"One out!"
"Come one by one!"
Walking slowly back to Pitcher's Mound, the sounds of the infield and everyone's faces were all reflected in Kōshū's eyes.
He flatly resisted the conclusion he just made, 'I'm not fighting for the word collective, maybe I'm just fighting for them? '
Seniors Maezono, Haruichi, seniors Kuramochi, Lang Zhi, and Miyuki behind home plate. Although this new team has been finalized, Kōshū participated in very few official games with them and spent most of their time recuperating from injuries. However, when facing every aggressive hitter, having them together made me feel extremely at ease.
'Is there something wrong with my own head? ' This conclusion made Kōshū extremely angry, and he became even more energetic.
Yamaoka saw another ball hitting the outside corner, and before he had time to wonder, the bat had already been swung out, and then he saw that the trajectory of the ball had changed.
"Outside Corner Slider?"
"Good shot!"
Yamaoka swung the stick empty, but his heart became more alert. Now he had time to think about the doubts he just had, 'Is Seido now dominated by Outside Corner Ball? '
In the first two games, the pair of pitchers were obviously more inclined to use Inside Corner Ball to make the batter uncomfortable.
However, after a moment of doubt, Inami quickly returned to his hitting state. Anyway, whether this pitcher is Inside Corner Ball or Outside Corner Ball, he can control the position at the limit, and there will never be a good ball.
Outside Corner Slider, being able to deceive the opponent into hitting four sticks really made Kōshū sweat a lot. Fortunately, Inomi has a positive hitting style now. Otherwise, if he had watched more balls and polished him more, the number of balls would have doubled, and it is not sure how long his feet can last.
'It's not a good feeling to be stared at so closely, especially now that I can't concentrate on it. ' Sweat was flowing down the forehead that I had just wiped.
For the second ball, Kōshū was stunned for a moment when he saw Signals, 'It's still the outside corner, but the glove position is slightly inside. If you spot it correctly, won't the opponent hit the ball?' '
Then the ball must be controlled within the range of Strike Zone. Really, if it is not the catcher, it is also the object of concealment. Kōshū now wants to beat Miyuki. It is habitual to have the best control of every ball.
'Speaking of which, after confessing, I will make some compensation to Senior Miyuki, but there is a high probability that I will be countered by First String. How can I take advantage of him? ' The pitcher decided not only wanted to hide the bad, but also wanted to do something good.
Thinking this way, his physical condition comes second to pitching, and he can pitch with a very high level of ball control without caring so much.
The supporting foot slammed the ground, and then the ball was released, heading towards the outside corner of the batter.
'Outer corner! '
'Is it a straight shot? '
Before he could reach a conclusion, Yamaoka had already swung the bat. Every ball he saw would simulate hitting it in his mind.
Often players who don't hit well will wait silently in their hearts for a good ball, but it's not that easy to wait. In the end, they will be forced to take two good balls and have to take action, and then they will be quickly eliminated. Because each ball is not regarded as a ball to be hit this time, and the mental preparation and swing are not in place, naturally the ball will not be played well.
After realizing this truth in junior high school, Yamaoka's striking strength quickly improved.
'Play it straight! '
But the batter did not take action immediately. He had to wait until the end to determine the trajectory of the ball——
'changed'
Another Slider with an outer corner?
The bat followed suit and stayed on that path in advance while White Shadow changed.
"Touch——"
The rhythm was very good, but it was not played well.
"Foul Ball!"
This is a situation of two good balls. Logically speaking, it is more advantageous for both sides to shoot and catch, but Miyuki's mentality is full of vigilance, "It's just a few balls, and I can already keep up with the rhythm." '
Kōshū's heart also beat a few beats faster. It's really amazing. Inami's Central Batting Lineup is indeed amazing. 'Sure enough, it's the right time to play in this game. If Kawakami Senior and Eijun are allowed to come up... '
That image is unimaginable.
But fortunately, now there are two good balls, the next ball——
The pitcher received Signals, 'A bad ball with a high inside angle, is this to fully exploit the difference between the inside and outside angles? '
Kōshū scolded the catcher in his heart again, 'Only First Year of High School balls, Senior Miyuki, please look at your own guidance, it's just asking for everything. ' After experiencing the difficulty of controlling the ball, the pitcher realized how abnormal things that are usually easy to do are.
"Bang -" The ball went straight to the inside corner. It was obviously a bad ball and passed right in front of the batter's eyes.
'Inner corner, such a high position, so are they trying to make my feelings about Strike Zone inaccurate? ' Yamaoka pondered and suddenly felt troubled. According to his information, Kōshū's pitches were almost never inaccurate, so this must be the catcher's conspiracy.
"Bad ball!"
The referee's voice sounded from behind, but Miyuki felt it was a bit troublesome, 'What's going on? This inning has already reached the second batter, and it's still like this. Is there something wrong with the ball control? ' This is Kōshū's big killer. If it really weakens, it will be troublesome.
Of course, he didn't speak in the end and just squatted down.
This straight ball with a high inside angle was too obvious to fool the batter, so let's try a more confusing one. As soon as the idea came up, Miyuki hit it Signals and saw the pitcher's nod.
In the second half of the seventh game, there were two good situations and one bad situation.
Kōshū calmed down, recalled the familiar feeling of pitching, and let it return to his body.
Immediately afterwards, he took a sudden step and splashed the sand on the hill with his left foot. The power was transmitted from the ground to the upper body, and the ball was released.
'It feels so good on my fingertips! ' Now Kōshū can only judge whether the ball can reach the location where the catcher wants it by relying on the feeling of his fingers at the moment of release.
'Coming! 'Yamaoka watched the ball heading towards the inside corner, but this time it landed within the range of Strike Zone, 'It's really tricky! '
But what he was thinking about right now was the scene of lifting the ball up and hitting the outfield wall.
All the strength of the whole body was poured into this swing. Yamaoka also took steps, eyes fixed on the White Shadow, predicting in his heart the path that the ball must pass, and the bat was waiting for it over there!
'Fight it out! '
The sound of the wind in his ears carried the cheering sound and the hustle and bustle of the stadium behind him. Yamaoka only had this ball in his eyes.
But——
The condition and swing are just right, but why does the feeling in my hand feel so wrong? It doesn't feel like the center of the ball, 'Changeup?! ' Before he could distinguish it carefully, the ball had already gone out. Yamaoka dropped the bat and ran towards first base.
"First base!"
"Run!"
The voices on both sides were noisy in sync.
"Pa--" Only the sound of catching the ball up close was so clear.
"Out!"
"Hey..." Yamaoka ran past the first base bag and sighed toward the sky. Why is it so difficult to break through this pitcher?
"Stop sighing," the voice of the next batter came from behind, "Leave it to me!"
Yamaoka raised his head and only had time to see the caution he had never seen before on the face of Narumiya Mei, who was running past quickly.