for Iwakuni Shougyou begins with Shimizu getting their first walk off of Kazuki!
Shigeishi also playing the waiting game, runs the count full, and stays alive fouling off pitches.
It pays off! He gets around on an inside fastball and bloops it into shallow left! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Kamidera.
Safety bunt!
Both Satou and Ryouhei charge in at first, but Ryouhei doubles back to receive the throw for the 1st out. Back to the top of the order and Souichirou.
Base hit!! Souichirou singles through to center and that scores Shimizu! It's too hard though and Takada gets it in quickly to prevent Shigeishi from scoring. But it's now 4-2!
Nakagawa showing squeeze, but can't lay it down twice! Has to swings away and chases a curve in the dirt for the 2nd out!
Now that brings up Yuuya. Can he help his own cause?
Grounder to 3rd! Hayate blocks it in front of him, makes the quick throw...
OUT!!!
Ryouhei makes a great stretch and pick to just get out Yuuya and the inning is over! But they do get back one run, and that is manageable.
Bottom 7th
Ryuusei cannot get around on an inside fastball and goes down swinging.
Konno tries the safety bunt and it dies up the 3rd base line! Kurisu makes the desperate throw to 1st, but not in time!
Ryouhei with a base hit to right! Now runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
EH?
Jyouji-kantoku calls for a double steal with Kumagai at bat?! He misses and Kurisu throws out Konno with miles to spare! 2 out!
Now Kumagai walks and now there's runners on 1st and 2nd again! This time for Hayate who's 0-2 on the day. And he's quickly down 0-2.
And Hayate is still hitless. Grounder to 3rd is taken by Kamidera to the bag and the side is retired.
Top 8th
Shigeishi with his third hit of the day, a single past a diving Konno.
Yokota bunts him along. Getting a run in the 8th and 9th would tie the game after all.
But Kurisu hits a comebacker to Kazuki! He looks Shigeishi back and goes to 1st for the 2nd out!
Chuunai-kantoku goes to the bench. #10 Morimoto comes in to hit for Shimizu.
Like the man he replaced, he works the count full and fouls pitches off. And he works the walk! That brings up Shigeishi who is 3-3 on the day!!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time. This will be a key AB. What will they do with a man that has beaten them all day?
And they're going after him! A couple of pitches inside and Kazuki is ahead 1-2!
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shigeishi cannot get around on another fastball inside and he goes down swinging to end the inning!!
Bottom 8th
Morimoto stays in the game in LF.
2 outs and Kazuki slices a ball down the left field line! Shimizu chases that down near the wall and Kazuki has a double!
And his day is done on the mound. #15 Satou Miharu comes in to run for him.
Takada with another booming hit to left! Shimizu back to the wall, Miharu scores! Takada dives in with his 2nd triple of the day to make it 5-2!
Ryuusei with a grounder to 3rd. Kamidera with the throw to AHHH!!!
The ball is short and gets by Shigeoka! Ryuusei is safe and it's now 6-2!!
Kanno pops out to Kurisu to end the inning, but the game seems all but decided now.
Top 9th
#1 Ishikawa comes in for PR Miharu and takes the hill.
Last ups for Ganshou as #17 Saitou hits for Kamidera, but flies out to center.
Nakamura bloops in a single just fair down the right field line for a single!
#14 Fujioka comes in to hit for Nakagawa, but grounds out to 3rd.
Yuuya keeps the game alive for now with a single past Hayate into left. But Shigeoka flies to center and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo gets their first win at Koushien!
In an amazing display of power (but not HR power!), Yamagata Chuo puts up 6 on ace Yuuya and Iwakuni Shougyou and advance into the next round!
Well color me surprised. I never expected to see that. Even if the Ganshou outfield wasn't playing that far in, those balls would still go in for hits I think.
For Iwakuni Shougyou, it still have be considered a mild success. Defeating Riseisha is no small matter, even if you lose to Yamagata Chuo. They may be the first team I see gathering Koushien dirt, but I think it's well earned.
Yamagata Chuo moves on to face Kanto champs Urawa Gakuin. I don't think they'll take them as lightly - especially in the outfield. But I am intrigued about the upcoming game!
Notable Players
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 4.2 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 K
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - W, 3.1 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP
Takada Takumi (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-4, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI, K
Haga Takahiro (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI
Shigeoka Fumiya (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5
Nakamura Souichirou (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5, 2 RBI
Shigeishi Yuuji (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-4. 3B, R, K
Iwakuni Shougyou, probably the weakest of the three schools representing Chuugoku now stands as the only team remaining. Kanzei couldn't find home plate if it hit them in the head, and Kouryou make a valiant effort, but couldn't keep with with Saibi in enchousen. So they will try and make the valiant charge for the region.
The offense indeed had problems against Riseisha, only scoring when they were able to take advantage of a leadoff triple by Yokota. Otherwise, they really scuffled at the plate.
On the mound, Takahashi dispersed the baserunners though all the innings and never really let Riseisha have a chance at a big inning. The skill isn't a fully manageable skill since it depends on the opposition, but if he can continue to do that they might have a chance.
Yamagata Chuo comes in as the Tohoku Friendship bid. They actually reached the super-regional quarterfinal, so they're not necessarily like a 21st century team. But in looking at their resume, there's not a whole lot to go on. They reached the prefectural final only to lose to Sakata Minami 3-2. And after a mercy rule win over Aomori Kita, they fell to Seikou Gakuin 4-2.
From the little data we have, Yamagata Chuo had 4 pitchers who accounted for almost all their innings. Takahashi Ryouhei (28 inn), Nagai Daichi (21 inn), ace number Ishikawa Naoya (19.1 inn), Takahashi Kazuki (11 inn). Of the 4, Kazuki is the only southpaw. Sadly, I have almost no other information as to how hard they throw, what type of pitches they have, etc.
