Takashi Maruyama allowed seven hits over the distance and overcame some wildness in the final inning, lifting Aichi Kodai Meiden High School to a 3-2 victory over Hyogo's Yashiro High School in the semifinals of the national high school baseball invitational tournament on Saturday.
Maruyama, a third-year student, pitched his fourth complete game, yielding three walks in a 141-pitch outing at Koshien Stadium, leading the Aichi Prefecture school to its first final in its third consecutive appearance at the spring classic.
In Sunday's final, Aichi Kodai, where Ichiro Suzuki played his high school ball, will face tournament debutant Saibi of Ehime Prefecture, which edged out Meitoku Gijuku of Koichi Prefecture 7-6 in the second semifinal game on Saturday.
A double by Maruyama sparked a two-run third inning, before first-time participant Yashiro cut the deficit to 2-1 on a Takuya Shimada RBI single in the fourth. Aichi Koden drove in another run when a batsman was hit with the bases loaded in the fifth.