Matsuida High School, located in western Gunma Prefecture, adjacent to Nagano Prefecture, won the prefectural tournament this summer for the first time in 22 years.
The team’s first official match is “The Last Summer”
Only 14 members. While watching a match where more than half of the junior high school baseball inexperienced players won the first round, I couldn’t help but feel the need for a new system change in the high school baseball world.
Prefectural Matsuida High School is a small school with only about two classes per grade, and there are students who grew up in various home environments. Captain Kenji Shimazaki, who is 152 cm tall, did not attend school from the 4th grade of elementary school to the 3rd grade of junior high school, but around the summer of his first year, he was invited by the manager, Haruto Shoji, to join the baseball club. He continued until his retirement this summer.
There are only three third-year club members, and this summer is the first time that they have been able to participate in official games alone since the new team was established last summer. The recruitment of club members was realized by Director Shoji calling out to the students on campus.
Just because the club has more than nine members doesn’t mean it’s safe as a club.
Uncertainty about whether club members will gather on the day of the match
Not all club members gather for daily practice, and coach Shoji lends out the equipment. Practice uniforms are also disjointed, and there is no “normal” for baseball clubs nationwide.
Even on game days, it’s an uneasy situation where you don’t know who’s coming. In fact, even on the day of the first round of the Gunma tournament, there were players who could not be contacted on the day.
“It was really tough, but the third-year students did a great job, and I was relieved that we managed to win one.” (Manager Shoji)
In the bottom of the 1st inning, Matsuida scored 2 runs ahead of the opponent’s mistake. After that, ace pitcher Saki Ochiai threw 20 strikeouts to hold off the opponent Haruna’s high batting lineup, and it was a game that escaped with a score of 3-1.
Of course, there is no doubt that Shoji’s tireless efforts paid off. He has watched over the team warmly, such as raising him to a pitcher that can take 20 strikeouts, which has led to this result. In fact, it is said that Ochiai, the ace, was a player who was often coached by teachers.
2023-08-27 23:36:34
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