What I do know is that the statistics indicate that everyone averages around a K/IP except for Ryouhei (1 every 2), all have a WHIP under 1.00 except for Ishikawa (1.45). Nagai has the lowest ERA at 0.43, but has more walks than hits (7:9).
Offensively, the team batted 0.320, but against Seikou Gakuin managed just 5 hits. No one really stands out as an offensive threat though, so it's hard to say how they will do.
Iwakuni Shougyou (Yamaguchi) - Chuugoku 3 seed
CF Nakamura Souichirou
2B Nakagawa Yuuki
P Takahashi Yuuya
1B Shigeoka Fumiya
RF Yokota Hiroki
C Kurisu Tooru
LF Shimizu Kouhei
SS Shigeishi Yuuji
3B Kamidera Yuu
Yamagata Chuo (Yamagata) - Tohoku Friendship Bid
LF Takahashi Ryuusei
SS Konno Shouta
P Takahashi Ryouhei (#8)
RF Kumagai Hiroshi
3B Nakamura Hayate (#16)
C Haga Takahiro
2B Satou Daiki
1B Matsuzawa Shouta
CF Takada Takuma (#17)
____________________________________________________________
11:15 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Well, Ryouhei is pretty much like I expected. Low 130s, slider/curve.
Nakamura quckly grounds out to 1st for the opening out. Nakagawa takes a slider on the outside corner for the 2nd out.
But Yuuya hits a solid base hit through to right! And now Chuunai-kantoku sends him! Throw from Haga is not in time! The ace steals a base!
Shigeoka meanwhile fights at the plate, working the count full and fouling off several curveballs down in the zone.
Finally Ryouhei gets him to put it in play and it's a grounder to 2nd for the third out.
Bottom 1st
Ryuusei tries the safety bunt, but Kamidera is there and makes the throw to easily beat out a diving Ryuusei for the out. Konno swings on the very next pitch and also grounds out to 3rd.
But Yuuya ruins his own chance at a 1-2-3 inning as he walks Ryouhei.
Kumagai hacking away and falls behind 1-2
Ryouhei takes off for 2nd! Kurisu's throw is high and he's in safe!
And now Kumagai with a grounder past a diving Kamidera! Ryouhei is given the stop sign and scrambles back.
That's as far as he'lll get as Nakamura gets all twisted around and pops out Shigeoka to end the inning!
Top 2nd
After a groundout to short by Yokota, Kurisu hits one back up the middle! Satou runs over, but just misses the ball!
No matter though as Ryouhei gets Shimizu to ground into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning!
Bottom 2nd
It's a rather routine inning for Yuuya as he gets Haga to groundout to 3rd. Satou hits a fly to center that Takada camps under for a while. And Matsuzawa hits a soft liner to Shigeishi.
Top 3rd
Shigeishi with a hot shot to 3rd! Nakamura blocks it, but it defects towards 2nd! He runs it down, but has to eat it! Kamidera bunts him along.
Back to the top of the order and Nakamura (Souichirou). He gets ahead 3-0, but Ryouhei comes back to fill the count with fastballs inside. Does it one more time and Souichirou can't get around on it and becomes the 2nd out.
And Nakagawa is jammed and grounder to 3rd! Hayate throws to first and the side is retired.
Bottom 3rd
Takada lines a shot, but right to Kamidera at 3rd.
Back to the top of the order and Ryuusei, but he can't get around on an inside fastball and goes down for the 2nd out.
And Konno hits a grounder back up the middle! Shigeishi running over, picks it with the end of his glove and makes the throw to 1st for the 3rd out!
Top 4th
Ryouhei feeding Yuuya a steady diet of balls outside that he fouls off. He finally wins the battle by getting him to ground out to 2nd.
Shigeoka catches a slider in the zone and gets a base hit through the left side!
Two down for Kurisu and he singles past Ryouhei's glove into center! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Shimizu.
Sanshin! Shimizu can't reach an inside fastball and goes down to end the inning!
Bottom 4th
Ryouhei works the count full, but is called out on a letter high fastball.
Kumagai swinging early, grounds back to Yuuya.
And Nakamura is late on a fastball and goes down on 3 straight for a stress-free 1-2-3 inning!
Top 5th
Shigeishi with a drive the opposite way! Kumagai running back as Takada sprints to help, but it falls in! Shigeishi rounds for 3rd and will take it standing up!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time.
SQUEEZE!!!!
Souichirou pushes the squeeze bunt to the right side! Ryouhei and Matsuzawa charging overplay the ball! Satou retrieves it and tries to beat Soichirou to the bag, but he can't get there! Shigeishi scores to make it 1-0 Iwakuni Shougyou!
And after a sac bunt, Jyouji-kantoku brings in a lefty to face Yuuya. #11 Takahashi Kazuki comes in for Matsuzawa and takes the hill while Ryuouhei moves to 1st.
And it works! Yuuya pops out Satou to end the inning, but Shigeishi's leadoff triple helps break the deadlock!
Bottom 5th
Haga with a grounder past a diving Kimidera for a base hit!
Satou lays down the bunt, Yuuya takes his time, and the throw to Nakagawa covering is not in time!
That brings up new P Kazuki. He's not bunting?!
No! And he gets ahead 3-1!
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kazuki with a drive to center right! The outfield's drawn in! They're running back, but they have no chance! It one hops to the wall! Haga scores! Satou right behind him! Kazuki with a 2-RBI triple gives Yamagata Chuo the lead! It's 2-1!
またぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Takada with a drive to right, and again the outfield is in! Yokota will chase that all the way to the wall! Takada with back-to-back triples extend the lead to 3-1!!
Back to the top of the lineup and Ryuusei. But on the first pitch he hits it back to Yuuya! Takada can't score as Yuuya goes to 1st.
