Bottom of the Ninth Inning, the atmosphere in the stadium was obviously more enthusiastic. Rather than entering the extra innings, the audience wanted to see the miracle of 'Bottom of the Ninth Inning two outs'.
Facing such overwhelming calls, this Pitcher's Mound was a bit unfamiliar. Kōshū stepped on the soft and solid ground, and the solid feeling made him feel a little more at ease.
The catcher on the opposite side seemed to be frowning.
"Play ball!"
When the game started, everything fell behind Kōshū like a tide. From a distance of 18 meters, he could see the batter's expression very clearly.
The stomach that was still twitching before taking the field has now been smoothed away, and there is still a lot of energy in this body that can be tapped.
Kyoma University Four bats, looking at the expressionless person on Pitcher's Mound, a bad feeling came to my heart, 'This pitcher's psychological defense has not collapsed yet, it is too early to call it an end now. '
He will swing the bat on the first pitch of the inning.
The pitcher didn't shake his head at Signals. He immediately turned sideways and started pitching, with a smooth and bone-deep pitching movement, injecting all the remaining power into it.
The moment the ball was released, the excess Anti-Slip Powder on the ball was suddenly peeled off, releasing a thin white mist. Only the batter who was staring closely at the ball noticed it.
Four sticks confirmed that this time it was still a straight ball, and it was the inside corner position where Kōshū was most confident. He found the best stepping time in an instant.
The direction that the straight ball came from was Inside Corner Ball, which went straight into the chest. 'I knew it was a straight ball from an inside angle!! '
The batter stepped out suddenly, and the power was smoothly accumulated from the bottom plate, driving the bat forward. Because he stepped out, it gave him room to swing. If the ball was found accurately, it could hit the center of the ball.
But the direction of this ball is obviously not Strike Zone, Kōshū is a right-hand shot, and the fourth bat is a left-hand shot. The entire diagonal direction of the shot is obviously more inward.
'Damn it, it's going to squeeze the bat! '
The ball hit the bat hard as expected, but was not in the best position.
The moment the two players held their breaths, the duel at Home Plate was over. The ball flew far away. Kyoma University dropped his bat and rushed towards first base. There was no joy on his face. He was also staring at the ball that hit very high.
Drawing a very high parabola in the air, Isashiki Jun in the center field has stopped five or six meters in front of the home plate wall.
"I can catch it!!" Isashiki followed the shadow of the ball with his eyes, and he didn't let out a heavy breath until the ball actually entered his glove.
Immediately, Seido's support bench burst out with suppressed happiness, "Isashiki-senpai! Good catch!!"
"Isashiki!!"
"Fox Dog Senior!!"
Passing this dangerous ball to a nearby outfielder, Isashiki frowned and said, "Tch, it's just an outfield flyer! Kōshū, throw it to me!"
"Huh..." He took off his hat and wiped his sweat. Kōshū said nothing and gave a thumbs up to the center field.
One out was scored.
Kōshū All the muscles in his body relaxed, causing the sore parts to spread to a wide area. Only then did he realize that his whole body had been tense just now.
"One out!"
The encouragement from the senior behind him finally reached his ears.
"Here comes the five-bat," someone's voice in my mind was saying about the characteristics of this hitter.
After Miyuki passed Signals, he casually placed his gloves in a position. Since the sixth game, he had forcibly changed his habits, and Kōshū also had to adapt to a new set of Signals.
"Foul Ball!" Five sticks also adopted the strategy of hitting the first ball. Outside Corner Ball missed the edge and fell to Foul Ball.
"Huh?" In the broadcast room, people who were watching the ball carefully felt something was wrong, "The catcher seemed to have been startled just now!"
"Well, does it seem to be Signals's problem? The pitcher obviously throws the ball according to the catcher's glove..."
Immediately afterwards, they saw Seido's arrest called timeout again.
"Well, it feels like Seido calls timeouts almost twice every inning?" It's right when you think about it. This pitcher is still a first-year player, and the catcher must always verify the pitcher's condition.
Returning to Pitcher's Mound, this is the two seconds of blank time in Seido's capture dialogue.
"Do you need to review it again Signals?" Miyuki was worried.
"No, I just had a moment... I don't know why."
The pause was short, but Nitta Manager, who was standing outside Dugout, suddenly laughed, "That's about it."
According to Nitta Manager, high school kids sometimes collapse in an instant, especially in the second half of the game, when fatigue and pressure accumulate to a certain level and their movements begin to deform.
At this time, you just have to breathe in your heart. With this breath, you can persevere.
Therefore, the more rigorous the players who have gone through rigorous training, the better they can maintain themselves at this time.
"Batter's out!"
A Outside Corner Ball was about to hit the head of the bat. The second baseman Kominato Ryosuke threw himself into the sand and beautifully defended the infield ground ball.
"Tch, it's the ninth inning..." Although these Seido infielders looked tired, they were still able to defend with ease.
At this time, Liu Bang was called back to Dugout, where Si Bang and Nitta Manager were talking intensely.
"... That's probably how we got to this position..." The two of them ignored the six sticks who came back and were still discussing the details.
When Liu Bang heard the announcement, he was already reading his name, "... Supervisor, I..."
Nitta Manager At this time, he smiled and said, "Listen carefully, the pitcher will definitely throw Inside Corner Ball to you in a while, you just play in this way..."
'You will definitely hit the inside angle? ' Liubang jogged to Batter's Box, thinking in his mind what he had just been told.
'That's the ball that pitcher is most confident about, and he's going to throw it. '
'Step one foot's width out so you have enough room to maneuver. '
'Hit it to the sky, it doesn't matter.. '
After he finished recalling the six bats, he found that the pitcher on the opposite side was staring at him, 'He must have seen it.. '
Of course, Nitta Manager's happy look attracted almost everyone's attention to Seido. Even if they already knew that the supervisor was cunning, he might just be acting, but what if?
'Did he notice my habitual movements? '
'What on earth are they talking about? '
And that four-bat hit a super long outfield fly in this inning. Did he master something?
All kinds of thoughts disturbed Kōshū's heart.
"Two out!"
"Take down the last one!"
These shouts from the outfield were very loud, crushing Kōshū's nerves step by step, and there were blood vessels in the temples pulsing with the heartbeat.
Miyuki's mood was also in chaos almost at the same time. He was thinking about the pitcher's body, he was thinking about who should play in the next inning, and he was thinking about how to calm down the pitcher's mind.
Subconsciously, Miyuki matched a straight ball with a high inside angle, because this position is Kōshū's favorite, 'After throwing this ball, just settle down! '
On Valentine's Day, the center sent us flowers and cakes. It was only for singles. Hahaha, we were able to join in the fun.