Eastern Macabes ended Dodowa Marine Stars' two-year hold on Ghana's Koshien Baseball Championship, beating them 9-1 in last Sunday's under-15 final at the Koshien Field, Labone Senior High School in Accra.
The final capped the third edition of the tournament, organised by the Ghana Baseball and Softball Federation since the competition launched in 2024. Dodowa, representing Greater Accra, had won the first two editions, defending their title in 2025 to become back-to-back champions before Sunday's loss ended their run.
Eastern controlled the final from the start, giving Dodowa little room to respond. Dodowa's discipline on the field earned them the tournament's fair play award as the competition's most disciplined team.
Five regional sides took part this year: Tema All Stars, Volta, Central, Dodowa and Eastern. Eastern's officials said the squad had prepared well for the final and pledged to train harder to defend the title.
The championship ran with backing from the National Sports Authority, the Ghana Olympic Committee, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan-Africa Baseball and Softball Foundation. Japan's Ambassador to Ghana, Hiroshi Yoshimoto, attended the final day's matches and congratulated the winners, saying he hoped interest in baseball would keep growing among Ghanaians.
Individual awards went to Jacqueline Amponsah of Tema All Stars as best female player and Isaac Mensah of Eastern Macabes as best male player. Kofi Frimpong was named best coach, an honour presented by Shinya Tomonari, president of the Japan-Africa Baseball and Softball Foundation.
Ghana Baseball and Softball Federation Secretary General and Vice President Edmund Kwesi Ackom commended the participating teams and regional coordinators, crediting their work for the growing youth interest in the sport since Ghana became one of the first African countries, alongside Tanzania and Kenya, to run a Koshien-style tournament.
