Kosei Yoshida fell flat in his first start at historic Koshien Stadium since the 2018 national high school championship final, taking the loss in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' 8-3 interleague defeat against the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday.
In 2018, Yoshida pitched unheralded Kanaashi Nogyo High School to the final of the tournament, where he surrendered 12 runs in a 13-2 loss. The fourth-year right-hander fared just a little better Sunday, allowing four runs over three innings to fall to 1-1 on the season.
"I enjoyed it," said Yoshida, who had pitched at Koshien as a pro but had not started a regular-season game there. "I approached this like a relief assignment without all that comes with being a starting pitcher."