Ariake Team Names Starters for Koshien Baseball Match
Listen to the story
Ariake is a high school baseball team in Japan.
The team is playing in a big tournament called Koshien.
Ariake wants to reach the top eight teams.
The team has a special pitcher and catcher pair.
People call them the "Saito-Ko" pair.
The coach said, "As always, Ko starts, then Saito."
This means the pitcher named Ko starts the game.
Then a player named Saito plays too.
The team announced its starting lineup before the game.
A starting lineup is the list of players who begin the game.
Koshien is a very important tournament in Japan.
Many schools compete every summer.
Fans watch the games on TV across Japan.
Ariake hopes to win and move forward.
The team is working hard for this goal.
Vocabulary7 words
- Koshien
- a big baseball tournament for high school teams in Japan
- pitcher
- the player who throws the ball to the batter
- catcher
- the player who catches the ball behind the batter
- starting lineup
- the list of players who begin a game
- tournament
- a sports event with many games
- coach
- a person who trains a sports team
- top eight
- the best eight teams left in a competition
Quiz
Answer key
1. To reach the top eight teams 2. The list of players who begin the game 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Ariake is a high school baseball team in _____.
The team is playing in a big tournament called _____.
Ariake wants to reach the top _____ teams.
The team has a special _____ and catcher pair.
The coach said, "As always, Ko starts, then _____."
The team announced its starting _____ before the game.
A starting lineup is the list of _____ who begin the game.
Koshien is a very important _____ in Japan.
Many _____ compete every summer.
Ariake hopes to win and move _____.