First Special School to Participate in National High School Baseball Tournament
Never Gave Up Until the End... "Happy to Hit a Hit"
A record-breaking score of 0-66 was recorded at a high school baseball tournament held in Japan. However, the losing team received praise from the public.
On the 12th, Japan's public broadcaster NHK and Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that on the 7th, at a high school baseball tournament held in Hachioji City, Tokyo Metropolitan Seicho Special Support School lost 0-66 to Higashimurayamanishigakko High School.
Seicho Special Support School is a special school attended by youths with disabilities. It joined the Tokyo High School Baseball Federation in May last year and participated independently in the national high school baseball tournament for the first time in the history of special schools. In the tournament held last summer, it participated as part of a combined team with two other schools.
In response, Coach Kubota Koji said, "This unprecedented challenge took a lot of time and effort," and added, "The will to participate was strong."
Seicho Special Support School conceded runs after facing three consecutive hits from the top of the first inning. Later, in offense, the first batter, Iwamoto Daishi, made the team's first hit but could not convert it into a run.
Although runs continued to be scored in the following innings, the players encouraged each other and did not give up until the end. Eventually, the game ended as a cold game with a score of 0-66 in the fifth inning.
After the game, the audience applauded the Seicho high school team players who did their best. The opposing team, Higashimurayamanishigakko High School, which respected the special school as an equal opponent and gave their all, also received applause. Higashimurayamanishigakko High School coach Ishida Mikio said, "Since Seicho High School gave their all, our team also had to give their all."
Online communities and others responded with comments such as "It's moving," "Not the result, but fighting until the end without giving up will be a great asset," and "This is what sports are all about," expressing their emotional reactions.
After the match, Coach Koji said, "I hope that the fact that they could play baseball until the end regardless of disability gave courage to children with disabilities." Iwamoto, who hit a hit that day, also shared his thoughts, saying, "I am happy to have hit a hit in front of my family."
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