108th National High School Baseball Championship: Ariake loses to Kendai Takasaki in overtime tie-break

(18th, 108th National High School Baseball Championship Quarterfinals Kendai Takasaki 1-0 Ariake)

He made a mistake on his own bunt, was allowed to steal third, and was given a walk. With the score 0-0 in the ninth inning, two outs, the bases loaded, Ryotaro Saito was laughing on the mound, in the midst of a walk-off loss. fun--.

He faced Kendai Takasaki's pinch hitter, Ren Sonoda, without fear of wild pitches, missed catches, or walks. On the 7th pitch, he missed the fastball and struck out. Kyotaro Nishiyama, who received the award, says: "Best ball of the day. I got goosebumps."

Both teams have strong mobility. It turned out to be a tight match, with both players trying to keep each other out. Ariake's Kushuya, who had pitched well in the first and second rounds, was injured, and Saito, who was entrusted with the starting role, pitched calmly from the beginning, putting zeros on the scoreboard.

“The cheers I heard from the Alps seats and other seats gave me strength.”

He is the representative of Kumamoto, which was affected by the earthquake that occurred before the opening of the season. Everyone understands that the cheering will get louder. However, it wasn't just the power of cheering that led to their victory. This day's battle was proof that we were able to avoid conceding as many goals as possible in the early stages and take control of the game in the second half.

10th inning, extra tiebreak. 1 out, 2nd and 3rd baseman Haruki Nagata, the second baseman, handled a grounder between first and second base and tried to hit the runner who had rushed into home plate. However, his touch was evaded. Goodbye loss. It was a dangerous play that could only be determined through video verification.

``We missed just one step,'' said director Kazushige Takami. If the ball had rolled a little closer to the second baseman, the result might have been different. The reason for the defeat was not a difference in strength, but only a difference in ``ball luck''.