On 10 May, the University of Tokyo Baseball Club (Tokyo Big6 Baseball League) played their second game against Hosei University, winning 8-5. Winning against Hosei the day before, UTokyo’s winning streak gained them a series point in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. This was their first series point in nine years, since Autumn 2017 (excluding special rules during the COVID-19 pandemic). In the spring league, it had been 29 years since UTokyo won a series point.
Hosei ｜２０１０００１１０｜５
UTokyo｜０１２２２０１００｜８
UTokyo won the first game with a complete game pitched by ace Shinnosuke Matsumoto (Education, B3), marking the first spring season win in five years. To earn a series point, the team only needed one more win. However for UTokyo, that additional one win always seemed out of reach. Last autumn, UTokyo won their first games against Keio and Hosei, however consecutively lost in the second and third games, failing to earn a series point. The same occurred in autumn of 2024. The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League’s system of requiring two wins in a row for a series point has always frustrated UTokyo.
However, recent matches against Meiji and Waseda were closely contested, leaving fans with the impression that “this year’s team is different”. In the second game against Hosei, 10,000 people, including Hosei fans whose team has been fighting for first place, filled the seats of Jingu Stadium.
Eguchi Naoki (Engineering, B4) was the starting pitcher. A relief pitcher in previous games, Eguchi missed his opportunity to pitch in the first game against Hosei since Matsumoto pitched the entire game. Therefore, it appears that he was designated as the starting pitcher for the second game.
In the top of the first inning, first batter Ryoya Sakai took the base, allowing a runner immediately when the game started. The following second batter was Kazuki Inoue, who was on a roll with two home runs this season, and has a batting average above .300. He is one of the most dangerous batters in the Hosei lineup, but Eguchi struck him out with three pitches, and overcame an initial crisis. However, he walked third batter Kojun Fujimori with a four-pitch walk, leaving runners on first and second base with only one out. Eguchi was unable to pitch strikes to the fourth batter Yuma Katayama, and on the fourth pitch from two balls one strike, Katayama’s hit went over the left fielder for a double with two runs batted in (RBI). The team was off to a difficult start with runs conceded right after the start of the game, but they retired the following batters, managing to end the inning with only two conceded runs.
UTokyo went on the offense in the bottom of the first against Hosei’s starting pitcher Sou Sugai. Sugai started in this season’s second match-ups against Rikkyo and Waseda, performing impressively with an Earned Run Average (ERA) in the 1.00s. Facing Sugai, third batter Ryo Akimoto (Law, B3) walked with two outs, but the team was unable to score.
In the top of the second, Eguchi immediately walked eighth batter Yamato Nishimura and allowed a sacrifice bunt against the ninth batter, advancing the runner to second base with one out. First batter Sakai, who has a batting average of over .400, was retired on a fly out to right field. However, UTokyo’s Manager Hiroshi Okubo requested an intentional walk for second batter Inoue. As this leaves the pitcher against last season’s batting champion (the highest batting average), Kojun Fujimori, this was a risky strategy.
Fujimori pulled the first pitch, driving a well-hit ball down the right field line. However, right fielder Keito Arai (Education, B3) made a great catch. If the ball had not been caught, this would have resulted in two additional runs, and as such, it was a pivotal point of the match.
UTokyo batted in the bottom of the second. Ken Akashi (Agriculture, B4) persisted through eight pitches, and eventually ripped a triple to the gap in right-center field. Against sixth batter Katsunori Fukui (NS I, B2), Hosei did not draw in the fielders, meaning that a groundout would still drive in one run. Fukui managed to hit a grounder to first base, which was enough for the runner on third, Akashi, to score a run. Reflecting back on this play, it seems that hitting this ground out, to secure the first run, shifted the game’s momentum to UTokyo.
In the top of the third, UTokyo sent their second pitcher Shinjiro Nakane (Lib Arts I, B2) to the mound to replace Eguchi, who was struggling to control his pitches. Hosei’s fourth batter Katayama still managed to take the base with a hit to right field, however, this was when catcher Akashi shined. In the next at-bat with Kensho Doi, Katayama attempted to steal second base. Akashi threw him out, denying the opponent a steal.
