高校こうこう野球やきゅう 夏なつの甲子園こうしえん開幕かいまく 暑あつさ対策たいさくで史上しじょう初はつ 夕方ゆうがたに開会かいかい式しき

The National High School Baseball Championship opened at Koshien Stadium on the 5th.

The opening ceremony was held in the evening for the first time ever as a measure against the heat, and the athletes from the 49 participating schools marched vigorously.

This year marks the 107th National High School Baseball Championship, which opened on the 5th at Koshien Stadium. For the first time in history, the opening ceremony was held at 4 p.m. as a measure against the heat.

Since this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, Tomoki Yasuda, who was the captain of Naniwa Commercial now Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences High School that won the tournament in 1946, the year after the war ended, served as the leader in the entrance march.

After this, the players from the 49 representative schools marched in.

Starting from the north with Kyoto Kokusai High School, who won their first championship last year and are aiming for consecutive victories, players from schools such as Yokohama High School in Kanagawa—who are aiming for both spring and summer championships for the first time since 1998 when they had ace pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka—marched onto the field with strong shouts, stepping firmly one step at a time.

In his speech, the captain of Chiben Wakayama High School, Nozato Yamada, said, As the natural environment and social circumstances continue to change, the way high school baseball should be is also being questioned.

However, its appeal remains unchanged.

I am grateful that we can play baseball to our hearts content here at Koshien right now, and I pledge to play with all my might and courage, he declared powerfully.

On the first day of the tournament, only the opening game will be held from 5:30 p.m. right after the opening ceremony. Until the sixth day of the tournament, a two-part system will be implemented, with games split between the morning and evening to avoid the hottest hours of the day.

The tournament will be held over 18 days, which is one day longer than last year, including three rest days.