In the first round of the Japan National Intercity Baseball Championship, CLUB REBASE's 17-year-old pitcher Taguchi Gin (田口 吟) took the mound as the second pitcher. Despite making his first appearance, he produced a difficult result, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks and recording 1 out in 4 year innings. His top speed was measured at 147 kph, and his future development will be closely watched.
The first-round game of the 51st Japan National Intercity Baseball Championship between CLUB REBASE and NTT West Japan was held at Kyocera Dome, with REBASE losing 1–9. Taguchi Gin (田口 吟) took the mound as a current high school student, entering as the second pitcher. He came on in relief midway through the 4th inning and began pitching with no outs and runners on first and second.
Facing 4 batters, Taguchi allowed 1 hit and 2 walks and recorded only 1 out. His fastball reached 147 kph on one occasion, but a walk loaded the bases, and he allowed a run on a bases-loaded walk before being taken out. The right-hander had identified his fastball as his main weapon, but lacked consistency.
Taguchi attended Ibaraki's Mizuki High School with the aim of playing in the national high school tournament, but dropped out after 1 year. In April, he transferred to the correspondence course at Mito Minami High School and called CLUB REBASE himself to request admission. He trained mainly on weekends with older players and improved his top speed to 148 kph after fundamentally refining his mechanics.
His future goals are to enter Nippon Professional Baseball from REBASE and play in MLB. Former NPB players provide coaching within REBASE's organization, which Taguchi described as a “positive environment.”