Chiba City Little League homered nine times and scored 34 runs on the tournament's final day, sweeping past a pair of opponents to earn its second Japanese championship in five years.

The Higashikanto champions thrashed Omiya Little League, 17-3 in the semifinal round, then returned later the same day to defeat Izumisano Little League, 17-4. Chiba City's victories earned the squad a berth in the Little League World Series, where the Japanese champions reached the international semifinals.

Chiba City collected 20 hits in their championship game win, and scored multiple runs in each of the game's first four innings. Pitcher Kouki Kimura delivered a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the first to open the scoring, and after Izumisano drew level following a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the frame, Chiba City went ahead for good with a two-out rally in the second that produced six runs. Catcher Takayuki Tsuchiya walked to spark the inning, and the next six hitters all hit safely as Chiba City pulled away.

The top four hitters in the Chiba City batting order -- Yuta Ohme, Daisuke Yamaga, Toshinori Wakai, and Kimura -- batted a collective 12-for-20 with thirteen runs scored in the contest. Kimura homered twice and scored four runs, while Ohme, the leadoff hitter, was 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Yamaga doubled and homered among his three hits, and scored five runs, while Wakai doubled and scored a pair of runs. Motoki Takashima also homered for the eventual champions.

Kimura scattered seven hits in a complete game effort as he earned his second victory of the tournament. The right-hander had scattered three hits over 5-2/3 innings in a 11-7 quarterfinal round win over Sasebo Chuo Little League the previous weekend.

Earlier in the day, five players homered in Chiba City's 17-3 semifinal round victory over Omiya. Wakai homered for the third straight game, while Takashima, Kimura, Ohme, and Jun Magoyama also cleared the fences in the win. Chiba City snapped a scoreless tie with six runs in the third, and added six more over the next two innings before closing the scoring with a five-run sixth.

Prior to the final day's results, Chiba City swept to five wins in the All-Higashikanto championships, then won twice on the opening day of the Japanese Region tournament. Chiba City passed a stern test in their region tournament opener, downing Musashi Fuchu Little League, 6-2. The game was considered a marquee matchup among the eight opening round games, as Chiba City and Musashi Fuchu had combined for eight national tournament appearances and three Japanese titles since the start of the decade. Musashi Fuchu had reached the semifinal or championship round of the Japanese championship tournament in four of the prior six years.

Chiba City grabbed the lead from the start in their opening round win. Yamata connected on a one-out triple in the top of the first, and Wakai followed immediately with a two-run homer. Kimura singled and later scored before Musashi Fuchu could escape the rally. In the fifth, Kimura drove in a run with an infield single, and Takashima added a two-run single to stretch the lead to 6-0.

Wakai struck out ten and carried a shutout into the final inning before reaching his pitch count limit. Satoru Nakasone retired the only batter he faced to close out the win.

Later that day, Ohme, Yamaga, and Watai all homered, and Chiba City withstood a final inning rally to eliminate Sasebo Chuo, 11-7. Yamaga's two-run homer gave Chiba City a 2-0 lead three pitches into the game, and round-trippers by Ohme and Wakai in the third extended the advantage. Chiba City added five more runs in the fifth before Sasebo Chuo scored five of their own in the sixth against a trio of Chiba City pitchers.

Izumisano led wire-to-wire in its semifinal round win, scoring twice in the first and second innings before running out to a 5-2 victory over Seya Little League. Izumisano made its deepest advance into the international tournament since winning the All-Japan championship in 1995.

Linescores:

Opening Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		R	H
Chiba City	3	0	0	0	3	0				6	-
Musashi Fuchu	0	0	0	0	0	2				2	-
Opening Round
Sasebo Chuo	0	0	0	0	0	2				2	-
Iyo Masaki	0	1	0	0	0	0				1	-
Opening Round
Omiya	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	2		6	-
Yamato Takada	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0		4	-
Opening Round
Iwakitaira	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	-
Nagoya Kita	3	1	0	0	0	x				4	-
Opening Round
Senadi Higashi	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	-
Kasaoka	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1		2	-
Opening Round
Asahikawa Taisetsu	0	0	0	0	0	1				1	-
Izumisano	0	3	5	4	1	x				13	-
Opening Round
Niigata Chuo	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	-
Seya	0	8	0	1	0	x				9	-
Opening Round
Matsusaka	0	0	1	0	3	0				4	-
Chofu	0	1	0	0	0	0				1	-
Quarterfinal Round
Sasebo Chuo	0	0	0	2	0	5				7	-
Chiba City	2	0	4	0	5	x				11	-
Quarterfinal Round
Nagoya Kita	0	0	0	1	0	1				2	-
Omiya	6	3	0	0	0	x				9	-
Quarterfinal Round
Kasaoka	0	0	0	2	0	0				2	-
Izumisano	1	4	0	3	0	x				8	-
Quarterfinal Round
Matsusaka	0	0	0	1	1	0				2	-
Seya	1	0	1	4	4	x				10	-
Semifinal Round
Chiba City	0	0	6	2	4	5				17	-
Omiya	0	0	3	0	0	0				3	-
Semifinal Round
Izumisano	2	2	0	0	0	1				5	-
Seya	0	0	0	2	0	0				2	-
Championship Game
Chiba City	2	6	2	6	1	0				17	20
Izumisano	2	0	0	1	0	1				4	7

---

Toward the past

Toward the present

---

The Unpage brings you unprecedented tournament coverage.
Thank-you for visiting!
Click for information on