| BASEBALL | ICE HOCKEY | BLOCKBALL | OTHER SPORTS IBS XII: Junior Daskies Shine!
By Nakamura Go (@GomuraOfficial)
-- Welcome back to International baseball! It's Nakamura Go again, ready to review the action on the diamond. This time it's our young talent's turn to play ball, and boy oh boy they delivered! This is the first time for the Junior Daskies on the International stage, a good debut with a 3-0 series win over The Jovannic U21 Red Princes.
The Jovannic U21 Red Princes 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 4
Daskel U18 Junior Daskies 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 2 X 7
For this year, we count with REI West Kuji's ace pitcher Kanao Tōru, who delivered an impressing first game. Kanao held the Red Princes for four straight innings, before allowing 3 runs to the top of The Jovannic batting lineup. For many daskelians, this was also the prime time to watch another young future star in the field, and what's more, them forming a formidable battery; Takaoka Kōhei, former catcher and captain of Otoun Gakuin is the starting catcher for the Jr Daskies, one of the best contact batters and leading men on the koukou yakyuu scene. Takaoka played their part on the two runs of the third inning, stealing a base and scoring for Team Daskel after that.
To say the least, the fifth inning was the scariest moment of the game. Kanao lost his momentum for a couple of pitches, giving away three runs in the process. Eventually, with the help of Takaoka, the West Kujian ace finally closed the inning with a grounder to the shortstop, Daskies' captain Genji Motohiro, who also led his high school team, Mizumita Tachibana Minami Koukou, to the Daikyuu semifinals last year. The game ended with Fujimoto, who pitched the remaining innings after replacing Kanao on the seventh inning.
The Jovannic U21 Red Princes 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
Daskel U18 Junior Daskies 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 X 7
This game had Tomohiro Kadowaki, ace pitcher of powerhouse school Kiten Gakuen, as the team's starter pitcher. Tomohiro delivered a clean game as well, but as Kanao in the first one, things got tough on the fifth inning. It seems like the team has an unlucky 5th, with another three runs scored with an homerun from the Red Princes. However, Tomohiro recovered quickly, sealing the next innings. In the scoring side, 6th inning was the lucky moment for the team: Genji, Ikebata, Seri, Mizuya and Nagae scored back-to-back for the Daskies.
The game was closed by the team's closer for the first time. Nire Kōichirō have quite the unorthodox style of pitching, and many batters have problems reading the movement of the ball. As expected, this time was no exception, and the pitcher finished the inning with another 0 under his belt. This was also the first time Nire is on national television, as he have not qualified to the National Championship with his high school team. Scouts are everywhere, though, and even when Nire is not at a famous school, his talent went immediately under radar.
The Jovannic U21 Red Princes 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Daskel U18 Junior Daskies 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
Ah, we love extra innings, right?
A game who did reactivate PSTD on many daskelians. The bats were silent in a extreme pitcher-dominated game. Akazawa Ryōji was the starter for the game. Akazawa did well for all his innings, giving up only 2 runs that made every baseball fan dissolve into despair into the 6th inning. Coach Sakamoto noticed the path of the game and signaled with caution, playing trademark smallball to overcome the opponent. Team Daskel secured a run on the third inning; Shigeki hit a single, then reached second with a safety bunt. A solid hit from Takaoka finally made the left fielder return back home. The Daskies scored another run on the eighth, a lone run from Genji with a similar strategy from Sakamoto kantoku, even when they were at the top of the order. The young coach send Mizushima Hisashi to the mound right after the tie, all stakes on the win.
Mizushima performed well under pressure, showing off his arm with his trademark fastballs and curveballs. The opportunity for Daskel to end the game finally came on the 10th inning, when Seri hit right to the deep left field. Ikebata returned safely, finishing the outstanding showdown of pitchers with a 2-3 sayonara run win.
After this, Junior Daskies position themselves at the very top of the table. Next game is against the current defending champion's country, Tikariot.
P Team Pld W L RF RA RD Win %
1 Daskel U18 Junior Daskies 3 3 0 17 9 +8 1.000
2 Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars 3 2 1 15 8 +7 0.667
3 Tikariot U21s 3 1 2 8 15 −7 0.333
4 The Jovannic U21 Red Princes 3 0 3 9 17 −8 0.000
SCHEDULE
6/10: Series 1 The Jovannic U21 Red Princes vs Daskel U18 (0L-3W)
7/10: Series 2 Tikariot U21s vs Daskel U18
8/10: Series 3 Daskel U18 vs Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars
9/10: Rest day
10/10: Series 4 Daskel U18 vs The Jovannic U21 Red Princes
11/10: Series 5 Daskel U18 vs Tikariot U21s
12/10: Series 6 Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars vs Daskel U18