And now Konno hits it to the right side. Yuuya with it again, looks Takada back and gets the 2nd out!
And the top of the lineup is useless! Ryouhei grouds to short and none of the top batters can get Takada in from 3rd! It's the bottom of the lineup that comes through here in the 5th to give Yamagata Chuo the lead here at the break!
Top 6th
Shigeoka with a ball to right for a leadoff hit!
Hit-and-run! Yokota with a grouner to the right side! Nakagawa chasing it to the outfield, picks it, turns, throws to 1st.. OUT! (Huh?)
Throws to 3rd!! Nakamura with the tag... OUT!!!
It's your standard 4-3-5 double play???!!!
Eh? I thought Yokoka had reached safely even with the dive, but on replay he was out! (STOP DIVING!)
Kurisu grounds out to 2nd and a promising inning goes to waste!
Bottom 6th
Kumagai first pitch singles past Kamidera for a leadoff single! Nakamura bunts him along.
えぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇぇ？？？？？？？？？？？？？？
Haga connects on a slider and sends it to left! The outfield is in again and Shimizu will chase that to the wall! Haga is in with a double and it's 4-1 Yamagata Chuo!!
Satou can't extend the lead as he pops out to Nakagawa.
Oy. Yuuya hits Kazuki to put runners at 1st and 2nd now! Fortunately, Takada can't check his swing on a ball away and the inning is over. But Yamagata Chuo is punishing mistakes by Yuuya.
Top 7th
The Lucky 7 for Iwakuni Shougyou begins with Shimizu getting their first walk off of Kazuki!
Shigeishi also playing the waiting game, runs the count full, and stays alive fouling off pitches.
It pays off! He gets around on an inside fastball and bloops it into shallow left! Runners on 1st and 2nd for Kamidera.
Safety bunt!
Both Satou and Ryouhei charge in at first, but Ryouhei doubles back to receive the throw for the 1st out. Back to the top of the order and Souichirou.
Base hit!! Souichirou singles through to center and that scores Shimizu! It's too hard though and Takada gets it in quickly to prevent Shigeishi from scoring. But it's now 4-2!
Nakagawa showing squeeze, but can't lay it down twice! Has to swings away and chases a curve in the dirt for the 2nd out!
Now that brings up Yuuya. Can he help his own cause?
Grounder to 3rd! Hayate blocks it in front of him, makes the quick throw...
OUT!!!
Ryouhei makes a great stretch and pick to just get out Yuuya and the inning is over! But they do get back one run, and that is manageable.
Bottom 7th
Ryuusei cannot get around on an inside fastball and goes down swinging.
Konno tries the safety bunt and it dies up the 3rd base line! Kurisu makes the desperate throw to 1st, but not in time!
Ryouhei with a base hit to right! Now runners on 1st and 2nd for Yamagata Chuo!
EH?
Jyouji-kantoku calls for a double steal with Kumagai at bat?! He misses and Kurisu throws out Konno with miles to spare! 2 out!
Now Kumagai walks and now there's runners on 1st and 2nd again! This time for Hayate who's 0-2 on the day. And he's quickly down 0-2.
And Hayate is still hitless. Grounder to 3rd is taken by Kamidera to the bag and the side is retired.
Top 8th
Shigeishi with his third hit of the day, a single past a diving Konno.
Yokota bunts him along. Getting a run in the 8th and 9th would tie the game after all.
But Kurisu hits a comebacker to Kazuki! He looks Shigeishi back and goes to 1st for the 2nd out!
Chuunai-kantoku goes to the bench. #10 Morimoto comes in to hit for Shimizu.
Like the man he replaced, he works the count full and fouls pitches off. And he works the walk! That brings up Shigeishi who is 3-3 on the day!!
Jyouji-kantoku calls for time. This will be a key AB. What will they do with a man that has beaten them all day?
And they're going after him! A couple of pitches inside and Kazuki is ahead 1-2!
SANSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shigeishi cannot get around on another fastball inside and he goes down swinging to end the inning!!
Bottom 8th
Morimoto stays in the game in LF.
2 outs and Kazuki slices a ball down the left field line! Shimizu chases that down near the wall and Kazuki has a double!
And his day is done on the mound. #15 Satou Miharu comes in to run for him.
Takada with another booming hit to left! Shimizu back to the wall, Miharu scores! Takada dives in with his 2nd triple of the day to make it 5-2!
Ryuusei with a grounder to 3rd. Kamidera with the throw to AHHH!!!
The ball is short and gets by Shigeoka! Ryuusei is safe and it's now 6-2!!
Kanno pops out to Kurisu to end the inning, but the game seems all but decided now.
Top 9th
#1 Ishikawa comes in for PR Miharu and takes the hill.
Last ups for Ganshou as #17 Saitou hits for Kamidera, but flies out to center.
Nakamura bloops in a single just fair down the right field line for a single!
#14 Fujioka comes in to hit for Nakagawa, but grounds out to 3rd.
Yuuya keeps the game alive for now with a single past Hayate into left. But Shigeoka flies to center and the game is over! Yamagata Chuo gets their first win at Koushien!
In an amazing display of power (but not HR power!), Yamagata Chuo puts up 6 on ace Yuuya and Iwakuni Shougyou and advance into the next round!
Well color me surprised. I never expected to see that. Even if the Ganshou outfield wasn't playing that far in, those balls would still go in for hits I think.
For Iwakuni Shougyou, it still have be considered a mild success. Defeating Riseisha is no small matter, even if you lose to Yamagata Chuo. They may be the first team I see gathering Koushien dirt, but I think it's well earned.
Yamagata Chuo moves on to face Kanto champs Urawa Gakuin. I don't think they'll take them as lightly - especially in the outfield. But I am intrigued about the upcoming game!
