NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo (Kyodo) — Okinawa Shogaku clinched its maiden national high school baseball championship Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Tokyo’s Nihon University Third High School in the final of the summer tournament at Koshien Stadium.
Having previously won the spring invitational tournament in 1999 and 2008, it marks Okinawa Shogaku’s third title at Koshien, the spiritual home of Japanese high school baseball in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
It is the second school from Japan’s southernmost island prefecture to win the national championship, following Konan in 2010.
The Tokyo school was gunning for its third national title.
Shogaku starter Yuito Arakaki pitched into the eighth inning, allowing six hits and one run. Fellow sophomore Ryosuke Sueyoshi got the final four outs.
A total of 3,396 teams took part in the iconic summer tournament this year, with 49 teams advancing from regional championships to compete for the national crown at Koshien.
To combat the heat, games were split into morning and evening sessions to avoid the hottest times of the day.
AloJapan.com