The club achieved the first university championship in Japan! Chasing the white ball to win the league championship!
Founded in 1962, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the club. The club is run by students on their own initiative, with students serving as the team's managers and coaches.
Belonging to the Tokyo Rokko Daigaku Softball League, the team won the championship in the fall league tournament in 2021 with an unblemished 10-game winning streak. The team also won the 43rd All-Japan University Softball Tournament, which brought together representative teams from 23 different leagues, and became the first university softball team to win the championship since its establishment in Japan.
I vividly remember the game that decided the championship," said Takai, who was the captain of the most powerful team in the history of the team while carrying the heavy responsibility of catcher at No. 4. I was so excited to be able to lift the manager up in the air twice, when we won the league championship and when we became the number one team in Japan," he says, looking back on those joyous moments.
Tobita, who won the triple crown for batting average, hits, and runs batted in, and was named MVP (best player) of the tournament, also recalls his moment of joy: "As we got closer to the championship, more and more people came up to me and said, 'Go for it! and their voices gave me the strength to challenge the next game. It made me realize that I have the support of many people.
The biggest difference between softball and hardball is the nature of the equipment used. In particular, since a soft rubber ball is used, throwing and hitting feel different from hardball. For this reason, players who switch from hardball have a hard time getting a feel for the game. I switched to softball after college," says pitcher Kirihara, who recalls his bitter experience, "but when I threw the ball as if it were hardball, I immediately hurt my shoulder. I was anxious because I couldn't play baseball for about a year and a half," he smiles, "but I recovered through hard rehabilitation and was happy that I could contribute to the championship.
The softball team has deepened its ties with alumni as friends who know the joy of baseball. We are very grateful for the support we receive from the alumni through the annual alumni general meeting, which is used to fund the club's operations and travel expenses," says Toshiharu. We are expanding our circle of support," said Toshiharu.
We want more people to know about the existence of the softball club," says Kiyotaki, who was appointed as the new manager in 2022. While leading the team, which is ambitious to achieve the goals of "winning the spring league championship" and "winning the fall league championship again," Kiyotaki will also support the team's activities in terms of public relations.
(First published in the May 2022 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)
*This interview was conducted online.
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From left in the upper row, Kensuke Kiyotaki (3rd year, Department of Business Strategy, Faculty of Business Administration), Hidetoshi Takai (4th year, Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration), Yudai Kirihara (4th year, Department of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies), Yujiro Risho (4th year, Department of Sports and Health Studies), Tetsuya Tobita (4th year, Department of Business Administration and Career Administration) Department of Career Design, Faculty of Career Design)
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At the 2021 Fall League Tournament. At the moment the final game was over and the championship was decided, the director, Kimiyo Yonezawa (Class of 2021, Faculty of Letters), was lifted up in the air by his fellow teammates.
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In softball games, which are often close and competitive, each pitch is filled with a sense of tension. The uniforms and hats worn by the club members are the same as those of the athletic baseball club.
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The team practices four times a week at a field in Chofu City. The team strives to improve their skills while engaging in friendly competition with their peers.