Notable Players
Takahashi Ryouhei (Yamagata Chuo) - 4.2 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 K
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - W, 3.1 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB
Takahashi Kazuki (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP
Takada Takumi (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-4, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI, K
Haga Takahiro (Yamagata Chuo) - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI
Shigeoka Fumiya (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5
Nakamura Souichirou (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-5, 2 RBI
Shigeishi Yuuji (Iwakuni Shougyou) - 3-4. 3B, R, K
Day 6, Game 1 - Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka) vs. Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo)
It's a bit weird with the format this year (with the expanded field), that we're still having teams playing their first games, and we're on Day 6.
But, here we are with some of our opening round teams playing their 2nd game. In this case, it's Tokoha Kikugawa facing home team Houtoku Gakuen.
And I do mean home team - the school is about 20 minutes away by car!
Houtoku Gakuen had some hot and cold stretches during the fall taikais. They would win the Hyogo prefecturals by edging out Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku 2-1, then pretty much did the same against Fukuchiyama Seibi (the same team Kyoto Shouei blew out 22-3). Fast forward to the semifinal and they then mercy-rule current Haru-Natsu champs Osaka Touin before losing in the finals to Kyoto Shouei 3-2 in 13 innings.
Inui Youhei is still their ace, throws in the low 140s with the standard fare. Has average numbers - 5 K/9, 5:2 K/BB ratio, 0.95 WHIP. Yet he was able to 1-hit Osaka Touin, so it's a bit bizarre.
If we assume that Osaka Touin is significantly not as strong as last year (which is easily plausible since they lost Fujinami), then the story makes more sense in that Inui is like all other pitchers, and that the offense significantly takes a hit when facing Koushien-level competition.
It's probably why some of the starting numbers in the fall have been replaced. 2B Miki has been moved in favor of Yamaguchi Daisuke, and LF Arai has been replaced with Yokota Yuuka. They had hit 7 & 8 in the lineup.
Their best batter is at the top of the lineup in Katsuoka Shizuya, who batted 0.373 and half his hits went for extra bases. Direcly behind him is Kurino Wataru who led the team in steals (8), though if Katsuoka gets on base ahead of Kurino, how much will he be able to run?
Their first opponent will be Tokoha Kikugawa, who capitalized on errors made by Kyushu champions Okinawa Shougaku in order to win 9-5. The 9 runs belied the fact that they weren't able to get to Okishou's ace until the latter half of the game. Of course when they did, they showed the offense that they displayed during the fall - including 2 HRs.
The other problem is that Hotta looked rather hittable against Harue Kougyou. Reliever Hodzumi in addition was not effective either. And while Harue Kougyou isn't just some random team, it can probably be agreed that they're not top tier. So the offense will be hard pressed to deliver game after game. But if they can take it a game at a time, it might be possible.
Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka) - Tokai 3 seed
CF Toji Keisuke
LF Maekawa Naoya
SS Endou Kouhei
C Matsuki Daisuke
3B Oonishi Yuuki
RF Kaneko Hisashi (#17)
1B Kuwahara Tatsuki
P Watanabe Naoki (#10)
2B Imasaka Ryousuke
Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo) - Kinki Runner-up
RF Katsuoka Shizuya
CF Kurino Wataru
SS Kishida Yukinori
1B Katahama Daiki
C Matsutani Tatsuki
2B Yamaguchi Daisuke
LF Yokota Yuuta
3B Hagihara Mikito
P Inui Youhei
____________________________________________________________
09:00 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Toji swings on the first pitch and flies to left.
Inui firing strikes early, Maekawa swinging and missing on a fastball high for the out.
And Endou flies out to right and the inning is over in 7 pitches.
Bottom 1st
Watanabe getting the start instead of Hotta, perhaps to see how much they can get away with in resting their ace. As I mentioned before about Tokoha Kikugawa, I wouldn't trust the relief staff, but perhaps there's something I'm missing.
He goes full on Katsuoka before freezing him on a pitch inside.
Kurino tries a safety bunt, but Watanabe is there quickly and makes the throw for the 2nd out.
And Kishida goes full has to swing at the next pitch and flies to left. 1-2-3, but as noted he went full twice.
Top 2nd
Of course, I mention he's throwing strikes and he walks Matsuki on 4 straight.
Then he comes back and climbs the ladder on Oonishi for his 2nd K.
Matsuki tries to steal 2nd, Matsutani's throw seems late, but instead the camera shifts and Matsuki's out easily! That seems odd.
And Kaneko grounds to 3rd and the side is retired.
Bottom 2nd
Watanabe actually gets ahead of Katahama but runs the count full and walks him! Matsutani bunts him over.
And a curve gets bu Matsuki somehow! Now Katahama is on 3rd!
As expected, Houtoku punishes the strategy! Yamaguchi singles to center and Katahama easily scores to make it 1-0 Houtoku!
Watanabe gets Yokota and Hagihara to fly out to center and that ends the inning, but unless Tokoha plans to outscore Houtoku, they may have to call on Hotta's services early.
Top 3rd
It continues to be rather quick for Inui. Like the first, he requires just 7 pitches to retire the bottom of the order as a strikeout of Watanabe is sandwiched by two fly balls. Though to be honest, Katsuoka's backpedaling on Kuwahara's fly ball looked rather awkward and as if he wasn't an actual outfielder.
Bottom 3rd
Perhaps Watanabe heard me, because he's throwing strikes now.
Inui hits a comeback to Watanabe, and behind 1-2 Katsuoka grounds out to 2nd.
And apparently those strikes come in spurts as Watanabe goes full on Kurino before he grounds to 1st.
Top 4th
So for those that haven't read my prior game posts on Inui, he throws in the low 140s with a forkball to go with the standard fare.