However, Doi got a hit to center field, and the sixth batter also recorded a hit to right field to put UTokyo in a jam. Furthermore, the seventh batter got hit by a pitch, which made the situation dangerous with bases loaded and only one out. Nakane demonstrated his control, striking out Nishimura. UTokyo desperately tried to earn an out without conceding a run, but things did not go in their favor. The pitch to Kenshiro Fukaya grazed his uniform, resulting in a hit-by-pitch (HBP) with bases loaded, that conceded Hosei’s third run. But fortunately the next batter, Sakai, was struck out with three pitches, ending their offense with minimal scoring. Nakane allowed three hits and two HBPs in this inning, but it did not lead to a complete disaster, thanks to Akashi preventing a base steal.
The bottom of the third marked the beginning of UTokyo’s relentless offense. After Koichiro Ito (Engineering, B4) walked, Yu Hasegawa (Lib Arts I, B2) swung and sent the ball sailing towards the stands in left field. Confusion followed as the umpires reviewed whether the ball went over the fence, but the home run was confirmed, earning two valuable runs to tie the game.
From then forward, the game shifted towards UTokyo. Hosei could not help but change their pitcher after Sugai walked second batter Ousuke Komura (Economics, B4), and sent Yamazaki Ryunosuke to the mound. But UTokyo’s momentum could not be stopped. Akimoto recorded the team’s first sacrifice play of the season with a sacrifice bunt, and with a runner on second with one out, Arai further expanded the scoring opportunity with a hit to center field. To add to this, Hosei’s Yamazaki lost control of his pitches, walking Akashi to load the bases with still one out.
Hosei’s manager Koichi Oshima walked over to the mound once more, and after a brief conversation with the pitcher, he decided to replace him. Hayato Harigai took the mound as the third pitcher, who showed off impressive control, despite the sudden change. UTokyo’s Fukui and Kosuke Higuchi both struck out against Harigaya, and failed to deliver a go-ahead run.
UTokyo’s Nakane continued to pitch in the top of the fourth. He got caught in a difficult situation, with runners on first and second and one out, but he struck out Doi, then got the next batter to hit a groundout to short, successfully preventing Hosei from gaining momentum.
In the bottom of the fourth, UTokyo earned the go-ahead run. From one out, Ito walked, and then Hosei’s left fielder Katayama unexpectedly dropped Komura’s fly ball to left field. This was recorded as a double, and UTokyo gained a scoring opportunity with runners on second and third base and two outs. The next at-bat went to Akimoto, a candidate for the league’s Best Nine team. He swung at the first pitch with determination, pulling the pitch past third base for an RBI double scoring two runs. With UTokyo in front by two runs, the cheering section erupted in celebration.
In the top of the fifth, UTokyo replaced Nakane with the third pitcher, Yoshihiro Koyama (Lib Arts II, B2). Although he allowed Hosei’s seventh batter, Ryuta Kanaya, to reach first base with an infield hit, he earned three outs in the inning without conceding a run. Koyama struggled to pitch strikes, but he managed to not walk a single batter.
In the bottom of the fifth, UTokyo still continued their strong offense. Akashi took base with a hit to left field as the inning’s first batter, then Fukui forced a walk to create another opportunity with runners on first and second and no outs. The next batter, Higuchi, attempted a sacrifice bunt, but when the pitch count reached ball two, Hosei changed their pitcher to Kaisei Tomita. Higuchi maintained composure even though the pitcher changed during his at-bat, and bunted successfully to advance runners to second and third base. After the next batter struck out, Ito, who had not recorded a single hit in the league, demonstrated his potential. The first swing sent the pitch way over the center fielder for an RBI double scoring two runs. This extended the lead to four runs, further securing a victory for UTokyo.
In the top of the sixth, Koyama pitched a three-up, three-down inning. This was the first time for both teams in the game, and UTokyo continued to dominate.
Right after that, UTokyo could not score despite an opportunity created by hits from Akimoto and Akashi that put runners on first and third base with two outs.
UTokyo was three innings away from victory, and the ballpark was gaining hope for UTokyo to earn a series point. However, Hosei would not just let the game end without a fight.
