Waseda triumphs over Tomakomai in 4-3 victory

On Monday, pitcher Yuki Saito led Waseda Jitsugyo to its first Koshien title in a 4-3 victory over defending champion Komadai Tomakomai, which had been hoping to earn its third consecutive title.

Yu Funabashi hit an RBI single in the first inning, and Keisuke Kawanishi had an RBI double in the second, giving Waseda a 2-0 lead. In the sixth, Tadao Mitani hit a home run to cut the lead by one, but Waseda responded with RBIs from Hidemasa Hirakawa in the bottom of the sixth and Takashi Goto in the seventh.

In the ninth inning, Tomakomai’s Tatsuya Nakazawa hit a two-run homer with no outs to bring the game to 4-3. But Saito kept his cool and struck out the next three batters, clinching the win for Waseda.

Monday’s game was actually a replay of the championship. The two teams previously met on Sunday, when they played to a 1-1 tie. The game was officially declared a tie after 15 innings, in accordance with tournament rules. This was only the second time in Koshien’s history that the championship game has been replayed.

Source:
JapanBall.com