Champions!

Baseball fans could not have wished for a more exciting final game of the 89th High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium today. Absolutely fantastic! The first ball hit in the game was a home-run by Osaka Toin! How's that for an opener? That was the first of four home-runs scored by Osaka in today's game!

Osaka Toin's second home-run was scored in the second inning putting them two to Riseishishya's zero. That score remained the same until Osaka scored another point in the sixth inning. With the score at three to zero in the eighth inning it looked as if Osaka had the game in the bag, but then, incredibly, Riseishishya scored three points to tie the game at three points each!

So, a nail-biting ninth inning. It was anybody's game. But Osaka then pulled some more of their magic out of the bag with their fourth home-run plus another four points! Could Riseishishya match that to draw level again? No. The game ended at eight points to three. Wow! So great that a local team could win this year's tournament, especially as one of Valerie's best friends, our neighbour, actually, plays the French horn in the team's pep band. Can Osaka Toin do it again in this year's summer tournament? I can't wait to find out.

"The mark of a great player is in his ability to come back. The great champions have all come back from defeat."  (Sam Snead)

"Eat lightning and crap thunder!"