December 9, 2024
On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at the Yokohama Mayor's Cup 20th Kanto Regional University Baseball Championship held at Yokohama Stadium (Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture), the Teikyo University baseball team lost 0-2 to Hakuoh University, ending their fall season.
In the spring league, the hardball baseball team achieved the feat of winning the championship immediately after being promoted to the first division, a first in the history of the Metropolitan University Baseball Association, and made it to the top eight in the All-Japan University Baseball Championship. In the fall league, the team started the opening week with a losing streak, but they fought tenaciously despite difficult conditions and won the final game of the fall league, earning them the right to play in the main tournament.
Their first opponent in the Kanto Tournament was Hakuoh University, ranked first in the Kanto Koshin Student Baseball League. Starting pitcher Ryuto Sakae (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology) pitched tenaciously despite allowing runners on base, and both teams kept the score at zero, but he was taken off the mound after allowing two runs in the 5th inning. Next up was pitcher Masao Miyata (3rd year, Faculty of Medical Technology), who kept the score at zero for the 3rd inning. On offense, the batting line created several good opportunities to get runners in scoring position, but they were unable to get a decisive hit from the opposing pitcher and ended up with no runs, losing the first game.
After the 2024 Fall League, captain Keiichi Imazaki (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology), who led the team for a year, reflected, "Unlike the Spring League, in which we won, this Fall League was a very difficult season, as things did not go as we wanted. We lost two games in a row in the first match against Josai University, and won two games in a row in the second match against J. F. Oberlin University, and just when we thought we were back on track, we lost two games in a row in the third match against Tsukuba University. To be honest, the thought of a relegation match crossed our minds. However, everyone felt that we could not continue like this, so we once again focused only on the opponent in front of us and fought with the determination to win every game. As a result, we won points against Nippon Sport Science University and Tokai University, and were able to participate in the Kanto Tournament for the first time in 10 years. Although we lost our first game in the Kanto Tournament, I think it was a very good experience to be able to play at Yokohama Stadium. This past year was very rich and fulfilling. Thank you everyone. I believe that our juniors will repay us for our debt at Jingu and Yokohama Stadium next year, so please continue to support the hardball baseball team."
After this tournament, the fourth-year students retired and the team was taken over by the third-year students. Thank you for your warm support so far. Please keep an eye on the baseball team in the future.