Toji gets the bat around an inside fastball and lines it down the right field line... fair! Katsuoka runs it down and fumbles a bit with the ball! Still though, Toji winds up at 2nd with a leadoff double!
Maekawa tries to bunt Toji to 3rd, but he fails in his 2 attempts! Now he has to swing away!
And instead swings badly on a fastball way outside for the first out.
Endou with a grounder to left! They're sending Toji??!! That's really shallow!
But Yokota's throw is way up the 1st base line and Toji scores to tie it at 1-1! Either Morishita-kantoku has information or they like to press. Either way it works this time.
Matsuki is given the green light to swing, but flies out to center for the 2nd out. Oonishi grounds out to 2nd on the first pitch to end the inning, but some aggressive running and timely hitting give us a time game!
Bottom 4th
One down for Houtoku and Katahama with a base hit to left! He's moved over for a one shot from Yamaguchi, but he swings on the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd. As quickly as an opportunity presented itself, it disappeared.
Top 5th
Kaneko swings under a shoulder high fastball and pops up to Hagihara for the first out.
Kurihara with a grounder to 3rd, but Hagihara's throw is short and Katahama can't field it! E5 and Tokoha has another runner on!
#16 Kikuchi to hit for Watanabe, so that means Hotta will be entering the game.
Kikuchi though can't do anything as he swings on a slider in the dirt.
And apparently Houtoku Gakuen sees a weakness in Tokoha's they like the high pitch. Because Imasaka sees nothing except those and strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Bottom 5th
So ace Hotta actually comes in for Kaneko and takes the hill, Kikuchi moves to right.
And this game just whizzes along. Yokota gets ahead of a curveball and goes down. Hagihara follows that with a first pitch grounder to 3rd, and then Inui hits a high fly to Endou to end the inning!
We hit the break at a sub 2-hr pace, and for Tokoha Kikugawa, they got the innings they wanted from Watanabe as after a shaky first 2 innings, he settles down and hands the game over to his ace level.
For Houtoku, Inui has done fairly well against Tokoha's offense save for the score in the 4th. And I think they have something they can take advantage of.
Top 6th
And just as expected, Toji is behind 1-2, and they give him a couple of high fastballs which he manages to foul off. After laying off a slider in the dirt, he hits a pitch outside for a fly out to left.
Maekawa swings on a high pitch and hits a booming fly to right that Katsuoka secures.
And Endou chases a ball down and flies out to Yokota to end the inning.
I get it now! If Tokoha Kikugawa is a good hitting team, perhaps the idea isn't to go from side to side, it's to go up and down! If you miss side-to-side, you might leave one in their wheelhouse. If you pitch high and they swing, they can't drive through the ball, or they can't swing through it because it is high. If they swing low, they're reaching for it, and again aren't driving it and probably golfing it into the air!
Bottom 6th
Now it's Hotta's turn to nibble, working the outside and thus the count full. But he does eventually get Katsuoka to ground to 2nd.
And quickly thereafter, Kurino grounds to 3rd, and Kishida fies out to Toji near the infield and it's a quick inning for Houtoku!
Top 7th
I think the Tokoha batters are catching on, and thus waiting for a better pitch, but the results are the same. Matsuki grounds out to 2nd, Oonishi grounds out to 3rd, and Hotta in his first AB strikes out swinging on a fastball outside for the 3rd out.
Bottom 7th
One down for Houtoku, and Matsutani lines a curve back up the middle for a base hit!
And now Nagata-kantoku starts the hit-and-run! Yamaguchi grounds to 3rd, Oonishi charges in, throws and beats out a flopping Yamaguchi. (I don't know how better to explain it, he was completely horizontal about 4 feet off the ground like a belly flop.)
#13 Sakai to hit for Yokota.
Sakai drives the first pitch he sees! Maekawa running back, reaches his glove out and it's over him! Matsutani being sent home and Sakai delivers with a PH RBI double! It's 2-1 Houtoku Gakuen! He's given a warm welcome back in the dugout as he's replaced at 1st by #15 Sugiura.
Hagihara flies out to center to end the inning, but the Lucky 7 is lucky for Sakai and Houtoku Gakuen!
Top 8th
Sugiura stays in the game at LF.
AH! Kuwahara is sent to the ground after being hit by Inui! He's fine, but the douten runner is on base!
Kikuchi with a liner to right! Katsuoka gets it in quickly and Kuwahara has to hold at 2nd.
But with no out, Morishita-kantoku doesn't call for a bunt!
And Imasaka chases a fastball outside for the first out! One down, but that will flip the lineup back to the top and Toji.
Inui working from side to side now, but his control is not as good! He falls behind Toji 3-0 before fighting back to fill the count. But Toji doesn't chase on a ball way outside and it's manrui for Maekawa!!
Nagata-kantoku calls for time.
Fastball high and Maekawa fouls it off. And another foul! Will Inui take advantage of Maekawa's aggressiveness?
Well at 0-2 he throws a waste pitch, then another high pitch that Maekawa swings at, but grounds to Yamaguchi! He goes home for the force and there's 2 down!
Last chance in Endou to tie the game here in the 8th. Fastball on the outside corner taken for a strike. Goes there again and Endou fouls it off, quickly falling behind 0-2.
Another outside, and Endou emergency swings it foul! Pitch high, no swing!
Grounder to short! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball 5-holes Kishida into left center!!!
Kikuchi scores! Toji scores!! Maekawa being sent home!!!!
Throw from Kishida... SAFE!!!!
Maekawa slides in ahead of the throw and Matsuki clears the bases on an unfortunate play for Houtoku Gakuen!! Tokoha leads 4-2!!
Matsuki pops out to 2nd, but Tokoha Kikugawa gets some lick in the 8th and now have a 2-run lead!!
