Baseball-Tokyo Big6 Baseball, the first time in three years to revive the “third round”, opens on the 9th Exploring the characteristics of each team | 4years. #University sports

The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League will open at Jingu Stadium on the 9th. Since 2019, this season, in the case of 1 win and 1 loss, the “winning points” system of the two-round first-come-first-served system, which will be held after the third round, will be revived, and extra time will be held. On the 7th, the captains and directors of each university held a press conference and talked about the characteristics of this year’s team.

Keio University, where the pillars of the fielders have fallen out, what is the next “pillar”?

Keio University, which won the spring-autumn season last year, has graduated from core players such as Tomoya Masaki (Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) who played a central role in the batting line, Haruto Watanabe (Orix Buffaloes) and Shogo Fukui (Toyota Motor) on the center line. .. As for the pitchers, Shota Masui (4th year, Hikone Higashi), Junichi Watanabe, Atsumi Ikui (both 4th year, Keio) and other experienced players will reach the final grade, and some goals can be calculated. For that reason, the inspiration of the batting line seems to be the key to winning the championship in a row.

Captain Yusuke Shimoyama (4th year, Keio) said at a press conference, “We have been aiming for a team that can score one point even with no hits by covering the places where the main players are missing.” His own hits have been analyzed so far as “there was a hit ball that was caught in front of the fence or could not pass through the outfield”, and this winter he swung a bat to strengthen his punching power. “He wants you to pay attention to the powerful batting,” he said.

Waseda’s ideal is to win by competing with “5 to 3, 5 to 4”

In contrast to Keio University, Waseda University director Satoru Komiyama expects the rise of pitchers. Both ace Souma Tokuyama (Yokohama DeNA BayStars) and Masaya Nishigaki (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles) have passed, and “it has become a big deal.” In the spring open game, the pitchers said, “There were good pitches, but there were many games that I couldn’t even see.” In the league match, while considering the compatibility with the opponent’s batting line, he is prepared to appoint all the pitchers on the bench.

To cover the unknown number of pitchers, Captain Takuya Nakagawa (4th year, Osaka Toin) said, “I think the characteristic of this year’s team is that you can get 5 points.” He tells the pitchers, “You can get 3 or 4 points, so don’t just concede a lot of goals.”

Meidai, who was hit by Corona, with an obsession

At Meiji University, an unforeseen situation struck the team. According to Director Takehiro Tanaka, there have been a number of players in the team who have been positive for the new coronavirus since the beginning of this year. In particular, there were many infected people in the battery team, and the match could not be organized as expected, so the first match of the open match was March 16th. “I didn’t fight without such a sense of practice. I think the players are more anxious than I am, but I don’t make excuses,” he says.

In terms of force, the Uchino team has gained experience, including catcher Kaito Minoo (4th year, Nichinan Gakuen) and Rikuto Yamada (4th year, Tokogakuen) who marked a batting average of 40% in the league match last fall. Its strength is that it is out. Captain Kaito Muramatsu (4th year, Shizuoka) said, “Last year, there were many games that cried for one out or one ball, so from the beginning of the new team, the theme was” Let’s take care of one ball. “1 I think the obsession with the ball is a very strong group, “said the team’s strengths.

Rikkyo University led by draft candidate, strength to know the third round

Rikkyo University has participated as a regular since the first year, and the success of Kenta Yamada (4th year, Osaka Toin), who is also attracting attention as a draft candidate player this fall, holds the key to the victory. In the spring of 1st year, he made a brilliant debut with a batting average of 30%, 7 minutes and 5 home runs, and made a brilliant debut.

Experience is probably the greatest strength for Yamada. Since 2019, when Yamada was one year this season, the “winning points” system will be adopted, which will be held after the third round. It’s an important match with a sense of tension, as it says, “The third match, which was greeted with 1 win and 1 loss, will be a tough feeling” (Director Komiyama of Waseda University). Yamada enthusiastically says, “We are only experiencing our own generation, and there are many members of the unknown world. We can’t help looking ahead, so we will win the game in front of us.”

Hosei University Aiming for “Scoring Position Batting Average Over 50%”

Like Waseda University, Hosei University has graduated from two signboards that have advanced to professionals, such as Hikaru Yamashita (Tokyo Yakult Swallows) and Ginji Miura (Yokohama DeNA BayStars). Director Shigeo Kato expects a total war, saying, “Pitchers will be put on the bench with seven pitchers, and pitchers who are in good shape will be put in more and more.”

The batting line was centered on Daiki Saito (4th year, Yokohama), who was selected as the best nine of the second baseman for two consecutive seasons in the spring and autumn of last year and became the captain. Since I was in high school, I was confident in hitting, so I focused on defensive practice in winter. “If you can protect it well, it will lead to batting.” Although there were good pitchers last fall, the lack of scoring ability echoed, and 6 out of 10 games were drawn. This spring, we aim to have a batting average of over 50% in the scoring position.

A player presents a muffler to the University of Tokyo director

In order for the University of Tokyo to score points in the two-game first-come-first-served system, it is necessary to have good throws on both right arms of Shunsuke Izawa (4th year, Sapporo Minami) and Kei Nishiyama (4th year, Tsuchiura Ichi) who are experiencing the mound of Jingu. I can’t. According to catcher and captain Yasuki Matsuoka (4th grade, Tokyo City University), the pitchers in the 4th grade are “many people doing maniac things like studying not only technology but also how to use the body.” It is a characteristic of this year’s team that the knowledge gained there will be spread to other players and new communication will be born.

Director Takashi Ide also puts his trust in Izawa and Nishiyama, saying, “Both of them are over 20 years old and their bodies are ready. I expect to be able to pitch better than last year.” Recently, I was happy with such director Ide. On February 13th this year, on his 78th birthday, the players gave him a “good muffler” as a gift. During the winter, “I rolled it all the time and went to the stadium.” The sense of unity between the players and the leaders is comparable to other universities.

The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League will start on the 9th with a match card between the University of Tokyo-Keio University and Waseda University-Hosei University. The maximum number of spectators is 15,000, and a heated battle will be held until the Waseda-Keio match at the end of May.