Tokyo Kitasuna is heading back to Williamsport (WITH PHOTOS!)

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from our Japanese correspondent Fumio Ishii who was kind enough to cover the ZAVAS Cup, which is Japan's national championship tournament. 

Written by Fumio Ishii

Tokyo Kitasuna was highly favored to win the Japanese Region after its run through the Tokyo district, but the tournament ended up being one of the most exciting in Japanese National Championships in recent memory until Kitasuna turned it up in the championship game with a 12-0 victory over Toyonaka.

Tokyo Kitasuna went to work early and scored 6-runs in the 1st inning. Taking advantage of Toyonaka’s fatigue, which recently played an 8-inning game against Musashi Fuchu. Takahashi hit 2 HRs, one of them was a monster blast. Tokyo Kitasuna will make their 4th trip to Williamsport and play for their 3rd Little League World Series championship.

Here’s a run down of the entire tournament --




Last year’s champion Musashi Fuchu Little League made it to the semifinals this year and it looked like an all-Tokyo finals until Toyonaka dethroned Fuchu in eight innings.

Musashi Fuchu’s manager Masami Ohmae, decided to make the move and look ahead to Williamsport. For Musashi Fuchu to return to Williamsport, he knew that his best chance in beating Tokyo Kitasuna was to have his ace. So he decided not to go with his ace Okano, and use Nakamura to pitch against Toyonaka. That move almost paid off, but base running blunders cost Musashi Fuchu the chance to defend their 2013 Little League World Series title and an all Tokyo battle did not take place in the final, losing to Toyonaka in 8-innings 5-4.

Tokyo Kitasuna previously defeated Musashi Fuchu 12-2 in the Tokyo District Tournament. Musashi Fuchu came in as the Tokyo Runner up and defeated tough teams like Hiratsuka 10-0 and Shirakawa 4-3.

Tokyo Kitasuna in the other hand had a rough time in their 1st 2 rounds. Their bats looked silent against Niigata Minami and they were almost eliminated. They pulled off a 2-1 victory against Niigata Minami in the final inning. Then in the 2nd round. Kitasuna outlasted Miyagi Rifu, who previously used up their two best pitchers and pulled out a come from behind victory against Ageo Nishi 7-6. They took an early 2-0 lead against Tokyo Kitasuna, when Yoshihide Oiwa hit a 2-run shot off Takeuchi. Thanks to mother nature, that game was called off, since the inning never completed. Miyagi Rifu also got a break, because their two lefties who threw in the 70’s were able to return to pitch against Tokyo Kitasuna when the game replayed. The bad news, that 2-0 lead was erased. The rescheduled game was a pitchers duel and did not disappoint. Tokyo Kitasuna did not mess around and decided to use their ace Takahashi, while Miyagi Rifu went with their ace Oiwa.

 Tokyo Kitasuna’s Nishikawa hit a 2-run shot off Oiwa, which made the difference in the game. Tokyo Kitasuna defeated Miyagi Rifu 2-1. Takahashi pitches around the mid-70’s while Oiwa also pitched in the 70’s. Miyagi Rifu’s other lefty, Ito, pitched in the 70’s.

 I’ve witnessed many tournaments in the past, but I never witnessed seeing so many routine ground balls turn into base hits. The Tokyo Kitasuna base running caused havoc against Osaka Ibaraki. They outran so many ground balls. I also saw quite a few singles turned into doubles and doubles turned into triples. Osaka Ibaraki, like other Japanese teams have good defense. So they were forced to rush their throws. Their aggressive base running helped Tokyo Kitasuna end the game in four innings defeating Osaka Ibaraki 12-2.

Thoughts on Kitasuna’s Williamsport potential

I’ve been asked by many publications regarding this year’s Tokyo Kitasuna team. Yes, this is a very good team. No, it’s not as good as the 2012 team. This is a very small team, but very quick. Their speed puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. I would say their pitching is much better than last year’s Musashi Fuchu team. They have four pitchers capable of starting anytime. 

This is the mother of Taro Hashiguchi, He is the starting LF for Tokyo Kitasuna Little League. She’ll be enjoying her trip to Williamsport.  I happened to bump into a member of a player from the 2012 Tokyo Kitasuna Little League. Noriatsu Osaka, who hit 4 home runs against Tennessee in the finals and was the closer for the 2012 Tokyo Kitasuna team.

The current ace Takahashi reminds me of Osaka pitching-wise. Very flexible and is capable of throwing 75 mph in a 5ft 5in. frame.Here is the man-child Kotaro Kiyomiya. When he walked by, the entire Tokyo Kitasuna team started

to follow him around as if he was a rock star. Gave the current Tokyo Kitasuna players a message to get back to Williamsport. Two years ago, I witnessed Kiyomiya hit a HR as a little leaguer over this high school stadium. So when he hit that 300 ft. shot at Williamsport, it didn’t surprise me. Found out that he’s now 6-2 weighing around 230 lbs. He will be playing for Waseda High School and shooting for the Koshien Tournament, the prestigious high school baseball championship.








More Photos from the Zavas Cup!