The man who once homered off Shohei Ohtani just hit a grand slam at Koshien

Some people hit one home run off a future superstar. Daichi Nihashi has now added a grand slam at Koshien to his story.

The 32-year-old office worker, who lives in Hyogo, did it on opening day of Masters Koshien 2026 on 14 November.

What happened?

Masters Koshien is a tournament where former high school players form alumni teams for their schools or prefectures. This year's edition opened at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, and is co-hosted by a major newspaper company.

In the second game, Morioka Daisan (Iwate) faced Miyakonojo Technical (Miyazaki). With two outs and the bases loaded in the first inning, Nihashi stepped in as the number eight hitter and third baseman.

He had barely been able to practise. "The fastballs felt quick, so I went looking for a breaking ball," he said. He got a curveball on the first pitch and sent it over the left-field wall for a grand slam.

Morioka Daisan scored nine runs in that first inning and won 11–5. Nihashi grounded out in his second at-bat, then stepped aside so other teammates could play.

Why is everyone talking about it?

Because of who he once faced. In the 2012 summer Iwate tournament final, Nihashi, batting fourth, hit a three-run homer to the left-field foul pole off Shohei Ohtani, then a third-year student at Hanamaki Higashi. It is known as the only home run Ohtani allowed at that tournament.

Nihashi retired from corporate-league baseball last year. He says this was his first time at the plate in a year, since his job is mostly desk work. "I got to enjoy baseball with no pressure for the first time in a while, and that turned into a homer," he said.

He still treasures the memory of the Ohtani homer, which he says has followed him through university and corporate ball. Ohtani, now a star with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sent a video message for his wedding. They have not been in touch since, but Nihashi said he would be happy to meet him.

What else happened on opening day?

First-time teams, including Misawa (Aomori) and Akita, marched in at the opening ceremony. Three brothers from Iwaki (Fukushima), Takahiro (33), Kohei (31) and Tatsuya (29), delivered the players' oath together.

They spoke of living through the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident. "We feel that being able to play baseball is not something to take for granted," they said.

What's next?

Twenty teams that won regional qualifiers are taking part. Ten games in total are being played over two days, through 15 November.