Students toss Waseda Jitsugyo manager Minoru Izumi in the air in celebration of their first championship in the National High School Tournament on Aug. 21 at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture.

In a replay of the previous day's game that ended in a 1-1, 15-inning tie, Saito struck out 13 players in front of a crowd of 50,000 in his fourth complete game as Waseda Jitsugyo dashed Komadai Tomakomai's hopes of becoming only the second team to win a third straight national title.

Waseda Jitsugyo, which had played in the inaugural national championship in 1915 and reached the tournament climax for the first time in 26 years, claimed the title in its 27th appearance in the annual summer meet held at Koshien Stadium.

In the national invitational tournament held every spring, the other major high school baseball meet on a nationwide scale, Waseda Jitsugyo triumphed in 1957 when baseball legend Sadaharu Oh was instrumental on the mound and at the plate.

"I thought Komadai would never allow us to sit on the (three-run) lead." Waseda Jitsugyo manager Minoru Izumi said.

Saito, whose performances in the tournament were closely monitored by professional scouts, allowed six hits and did not walk a batter in a 118-pitch outing a day after throwing 178 pitches in a duel with Komadai Tomakomai ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka replaced starter Shota Kikuchi in the early innings for the second straight day and pitched 7 2/3 innings, yielding three runs on four hits and three walks. He threw 165 pitches in 12 2/3 innings of work Aug 20.

"We lost and there is nothing else to say about the result," Komadai Tomakomai manager Yoshifumi Koda said.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 26, 2006
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