The summer national high school baseball tournament’s first match on the ninth day saw Kamimura Gakuen from Kagoshima win against Chukyo University Chukyo High School from Aichi with a score of 4 to 3, advancing to the third round.
In the sixth inning, trailing by two points, Kamimura Gakuen’s sixth batter, Yuki Kamikawadoko, hit a timely single to bring one run back.
After that, they added another run due to an infield groundout, tying the game, and with two outs and a runner on third, their ace, Takumi Imamura, hit a timely single to make it 3 to 2 and take the lead.
In the ninth inning, the second batter, Kagetsu Irikata, hit a solo home run, the fifth of the tournament, extending the lead to 4 to 2.
Despite allowing a timely hit in the ninth inning that brought the score to a one-run game, Imamura, who kept pitching diligently, managed to secure the complete game, leading Kamimura Gakuen to a narrow victory of 4 to 3, and advancing to the third round.
Kagetsu Irikata, who hit the solo home run to right field in the ninth, said with a smile, “I was honestly surprised and happy. It felt the best throughout my baseball life so far.”
Imamura, who completed his second consecutive game, reflected, “The opponent was also tenacious, but I’m glad we were able to win by one run. I intended to pitch a complete game and was able to throw with a strong mindset until the end.”
The coach of Kamimura Gakuen, Daisuke Oda, spoke with tears in his eyes, “Since I became the coach, we had never beaten Chukyo University Chukyo, even in practice games, so I’m really thankful to the players for finally achieving a win.”
Regarding Imamura, he praised, “This summer, I wanted him to become a ‘true ace,’ and I entrusted the mound to him. I think his nice pitching of keeping the opponent to three runs or less was very ace-like.”
Kamimura Gakuen will face Okayama Gakugeikan High School in the third match on the tournament’s eleventh day, the 17th.