Asahi City Second Junior High School claimed the championship at the fourth Kazunori Shinohara Memorial Junior High School Soft Baseball Tournament on November 8 under clear skies at Choshi Sports Town Kuroshio Kamome Stadium, Choshi Sports Town reported.
The tournament aims to promote baseball, expand the competitive player base, improve athletic skills, and foster regional exchange. It also honors the achievements of Kazunori Shinohara, a Choshi native who twice won professional baseball batting titles.
NPO Choshi Sports Community, Choshi Sports Town Co., Ltd., and Kitaru Dreams organized the event for first- and second-year junior high school students. A round-robin format featured Asahi City Second Junior High School, a Choshi combined team representing Choshi, Choshi Nishi, and Choshi Daiichi junior high schools, and an Asahi-Sosa combined team drawing from Asahi Daiichi, Higata, Ioka, Kaisho, and Yokaichiba Daiichi junior high schools.
Kazunori Shinohara, serving as tournament executive committee chairman, and vice chairman Masamune Kitaru delivered words of encouragement to the players during the opening ceremony, while the captain of Choshi Junior High School delivered the player oath.
Kitaru took the mound as pitcher and Shinohara stepped in as batter for the ceremonial first pitch. During breaks between matches, Shinohara provided batting instruction and Kitaru offered pitching guidance to the participating athletes.
Players approached Shinohara behind the backstop to request hitting tips during match viewing. Shinohara provided detailed, hands-on coaching to athletes across all participating squads throughout the day.
Asahi City Second Junior High School secured the tournament title by winning both of their round-robin matches.
The Choshi combined team finished the day in second place behind the tournament champions. Asahi Second pitcher Hisui Terashima earned Most Valuable Player honors after throwing six scoreless innings across two appearances.
Tournament organizers presented Terashima with a Yomiuri Giants uniform bearing the personal signature of Kazunori Shinohara. Officials said that declining birthrates, population decreases, and the regional transition of school club activities have created challenges for single-school athletic teams.
Organizers observed that players from different schools united to compete despite these structural changes in youth sports. Choshi Sports Town representatives stated their intention to continue supporting youth baseball participation, technical development, and cross-regional exchange initiatives.
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