Yuki Saito threw a four-hit shutout Saturday as Waseda Jitsugyo defeated Hokkaido Sakae 7-0 in the first round of the national high school baseball invitational tournament.
Kita Otsu shortstop Keisuke Nakamura fields a grounder during a first-round game against Asahikawa Jitsugyo of Hokkaido at the national high school baseball invitational tournament.
Saito settled down after escaping a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning and helped his own cause by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs at Koshien Stadium as the Tokyo school won its first game in 24 years at the annual tournament.
In other first-round action, Naoya Yamamoto hit a game-tying homer in the fifth inning and singled home the go-ahead run in a four-run sixth as Kanzei of Okayama Prefecture beat Aomori's Kosei Gakuin 6-4.
Shohei Doi broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with an RBI triple and Masato Sanada allowed one run in a complete-game effort to lead Shiga's Kita Otsu to a 2-1 win over Asahikawa Jitsugyo of Hokkaido.