After the spread of the new coronavirus, the 93rd Senbatsu High School Baseball Championship, the first national high school baseball tournament, will open at Koshien Stadium on the 19th.
32 schools participated First time 10 schools
Senbatsu High School Baseball was canceled just before last year's tournament due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and 32 schools will participate in the event, which will be held for the first time in two years.
Of these, 10 schools participated for the first time, and Osaki High School in Nagasaki, which won the Kyushu tournament last fall, is also attracting attention as a school on a remote island.
Among the players, pitcher Kenta Kozono of Municipal Wakayama High School and pitcher Toru Kuroyanagi of Chukyo High School in Aichi, including Ukyo Maekawa, a left-handed smasher who hit the center at Chiben Gakuen in Nara, which won the Kinki tournament last fall. It is also expected that pitchers who throw fastballs over 150 km will play an active role.
On the other hand, at the tournament, thorough infection control measures were taken, and the athletes and directors of the participating schools underwent a PCR test before the tournament, and all were confirmed to be negative.
For spectators, the upper limit is 10,000 people, all admission tickets are reserved seats sold in advance, and admission will be refused if fever of 37 degrees 5 minutes or more is confirmed or if you are not wearing a mask. ..
Support for brass bands in the Alps, where only school officials are allowed to enter up to 1000 people, has also been banned to prevent infection by flying.
Furthermore, in order to avoid crowding at the opening ceremony on the 19th, only 6 schools that have a match on the first day will enter the march, and the other 26 schools will show the state of the march recorded in advance in the vision of the stadium, which is unusual. It will be done in the form.
The tournament will be held for 13 days, including rest days, and the final will be on the 31st of this month.
Highlights of the first day of the tournament
On the 19th, following the opening ceremony, three games will be played in the first round.
Game 1 Kobe International University with Hokkai
In the first match, the local high school attached to Kobe Kokusai University in Hyogo, which has participated for the fifth time in four years, and Hokkai High School in Hokkaido, which has participated for the thirteenth time in ten years, will play against each other.
At Kobe International Daisuke, pitcher Shoya Sakagami, who is also the center pole of the batting line with ace, will lead the team.
Pitcher Sakagami has a stable ERA of 0.65 in the official game last fall.
On the other hand, pitcher Taisei Kimura, a left-handed ace of the North Sea, took 72 strikeouts in eight official games in the fall, and his ERA is 0.34, which is higher than pitcher Sakagami.
Game 2 Meitoku Gijuku vs Sendai Ikuei
The second match is a match between the teams that won the autumn district tournament for the second consecutive year.
Kochi's Meitoku Gijuku High School, which has participated for the 20th time in a row for two years, is centered on pitcher Yamato Maeda, a left-handed ace who threw three games in the Shikoku tournament alone.
Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi, which has participated for the 14th time in a row for two years, has a lively batting average of 30% and 7 minutes in the official autumn game, and has 39 stolen bases and mobility in 9 games.
Game 3 Kendai Takasaki vs. Shimonoseki International
In the third match, Gunma's Takasaki University of Health and Welfare Takasaki High School, who participated for the fifth time in two consecutive years, and Yamaguchi's Shimonoseki International High School, who participated for the second time in three years, will play against each other.
In addition to the aggressive running base of the team color, Kendai Takasaki also has a long hitting ability that marked the most 15 home runs in the Senbatsu participating schools in the official autumn game.
On the other hand, at Shimonoseki Kokusai, 14 out of 18 members are new 2nd graders, and the captain is also a new 2nd grader.
Guidelines for Corona Infection Control
The Takano Ren = Japan High School Baseball Federation and others have established guidelines for measures against infection with the new coronavirus at this year's Senbatsu tournament.
The guidelines show measures that are based on the principle of avoiding "three cs" as thoroughly as last summer's exchange game and recording the health condition and behavior history.
After that, from this Senbatsu tournament, we decided to carry out a PCR test on about 1000 players and managers from 32 participating schools before the tournament.
More than 400 people from the team that won the first round will be inspected for the second time.
When an infection is confirmed, the emergency response headquarters will prioritize whether it is an outbreak or an individual case and decide on a response.
In line with the government policy, the maximum number of spectators was 10,000, and all admission tickets were pre-sold on the Internet as reserved seats.
You cannot enter the stadium if you have a fever of 37 degrees 5 minutes or more or if you are not wearing a mask.
In addition, although only school officials were allowed to enter the Alps seats up to 1000 people, brass band performances were prohibited to prevent infection due to flying.
In addition, the opening ceremony on the 19th has been simplified, with only 6 teams having a match on the first day marching in, and the remaining 26 schools will project the march footage shot in advance on the vision inside the stadium.
In addition, the interval between games will be 40 minutes, which is 10 minutes longer than the usual tournament, and the benches will be thoroughly disinfected, and players will be replaced to avoid contact.
In addition, it is desirable to use a single room for the dormitory and to serve meals individually.