Earlier, when analyzing the intelligence of Yura Sougou, Watanabe had mentioned the names of two people.
These two individuals are particularly worth noting.
One of them is their Ace pitcher, Higashiyama.
Although Higashiyama hasn't played much in the previous four rounds of games, it doesn't mean his strength is not formidable.
He is a typical fastball pitcher with good control and excellent breaking balls.
The potential power he can unleash is truly impressive.
Exactly how strong is he?
Watanabe couldn't analyze it.
From the basic information, it's possible to say his level is either higher or lower.
In the end, the quality of a pitch is something that can only be judged by seeing it firsthand in the Batter's Box.
You can't analyze it thoroughly just from watching the footage.
Looking at his previous performance, this pitcher is certainly not someone to be underestimated.
So far, he has no hits allowed and no runs allowed.
Of course, this is partly because he has pitched fewer innings, which has an impact on the analysis of his true strength.
The other opponent to be cautious of is Senda, who is currently in the Batter's Box.
In the previous four rounds of games, he was the starting player every time and played the full game.
He stood in the Batter's Box 17 times, hitting three home runs and five singles.
Adding the time he was walked, his on-base percentage was above 50%.
With such a performance, he can't help but attract attention.
Recently, apart from praising the Seidou High School baseball team, media websites have been highly complimentary of Senda.
In fact, his praise even surpassed that of other top teams to some extent.
Even the mighty Raichi, known as the strongest batter in West Tokyo, is now tied with Senda in home runs.
Of course, this is mainly because Raichi has been Walked a lot. He hasn't had as many direct confrontations with pitchers as Senda has.
Also, Yakushi is a seed team and has only played three games so far.
However, despite this, Senda's performance is already remarkable.
Given such an opponent, Miyuki has to be cautious.
His brain is working hard, trying to figure out how to deal with this opponent.
One Out, a runner on second.
To be honest, there's no need to directly face the batter.
Considering Senda's performance, walking him seems like a safer choice.
This thought is tempting, but it's not feasible.
A king must maintain his dignity; they don't walk batters like that.
Even if Miyuki is willing to act shamelessly, he also has to consider the pitcher's feelings.
Asking Furuya to Walk someone sounds completely absurd...
After discarding that approach, solving this opponent will still require Sawamura to showcase his unique abilities.
Although Senda is strong, as long as Furuya can fully unleash his own strength, there's no problem in defeating this opponent.
Miyuki has such confidence.
He believes that Furuya will definitely succeed.
So, he decisively signals to Furuya: 'No need to avoid it, face him head-on.'
The fastest pitcher in high school, known as The Monster.
Furuya's reputation may not be as loud as Sawamura's, but as long as he fully explodes, ordinary players are no match for him.
Miyuki has no doubts about this.
After receiving the signal, Furuya steps forward without hesitation and throws the baseball with all his might.
Roaar!
In this pitch, Furuya uses all the strength he can muster.
It seems that Furuya senses the extraordinary nature of this opponent and wants to give his all to defeat him.
However, he forgets the principle of moderation.
The ball, while being thrown, has been infused with excessive force.
When throwing, more force is not always better. The extra force counteracts the ball's original forward momentum.
Seeing the ball fly out, Miyuki, who is in the catcher's position, instinctively frowns.
'The speed was not as expected!'
'And the position...'
'Oh no!'
Watching the trajectory of the ball, Miyuki's expression changes drastically.
His pupils widen, and his calm demeanor disappears.
'The position is too sweet; this ball is going to be hit!'
Miyuki, as always, has an excellent understanding of baseball, down to the smallest detail.
Of course, Miyuki doesn't want such praise right now.
He hopes he's mistaken, hoping the opponent won't swing at the pitch, or if he does, they won't make contact.
Unfortunately, this is destined to be just a fantasy.
In reality, Senda sees the pitch and, without any hesitation, swings his bat.
Ping!
It's as if he's practiced this thousands of times; the bat connects perfectly with the ball and sends it flying.
The ball bounces and passes through Seidou's defense.
It's a long hit!
Under the stunned gaze of the Seidou High players, Senda runs past first base and reaches second base.
The runner at second base also crosses third and heads for home plate.
The score is now 2-0!
Seidou High, the reigning champions, falls behind by two runs right from the start.
And now, the situation is one out, with a runner on second.
The audience whispers quietly.
Although it's unclear what they're saying, it's probably not anything good.
In Seidou's dugout,
Coach Ochiai hesitates for a moment before deciding to approach Kataoka.
Furuya's current state is strange; it seems like he's too focused on the runners and can't concentrate on pitching.
They need to take action. Even if they don't change Furuya right away, they need to make a move...
Before Coach Ochiai can get close, Coach Kataoka takes action.
He orders,
"Go tell that guy if he can't do it. You can do it instead!"
Kataoka is lenient with third-year Kawakami, but that doesn't mean he's lenient with everyone.
Furuya still has more than a year under his guidance, and there's plenty of time to teach him slowly.
Give him one last chance; if he can't do it, take him out!
This game is very important for Coach Kataoka.
At this moment, someone suddenly stands up from the bench.
"Yes! Boss!"
