On January 28, the schools participating in the 94th National High School Baseball Tournament (Senbatsu) were announced, and Seiryo High School won its ticket to the tournament for the 15th time in two years.
It’s really great news because it’s been a difficult couple of years.
Two years of tears over cancellations and abstentions
The year before last (2020), the team was scheduled to participate in the Spring Sembatsu, but just before the event was to be held, the decision was made to cancel it due to the Corona disaster.
Last summer (2021), the team abandoned the tournament before the quarterfinals because six of its members were infected with a new type of coronavirus during the Ishikawa prefectural tournament.
It must have been hard for everyone, but especially for the third-year students and the director, who must have shed a lot of tears that could not be dumped anywhere.
The captain, Yuta Sasaki, a sophomore catcher, said in an interview, 「Our generation is carrying the thoughts of two years’ worth of seniors on our shoulders」, and that alone is enough to make me cry.
A championship banner to Director Hayashi, who will retire in March
This will also be the last Koshien for coach Hayashi, who will retire in March.
You have been in charge of the team for 11 years since 2011, and in 2019 you led Okugawa (now of Yakult) and Yamase (now of the Giants) to a runner-up finish, Seiryo High School’s best result ever.
He had originally decided that 「he would direct the project for 10 years」, but due to cancellations and other factors, the limit was extended by one year.
During his tenure, the team made eight appearances in the spring and summer. Neither of the two goals that he and his coaches set at the time of his appointment, 「to become the No. 1 team in Japan」 and 「to make 10 appearances in the spring and summer Koshien tournaments」, have been realized.
I’d love to decorate the director’s bouquet with a national championship. Go for it, go for it, go for it super hard.
There are many reasons why I want them to become the best in Japan, and this year’s cheering will be even more intense than usual. I am really looking forward to it.
