Asaka Tsuru

Asaka Tsuru (水流 麻夏)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 4", Weight 134 lb.

• High School Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School

• Born August 11, 1999 in Sanda, Hyogo Japan

Biographical Information

Asaka Tsuru won an ERA title in the Japan Women's Baseball League and several Gold Medals with the Japanese women's national team.

She debuted for Japan in the 2017 Women's Baseball Asian Cup at age 18. She allowed one run in four innings in a no-decision against Taiwan; Runa Matsushima took over. She also threw a 1-2-3 inning as part of a combined perfecto versus India, retiring Chetna Sharma, Geeta Bhuyan and Mona Kusumakar before being relieved by Mina Sugimoto. She got the win over Sunil Bodekar Girija. Japan won the inaugural Women's Baseball Asian Cup and she finished 5th in ERA (between Ho-Ying Au and Tak-Kwan Fan).

Tsuru had a 2.06 ERA for Reia, a developmental team in the JWBL, in 2018. She threw five shutout innings when Japan won the 2018 Women's Baseball World Cup and got the win over second-place Taiwan's Ching-Wen Hu. She tied Meggie Meidlinger and Linibeth Aguilarte for 5th in ERA (four pitchers were at 0.00 in more IP). She moved to Saitama Astraia in 2019 and went 9-3 with a 1.67 ERA. She led the league in ERA and won Rookie of the Year. She was even more dominant in 2020 at 9-2, 1.22. She led the JWBL in ERA, wins and strikeouts (38) as well as complete games (5) and shutouts (3). She then moved to the Hanshin Tigers' women's team.

The lefty suited up for Japan again in the 2023 Women's Baseball Asian Cup, beating South Korea's Min-jeong Kwak and closing out Ayami Sato's win over Taiwan; Japan won another title. She was named the event's All-Star reliever while teammate Kana Onodera was named the top starter. She was on Japan's roster for the 2023-2024 Women's Baseball World Cup's 2023 phase but was a late cut due to injury.