Edogawa Gakuen Toride High School secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Ibaraki Autumn Prefectural Baseball Tournament for the first time in 38 years, defeating Shimotsuma First High School 5–2 on September 28 at JCOM Stadium Tsuchiura.
A Turning Point in the Fifth Inning
The match remained locked in a 1–1 tie through the first half. During the maintenance break following the fifth inning, head coach Hirokazu Shimazaki, 64, addressed his players with a specific directive to shift the team’s mindset. He urged the squad to “forget everything that happened until now” and play with a more relaxed, positive spirit, telling them, “You are bright, and you won’t get results unless you have that mood.”
The players responded with vocal enthusiasm, a energy that carried into the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out and runners on first and third, outfielder Keishiro Takaichi delivered a right-field RBI single to break the tie. The momentum continued when outfielder Ikuto Takizawa drove a left-field RBI triple, helping the team secure a four-run rally that proved decisive in the final score.
Pitching Performance Under Pressure
Starting pitcher Kengo Hirose, a second-year student, anchored the defense against a Shimotsuma First lineup that featured several players from the previous year’s squad. Hirose utilized a slow slider to disrupt the batters’ timing, ultimately conceding only five hits and two runs to earn his first complete-game victory.
Hirose credited the coaching staff for his ability to maintain composure during the later stages of the game. He noted that he felt his performance would suffer if he became too tense, and that the manager’s mid-game encouragement helped him remain relaxed and focused on his delivery.
Overcoming Academic and Training Hurdles
For Edogawa Gakuen Toride, a school recognized for its rigorous academic curriculum, the autumn tournament presents unique logistical challenges. Following the conclusion of the first round of qualifiers, students typically enter a two-week period of intensive study for regular exams, which restricts the time available for full-team practice.
Coach Shimazaki explained that while the team usually enters the qualifiers in excellent form, the two-week interruption often leads to difficulties in the subsequent prefectural tournament. Consequently, the team’s primary goal in recent years has been to reach the quarterfinals. To bridge the gap, the players integrated independent training into their study schedules. Takaichi incorporated morning practice sessions and evening batting drills, while Hirose focused on conditioning and running during breaks from his academic work.
Looking Toward the Semifinals
The win against Shimotsuma First, a team that finished as the prefectural runner-up and competed in the Kanto Tournament last autumn, represents a major breakthrough for the current squad. Despite Shimazaki’s assessment that this year’s group is the “weakest team”, their ability to remain unified during the exam period allowed them to perform under pressure.
Following the victory, the team’s focus has shifted to the next stage of the tournament. With the quarterfinals now secured, Takaichi expressed the team’s new objective, stating, “Next, we aim for the final four.”
