2023/01/31
On Friday, January 27, the Keio Senior High School baseball team was selected to compete in the 95th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (Spring Koshien). This marks their 10th appearance in the spring tournament, and the first in five years since 2018. Upon hearing the news, the team members savored the joy and renewed their determination to aim for even greater heights. A press conference was held on the same day to announce the selection, attracting a large number of media representatives.
[Senior High School News] Baseball Team Selected for Senbatsu Koshien Tournament
The following are comments on the selection.
Takeshi Akuzawa (Principal, Keio Senior High School)
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the great honor of having our school's baseball team selected for the 95th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament. While competing with and learning from the powerhouse schools of Kanagawa and the Kanto region, our team members have wonderfully paved their way to the dream stage of Koshien. This will be our first appearance in five years. This time again, all of us involved will work together, and we hope to show the traditional Keio University cheering in the packed Alps Stands. I hope that our team members will take this first step with a fresh mindset to meet the expectations of all our supporters.
Koki Akamatsu (Baseball Club Manager, Teacher at Keio Senior High School)
I am deeply honored and grateful that our team has been selected for the 95th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament. This is our first time on the Koshien stage in five years, and it is an achievement we have won not only with our current team members but also with our alumni who passed the baton to us while enduring the extremely difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. I expect the players to make the most of the time remaining until the opening day and to embody "Enjoy Baseball" on the big stage, so that we can share this joy with all of our supporters.
Takahiko Moribayashi (Baseball Team Head Coach, Teacher at Keio Yochisha Elementary School)
I am grateful for the opportunity to stand on the stage of Koshien for the first time in five years and to grow significantly. I am also delighted to have earned the right to challenge for the national championship. I feel that this is the culmination of the strong feelings of not only the team members and staff, but also the parents, alumni, related parties, and all of our supporters. We are still a developing team, far from our final form, but we have about two months until the tournament. We will continue to make the best preparations and grow day by day to gain the ability and confidence to compete on the big stage.
Koto Omura (Baseball Team Captain, 2nd-year student at Keio Senior High School)
Thank you for your support of the baseball team during the autumn tournament. At Koshien, we will play with all our might to bring dreams and hope to everyone. We will become the national champions to overturn the conventional wisdom of high school baseball and create a new history. We ask for your continued support.
Photo: Akisue Takematsu