High school baseball Opening ceremony rehearsal before Senbatsu opening on the 18th. The rehearsal for the opening ceremony was held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture from 10am.
The 32 participating schools, led by last year's winning school Yamanashi Gakuin, aims to become the fourth school in history to win consecutively. Starting this year, high school baseball will introduce a new standard of metal bats with reduced repulsive force to protect pitchers from injury.