Ouch!

   Hikaminishi High School suffered a 71-0 shellacking in a called game against Himeji Technical High School. It was the biggest point difference ever recorded in the Hyôgo Prefectural tournament, one of many regional tournaments leading up to the Summer High School Baseball Championship, also known as Koshien.

   The electronic score board, pictured left, doesn't accurately reflect the number of runs in the fourth inning as it cannot display a number above 19. Himeji scored 33 points in the fourth inning. The game was called at the top of the fifth inning. 

   The second-year pitcher for Hikaminishi commented afterwards that halfway through the game he almost lost the will to continue playing, but fans in the stands encouraged him to not give up. He fought as well as he could till the end. (Poor kid.) If it is any consolation, Himeji Technical High School was itself drubbed in its next game and eliminated from the tournament.

   It was Hikaminishi's first appearance in the Hyôgo prefectural tournament as they didn't have the minimum eleven players to form a team before. The pitcher said he hopes the club can attract more players and put in a better performance next year. They'll certainly have no shortage of fans rooting for them if they do.

   In 1998, another high school team was dealt a humiliating 122-0 defeat in the Aomori regional tournament.