High School Baseball: Tsuruga Kehi Faces Chiben Wakayama at Koshien
Listen to the story
Two well-known Japanese high school baseball teams, Tsuruga Kehi and Chiben Wakayama, are facing each other in an important match today.
The game is being played at Koshien, the famous stadium that hosts Japan's national high school baseball tournament. Reaching Koshien is a major achievement for any school team, and both teams involved today have strong baseball traditions.
Chiben Wakayama has chosen a starting pitcher who has not started a game this summer until now. Throughout the regional qualifying rounds, this player did not take the mound as a starter, so today marks his first appearance in that role this season.
On the other side, Tsuruga Kehi's player Isogo is making his own kind of comeback. He previously underwent surgery on his right elbow, a common but serious injury for baseball pitchers.
After a period of recovery, Isogo has worked to return to competitive baseball. Speaking about the upcoming match, he expressed a strong wish to pitch again at Koshien, showing how meaningful this stage is for him personally.
For both players, today's match represents more than just a single game. It is a chance to prove themselves after different challenges — one facing pressure as a first-time starter, and the other returning from a physical setback that could have ended his season.
Vocabulary10 words
- high school
- school for teenagers, before university
- Koshien
- a very famous baseball stadium in Japan
- tournament
- a series of games to find a winner
- starting pitcher
- the pitcher who begins the game
- qualifying rounds
- earlier games that decide who can join the main event
- elbow
- the joint in the middle of the arm
- recovery
- getting healthy again after an injury
- comeback
- a return to success after a difficult time
- achievement
- something good that a person has succeeded in doing
- setback
- a problem that stops or slows progress
Quiz
Answer key
1. It is at Koshien, Japan's famous high school baseball stadium 2. It is his first time starting a game this summer 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Two well-known Japanese high school baseball teams, Tsuruga Kehi and Chiben Wakayama, are facing each other in an important _____ today.
The game is being played at Koshien, the famous stadium that hosts Japan's national high school baseball _____.
Reaching Koshien is a major _____ for any school team, and both teams involved today have strong baseball traditions.
Chiben Wakayama has chosen a _____ pitcher who has not started a game this summer until now.
Throughout the regional _____ rounds, this player did not take the mound as a starter.
On the other side, Tsuruga Kehi's player Isogo is making his own kind of _____.
He previously underwent surgery on his right _____, a common but serious injury for baseball pitchers.
After a period of _____, Isogo has worked to return to competitive baseball.
Speaking about the upcoming match, he expressed a strong wish to _____ again at Koshien.