Australian left-handed pitcher Jack Besgrove delivered 48 strikeouts in three games during the Final tournament of the Japan Men's Softball League to lead Daiwa Act to their first title in eight years. Daiwa defeated Honda, 2-1 in eight innings, in the final.
Besgrove was dominant in the Final tournament. In the first game (semi-final against Honda), he gave up a solo home run but only gave up two hits while striking out 15. In the second game (third place deciding game against Toyota) he gave up the only hit against 16 strikeouts, while in the final he gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth inning allowing three hits with 17 strikeouts. In three games the lefty tallied 48 strikeouts.
This year, the Japan Men's Softball League Final Tournament changed its format, adopting a page system among the top five teams in the regular season. The Final Tournament featured the league's first place Honda, league's second place Daiwa Act, league's third place Hirabayashi Metals, league's fourth place Toyota, and league's fifth place Nippon Ecosystem.
The first game of the tournament saw Toyota (4th place) beating Japan Ecosystem (5th place), earning the right to compete against third-place finishers Hirabayashi Metal. And Toyota got the win, 6-1, to advance to the second semifinal.
The semifinal between Honda and Daiwa Act was a fierce pitching duel between Besgrove and Japan's ace Hiroki Ikeda, who who gave up one and fanned 13 opponents to claim a 1-0 win.
On the final day, Daiwa defeated Toyota 2-0 to set a rematch against Honda in the Final, which turned out to be a thriller. Just like the semifinal the day before, Ikeda and Besgrove dominated, keeping the game scoreless in the first seven innings.
In the top of the eighth inning, Josh McGovern sent a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer, giving Daiwa the lead. In the bottom half, Honda managed to score a run but Besgrove closed the game with a strikeout to clinch the title.
