On the 15th day of the 100th National High School Baseball Championships Memorial Convention, 20th, there is a semi-finals at Koshien Stadium, before the game of Kimono Agriculture (Akita) - Japan Osaka (Nishi-Tokyo), PL School (Osaka) OB Kuwata Masumi (50) climbed to the "legend start ball formula".
"I was thrilled about a week ago, because I could not sleep yesterday, because Koshien got me raised," Mr. Kuwata who was looking forward to this day. About 60 balls in Koshien's bullpen. About 15 balls headed for the ground after preparing everything to make a person stand in the bat.
I was greeted with a big cheer, I took off my hat and greeted and then to the mound. The ball which I threw at a high external angle fell into the mitt of the catcher with vigor. A cheering surprise from the audience to a fastball that does not let decay. Kuwata is bitterly laughing, "while playing as a professional and the high school baseball has a completely different atmosphere, Koshien is my origin, I am 15, 16, 17 years old for taking care of me I remembered that it was. "
Mr. Kuwata won 1 year summer and 3 year summer. In the summer of 2, we competed with Kimotsuki who appeared in the first match of the day at the semi-final of the 66th Games (1984). Mr. Kuwata triumphantly won the runner-up 2 runs in eight times. This game is called "one of the best games" for Mr. Kuwata who participated in the Koshien in five consecutive seasons from the summer of one year.
On that day, when entering the stadium, Kimiko Shimazaki of the time Kimotsuki coach greeted me. I shook hands with laughter "It is a marvelous thing." And, it was the batter of the Kinenki Farm who entered the bat at the start ball formula. "I remembered that time by looking at the uniform and saying that the lesson learned that luck could be reversed was definitely not to give up on the game until the end, which is still alive in my life."
Summer high school baseball celebrating 100 times. "High school baseball is a wonderful thing, I want you to continue the reforms that were in line with the times and continue for the next 100 years." (Iwasa Tomo)