Senbatsu High School Baseball will feature four third-round games on the ninth day of the tournament.
Game 1
The first match will be between Osaka Toin High School and Noshiro Shoyo High School in Akita.
Osaka Toin pitched a complete game in the second round of the first game when ace and captain Yugo Maeda gave up one run.
With the pitching of the pitchers to watch in this tournament, I would like to build momentum for the team to win the Senbatsu title for the second time in history.
Shoyo Noshiro scored in the first match with his leg-related attacks such as end runs and double steals, and won his first Senbatsu victory, and the key is whether he can shake the defense of Osaka Toin like in the first match.
Game 2
The second match will be between Tokai University Sugo High School and Okinawa Shogaku High School in Tokyo.
Tokai Daisugo escaped with a relay of four pitchers in the first game, and the pitching of ace pitcher Naoki Hihata, who hit the fastest 2 km, is particularly noteworthy.
On the other hand, Okinawa Shogaku was the only school participating in the official match last fall to exceed 4% of the team batting average, and this tournament also scored 148 hits in the first round and 4 hits in the second round, so the key to victory will be whether the powerful batting line can demonstrate its strength.
Game 3
The third match will be between Toho High School in Aichi and Hotoku Gakuen in Hyogo.
Five-time Senbatsu champion Toho captain Eiki Ishikawa is the younger brother of Akiya Ishikawa, who plays professional baseball for Chunichi, and is 3-for-5 with a batting average of 4%.
On the other hand, Hotoku Gakuen's captain, Hori Hiirina, is a catcher with shoulder strength comparable to that of a professional, and in the second round, he devised a way to distribute the ball and did not let an opponent with high mobility steal bases.
Keep an eye out for the captains of both teams.
Game 4
The fourth and final match of the third round will be between Ryukoku Taiheian High School in Kyoto and Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi.
Ryukoku Taiheian came back from behind with a concentrated shot in the closing minutes of the first match to win a close match with a one-goal lead.
On the other hand, Sendai Ikuei won the bye 3-4 after 1 overtime tiebreaks to advance to the third round.
The winner of the last chair in the last eight will be Ryukoku Taiheian, who has the most appearances in the tournament with 10 times. Sendai Ikuei won the Tohoku championship for the first time last summer.
It is noteworthy how the two schools have fought each other that has excited Koshien.