Hotoku Gakuen exploded for five runs in the third inning as the Hyogo school cruised to an 8-2 victory over Tokushima's Naruto Kogyo in the final of the 74th national high school baseball invitational tournament on Friday.
Hotoku went up 2-0 on a wild pitch by Tetsuya Maruyama in the first inning and an RBI double by Tomohisa Otani in the next frame before taking a commanding lead in the third on five hits and an error en route to its first title since 1974 and second overall.
Otani scattered nine hits over the distance and limited the damage to two runs as Hotoku added the latest triumph to the two titles it has won at the national championship.
"I knew we could win the championship with one out in the ninth and I started to get choked up. I'm so glad I was able to meet a bunch of really good players. They practice for quality rather than quantity and I'm thankful all the students did their best," Hotoku manager Yuji Nagata said.