The rubber match between Japanese high school teams, Chukyo High School and Sotoku High School lasted an amazing 50 innings. The two teams didn’t play 50 innings straight, but played 15 innings on Thursday, 15 innings on Friday, and finished the marathon on Sunday.
What’s astonishing about this semifinal game at the 59th National Rubber Baseball Tournament is that both teams used two pitchers for the entire game. Sotoku High School’s Jukiya Ishioka threw 689 pitches, while Chukyo High School’s Taiga Matsui threw an unprecedented 709 pitches during the clash. At last, Chukyo High School beat Sotoku High School 3-0 while scoring all 3 runs in the top of the 50th inning.
Chukyo High School squared off against Miura Gakuen High School in the National Rubber Baseball Championship game. Chukyo’s Taiga Matsui wasn’t done yet, he entered the championship game in the 4th inning with 2 outs and runners on second and third and pitched his team out of the jam. Matsui threw 77 pitches in 5 2/3 innings with no earned runs and allowed one hit. His pitch count was an astounding 786 for the weekend which lead his team to a 2-0 championship victory.
Below is action from the championship game from the 59th annual National Rubber Baseball Tournament.
