2019 WBSC Male Softballer of the Year leads club to Japanese softball championship
16/11/2020 1 Minute Read

2019 WBSC Male Softballer of the Year leads club to Japanese softball championship

Two-way player Hikaru Matsuda's hitting and pitching helped the Hirabayashi Metal win the Japan Men's Softball tourney.

Hirabayashi Metal won the Japanese Men’s Softball League 2020 tournament, after beating Japan Ecosystem, 10-9, in the final on Sunday. Two-way player Hikaru Matsuda, the WBSC Men’s Softball Player of the Year 2019, was the man of the match, pitching a complete game and hitting a home run in the final.

Hirabayashi Metal, the champions of the 2019 Japanese Men’s Softball League, won four games in a row en route to grabbing their latest title.

In the first round, they beat Mie Prefectural, 4-0; then in the Quarterfinals the champions defeated Asahi Kasei, 7-2, before topping Toyota Industries, 6-2.

After the cancellation of the 2020 season, a total of 17 teams competed in the three-day, knockout tournament.