NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. (Kyodo) Ryohei Saigo hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the ninth inning Monday as Hotoku Gakuen rallied to beat Chukyodai Chukyo 6-5 in the quarterfinals of the national high school invitational baseball tournament.
The Hyogo school battled its Aichi opponent in a seesaw contest, tying the score 1-1 and 4-4 before Chukyodai Chukyo went ahead 5-4 on an Atsuma Kanayama RBI double in the sixth. Saigo's bases-loaded, two-out single sealed it three innings later at Koshien Stadium.
Ryutaro Hiramoto had three hits for Hotoku Gakuen, which won the 2002 invitational title. Shingo Miyamoto, who inherited a one-out, two-on jam in the seventh, pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings.