Second baseman Yoshitsugu Yamaguchi went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 in eight strong innings, leading Hokkaido's Komadai Tomakomai to a 7-4 win over Chiben Wakayama in the semifinals of the National High School Baseball Championship on Saturday.
Tokyo's Waseda Jitsugyo shut out tournament debutant Kagoshima Kogyo 5-0 in the other semifinal to set up a showdown in Sunday's final with Komadai Tomakomai, which came within one win of becoming only the second school to claim a third consecutive national title, and the first in 73 years.
Komadai Tomakomai rested ace pitcher Tanaka, considered a major attraction in the amateur baseball draft this fall, and Chiben Wakayama took advantage of his absence to go ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by catcher Ryohei Hashimoto.
The Hokkaido school hit back immediately in the bottom half and took a 4-1 lead with an attack keyed by an RBI triple by Atsushi Honma and Yamaguchi's two-run double.