The summer national high school baseball final will be held on the 22nd.
Miyagi's Sendai Ikuei High School and Yamaguchi's Shimonoseki Kokusai High School, who had decided to advance to the final, held their final preparations at Koshien Stadium on the 21st.
Sendai Ikuei aiming for the first championship as a Tohoku team
Sendai Ikuei High School aims to win the championship for the first time as a Tohoku group throughout the spring and summer.
Sendai Ikuei defeated Fukushima's Seiko Gakuin 18-4 in the semi-finals on the 20th, the first ever match between Tohoku teams in summer national high school baseball, and advanced to the finals for the first time in seven years.
On the 21st, a day of rest, the team practiced at Koshien Stadium from around 10:00 a.m. to make final preparations for the final against Shimonoseki International High School in Yamaguchi on the 22nd.
At the stadium, due to the rain that fell on the night of the 20th, we were unable to practice on the field, but Coach Sue Wataru gathered the players and carefully checked the base running, imagining runners and batting.
After that, the players played catch on the grass in the outfield, and five pitchers, including ace pitcher Tsubasa Furukawa, who did not pitch in the semi-finals on the 20th, throw powerful balls in the 140-kilometer range.
Also, in the indoor practice field, batting practice was performed against substitute pitchers who have similar throwing methods and ball speeds, assuming pitchers Yasunori Koga and Shin Nakai of Shimonoseki International.
Sendai Ikuei Captain Sato "With the feeling of changing history"
Sendai Ikuei High School captain, Yuto Sato, said, "If we can do it as usual, we will be able to see victory. We have come from the prefectural tournament with a single win, and the Tohoku team has been able to win so far. I don't have a chance, so I think the biggest chance will come this year.I will go into the match with the feeling that I will change history."
Sendai Ikuei Director Sue "I will fight with the feelings of my hometown as a representative of Tohoku"
Coach Sue Wataru of Sendai Ikuei High School commented on the state of the team during practice on the 21st, saying, "The players weren't overly excited, and we were able to practice in the usual atmosphere, which makes it hard to believe that tomorrow will be the Koshien final." was talking
Regarding the final match against Shimonoseki Kokusai High School on the 22nd, he said, “Both teams are known for their tenacity, so I think it will be the most difficult match we have played so far. , I want to stick to it and fight without giving up."
He also expressed his enthusiasm for the match on the 22nd, aiming for the first championship as a Tohoku team throughout the spring and summer, saying, “I have played many teams in the Tohoku region so far, and I was able to stand on the final stage. As a representative of Tohoku, I want to carry the thoughts of the local people on my shoulders and fight."
Shimonoseki International High School aims to win the championship for the first time in 64 years as a Yamaguchi group.
Shimonoseki International High School, aiming to win the championship for the first time in 64 years as a Yamaguchi group, practiced at Koshien Stadium from 11:30 am on the 21st.
Due to the rain that had fallen last night, the players had to run on the outfield lawn and then split into the battery, the infielders, and the outfielders, and played catch in turn to adjust.
Yasunari Koga, who has started all four games in this tournament, played catch at a distance of about 40 meters after carefully repeating dashes.
In the middle of this practice, pitcher Koga was confirmed by coach Hidenao Sakahara that ``the weight shift when throwing is too fast and the pivot leg is not ``preserved'', so he checked the form of each pitch.
Also, in the semi-finals on the 20th, Shin Nakai, who pitched as the second player and threw 130 pitches, did not play catch and was doing light adjustments such as running and dashing.
Shimonoseki International Captain Yamashita "I want to express the gratitude that I can play baseball"
The captain of Shimonoseki International High School, Setora Yamashita, commented on the current state of the team, saying, "Every time we win a match, the level of the team is improving. is in good condition," he said.
On top of that, he said, “Since entering school, we have been training hard to stand on this big stage, but I don’t think we could have come here on our own. I would like to express the gratitude that I can have with the whole team," he said enthusiastically.
Shimonoseki International Director Sakahara "Fight with the thoughts of graduates"
Coach Hidenao Sakahara of Shimonoseki International High School looked back on the game up to the semi-finals, saying, "Originally, I thought that the team was confident in their defense and could not score so many batting points, but I was surprised that the batting line was connected at Koshien. In defense, we were able to hold back the opponent's offense with the fewest goals, and I think the reason why we were able to win is because our players are showing their full potential even on the big stage."
