[Hard Baseball]“I can’t lose anymore” Second half starts aiming for 4 points with 6 consecutive wins / Tokyo Six Universities Autumn League Match East War Outlook – Sports Hosei

This season’s league schedule, standings (as of the end of the 4th week)

East War prospects

The team played 7 games in 10 days, then restarted for the second half with a free week in between. Currently, Hodai has 2 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws, and 1 point. Considering that the leader Waseda University has 3 points and 2 cards left and only 1 loss for the championship, they can get 4 points from 6 consecutive wins. sought after. First, they want to win against Keio University, end their losing streak at 18, and gain momentum by overwhelming Tokyo University, which is gaining momentum.

As for the Tokyo University pitching staff, their condition is improving with each game. In the opening card against Waseda University, the team collapsed with a total of 32 runs conceded in the two games, but in the fourth week of the Keio War, although Keio University’s team batting average was in the 10% range, they brought it to a close battle with low scores. Mukateru Watanabe (3rd year, Kaijo), who is expected to be the starter for the first game, has a unique trajectory of under throws. On September 21st, in the first round against Meiji University, he pitched comfortably against a powerful batting line, allowing 4 hits and no runs in 8 innings. In addition, right-hander Taiyo Suzuki (4th year, National) was the key player in ending the team’s 18-game losing streak. He has good control, and we need to be careful of his fast-paced pitching, which he lets hit like he did at Keio Taisen.

Can you conquer under throw Mukateru Watanabe? ?

As for the batting lineup, there is one hit in the top batting lineup, so be careful. Leadoff man Masaru Sakai (3rd year, Sendai 2nd year), who did not play this spring due to injury, is a good hitter who was selected to the best nine last fall and to the university national team candidate training camp. Even though he has a batting average of .200 this season, if he allows him to get on base, he will give momentum to the opposing batting lineup. Also, Shinnosuke Yamaguchi (4th year, Koyamadai), who comes in at No. 2, has hit in all three games against Keio University. I want to try to pitch without putting out any runners before the cleanup where I can expect a long hit.

Be wary of leadoff man Masaru Sakai

Hodai, on the other hand, took on the spring champion Waseda University with the momentum of a walk-off win, but their momentum completely stopped with 1 draw and 2 losses. Especially after the come-from-behind 3-run hit by Waseda University mainstay Tsubasa Yoshino (4th year, Toho) in the second round, he became depressed. In the third round the next day, the team’s mental weakness after the loss, which the coach had worried about before the league match, was exposed and they were completely defeated. Furthermore, regarding the pitching staff, they were solid in the spring with a one-point average, second in the league, but currently (as of the end of the fourth week) they are unstable at 3.14, fifth in the league. Shinoki started 4 out of 7 games and threw 481 pitches in 31 innings over 10 days, but his ERA was 3.48 and his condition has not improved. Furthermore, Shoei Yosizuru (Engage 4 = Kisarazu General) also only pitched in two games, pitching 5 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs, and getting off to a tough start with an ERA of 8.44.

Despite this, there is a glimmer of hope in the strong performance of the relievers, led by Sota Adachi (4th grade, Toko Gakuen) and Kotaro Yamashiro (4th grade, Fukudai Ohori). Even if Shinhiro Nozaki (3rd division = Gifu Commercial), who has started in the two games so far, goes down early in the inning, the two players have the toughness to cover with long relief. In addition, Satoshi Kurashige (Bain 1 = Koryo) is a first-year pitcher, but he has pitched six innings with no runs and is solid at the back, so the timing of his succession pitches is important. While Shinoki helped them in the first half, other pitchers will cover in the second half to keep their hopes of winning the championship alive.

Sota Adachi pitched 4 games, 9 innings, no runs and excellent stability.

As for the batting lineup, there are still issues with the offense. The no outs, bases loaded and no runs scored in the second round of Waseda University’s game was a factor that suddenly turned the tide. Pop flies and strikeouts at favorable opportunities are also noticeable. The team will once again remember the team batting that they have been working on since the spring when they were down to just one run, take advantage of their opponents’ mistakes, and play competitive baseball that never misses opportunities.

Looking at the individual players, Yamato Nakatsu (4th team = Komatsu Otani), who plays the No. 3 role, has hit in all seven games, leading the batting lineup with a batting average of .333 and two home runs, just as he did this spring. On October 9th, Komatsu Otani, his alma mater, won second place at the national sports tournament “SAGA 2024″. “I was surprised. I got a lot of energy, so I’m going to win!” he said with a smile. Furthermore, he was able to hit the ball strongly in the opposite direction, which he said he was weak at, and his condition is improving. Despite the difficult situation where he is required to win six consecutive games, he says emphatically, “I won’t think about losing, I will only focus on winning all six games.”

The axis of the batting line – Yamato Nakatsu

Rikuto Himeki (person 4 = Nippon University Fujisawa), who sits at No. 5, hasn’t hit a home run, but he has 10 hits with three cards left and is almost certain to break his career high of 11 hits this spring. We asked manager Yusuke Takamura, who coaches pitchers, how he attacks himself from a pitcher’s perspective, and he says that the reason for his good performance is that he prepares strategies for opposing pitchers. With his characteristic full swing, we hope to see him make a winning shot in the second half of the game.

It was a very tough result for the team to lose two games in a row to Waseda University, but they have only just finished their second game. We want to look forward once again to win the championship with four points. (Daisuke Yabuki)