Bottom 8th
The home team now has little time to regroup and mount a rally.
One down for Houtoku and Katsuoka goes down and guides a ball through to center for a base hit!
Nagata-kantoku hoping for some more luck as he sends ini #12 Arai to hit for Kuwano.
He hits a fly to right center! But Toji sprinting over makes the catch! Kikuchi points in and Toji fires it to 1st! Katsuoka scrambles back, but Toji's throw beats him for the double play!!
Nagata-kantoku isn't happy about that as now his team is down to their last 3 outs!!
Top 9th
It takes a little bit of work, but Inui retires the side in order. He's done what he could on the mound now. It's up to the offense to try and make a final rally.
Bottom 9th
3-4-5 batters for Houtoku up as well.
But Hotta goes right after Kishida with 2 strikes. But then two balls not close and the advantage is gone.
Kishida lines a shot past a leaping Oonishi down the left field line! He's in easily with a double!
I will never understand the "waste" pitches that aren't even close. You're just giving away pitches and any advantage you had as the pitcher.
And now Hotta is trying to nibble or get the batter to chase and is getting nowhere! He walks Katahama on 4 straight! The douten runner is on for Houtoku!
Matsutani up and showing bunt, pitch inside - bunts it foul. Next pitch, buster shot! But he fouls it back! He's down 0-2, but still showing bunt!
Pitch way up and in for ball 1.
He goes for it! lays it down! Hotta goes to 1st and now the douten runner is in scoring position for Yamaguchi!
And Tokoha's defense is way in! Where is the "no doubles" defense??
Well, Hotta gets ahead of Yamaguchi 1-2.
Fly to right! Kikuchi with the catch, Kishida comes in to score, but Imasaka's throw home is high! Hotta backing up play retrieves it, and Katahama is caught off 3rd??!!
WHAT????!!!!!!!
Hotta starts the rundown, and 1-5-2-1 Hotta makes the tag and jumps in the air! Tokoha Kikugawa survives to defeat Houtoku Gakuen 4-3!!
Oh man, that's the second base running error in as many innings for Houtoku Gakuen and this one costs them the game!!
And you can see it as the players go out to the oen-dan, some of them are crying because the game was there for the taking, but unforced errors cost them.
So it'll be back to the drawing board for Houtoku Gakuen. They'll have the entire spring and summer to stew over that loss and to work their way back to Koushien once again.
For Tokoha Kikugawa, they get a lot of bounces their way - the 5-hole bases-clearing double, and the two baserunning errors mean that they advance on to play Kochi in the 3rd round. As much as perhaps their aggressiveness helped them in the past, they may need to be more disciplined lest they swing themselves out of Koushien instead of into the finals.
Notable Players
Watanabe Naoki (Tokoha Kikugawa) - 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, K, BB
Hotta Tatsuya (Tokoha Kikugawa) - W, 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K, BB
Endou Kouhei (Tokoha Kikugawa) - 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Inui Youhei (Houtoku Gakuen) - L, CG, 4 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 2 BB, HBP
Sakai Shuugo (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-1, 2B, RBI
Katahama Daiki (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-2, BB
Yamguchi Daisuke (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-3, 2 RBI
But, here we are with some of our opening round teams playing their 2nd game. In this case, it's Tokoha Kikugawa facing home team Houtoku Gakuen.
And I do mean home team - the school is about 20 minutes away by car!
Houtoku Gakuen had some hot and cold stretches during the fall taikais. They would win the Hyogo prefecturals by edging out Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku 2-1, then pretty much did the same against Fukuchiyama Seibi (the same team Kyoto Shouei blew out 22-3). Fast forward to the semifinal and they then mercy-rule current Haru-Natsu champs Osaka Touin before losing in the finals to Kyoto Shouei 3-2 in 13 innings.
Inui Youhei is still their ace, throws in the low 140s with the standard fare. Has average numbers - 5 K/9, 5:2 K/BB ratio, 0.95 WHIP. Yet he was able to 1-hit Osaka Touin, so it's a bit bizarre.
If we assume that Osaka Touin is significantly not as strong as last year (which is easily plausible since they lost Fujinami), then the story makes more sense in that Inui is like all other pitchers, and that the offense significantly takes a hit when facing Koushien-level competition.
It's probably why some of the starting numbers in the fall have been replaced. 2B Miki has been moved in favor of Yamaguchi Daisuke, and LF Arai has been replaced with Yokota Yuuka. They had hit 7 & 8 in the lineup.
Their best batter is at the top of the lineup in Katsuoka Shizuya, who batted 0.373 and half his hits went for extra bases. Direcly behind him is Kurino Wataru who led the team in steals (8), though if Katsuoka gets on base ahead of Kurino, how much will he be able to run?
Their first opponent will be Tokoha Kikugawa, who capitalized on errors made by Kyushu champions Okinawa Shougaku in order to win 9-5. The 9 runs belied the fact that they weren't able to get to Okishou's ace until the latter half of the game. Of course when they did, they showed the offense that they displayed during the fall - including 2 HRs.
The other problem is that Hotta looked rather hittable against Harue Kougyou. Reliever Hodzumi in addition was not effective either. And while Harue Kougyou isn't just some random team, it can probably be agreed that they're not top tier. So the offense will be hard pressed to deliver game after game. But if they can take it a game at a time, it might be possible.
Tokoha Kikugawa (Shizuoka) - Tokai 3 seed
CF Toji Keisuke
LF Maekawa Naoya
SS Endou Kouhei
C Matsuki Daisuke
3B Oonishi Yuuki
RF Kaneko Hisashi (#17)
1B Kuwahara Tatsuki
P Watanabe Naoki (#10)
2B Imasaka Ryousuke
Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo) - Kinki Runner-up
RF Katsuoka Shizuya
CF Kurino Wataru
SS Kishida Yukinori
1B Katahama Daiki
C Matsutani Tatsuki
2B Yamaguchi Daisuke
LF Yokota Yuuta
3B Hagihara Mikito
P Inui Youhei
____________________________________________________________
09:00 - First pitch!
