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Koshien 2015 | Japan National High School Baseball Tournament

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Monumma

Member
It seems that Tenri figured out the sidearm delivery. 2-0, men on second and third, 2 out.

edit: Souseikan bats don't fail to reply: 2-2. We're going to the fifth tied.
 

Envelope

sealed with a kiss
so many things you see and you just gotta think "yep that's gonna make the highlight reel for next year"
 

Monumma

Member
Washzaki Jyun does it. RBI hit to right field in the bottom of the ninth.

I kinda feel bad for the pitching left fielder and the leftfielding pitcher, btw.
 

Beckx

Member
Man I mostly missed an interesting night. Edit: or maybe not! I closed my chromebook during the first game; when I opened it this morning the stream started up immediately where I left off and it's been going non-stop (into the late Tenri game now). So that may be a viable way to watch late games when you can't stay up. Going to let it run until the Sendai Ikuei game starts.

Wraps and today's schedule based on information at Asahi, Yakyubaka, and Goroshigeno/@eigokokoyakyu; video links via @npbreddit:

Day 4

Game 1: Tsu Shogyo 9 - Chiben Wakayama 3. No one expected this. Tsu Shogyo is a first time Koshien participant from a mostly weak region, and while Chiben Wakayama is fading, they've been several times and were expected to win this going away. Chiben Wakayama literally fell apart with as many errors (7) as they had hits. Tsu Shogyo will draw one of the day 5 participants in the second round.

Game 2: Tenri 2 - Souseikan 3. Another upset (but Frozenprince and I both called it, heh)! Tenri has been to Koshien many times. I watched their Senbatsu games and found them underwhelming. Souseikan won on a Sayonara hit and Tenri was bounced in round 1. Souseikan will also draw a day 5 winner for round 2.

Game 3: Takigawa Daini 4 - Chuetsu 3. A game that I thought would evenly matched sounds like it was just that. Unfortunately this game will be marked by an incident where a runner didn't get down as he was running to second and was hit in the face by a throw from the SS. Reports sound like it wasn't too bad but did have a nasty cut that sent him off to the hospital for stitches. Takigawa Daini also wins on a Sayonara hit but unfortunately they're going to draw the winner of game 4 which means...

Game 4: Sendai Ikuei 12 - Meiho 1. I really wanted this to be the early game to watch Sena Satou pitch. Sounds like he was hitting around 145 kmh with his fastball, but like I said we know he can add 5-10 to that. Sendai Ikuei is another hard hitting team and they showed that, like this blast. TBH give Meiho credit for staying in there and getting the moral victory of avoiding the shutout. They draw Takigawa Daini for round 2 and it's really, really hard to see how they aren't going to cruise right into round 3. Put these guys on your short list - I don't think they'll win it all or even make it to finals but still they have the tools.

The second round starts tonight but remember that 15 teams draw first round byes and all but one of them play each other, so the next two days will still be teams that haven't played yet.

Start times are Japan time. Maybe FP can add preview notes.

Gm 1 9:30 高崎健康福祉大高崎 Takasaki Kenko Fukushi Daigaku Takasaki - 藤井学園寒川 Fujii Gakuen Sangawa

Gm 2 12:00 岡山学芸館 Okayama Gakugeikan - 鳥羽 Toba

Second Round

Gm 3 14:30 龍谷 Ryukoku - 秋田商 Akita Shogyo
 

Beckx

Member
First game up in about half an hour. No idea what to expect from either team (same with games 2 & 3), though sports papers ranked Takasaki Kenko Fukushi Daigaku Takasaki somewhat higher than Fujii Gakuen Sangawa.
 

Monumma

Member
Great bunting.

edit: BIG inning by Takasaki Kenko. second and third, 1 out and already 4 run scored.
8 run inning. Damn.
 

Beckx

Member
Things really went off the rails for Sangawa this inning, strategy backfired.

Kendai Takasaki is kinda putting on a base running show here though, it's entertaining. :)
 

Monumma

Member
Yeah. Not much to say about this game sadly, but I can point out that Takasaki Kenko's hats were definitely designed in the 90s.

edit: Game's over, 10-4.
 
Everything I know about Koshien I learned from Adachi baseball manga.

On that note, which one of these teams has the most tragic backstory?
 

SDBurton

World's #1 Cosmonaut Enthusiast
Seeing a team in tears scooping up dirt before the start of your own match has to rattle your nerves at least a little. Seeing these guys shed tears is both heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
 

Beckx

Member
I took a break from Koshien last night and played Monster Hunter with my son. First round is over, though as I mentioned yesterday, the first second round games are still teams with first round byes playing each other.

Wraps and today's schedule based on information at Asahi, Yakyubaka, npbreddit and Goroshigeno/@eigokokoyakyu:

Day 5

Game 1: Takasaki Kenko Fukushi Daigaku Takasaki 10 - Fujii Gakuen Sangawa 4. Per Goroshigeno, Kendai Takasaki "actually come on the scene in recent years as a speedy ballclub that would steal and take the extra base when warranted (and sometimes not)." And apparently that storyline stayed true through this game, which featured a double steal (of home)! Sounds like Kendai Takasaki has iffy pitching, though. They draw Sohseikan on the final day of round 2.

Game 2: Okayama Gakugeikan 1 - Toba 7. Toba's strategy was slap hitting singles in bunches and it worked to score 7 runs and win the game. They get a lucky draw of Tsu Shogyo in round 2's final day and might make it into the third round.

