Day 12 Wrap Up
No preview today, will save the best four preview for tomorrow because of the off day. But at this point I think everyone probably knows the storyline & the potential for an all-Tokyo final.
Game 1 Waseda Jitsugyo 8-1 Kyushu Kokusai Daigaku Fuzuoku. KyuKoku was never even in this game. Kiyomiya hit his second home run of the tournament, tying the record for first years in HRs and RBI. Of course with the media circus surrounding him, there are interviews and Yakyubaka translated two of them here:
http://yakyubaka.com/2015/08/17/8172015-97th-summer-koshien-kiyomiyas-post-game-interview/
Q: How is your injury?
A: A pitch came inside and I hurt the area near the base of my thumb. I felt they were going to continue pitching me inside. I got it taped and everything was okay. It ended up working out because I let me relax. I felt pain when I swung the bat, but the adrenaline when I stepped into the batter's box helped me forget it.
Q: Your home run and RBI pushed you above Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Hideki Matsui in their first years.
A: Both Kiyohara and Matsui did well after their first years. I'm still not even close to those greats. Plus, RBIs aren't just about my performance.
Sounds like a pretty grounded kid. One interesting thing for me is that the more Waseda Jitsugyo (Sojitsu) plays, the more respect I have for Hiroshima Shinjo. I said at the time that Hiroshima Shinjo exposed a weak pitching staff, pushing Sojitsu to use all four pitchers to survive, but I no longer think it's about Sojitsu being weak at pitcher. I think it's really showing how amazing Hiroshima Shinjo played and how well they were managed. I hope Hiroshima Shinjo can do well in the fall, I'd love to see them land a place at Senbatsu.
Game 2 Hanasaki Tokuharu 3-4 Tokai Daigaku Fuzoku Sagami. Great game, at least the parts I saw. I joined in the 6th inning and stayed through the sayonara hit. Another team trying to save the ace but as we've said before, if any team can it's this one - but it nearly cost them big, and Ogasawara had to come in and pitch 5+ innings (72 pitches) to keep them alive. From what I saw he was not trying to overpower with velocity which makes sense. Still got 5 Ks.
Game 3 Akita Shogyo 3-6 Sendai Ikuei. Akita Shogyo's cinderella run is over. Predictably, Narita just wasn't the same pitcher after throwing 160 pitches the previous day. Sato Sena looked good but he did allow AkiShogyo to make a late run at a comeback. Major props to the public school from Akita making the quarterfinal round. Can Sendai Ikuei go all the way? That's the question.
Game 4 Konan 4-5 Kanto Daiichi. Former champs from Okinawa fall to the East Tokyo champs. Nagashima, the same guy who had the walk off HR against Chukyodai Chukyo, homered to start the scoring. Konan tied it late but the most exciting player in the tournament - sorry Kiyomiya! - Okoe Rui hit a 2 run HR in the 9th to give Kanto Daiichi the lead.
GIF:
https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CMmfomVVAAAnfBm.mp4
Konan got one in the ninth and nearly kept it going with a crazy dropped third strike/throw out play. I've really come to like Kanto Daiichi over the course of the tournament. They're really, really fun to watch and now the team I'm rooting for the rest of the way. Check out the pic of Rui yelling after he knows it's a HR:
http://t.co/w5PO1AqDUH