Top 1st
Toji swings on the first pitch and flies to left.
Inui firing strikes early, Maekawa swinging and missing on a fastball high for the out.
And Endou flies out to right and the inning is over in 7 pitches.
Bottom 1st
Watanabe getting the start instead of Hotta, perhaps to see how much they can get away with in resting their ace. As I mentioned before about Tokoha Kikugawa, I wouldn't trust the relief staff, but perhaps there's something I'm missing.
He goes full on Katsuoka before freezing him on a pitch inside.
Kurino tries a safety bunt, but Watanabe is there quickly and makes the throw for the 2nd out.
And Kishida goes full has to swing at the next pitch and flies to left. 1-2-3, but as noted he went full twice.
Top 2nd
Of course, I mention he's throwing strikes and he walks Matsuki on 4 straight.
Then he comes back and climbs the ladder on Oonishi for his 2nd K.
Matsuki tries to steal 2nd, Matsutani's throw seems late, but instead the camera shifts and Matsuki's out easily! That seems odd.
And Kaneko grounds to 3rd and the side is retired.
Bottom 2nd
Watanabe actually gets ahead of Katahama but runs the count full and walks him! Matsutani bunts him over.
And a curve gets bu Matsuki somehow! Now Katahama is on 3rd!
As expected, Houtoku punishes the strategy! Yamaguchi singles to center and Katahama easily scores to make it 1-0 Houtoku!
Watanabe gets Yokota and Hagihara to fly out to center and that ends the inning, but unless Tokoha plans to outscore Houtoku, they may have to call on Hotta's services early.
Top 3rd
It continues to be rather quick for Inui. Like the first, he requires just 7 pitches to retire the bottom of the order as a strikeout of Watanabe is sandwiched by two fly balls. Though to be honest, Katsuoka's backpedaling on Kuwahara's fly ball looked rather awkward and as if he wasn't an actual outfielder.
Bottom 3rd
Perhaps Watanabe heard me, because he's throwing strikes now.
Inui hits a comeback to Watanabe, and behind 1-2 Katsuoka grounds out to 2nd.
And apparently those strikes come in spurts as Watanabe goes full on Kurino before he grounds to 1st.
Top 4th
So for those that haven't read my prior game posts on Inui, he throws in the low 140s with a forkball to go with the standard fare.
Toji gets the bat around an inside fastball and lines it down the right field line... fair! Katsuoka runs it down and fumbles a bit with the ball! Still though, Toji winds up at 2nd with a leadoff double!
Maekawa tries to bunt Toji to 3rd, but he fails in his 2 attempts! Now he has to swing away!
And instead swings badly on a fastball way outside for the first out.
Endou with a grounder to left! They're sending Toji??!! That's really shallow!
But Yokota's throw is way up the 1st base line and Toji scores to tie it at 1-1! Either Morishita-kantoku has information or they like to press. Either way it works this time.
Matsuki is given the green light to swing, but flies out to center for the 2nd out. Oonishi grounds out to 2nd on the first pitch to end the inning, but some aggressive running and timely hitting give us a time game!
Bottom 4th
One down for Houtoku and Katahama with a base hit to left! He's moved over for a one shot from Yamaguchi, but he swings on the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd. As quickly as an opportunity presented itself, it disappeared.
Top 5th
Kaneko swings under a shoulder high fastball and pops up to Hagihara for the first out.
Kurihara with a grounder to 3rd, but Hagihara's throw is short and Katahama can't field it! E5 and Tokoha has another runner on!
#16 Kikuchi to hit for Watanabe, so that means Hotta will be entering the game.
Kikuchi though can't do anything as he swings on a slider in the dirt.
And apparently Houtoku Gakuen sees a weakness in Tokoha's they like the high pitch. Because Imasaka sees nothing except those and strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Bottom 5th
So ace Hotta actually comes in for Kaneko and takes the hill, Kikuchi moves to right.
And this game just whizzes along. Yokota gets ahead of a curveball and goes down. Hagihara follows that with a first pitch grounder to 3rd, and then Inui hits a high fly to Endou to end the inning!
We hit the break at a sub 2-hr pace, and for Tokoha Kikugawa, they got the innings they wanted from Watanabe as after a shaky first 2 innings, he settles down and hands the game over to his ace level.
For Houtoku, Inui has done fairly well against Tokoha's offense save for the score in the 4th. And I think they have something they can take advantage of.
Top 6th
And just as expected, Toji is behind 1-2, and they give him a couple of high fastballs which he manages to foul off. After laying off a slider in the dirt, he hits a pitch outside for a fly out to left.
Maekawa swings on a high pitch and hits a booming fly to right that Katsuoka secures.
And Endou chases a ball down and flies out to Yokota to end the inning.
I get it now! If Tokoha Kikugawa is a good hitting team, perhaps the idea isn't to go from side to side, it's to go up and down! If you miss side-to-side, you might leave one in their wheelhouse. If you pitch high and they swing, they can't drive through the ball, or they can't swing through it because it is high. If they swing low, they're reaching for it, and again aren't driving it and probably golfing it into the air!
Bottom 6th
Now it's Hotta's turn to nibble, working the outside and thus the count full. But he does eventually get Katsuoka to ground to 2nd.
And quickly thereafter, Kurino grounds to 3rd, and Kishida fies out to Toji near the infield and it's a quick inning for Houtoku!
