TITLE FOR TOHOKU, AT LAST

Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School players celebrate the Miyagi Prefecture school’s historic win in the final of the National High School Baseball Championship on Monday at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. With an 8-1 victory over Yamaguchi Prefecture’s Shimonseki Kokusai, Sendai Ikuei became the first-ever champion from the Tohoku region in the tradition-filled tournament that started in 1915, denying Shimonoseki a first-ever title. Ikuya Iwasaki hit a grand slam as Sendai Ikuei broke open the game with a five-run seventh inning to finally claim the title in its third trip to the final and first in seven years. (Aug. 23)

Hidenori Nagai / The Yomiuri Shimbun