A 32-year-old high school HR HR from Shohei Otani, 32-year-old Masters Koshien

Masters Koshien 2026 (co-sponsored by Asahi Shimbun), in which former high school baseball players form alumni teams based on their alma mater and prefecture, opened on the 14th at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.

In the second game between Morioka University (Iwate) and Miyakojo Tech (Miyazaki), Shohei Ohtani, who plays for the Dodgers of the Major League Baseball, fired a shot from Morioka University player Daichi Futahashi (32, a company employee who lives in Hyogo Prefecture) and who hit a home run in high school.

1st inning, 2 outs, bases loaded. Futahashi, who started as the No. 8 third baseman, said he wasn't able to practice enough. "The fastball felt fast, so I aimed for the breaking ball." He caught the curve of the first pitch and hit a bases-loaded home run over the left field.

Morioka Otsuki, which won the 8-team Iwate prefecture qualifying round, boasts a batting lineup that scored 28 points in 3 qualifying games. The batting lineup connected on this day as well. They scored 9 points in the first inning and won 11-5.

Futahashi is known as the only batter to whom Otani (then a third year student at Hanamaki Higashi) allowed a home run at the Iwate Tournament in the summer of 2012. In the final against Hanamaki Higashi, he took the turn at bat as number four, and in the third inning, he swung a fastball and hit a three-run home run to the left field pole. It was his 39th and last home run in high school.

Masters Koshien was held after retiring from professional baseball last year. ``It's been a year since I've been at bat since I was always working at a desk compared to the Koshien Stadium.I was able to enjoy baseball without pressure for the first time in a while, and the result was a home run,'' he said happily. He retired in his second at-bat. He stepped down to create opportunities for other players.

The memory of hitting a home run from Otani is still alive today. ``That (home run) comes with each stage, whether you're in college or in the workforce.I think Mr. Otani is that kind of player, so I think it was a good experience,'' he said.

It is said that Otani sent a video of the wedding. Although he hasn't had a chance to interact with them since then, he said, ``I would be happy if we could meet.''

Masters Koshien will feature 20 teams that have won qualifying rounds from around the country, and a total of 10 games will be played over two days, ending on the 15th.

At the opening ceremony before the game, high schools that once thrilled Koshien, such as Aomori Prefecture's Misawa (representative of the Hokkaido/Tohoku block) and Akita, marched as teams participating for the first time.

The three brothers from Iwaki (Fukushima, participating for the third time), Takahiro Takahagi (33), Kohei (31), and Tatsuya (29), all took the oath as athletes. The three members touched on their experiences with the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, and said, ``We feel that being able to play baseball is not something we can take for granted.With gratitude in our hearts for being able to play baseball at Koshien, we vow to play with all our might to cheer on the baseball players who are competing today.''