Top 7th
I think the Tokoha batters are catching on, and thus waiting for a better pitch, but the results are the same. Matsuki grounds out to 2nd, Oonishi grounds out to 3rd, and Hotta in his first AB strikes out swinging on a fastball outside for the 3rd out.
Bottom 7th
One down for Houtoku, and Matsutani lines a curve back up the middle for a base hit!
And now Nagata-kantoku starts the hit-and-run! Yamaguchi grounds to 3rd, Oonishi charges in, throws and beats out a flopping Yamaguchi. (I don't know how better to explain it, he was completely horizontal about 4 feet off the ground like a belly flop.)
#13 Sakai to hit for Yokota.
Sakai drives the first pitch he sees! Maekawa running back, reaches his glove out and it's over him! Matsutani being sent home and Sakai delivers with a PH RBI double! It's 2-1 Houtoku Gakuen! He's given a warm welcome back in the dugout as he's replaced at 1st by #15 Sugiura.
Hagihara flies out to center to end the inning, but the Lucky 7 is lucky for Sakai and Houtoku Gakuen!
Top 8th
Sugiura stays in the game at LF.
AH! Kuwahara is sent to the ground after being hit by Inui! He's fine, but the douten runner is on base!
Kikuchi with a liner to right! Katsuoka gets it in quickly and Kuwahara has to hold at 2nd.
But with no out, Morishita-kantoku doesn't call for a bunt!
And Imasaka chases a fastball outside for the first out! One down, but that will flip the lineup back to the top and Toji.
Inui working from side to side now, but his control is not as good! He falls behind Toji 3-0 before fighting back to fill the count. But Toji doesn't chase on a ball way outside and it's manrui for Maekawa!!
Nagata-kantoku calls for time.
Fastball high and Maekawa fouls it off. And another foul! Will Inui take advantage of Maekawa's aggressiveness?
Well at 0-2 he throws a waste pitch, then another high pitch that Maekawa swings at, but grounds to Yamaguchi! He goes home for the force and there's 2 down!
Last chance in Endou to tie the game here in the 8th. Fastball on the outside corner taken for a strike. Goes there again and Endou fouls it off, quickly falling behind 0-2.
Another outside, and Endou emergency swings it foul! Pitch high, no swing!
Grounder to short! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball 5-holes Kishida into left center!!!
Kikuchi scores! Toji scores!! Maekawa being sent home!!!!
Throw from Kishida... SAFE!!!!
Maekawa slides in ahead of the throw and Matsuki clears the bases on an unfortunate play for Houtoku Gakuen!! Tokoha leads 4-2!!
Matsuki pops out to 2nd, but Tokoha Kikugawa gets some lick in the 8th and now have a 2-run lead!!
Bottom 8th
The home team now has little time to regroup and mount a rally.
One down for Houtoku and Katsuoka goes down and guides a ball through to center for a base hit!
Nagata-kantoku hoping for some more luck as he sends ini #12 Arai to hit for Kuwano.
He hits a fly to right center! But Toji sprinting over makes the catch! Kikuchi points in and Toji fires it to 1st! Katsuoka scrambles back, but Toji's throw beats him for the double play!!
Nagata-kantoku isn't happy about that as now his team is down to their last 3 outs!!
Top 9th
It takes a little bit of work, but Inui retires the side in order. He's done what he could on the mound now. It's up to the offense to try and make a final rally.
Bottom 9th
3-4-5 batters for Houtoku up as well.
But Hotta goes right after Kishida with 2 strikes. But then two balls not close and the advantage is gone.
Kishida lines a shot past a leaping Oonishi down the left field line! He's in easily with a double!
I will never understand the "waste" pitches that aren't even close. You're just giving away pitches and any advantage you had as the pitcher.
And now Hotta is trying to nibble or get the batter to chase and is getting nowhere! He walks Katahama on 4 straight! The douten runner is on for Houtoku!
Matsutani up and showing bunt, pitch inside - bunts it foul. Next pitch, buster shot! But he fouls it back! He's down 0-2, but still showing bunt!
Pitch way up and in for ball 1.
He goes for it! lays it down! Hotta goes to 1st and now the douten runner is in scoring position for Yamaguchi!
And Tokoha's defense is way in! Where is the "no doubles" defense??
Well, Hotta gets ahead of Yamaguchi 1-2.
Fly to right! Kikuchi with the catch, Kishida comes in to score, but Imasaka's throw home is high! Hotta backing up play retrieves it, and Katahama is caught off 3rd??!!
WHAT????!!!!!!!
Hotta starts the rundown, and 1-5-2-1 Hotta makes the tag and jumps in the air! Tokoha Kikugawa survives to defeat Houtoku Gakuen 4-3!!
Oh man, that's the second base running error in as many innings for Houtoku Gakuen and this one costs them the game!!
And you can see it as the players go out to the oen-dan, some of them are crying because the game was there for the taking, but unforced errors cost them.
So it'll be back to the drawing board for Houtoku Gakuen. They'll have the entire spring and summer to stew over that loss and to work their way back to Koushien once again.
For Tokoha Kikugawa, they get a lot of bounces their way - the 5-hole bases-clearing double, and the two baserunning errors mean that they advance on to play Kochi in the 3rd round. As much as perhaps their aggressiveness helped them in the past, they may need to be more disciplined lest they swing themselves out of Koushien instead of into the finals.
Notable Players
Watanabe Naoki (Tokoha Kikugawa) - 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, K, BB
Hotta Tatsuya (Tokoha Kikugawa) - W, 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K, BB
Endou Kouhei (Tokoha Kikugawa) - 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Inui Youhei (Houtoku Gakuen) - L, CG, 4 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 2 BB, HBP
Sakai Shuugo (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-1, 2B, RBI
Katahama Daiki (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-2, BB
Yamguchi Daisuke (Houtoku Gakuen) - 1-3, 2 RBI
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