●Nathan Shiga: August 24, 2017

This episode has to do a historic feat displayed today by a local high school in my own home prefecture – Saitama. Hanasaki Tokuharu High School in Kazo City trounced a legendary high school baseball team Koryo from Hiroshima 14-4 in the final game of the All Japan HIgh School Baseball tournament at Koshien, Hyogo.

Kazo is an hour drive east from my hometown, Okegawa, and close enough to share with the folks in Kazo the thrill of watching “our own boys” battling the way to the pennant for the first time in Saitama’s history of high school baseball.

In a rather dramatic fashion, Hanasaki scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning and in the fifth another 6 runs by ten batters hitting in a streak including a three-base hit by Nishikawa.

“Our boys” eventually scored altogether 14 runs with 16 hits to oust Hiroshima’s Koryo HIgh School in the 99th high school baseball tournament.

Manager Takashi Iwai of Hanasaki Tokuharu High School told the press after the game:

“I’m thankful to my boys who had endured the hard work step at a time trusting me all the way.

“They belted 16 hits altogether – a great feat, I must say, but I believe a few of them must have been out of the excitement of playing in the legendary stadium – Koshien”.

The boys are due to come backhome to Kazo tomorrow, August 24. Good show, boys!

—Sponsered Link—