Seeing who stood up, everyone's face became strange.
The one who stood up is none other than Sawamura.
Sending Sawamura to deliver a message, just the idea alone is creative.
Not to mention, it's for Sawamura to deliver the message to Furuya.
Wouldn't that drive him crazy?
Kataoka nods without saying anything further.
Sawamura walks directly to the mound.
This move shocks both the opponent and the fans in the stadium.
What is Seidou doing?
Down by two runs, they're sending the Demon King to the mound?
Seidou's supporters are excited, especially Sawamura's fans, who are thrilled.
They're about to cheer out loud!
The Yura Sougou team members look solemn, as if in mourning.
Although they've been expecting this moment, when Sawamura walks to the mound, they still instinctively shudder.
The name precedes the person.
Sawamura Eijun, who can compete with the Son of Baseball, Allen Ward.
Just thinking about it, they feel like they can't beat him at all.
This isn't an exaggeration; they really can't imagine how to hit Sawamura's pitches.
After a long pause, they finally realize that Sawamura isn't coming in to replace Furuya.
"Wait! This guy is actually delivering a message!"
Seeing this, everyone nearly strangles Sawamura in frustration.
"Isn't this terrifying?"
"What a huge joke…"
And, after all, why would you send your Ace pitcher to deliver a message?
It seemed like Coach Kataoka and the Seidou High School coaching staff had reached their limit with Furuya's performance.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to provoke him like this.
On the pitcher's mound.
Furuya looked at Sawamura standing in front of him, feeling similarly complicated.
His first reaction, just like everyone around him, was that Sawamura was here to replace him.
'Without mitt or warm-up...'
Clearly, Sawamura's purpose wasn't that.
Furuya thought for a while and figured out the real reason Sawamura came up.
He was here to deliver Coach Kataoka's orders.
Only for this reason would Sawamura have walked up to him like this.
"What did the Coach say?"
For once, Furuya was being a little clever.
"Don't worry about what the Big Boss said. I'm asking if you're okay. If you're not, do you want me to replace you?" Sawamura asked bluntly.
Sure enough.
After hearing Sawamura Eijun's words, Furuya's eyes almost popped out.
The fiery look in his eyes seemed like it could melt Sawamura away.
"You just go back to the rest area and relax! I won't let you play in this game. The semifinals and finals are waiting for you!!"
Furuya's words seemed to carry no ill intent.
Just analyzing his tone, it even sounded like he cared about Sawamura and was thinking of his well-being.
If it weren't for the fact that Sawamura heard the sound of Furuya grinding his teeth as he spoke those last few words...
Sawamura might have thought Furuya really had changed his personality.
"Trying too hard only makes you exert more force, and the pitch speed decreases. Didn't Miyuki-senpai already tell you this many times? Why can't you fix it? Relax your shoulders, stop using unnecessary strength, and just throw the ball simply. Trust yourself, your pitch speed will improve."
Before he left, Sawamura reminded Furuya of his issue.
Sawamura knew that this problem wouldn't be easy to fix.
If habits or issues were so easy to change...
Anyone could become a star player.
But Sawamura kept his tone light.
He didn't want to make it sound too harsh, fearing it would become a mental block for Furuya.
After Sawamura finished speaking, he returned to the rest area.
The game resumed.
With Sawamura's provocation, Furuya's pitching improved immediately.
ROAAAR!!
Though Furuya held back his strength this time...
The speed and power of the baseball as it flew out were just as strong, if not stronger than the previous ones.
In fact, some spectators timed Furuya's pitch.
Before, his fastest pitch had been 152 km/h. (94 mph)
For others, that was extraordinary.
Nationwide, there were only a handful of pitchers who could throw at that speed.
But for Furuya, the fastest pitcher in the nation, it didn't seem that impressive.
It was just acceptable.
This time, Furuya threw at 155 km/h. (96 mph)
It didn't seem like much of an improvement on the surface.
Only 3 km/h more.
But once the pitch speed hit 155, it was a whole different level.
For most batters, even using a pitching machine for practice, reaching that speed was rare.
It was hard to hit!
If they used this speed for batting practice...
It might damage the batter's confidence.
Humans are emotional creatures. If they can't hit the ball during practice, they'll likely struggle when it counts.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
With Sawamura opening the gate, The Monster Furuya finally woke up.
Once he fully unleashed his power, very few people in Yura Sougou could get a hit or score off him.
Soon, two Strikeouts were added to his record.
Three Outs and the sides were switched.
After conceding two runs, the Seidou High School baseball team finally stopped the opponent's momentum.
Only one runner remained on second base.
In the bottom of the inning, Seidou High School's offense started.
The first batter up was, of course, the ever-consistent leadoff batter: Kuramochi Yoichi.
Before Kuramochi stepped up to bat, he glanced at Furuya, who seemed slightly downcast and smiled.
He spoke to Furuya in a Senpai tone.
"I'll get it back for you."
Kuramochi made good on his word. When he stepped up to bat, he immediately took an aggressive stance, looking like he was determined to hit the ball out of the park.
...
T/N: Feel free to leave a Comment guys!
And Powerstones are much much welcomed!