NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. – Defending champion Komadai Tomakomai prevailed with a 6-5 victory over Osaka Toin in the 10th inning to book its spot in the final at the national high school baseball championship Friday.
The Hokkaido school took a comfortable 5-0 lead in the second inning but needed a big break after Osaka Toin battled back to tie the game, scoring five runs through the seventh and eighth innings at Koshien Stadium.
Yuya Hayashi set the stage for the dramatic victory with a leadoff double and after advancing to third on a sacrifice, scored the game-winner on Hiroto Tsuji’s double down the right-field line. In the other semifinal game, Kyoto Gaidai Nishi batted around in the ninth inning to score four runs to overcome a 7-6 deficit en route to reaching the final for the first time ever.
After Kazuki Teramoto led off with a double, Hirofumi Minamimoto later drove in two runs on a comebacker for the lead when the Yamaguchi school misplayed the ball. Norichika Ueda had four RBIs on 4-for-5 hitting for the Kyoto school.
Kyoto Gaidai Nishi, which will play Komadai Tomakomai on Saturday, is the first Kyoto school to make the final since Kyoto Seisho did so in 1998.
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