Yuta Yamashiro homered in the fourth inning and Yu Higa broke the game open with a two-run double in the seventh as Okinawa's Ginoza High School won 7-1 over Sendai Ikuei on Thursday in the high school baseball national championship tournament.
Ginoza pitcher Yoshihiro Nakama pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth and scattered nine hits over the distance at Koshien Stadium.
Sendai Ikuei of Miyagi Prefecture, which defeated Ginoza 7-1 in the semifinals on its way to a runnerup finish in the spring invitational, got its leadoff batter on five times but failed to capitalize as it made an early exit.
In the second game, Japan Aviation ace Tomoya Yagi allowed only five hits, struck out 11 and hit a two-run homer to lead the Yamanashi school 11-1 over Naruto Kogyo of Tokushima Prefecture.
In the third game, Kyusandai Kyushu of Fukuoka sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth and sixth innings and scored four runs in each of the two frames to roll over Aichi's Yatomi High School 9-2.
In the final game of the day, Matsuyama Shogyo of Ehime Prefecture edged Komadai Tomakomai of Hokkaido 7-6.