April 30th Shimoyanagi v Rios - The best game of the season so far

This game had everything. Poor pitching, great batting and a scoreline which changed hands several times. The finale cemented Arai's place in the affections of the Koshien faithful. Line scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E
Swallows 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0  5 12 0
Tigers   1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1x 6 12 0

Starting linups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Arai (Third)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Katsuragi (Right)
6. Toritani (Short)
7. Yano (Catcher)
8. Sekimoto (Third)
9. Shimoyanagi (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Aoki (Centre)
2. Kawashima (Third)
3. Tanaka (Second)
4. Guiel (Right)
5. Riggs (First)
6. Miyamoto (Short)
7. Iihara (Left)
8. Fukukawa (Catcher)
9. Rios (Pitcher)

Shimoyanagi didn't start particularly well (he would continue in this vein throughout the game). Aoki hit and was bunted to second by Kawashima. He advanced to third on a ground out but the final batter also grounded out to kill the chance. Rios was about the same level. He gave up a hit to Akahoshi who was bunted to second by Hirano. This time the third batter Arai also hit and drove home Akahoshi 1-0 Tigers. The throw was good but Akahoshi was able to evade Fukukawa's tag to touch home plate safely. Kanemoto and Katsuragi both grounded out to strand Arai. The Swallows second was quiet though Shimoyanagi did walk Iihara. Rios returned the favour in the second with Sekimoto but nothing came of this. The Swallows third was different. Rios managed a streaky hit to right. Aoki flew out Kawashima received a high pitch which he hit into the gap between left and centre. The ball merrily rolled along the ground before it hit the fence and Rios lumbered for home. Response from the Tigers seemed a little slow and Rios made home safely 1-1 scores level. Kawashima reached third and waited for a Tanaka hit 2-1 Swallows. The next batter Guiel struck out but Riggs walked setting up runners on first and second with two outs. However, Miyamoto hit a foul fly which landed safely in the hands of Yano to end the innings.

In the bottom Akahoshi flew out and Hirano hit towards third. He beat the throw to first with a dive. Arai hit and Tigers had runners on first and third with one out. Next in a very poor piece of pitching Rios walked Kanemoto in four (the balls were all over the place) to load the bases. Katsuragi punched a pitch past right for a hit and a run 2-2 scores level. Then came Toritani who grounded out to second but the runner on third Arai was home 3-2 Tigers. Yano struck out watching to end the innings. The Swallows fourth started with a bang, for his second ball Iihara got a high pitch in the zone and latched onto it for a straight home run 3-3 scores level. Shimoyanagi then retired the next two batters and faced Aoki again. Aoki stole second and here Yano's throw was poor. This move was anticipated and Toritani was already in position. The throw though missed and pulled him away from Aoki just enough for the Swallows centre to be safe. To throw Aoki out one does have to be precise. The next batter Kawashima put a hit in exactly the same place as his last one (though not as far) and Aoki was home 4-3 Swallows. Tanaka hit as well and Shimoyanagi had runners on first and second with two outs. Guiel though flew out to Katsuragi.

The Tigers fourth had an Akahoshi foul ball but this was wasted. In the Swallows fifth Miyamoto and then Iihara hit but a fly to Arai caught the runner on first off base and he was also out. Arai hit for the Tigers and Katsuragi also hit setting up runners on first and third with one out. Toritani though grounded out into a straightforward double play. Rios went at the end of the innings and was pinch hit for by Hatakeyama who grounded out to Toritani at the start of the sixth. Aoki walked and was bunted to second by Kawashima. Then Tanaka walked but Guiel grounded out to end the innings. So to the Tigers sixth - pitched by Igarashi. Yano struck out then up came Sekimoto. He swung and put the ball over Kawashima at third then set off. Round first base and towards second as the throw came in. Miyamoto took the ball and dived towards the sack at the same time as Sekimoto. The tag missed and Sekimoto put his hand on the base - safe! Imaoka was summoned to pinch hit for Shimoyanagi but flew out to left. Then came Akahoshi who hit to centre. Sekimoto was round to third and Akahoshi safe on first. Next batter Hirano who launched into a 1-1 ball sending it high to right. Guiel was standing quite shallow and had to turn to go back. He probably expected the ball to fade but it kept on going and landed well ahead of him at the base of the wall. A three base hit! Both Sekimoto and Akahoshi were home 5-4 Tigers.

The seventh was quiet. Watanabe kept the Swallows bottled up. Saitoh walked Katsuragi but kept his cool even when Toritani bunted him to second and got out of the innings without any damage. The eighth started with Kubota - surely Tigers were safe. Not quite. Kubota got his first pinch hitter, Manaka, but gave up a hit to his second, Fukuchi. Runner on first one out. He then threw one of his typical bump balls which Yano failed to take. This is not the sort of thing Yano should miss and one has to ask whether he is slowing down. Fukuchi was aware of the chance and was around to third. The batter, Aoki walked setting up runners on first and third with only one out. Up came Kawashima who hit again for his third RBI of the night scores level 5-5. Kubota finally got out of the innings with a double play but once again had been rather generous (though with some help from Yano).

The Tigers eighth saw Hiyama who hit but nothing came of this. So to Fujikawa and it was clear that Okada was hoping for a victory in nine. First up was Guiel who was totally fooled as a straight fastball sailed through the middle of his strike zone - struck out looking. Then Riggs who struck out swinging. Finally Miyamoto who got some bat on a pitch but hit it straight to Fujikawa who tossed the ball to Arai for the final out. The Tigers ninth and the Swallows pitcher was Matsuoka. He faced Arai. 2-2 the next pitch was higher than it should have been and Arai hammered into the left stand for a sayanora home run 6-5 Tigers. A fine victory.

Swallows had fought hard Kawashima standing out (and the next game he would also be significant). However, Tigers had prevailed. Yano is still a worry and Kanemoto's slump is not good but the other batters did well. Shimoyanagi hadn't pitched at all well but neither had Rios. Swallows relief hadn't worked well but Kubota had balanced them out. A very close exciting game which was undecided right to the final hit.