Okugawa 18 strikeout strikes Canada wins Baseball U18 World Cup September 5 21:55

World Cup for baseball players under 18 in Korea. Japan faced Canada in the first round of the second league, and pitcher Yoshinobu Okugawa of Seiryo High School, who won second place in the summer Koshien, threw seven times and won five-to-one.

Japan, who started the second league with one win and one loss, played Canada for the first time, and pitcher Okugawa who did not have a climbing pitch due to fatigue was thrown up for the first time in this tournament.

Pitcher Okukawa took a stunning 8 strikeouts up to 3 times, with a strong straight of about 150 km from the start and the sharpness of the changing ball.

However, 4th batter in Canada made a solo home run and allowed a preemptive.

The batting line caught the tie with the opponent's error five times, and won the timely hit of No. 3 Hanasaki Tokuei High School's Yuya Serizawa.

Pitcher Okukawa who threw up to 7 times lost 2 hits and 1 goal, and took 18 out of 21 outs in three strikes.

Japan also scored five additional points over Canada with seven additional points.

With this, Japan will score 2 wins and 1 loss in the secondary league, and on the 6th will face South Korea, which was runner-up in the previous tournament.

Okugawa "We were able to throw a good deal"

Pitcher Okukawa said that it was a climb since the final of the national high school baseball in the summer. “I was very anxious because I was away from the actual battle, but I was able to make a good game. It ’s halfway pitching, so I do n’t want to do that next time. ”

On top of that, he said with a calm expression, “I was relieved that I had a good pitch. Tomorrow I can't throw, but I think there will always be a scene to throw, so I want to be able to work well.”

Yuya Serizawa of Tokuei Hanasaki, who hit the final timely, said, “While the outfield was in front, the team was thorough with the team that hit the low ball. He said, “I feel like a strong team, but I want to win a baseball like Japan,” he said.

Director Nagata "Okugawa is wonderful"

Japanese director Yuji Nagata said, “The pitcher was very good. I think Okugawa showed me a better pitching than when he was in Koshien. I want to do my best in the game against Korea. "