At the Ishikawa Prefecture Children’s Baseball Tournament, some players were participating from teams that had evacuated due to the earthquake. Rikuto Sasatani of the Yonemaru Club in Kanazawa City was one of them. What was the biggest support for Sasatani in his new life?

The Spring Youth Baseball Ishikawa Prefectural Tournament was held on the 8th of this month. 16 youth baseball teams that had won through the preliminary rounds gathered in one place.

oath:
“I’m grateful that I can still play the baseball I love even though there are people who are forced to live in evacuation shelters.”

Rikuto Sasatani plays third base for the Yonemaru Club in Kanazawa City.

Following the New Year’s Day earthquake, he evacuated from Wajima to Kanazawa. Sasatani is now living with his relatives in Kanazawa, along with his mother, younger brother and sister. After dinner, he started taking care of his equipment. Baseball is at the center of his life.

Sasatani:
“When I hit the ball, it tends to slip out of my glove, so I put oil on it to avoid making errors.”

Sasatani was on a baseball team in Wajima City. He joined the Kanazawa baseball team in March of this year, two months after the evacuation. It took a while.

Reporter:
“Did you come to Kanazawa because you wanted to play baseball?”
Sasatani:
“I thought it would be impossible. It’s a much more urban area than Wajima.”
Reporter:
“Did you think Kanazawa was a scary place?” (nods)
Sasatani’s mother:
“The number of students is three times that of the school in Wajima, so I wondered if it would be okay to have such a large number of people.”

It was a friend he made at his new school who invited Sasatani to join the team.

friend:
“Yonemaru’s Shuto is a genius batter. Since Rikuto joined, Yonemaru has gotten stronger.”
Sasatani:
“I was happy to be able to continue playing baseball again.”

What has supported Sasatani in his life in the evacuation shelter is the baseball he has been playing. For Sasatani, who has left his hometown, this shelter has become a place where he can belong.