With runners on first and third, Teikyo took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st on Haraguchi's (原口文仁) single into left. But the lead wouldn't last for very long.

In the bottom of the 1st, Gifu Ken Sho started things off with a single back up the middle by Matsuda (松田智宏). The number two batter, Fujita (藤田知晃), attempted to move Matsuda over to second with a sac bunt, but Hirahara (平原庸多) was quick off the mound and threw out Matsuda at second. Hirahara struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning, but then threw a wild pitch, moving Fujita into scoring position. Esaki (江崎秋馬) poked single through the right side and Fujita rounded third. He stopped and began running back to third when he saw the throw going home, but the ball went over the catcher's head. Hirahara, backing up the play, quickly recovered the ball and threw over to third to try and get Fujita, but the throw was off the mark and rolled into the outfield and gave Fujita more than enough time to cross home plate. Game tied at 1.

A runner still on second with 2 outs, Yamada (山田智弘) poked a single by the shortstop. Esaki, who was on second, was off on the pitch and rounding third when the throw went to home. An off-base slide allowed Esaki to score safely and Ken Gifu Sho had a 2-1 lead.

Ken Gifu Sho tacked on 4 more runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 6-1 lead.

Teikyo did manage to score 2 runs in the top of the 5th to make it 6-3, but they also missed a great chance in the top of the 3rd when they had had runners on first and third with only 1 out, but failed to get a run across. Hoshi (星宏樹) couldn't lay down a 1-1 squeeze and ended up striking out. The next batter walked to load the bases, but Ariga (有賀ナビル) grounded out second to end the inning.

In the top of the 6th, Teikyo had another scoring opportunity when Kaneko (金子竜也) and Taguchi (田口公貴) picked up back-to-back 1-out singles, but Hirahara grounded into a force at second and Sato (佐藤秀栄) struck out to end the inning.

Still down 6-3 in the top of the 9th, Hirahara almost led off the inning with a single, but Fujita made a great play to get to the ball and throw it over to first in enough time to get a diving Hirahara (his momentum was taking him toward second). The next batter, Sato, took Yamada's 3-2 pitch into right. As rounded second, he hesitated a bit and then kept going. And it was that hesitation that got him thrown out at third. The game ended when Ikai (井貝星良), the third baseman, grabbed Haraguchi's pop-up in foul territory.

Key Offensive Players
Teikyo: Kaneko (金子竜也) 2-for-4, R; Sato (佐藤秀栄) 3-for-4, BB, 2B; Haraguchi (原口文仁) 2-for-5, R, RBI; Yoshioka (吉岡駿) 2-for-2, HBP, BB, RBI

Ken Gifu Sho: Fujita (藤田知晃) 2-for-4, HBP, 2 R; Yokoyama (横山貴大) 1-for-2, 2B, R, 2 RBI; (平林一浩) 2-for-3, BB

Teikyo

Ken Gifu Sho

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With 2 outs in the bottom of the first, Kawai (河合完治) and Dobayashi (堂林翔太) hit back-to-back singles. Dobayashi nailed the first pitch he saw from Shinnishi (新西貴利) and deposited it over the left-center field fence to give Chukyodai Chukyo a 3-0 led. With that one swing, the tone for the rest of the game was set. Well, that and a solid out by Dobayashi.

Chukyo tacked on another run in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI double by Dobayashi.

Miyakonojosho finally pushed 2 runs across and cut Chukyo's lead to 3-2 in the top of the fourth on an 2-run double by Mera (米良孝秋). But after that hit, Dobayashi was simply un-hittable, retiring 16 of the last 17 batters he faced (he surrendered a walk in the 5th).

In the bottom of the 7th, Kawai's RBI single to left with a runner on second and Dobayashi's towering RBI double up against the wall in left-center with Kawai on first made it 6-2.

Key Offensive Players
Miyakonojosho: Mera (米良孝秋) 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI

Chukyodai Chukyo: Kawai (河合完治) 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI; Dobayashi (堂林翔太) 3-for-3, BB, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI; Isomura (磯村嘉孝) 2-for-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI

Miyakonojosho

Chukyodai Chukyo

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Some other news and notes:

...And then there were 4...

...Sanspo has pictures from the stands from Day 13.

...A sign of rough economic times? A shrine (Susano'o Shrine) that usually gets quite a few visits from teams wanting to win at the Koshien has seen about a 50% drop in traffic this year, compared to last year.

It's the first time since 1955 that two schools from the Tokai Region (Ken Gifu Sho and Chukyodai Chukyo) made it to the semifinals at the Summer Koshien.

Two schools from the Tokai Region (Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa and Ogaki Nichidai) did face off against each other in the finals during the 2007 Spring Koshien.

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What's on tap tomorrow:

11:00 Ken Gifu Sho vs Nihon Bunri

13:30 Hanamaki Higashi vs Chukyodai Chukyo

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