Also, for the final on the 22nd aiming for the first victory, "When I first became a member in 2005, there were only 11 members, and the ground was overgrown and there were no tools. From that situation. I've been able to do it without wavering for 18 years because I have a player who I can coach, so tomorrow I want to fight with the thoughts of the graduates on my back and win the championship."
Tohoku group has faced the final 9 times in the past but did not reach the championship
In summer national high school baseball, the Tohoku group has faced the final nine times so far, but has not reached the championship.
In 1915 (Taisho 4), in the first tournament, Akita Junior High School, now Akita High School, won second place in the Tohoku group, but after that, they were unable to advance to the finals, and in 1969, after more than half a century ( 1969), Aomori's Misawa High School advanced to the finals for the first time in 54 years as a Tohoku team with the success of pitcher Koji Ota.
Ehime's match with Matsuyama Shogyo was extended 18 times, and it was the first time in history that the match was a draw in the final, and the next day's rematch was defeated.
Two years later, in 1971, Fukushima's Iwaki High School advanced to the finals for the third time as a Tohoku group with the success of Takahisa Tamura, an ace pitcher with a height of 1.65 cm, who was called "a small big pitcher." but did not win.
In 1989, Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi advanced to the final, and in 2003, Tohoku High School, whose ace was pitcher Yu Darvish, who is currently active in the major leagues, advanced to the finals.
Furthermore, from 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, Aomori's Kosei Gakuin, now Hachinohe Gakuin Kosei High School, advanced to the finals for two consecutive years with their strong batting line, and in 2015 (Heisei 27). Sendai Ikuei made it to the finals for the second time, but neither of them reached the championship.
Most recently, in 2018 (Heisei 30), which was the 100th tournament of the milestone, Akita's Kinashi Agriculture is currently the first Akita prefecture force with professional baseball Nippon-Ham pitcher Kisei Yoshida. They advanced to the finals for the first time in 103 years since the 2010 tournament, but they were unable to bring back the deep red flag to Tohoku even in their 9th challenge.
Also, in Senbatsu, Ikuei Sendai advanced to the final for the first time in 2001, and then in 2009, Yusei Kikuchi, who is currently playing in the major leagues, pulled as the ace pitcher, Iwate Hanamaki. Higashi High School, in 2012 (Heisei 24), Kosei Gakuin and the Tohoku group advanced to the finals three times in total, but all were runners-up.
Attention will be paid to whether Sendai Ikuei, who will challenge the finals of the national high school baseball game this summer for the third time in total, will achieve the earnest wish of the Tohoku group.
It is the first time in 37 years that Yamaguchi Prefecture will face the final
It will be the first time in 37 years that Yamaguchi Prefecture will face the finals of a national high school baseball game in the summer, and they will be aiming for the first victory in 64 years since Yanai High School in 1958 (Showa 33).
In the 25th tournament held in 1939 (Showa 14), Shimonoseki Commercial advanced to the final for the first time in the Yamaguchi Prefecture group, and in the final, they lost to Wakayama's seaweed junior high school and finished second.
In 1958 (Showa 33), Yanai High School won the final and won the championship for the first time after graduating, beating Tokushima Shogyo, which has pitcher Eiji Bando, who was active in professional baseball and Chunichi.
After that, in 1963 (Showa 38), Shimonoseki Commercial, and in 1964 (Showa 49), Hayatomo High School participated for the first time.
Yanai High School, aiming for the second championship in 1972, Hofu Commercial, which made its first appearance in 1974, the current Hofu Commercial, and Ube Commercial, which reached the final in 1985. I came.
However, they were defeated and became runners-up.
Of these, in 1985, Ube Shogaku lost to PL Gakuen in Osaka, which boasted overwhelming strength with the "KK" duo of pitchers Masumi Kuwata and Kazuhiro Kiyohara.
Since then, the Yamaguchi group has been unable to advance to the finals, and this time, it will be the first final in 37 years, aiming for the second victory in 64 years.