Korean-ethnic high school wins prestigious Japanese baseball tournament

TOKYO -- A Korean-ethnic high school in Japan won a prestigious national baseball championship for the first time on Friday.

Kyoto International High School defeated Kanto Daiichi High School in the final of the National High School Baseball Championship, better known as "Summer Koshien," by the score of 2-1 in extra innings at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, just west of Osaka.

Kyoto International was founded in 1963 as an ethnic institution for students of Korean descent. Some 30 percent of its 160 or so students are of Korean descent, and its school song is written in Korean.

The school also became the first Kyoto-area school to win the Koshien title in 68 years.

Kyoto International and Kanto Daiichi were scoreless after nine innings, with each team blowing multiple opportunities in early innings. They both put a leadoff man on in the top and the bottom of the ninth inning, but came up empty-handed.

Under extra-inning rules, Kyoto International had runners at first and second to begin the top of the 10th. The team scored twice with a base hit, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Kanto Daiichi also had two runners aboard to start the bottom 10th and promptly loaded the bases on an error. But Kyoto International escaped the jam after giving up just one run to clinch the historic title.

Kyoto International defeated Sapporo Nihon 7-3 to start the tournament on Aug. 8, and then reeled off three consecutive 4-0 victories.

In the semifinals on Wednesday, Kyoto International rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Aomori Yamada 3-2.

Kyoto International's Cinderella run to the final captured the imagination of South Korean baseball fans. On the eve of the final, President Yoon Suk Yeol took to Facebook to praise Kyoto International players' hard work and said he was proud of them for giving Korean Japanese people a cause for celebration.

Each year, more than 3,000 teams battle through their prefecture competitions and only 49 qualify for the two-week final tournament.

Kyoto International made its Koshien debut in 2021 and lost in the semifinals. The school returned to the tournament in 2022 but was knocked out in the first round. It did not qualify for last year's tournament.

Park Cheol-hee, South Korean ambassador to Japan, congratulated Kyoto International on its championship.

"By winning this title, Kyoto International, a symbol of Korea-Japan cooperation, has touched people of both nations," Park said. "I hope the school will build on this success and continue to write glorious history."