Hanamaki Higashi beats Yokohama 5-3 in tiebreak to reach National Sports Festival final
In short
Hanamaki Higashi of Iwate beat Yokohama of Kanagawa 5-3 in the semifinal of the National Sports Festival high school baseball hardball division in Hirosaki, Aomori, on October 4. The game was decided in an eighth-inning tiebreak, with Hanamaki Higashi getting consecutive run-scoring hits off Yokohama pitcher Oda Shoki, who Yahoo! News Japan said entered in relief and allowed three runs, ending his high school baseball career. Hanamaki Higashi advanced to the final; Yokohama missed a sixth title that would have been its first in 22 years.
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Hanamaki Higashi of Iwate beat Yokohama of Kanagawa 5-3 on October 4 in the semifinal of the National Sports Festival high school baseball hardball division, played at Haruka Yume Stadium in Hirosaki, Aomori. The win sent Hanamaki Higashi through to the final. TBS NEWS DIG, Nippon TV News and Yahoo! News Japan all reported the result. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The game went to an eighth-inning tiebreak in a tournament played over seven innings, and TBS NEWS DIG reported that Hanamaki Higashi produced consecutive run-scoring hits off Yokohama pitcher Oda. Yahoo! News Japan reported that Oda Shoki, described as a right-hander with a top speed of 157 km/h, entered in relief and allowed three runs, bringing his high school baseball career to an end. TBS NEWS DIG described the win as revenge for a summer Koshien meeting between the two schools. [ 1 , 2 ]
For Yokohama, the defeat ended the team's bid for a sixth title, which would have been its first in 22 years, since 2004, according to Yahoo! News Japan. No document named Hanamaki Higashi's opponent in the final. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The loss ended the high school baseball career of Yokohama right-hander Oda Shoki, whose top speed Yahoo! News Japan listed at 157 km/h, and denied Yokohama a first national title since 2004. Hanamaki Higashi moves on to the final of the National Sports Festival, a multi-sport event with entries from across Japan. Outside Japan the result matters mainly to followers of Japanese high school baseball.
Key facts
- Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) beat Yokohama (Kanagawa) 5-3 in the semifinal of the National Sports Festival high school baseball hardball division. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The match was played on October 4 at Haruka Yume Stadium in Hirosaki, Aomori. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The game was decided in an eighth-inning tiebreak in a tournament played over seven innings. [ 1 ]
- Hanamaki Higashi advanced to the final. [ 1 , 3 ]
- TBS NEWS DIG reported Hanamaki Higashi produced consecutive run-scoring hits off pitcher Oda in the tiebreak. [ 1 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan reported Yokohama pitcher Oda Shoki entered in relief, allowed three runs and saw his high school baseball career end. [ 2 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan reported Yokohama missed what would have been its sixth title and its first in 22 years, since 2004. [ 2 ]
- TBS NEWS DIG framed the win as revenge for a summer Koshien meeting between the two teams. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Who Hanamaki Higashi will face in the final, and when the final will be played. No document names the final opponent or the date.
- The details of the earlier meeting between the two teams at the summer Koshien tournament that TBS NEWS DIG describes Hanamaki Higashi as avenging. TBS NEWS DIG uses revenge framing but does not state when or in what round the teams met.
- Oda Shoki's listed top speed of 157 km/h, and over what period it was recorded. The figure appears only in Yahoo! News Japan's report.
- The nature of the three runs charged to Oda, such as whether they were earned. Only Yahoo! News Japan gives the three-run figure and does not describe the runs further.
- The game took place in Hirosaki, Aomori. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TBS NEWS DIG reports that Hanamaki Higashi beat Yokohama 5-3 in the eighth-inning tiebreak and reached the final. [ 1 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan reports Yokohama's defeat and that pitcher Oda Shoki's high school baseball career has ended. [ 2 ]
- Nippon TV News reports that Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) beat Yokohama (Kanagawa) in the high school baseball hardball division in Aomori. [ 3 ]