Koshien: Hanamaki Higashi starts Akama in bid for quarterfinals
Listen to the story
A high school baseball match took place at Koshien Stadium in Japan, as part of the summer national tournament.
The game was a third-round matchup between Hanamaki Higashi, representing Iwate Prefecture, and Eimei, representing Kagawa Prefecture.
This tournament, known as Koshien, is one of the biggest and most watched high school sports events in Japan.
For this important game, Hanamaki Higashi's manager chose Fumiya Akama as the starting pitcher.
The team's head coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, spoke before the game about his team's strategy.
He said the team wanted to avoid letting Eimei find any weakness to exploit during the match.
A win in this round would send Hanamaki Higashi through to the quarterfinals, one of the last eight stages of the tournament.
Koshien matches are known for being highly competitive, since only one school from each region can qualify to play.
Every summer, thousands of fans travel to watch these games, and many more follow the results on television and online.
The tournament is often seen as a major event in Japanese youth sports, with strong school pride and long traditions behind each team.
Both Hanamaki Higashi and Eimei were hoping to advance further and continue their run in the 2026 tournament.
Vocabulary10 words
- national tournament
- a big competition across the whole country
- matchup
- a game between two teams
- starting pitcher
- the player who throws first in baseball
- weakness
- a part that is not strong
- quarterfinals
- the stage with the last eight teams
- competitive
- hard to win because teams are strong
- traditions
- old customs done for a long time
- represent
- to officially stand for a place
- prefecture
- a large region in Japan, like a state
- advance
- to move forward to the next stage
Quiz
Answer key
1. Third round 2. Letting Eimei exploit a weakness 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
A high school baseball match took place at Koshien Stadium in Japan, as part of the summer _____ tournament.
The game was a third-round matchup between Hanamaki Higashi, representing Iwate Prefecture, and Eimei, representing _____ Prefecture.
For this important game, Hanamaki Higashi's manager chose Fumiya Akama as the starting _____.
The team's head coach, Hiroshi _____, spoke before the game about his team's strategy.
He said the team wanted to avoid letting Eimei find any _____ to exploit during the match.
A win in this round would send Hanamaki Higashi through to the _____, one of the last eight stages of the tournament.
Koshien matches are known for being highly _____, since only one school from each region can qualify to play.
Every summer, thousands of fans travel to watch these games, and many more follow the results on television and _____.