[Full Text] Despite Their Struggles… Kumamoto’s Ariake High School Makes Its Debut at Koshien with Back-to-Back Comeback Victories and Reaches the Quarterfinals! “In the Wake of the Storm”

To Koshien Just Two Days After the Disaster

A whirlwind sweeps through Koshien only when certain conditions align. First-time participants receive warm cheers from the very first game, and when such a team turns the game around in the late innings to advance, spectators are left with the illusion that an “invisible force” is at work on the field.

On August 18, in a corner of the interview room, Kenya Nakano, head coach of Private Ariake High School (Kumamoto), was shedding tears even bigger than those of his players.

“The students really gave it their all, and they gave me a wonderful time. These are tears of joy, but they might also be tears of regret. What I feel most is the sadness that I won’t be able to see these kids fighting so hard anymore.”

The Ariake Nine left their hometown (Arao City) two days after the Kumamoto earthquake that struck on July 28, and in their first-ever Koshien appearance, they staged one comeback after another. The courageous performance of the team representing the disaster-stricken region gradually won over the whole of Japan, and by the time they advanced to the quarterfinals, they had become a sensation.

The quarterfinal match against Kenta Takasaki (Gunma) remained tightly contested at 0–0 through the ninth inning, but they ran out of steam after conceding a run in the 10th inning, which went into extra innings. Manager Kazushige Takami reflected:

“Ever since the Kumamoto tournament, it’s been a string of tough games. There were many matches—like the semifinal against Kumamoto Technical High School (which competed in this spring’s Senbatsu)—where even when we were leading, it felt like we were on the verge of being overturned. We managed to scrape by and advance tenaciously, covering for each other on defense. Once we arrived at Koshien, I certainly had the feeling that some mysterious force was at work.”

In their first-round game at Koshien against Ritsumeikan Uji (Kyoto), they trailed 0–3 through six innings.Haruki Nagata, the leadoff hitter known for his speed—he runs the 50-meter dash in 5.8 seconds—and his strong batting, led the team to victory in the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded by hitting a game-tying double that cleared the bases. Nagata reflects:

“I was definitely nervous for my first time at Koshien, but I gradually got used to it. By the end, I was thinking, ‘I’m going to seal this myself.’ So many people were cheering me on, and I’m just glad I was able to live up to their expectations.”

The Struggles of the Ariake Nine

In their next game—a Kyushu showdown against Nagasaki Nihon University—they also managed to come from behind for a comeback victory despite conceding the first run. However, an unexpected incident struck the Ariake team during their pre-game warm-up for their third-round matchup against Higashi-Nihon International University Shohei (Fukushima).

Ariake’s pitching staff relied primarily on two key players: Shuya Takumi, who was entrusted with starting duties, and Ryotaro Saito, who closed out games.However, a bat swung by a player during batting practice struck Takumi, who was scheduled to start, directly on the back of his left hand, forcing him to withdraw from the starting lineup at the last minute. It was Saito, wearing jersey number “1,” who saved the team by pitching a complete game over nine innings, allowing just one run on 109 pitches.

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t shaken, but Kō is the one who must be feeling the most frustrated… I think I was able to pitch in my own style,” said Saito.

Despite putting up a good fight against Kenta Takasaki, who finished as runner-up, Ariake was eliminated from Koshien in the quarterfinals.When they “returned to Kumamoto” on August 19, unlike their departure—which was attended only by school officials—they were greeted by some 500 local residents. The next day, during a courtesy visit to the prefectural governor, they were even welcomed by “Kumamon.” Coach Takami reflected on the whirlwind days following the earthquake:

“The area where our school is located suffered less damage compared to places closer to the epicenter. Yet, whenever we came to Koshien, people would ask, ‘It must have been tough for you,’ expressing their concern. Even though there are many people suffering more than we are, I sometimes felt a sense of guilt that people were so genuinely supportive of us.”

Hearing Takami’s words reminded me of Coach Takashi Nakamura of Japan Airlines Ishikawa, who led his team to the Spring Invitational Tournament immediately after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on New Year’s Day in 1924. Many of the school’s students were from outside the prefecture, and most had returned to their hometowns.

Although they were undoubtedly victims of the disaster, their families didn’t live in the prefecture. Yet, as a symbol of recovery, they were the focus of the media’s expectations, and relief supplies kept pouring in. To what extent should they accept this goodwill?—That was the dilemma that weighed on Nakamura and the Japan Airlines Ishikawa team. Takami continued.

“As we prepared to compete in the Koshien Tournament, a great deal of relief supplies arrived at our school and dormitories. We’re sending the surplus bottled water, through the sports store that supports us, to schools where the water supply has been cut off and students can’t even drink water.

We’ve also been making sure that schools coming to us from severely affected areas for practice games take some of the drinking water back with them. I believe the only thing we can do is pass on this generosity to the baseball players in Kumamoto who are working hard toward recovery.”

They created a sensation and fulfilled their role as a symbol of recovery. The Ariake Nine are looking ahead, and practice for the new team has already begun. Their stated goal is to reach the “National Top 4”—in other words, to surpass the achievements of their seniors this summer.

From the September 11 & 18, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*