Game 3: Ryukoku 1 - Akita Shogyo 3. Whoa, baby. Akita Shogyo ace had 16 Ks in this game. Holy shit. Wish I'd seen this one. Goroshigeno had lots of praise for Ryukoku ace Ikeda so it remains to be seen whether Akita Shogyo has run scoring problems or not. Since they had the bye into second round, they are the first third round qualifier.

Second round continues tonight; Day 6 is a full schedule of four games with bye team matchups.

Start times are Japan time.

Gm 1 8:00 鳥取城北 Tottori Johoku - 鶴岡東 Tsuruoka Higashi

Gm 2 10:30 関東第一 Kanto Daiichi - 高岡商 Takaoka Shogyo

Gm 3 13:00 石見智翠館 Iwami Chisuikan - 興南 Konan

Gm 4 15:30 三沢商 Misawa Shogyo - 花咲徳栄 Hanasaki Tokuharu

Looking ahead to Day 7, I'll confess that I'm more excited for those games. Tokai Daigaku Fuzoku Sagami takes the field and if you remember from a few pages ago they have not one but TWO pitchers who throw 93 mph. Insane. Tomorrow in games 3 and 4 you'll start to see first round winners, too. Day 8 is going to be a fucking barn burner with Waseda Jitsugyo and Osaka Kaisei playing (but not each other) topped off with Tsuruga Kehi and Hanamaki Higashi facing off!

Speaking of Waseda Jitsugyo, there's a great article in today's Japan Times (by Jason Coskrey who's also written about Japanese indie games for Eurogamer) about Kotoro Kiyomiya:

Any baseball fan, from the casual to the hardcore, who didn’t know Waseda Jitsugyo first-year player Kotaro Kiyomiya had an RBI hit in his Summer Koshien debut on Saturday, probably spent the day off the grid.

....

This is just the beginning. If Waseda can win a few games, Kiyomiya-fever will rocket into the stratosphere — especially if he has the game to match the hype.

“He’s not an ordinary first-year player,” former NPB pitcher Daisuke Araki said during a televised interview Saturday night.

Kiyomiya, who checks in at 184 cm and 97 kg, certainly looks the part and he definitely has a bat opponents have to be wary of facing.

...

Kiyomiya was also the driving force behind the Kitasuna team from Tokyo that represented Japan in the Little League World Series in 2012. Kiyomiya wowed onlookers both at the plate and on the mound during that event, helping to lead Japan to the title.

...

The tournament is as much about the past as the present. Koshien Stadium, the oldest stadium in Japan, is so revered and full of history the losers of each contest drop to their knees to scoop handfuls of the old ballpark’s dirt into bags as souvenirs. The event is marked by pageantry, emotion, and uniforms dirtied by head-first slides into first and often wet from the tears that sometimes flow from the eyes of winner and loser alike.
 

Beckx

Member
I see on twitter there was a home run hit into the ouen-dan?

I should probably mention this is a pro ball park (Hanshin Tigers) with no modifications. Tigers have to take a long road trip twice a year because of Koshien tournaments.
 

Beckx

Member
Manrui chance for Tsuruoka Higashi with no outs

...one in and one out, manrui again

...and another in on a fielder's choice

...and the ace with a timely hit for another

5-1 Tsuruoka Higashi now
 

Beckx

Member
Early games can be all over the place. Here you have two teams who got out of regionals despite poor team stats. If one of them breaks it can get ugly.

Though 5-1 isn't one-sided necessarily. Waseda Jitsugyo was down 6-0 in the 8th inning of their regional final then exploded to put up 8 runs. Still if Tsuruoka Higashi scores more it may go out of reach.
 

Envelope

sealed with a kiss
Early games can be all over the place. Here you have two teams who got out of regionals despite poor team stats. If one of them breaks it can get ugly.

Though 5-1 isn't onesided necessarily. Waseda Jitsugyo was down 6-0 in the 8th inning of their regional final then exploded to put up 8 runs.

That sounds more like a miracle than a not-onesided game tho :p
 

Beckx

Member
That sounds more like a miracle than a not-onesided game tho :p

Nah, Waseda Jitsugyo can just hit the shit out of the ball.

Tottori Johoku *is* hitting hard though and they just got one back.

Not over if they don't break.

(also there's an element of it can just go that way in baseball...I mean Tsuruga Kehi is good but I'd have never believed in a million years they could beat Osaka Toin 11-0 like they did in Spring...)

5-3 now. :) Cleanup Shouta Hotei ripped that ball.
 

Beckx

Member
I'm still not convinced that Tottori Johoku has the pitching to stay in this though. Kinda rooting for them now.
 

scotcheggz

Member
As a neutral, I have no idea who to support here. Tsuruoka Higashi have the cooler uniforms but Tottoro Johuku have the cheerleaders. Tough call.
 

Beckx

Member
Okay now I think it's out of reach. Tottori Johoku has no answers on the mound.

Tsurouka Higashi's P is a monster at the plate tonight.
 

Beckx

Member
TBH the only thing clear is that the winner of this game is - barring something weird - going to get shelled in the third round. Both schools got super lucky with the bye.

Tsurouka Higashi takes it. Ace Fukutani had a great night at the plate but going forward I just can't see it. That weird delivery isn't going to help get 126 km/h fastballs by the likes of the batters he'll see in the next round.

Next up is Kanto Daichi v Takaoka Shogyo - media rankings suggest a mismatch in Kanto Daichi's favor.
 
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