Komadai Tomakomai of Hokkaido came within two wins of claiming its third straight title in the National High School Baseball Championship after overcoming a four-run deficit to beat Hyogo's Toyodai Himeji 5-4 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
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| Hokkaido's Komadai Tomakomai ace Masahiro Tanaka pitches against Hyogo's Toyodai Himeji during a National High School Baseball Championship quarterfinal game at Koshien Stadium on Thursday. KYODO PHOTOS |
Komadai Tomakomai tied the game with a four-run sixth inning and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on an infield single by leadoff man Tadao Mitani to set up a semifinal meeting with Chiben Wakayama, who edged Tokyo's Teikyo 13-12 with a dramatic ninth-inning rally in the day's other game at Koshien Stadium.
Komadai Tomakomai, aiming to become the first team in 73 years to win the annual tournament for three years in a row, was held to one hit through five innings by Toyodai Himeji southpaw Kinya Tobiishi before mounting a comeback.