Koshien - Japanese March Madness (HS Baseball) - We byke for 2023, games start Sat Aug 5

[Windows 91]

Day 4 Wrap - Elite Pitching Prevails

• Best day of the tournament so far, every game extremely close and action packed.
• Aces duel as the juggernaut Yokohama narrowly escapes Mie 4-2. Sugiyama with the 122 pitch CG win
• Seiko Gakuin upsets West Tokyo powerhouse Nichidai San 4-2 with multiple HRs and elite defense. Another Tohoku region team advances.
• Thriller until the end. Sapporo Otani ties it up in the 9th but Nishogakusha wins 3-2 with a walk-off. Otani's ace Moriya with a 136 pitch CG loss.
• In their first ever summer tournament appearance, Yashiro rolls Gifu 10-1.

I missed the 4th game but the 3 others were all nail-biters. Great day.

Day 5 Preview

Championship factory Osaka Toin (Osaka) plays their R1 game. May be the strongest team in the tournament, must see.

 

[Windows 91]

Game time, wonder if we'll get another upset


Damn this game is good too.

 

[Windows 91]

Day 5 Wrap - Osaka Toin flexes muscle

• Tournament favorite Osaka Toin has early scare against Asahikawa, surges back with long balls to win 6-3. All Hokkaido schools eliminated
• Seibo Gakuin has 16 hits in a comfortable win over Noshiro Matsuyo 8-2, Ace Okabe with the CG.
• Meishu Hitachi wins 2-1 over Kagoshima Minoru in a great display of pitching dominance. Akasaki throws 128 pitches in the loss.

Only saw parts of the last 2 games but watched the full Osaka Toin game. Thought they were going to get upset but then they just started jacking home runs. If you can only watch a single game, try to watch them play. Seems like they're in another league compared to the others.

Day 6 Preview - West Japan on Display

• Tohoku powerhouse Sendai Ikuei in action today. Will a 5th Tohoku school win?
• Regular participants Takamatsu and Meitoku Gijuku begin today, over 40 tournament appearances between the 2 schools.
• Kyushu Int'l's high powered offense, led by 100kg 1B Sakura, will try for the upset today.
• Upstarts Shimonseki and Tomishima in a West Japan battle

 

[Windows 91]

Games going now

 

[Windows 91]

Stands are packed today, must be some type of holiday

 

[Windows 91]

Rocking the fake White Sox hats

 

[Windows 91]

2 games 2 blowouts, the losing teams didn't really have a chance coming into the game. The Meitoku/Kyushu game is supposed to be a good one, check it out if you can.

Also, apologies if the blogging is annoying. Be sure to unsubscribe from the thread to stop notifications.

 

[Windows 91]

Day 6 Wrap - Monster Power from Tournament Favorites

• Sendai Ikuei routs Tottori 10-0 with multiple 5-run innings
• Takamatsu steamrolls Saku Chosei 14-4 with long ball power, 2 HRs from Asano
• Kyushu Univ upsets Koshien stalwart Meitoku Gijuku 1-2 in a southpaw pitching duel
• Shimonoseki advances with a shutout win over Tomishima

First 2 games were blowouts as expected. Takamatsu might have to be in the must-watch category, they've got some crazy offense. The Kyushu/Meitoku game was a good one, wasn't able to watch the late game.

Day 7 Preview - Real Round 2 Begins

Unseeded teams will begin playing their 2nd games today. The best card is the late game with Kasei/Tenri but it'll be a little too late for most to see. Omi in action again, good team to watch

 

[Windows 91]

We got submarine action I think another team had a submariner too

 

[Windows 91]

Wonder what the attendance is, it's packed in there. Like an MLB game

 

[Mister Terrific]

I’ve been watching a little bit of it on tv in Japan but it just so damn hot here I feel bad for these kids.

Do you see any future major league prospects?

 

[Windows 91]

I’ve been watching a little bit of it on tv in Japan but it just so damn hot here I feel bad for these kids.

Do you see any future major league prospects?

Yeah I can't imagine having to play in that heat and humidity in the middle of the day. Some of the first round games had kids getting stretchered off due to leg cramps from the heat.

 

[Windows 91]

That was a wild game, crazy comeback.

 

[Windows 91]

Day 7 Wrap - Kyushu takes Charge in a Day of Comeback Wins

• Meiho goes ahead in the 9th with a thrilling 7-5 comeback win over Ichinoseki
• Meiden comes back from being down 5-1, walks it off in extra innings to win 6-5 over Kosei
• Omi wins 8-3 over Tsuruoka Higashi following a dominant 150 pitch, 12K, 9 inning performance from ace Yamada
• Powerhouse Tenri is stunned by the Nagasaki champs Kaisei, who prevail in a 4-2 win over the Nara giants

Two more schools from the Kyushu region advance to R3. The Meiden/Kosei game was absolutely crazy, glad I got to catch it. I missed the last 2 games unfortunately, really wanted to see Tenri/Kaisei. Kaisei has a squad and should be considered a must-watch. Omi as well. Going to be some titantic round 3 matches.

Day 8 Preview - Chiben Wakayama begin Title Defense

• Defending champion Chiben Wakayama is in action today and look to defend their title. With a favorable drawing that placed them straight in the 2nd round, they have a great chance at making Best 8 and beyond. Check them out.

 

[Windows 91]

Game time. I've been watching too many games, might just only watch the 3rd game with Chiben Wakayama.