Hosei took the offense in the top of the seventh. UTokyo’s third pitcher Koyama struck two batters out easily, but the next batter Kanaya belted a double off of him. Naito Nakamura then hit an RBI through first and second base, shrinking UTokyo’s lead to three runs. Then, Arai’s throw from right field was off-target in the next play, which advanced Nakamura to second base. At this point, Manager Okubo decided to substitute Koyama for fourth pitcher Gouei Saeki (Engineering, B4). Saeki retired “Todai Killer” Riku Kumagai to a ground out to second, ending the turn with minimal runs conceded.
In the bottom of the seventh, the UTokyo sports theme song “Ōzora to” was played in the stadium. Higuchi took base with a hit to center field, and Ito also sent the pitch to right field for a hit, creating an opportunity with runners on first and third. However, Hasegawa struck out, and the stadium began to doubt that a run would be scored. But Komura pulled through with an RBI hit to center field, extending the lead to four runs once again.
In the top of the eighth, UTokyo faced their biggest crisis of the game. After allowing Sakai to take base with an infield hit, they also surrendered a hit to left field to Inoue. In addition, the pitcher walked Fujimori, resulting in bases loaded without a single out. Despite having a four run lead, one home run could reduce it to nothing. To add to the dire situation, UTokyo faced fourth batter Katayama, who has already recorded three hits in this game. Pitcher Saeki confidently threw in strikes to pressure Katayama, who hit a grounder to first. UTokyo’s captain Kohei Horibe, who subbed in as first baseman during the game, calmly fielded the ball for the out. This drove in a run for Hosei, but UTokyo was able to secure the out.
The stressful situation continued with runners on second and third with only one out, and Saeki pitched magnificently for Doi, whose batting average exceeds .300, to strike out looking. The spectators let out a massive cheer. With one out left in the inning, UTokyo faced sixth batter Ryota Okumura. His hit was clean and it went towards third. But third baseman Komura made a spectacular grab, and his throw to first base was also in time. The hit could have driven in two runs if not for this play, and the inning came to an end with only one run conceded.
UTokyo failed to reach base in the bottom of the eight. However, they forced Hosei to throw 26 pitches for the three outs, and continued their momentum into defending in the top of the ninth.
Koushi Ikeda (NS II, B2) took the mound in the top of the ninth, with a three run lead for the team. This season, Ikeda started in the second games against Meiji and Waseda, but he became the closer of this game. The crowd’s excitement reached the maximum level. For every strike he pitched to Kanaya, cheers were heard from the seats. Kanaya ended up flying out to left field for the first out of the inning. Then, the next batter Nakamura flew out on the first pitch to center field, and there were two outs.
Next, Hosei’s “Todai Killer” Kumagai stepped back into the batter’s box. He had previously crushed UTokyo’s dreams of earning a series point in the league, displaying an impressive performance when UTokyo was only one win away from winning series points in the 2024 and 2025 fall seasons. However, Ikeda was undaunted by Kumagai, pitching in two consecutive strikes against him. Finally, he flew out to left field, and left fielder Hasegawa caught the ball to end the game. UTokyo finally earned a series point in the league for the first time in nine years.
During the spring camp in Nagasaki last February, UTokyo’s captain Horibe said in an interview with the Todai Shimbun that, “First, we’ll win in the spring league games,” and “eventually, I definitely want our year to earn series points.” Who would have thought that this goal would be achieved not “eventually”, but only three months after this interview? The team always struggled to win a single game, let alone earn a series point in the spring league, which had not happened in the last 29 years. This was no easy task; it sent “shockwaves” through the public, by winning consecutively against Hosei, a champion candidate. The result led the championship to drift away from Hosei, and the series point became crucial for the entire league.
There are many things to praise about the UTokyo team in their second game against Hosei. The offense rallied well, creating scoring opportunities to continue scoring and dominate the game. Additionally, Akashi’s throw out of a runner, Arai’s spectacular grab, and Komura’s fielding all became great defensive plays in moments that could have given up many runs.
Following this series, UTokyo tied with Waseda and Rikkyo with one series point in the standings. Unfortunately, the team was unable to secure a victory in its remaining series, concluding the Spring 2026 season in last place with one series point, and a record of two wins, eight losses, and one tie. Despite the final standings, UTokyo demonstrated an amazing level of resilience throughout the season, proving that it could compete with the league’s strongest teams through several hard-fought and historic performances. 【Translator・睦】
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【Tokyo Big6 Baseball League】UTokyo Earns First Series Point in Nine Years 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-06-30 03:11:52
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