Yokohama shortstop Takuya Takahama led a 14-hit attack by going 4-for-6 with five RBIs as the Kanagawa powerhouse thumped Nagasaki's Seiho 21-0 in the final of the national high school baseball invitational tournament Tuesday.
Yokohama hurler Ayato Urakawa (left) celebrates on the mound with Tomoaki Kojo
after the Kanagawa high school downed Nagasaki's Seiho in the final of the
national high school baseball invitational tournament in Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Pref.
It marked the first invitational title for Yokohama since 1998, when Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka led the school to win both the spring invitational and summer championship crowns, and its third invitational victory overall.
Shortly after left fielder Kazuki Echizen singled home the opening run, Takahama hit a two-run single to push Yokohama's lead to 3-0 in the second inning and had another two-run single in a nine-run sixth that made it 15-0 at Koshien Stadium. He also stole four bases in the game.