Kōshū, who had been 'ignored' by everyone for the whole game, suddenly received the gaze of more than a dozen pairs of eyes.
"Hi." As he spoke, he picked up his bat and helmet, and came to the strike preparation area as if he was confident early in the morning.
In fact, he was already happy.
Once upon a time, he regarded pitching and hitting as the most ordinary and normal things. Now that the supervisor has suppressed his impetuous mood several times in a row, Kōshū has become particularly precious about every opportunity to appear.
"Come on!" Kanemaru cheered for him a little on the side. The two people who sat on the bench together established a revolutionary feeling that they had not had before.
"Eh????" Seido The movement in the attack preparation area certainly attracted the opponent's attention, "Is that ace going to play?"
"Gudu——" The one who had the strongest reaction was none other than the pharmacist catcher Akiha who clearly heard the sound of the hitter Seido swallowing saliva.
'Illusion? Why does it feel like this hitter suddenly became nervous? '
Capturing this information, Akiha quickly determined the policy of Pitching Strategy, using alternating pitches from inside and outside corners, so that the nervous batter could not react and get out.
"Gudu——" Another time, Lang Zhi could feel the crazy secretion of saliva in his mouth, couldn't help but swallow again, and heard the swallowing sound coming from the bones.
'No, is he looking at my back? Why do I feel so stiff on my back? ' Suddenly, the feeling that his brother was behind him made him very uncomfortable, and he even began to worry about his poor performance in the previous games.
"Pa--" In such a stiff situation, it was better to forget about swinging the bat or anything like that.
"Bad ball!" It turned out that the ball was a bad ball in the inside corner, and Lang Zhi had been very confused just now and watched the ball go into the base without moving.
'Eh? Is this the trajectory? ' It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Before the fear could arise, I could almost see the trajectory of the ball clearly.
Because I started to concentrate on watching the ball, the feeling of being so nervous and at a loss what to do quickly faded out of my mind.
The next ball, White Shadow, passed by the field of vision, but Lang Zhi, under intense observation, was surprised to find that he could feel that the ball's axis of rotation was deflected toward the outside corner, and the rotation speed was not very fast.
"Bump--" After you have determined the path of the ball, you only need to wait on the established path and intercept it with the bat.
"Guerrilla!"
The catcher lifted his mask and looked at the ball that was now passing over the pitcher's head.
"Landed!"
"Run!"
"One run! Bravo!"
Lang Zhi ran to first base and was already out of breath. The realization in a state of high tension was really draining on people's energy.
Fortunately, he was already On Base at this time, and he also had an explanation for the brother behind him.
With his hand raised, the runner pointed at the man walking toward home plate, as if expecting a response.
Kōshū responded with a thumbs up, 'It's getting more and more reliable. '
'Pinch Hitter? ' The supervisor really set a clear test question for him. If he can perform well this time on the bench, then it is always possible to apply for fielding. If he defends this time, will the end be far away?
As the supervisor of a wealthy high school, in order to maintain his dignity, he cannot go back on his words, but if the players show strength and desire, he can naturally let them play. This is true even for the team's ace.
'Then, just fight out. Both the supervisor and Lang Zhi have given me such a big step forward. I would really feel sorry for them if I don't score a point. '
After Home Plate, the catcher got the new ball and passed it to his ace. He kept thinking about the following Pitching Strategy, 'Seido ace. The ball speed is 145+, which shows that the arm strength is very strong, the batting rate is more than 30%, and the swing is very heroic, which will lead to a high probability of being out. But once he catches the ball, he will hit it very far. '
After that, there is the ninth one of Seido.
While Akiha was squatting down, he thought quickly and came to the conclusion, 'Hit the bat with a straight ball, and then use Changeup to strike him out! '
At this time, Kōshū stared at the pitcher on Pitcher's Mound, but firmly emphasized to himself, 'If you don't take action until the end, you must be cautious! '
This kind of thinking bias led to the next situation.
The first ball came and went straight into the batter's chest. Kōshū dodged it slightly.
"Bad ball!"
'Don't be anxious, don't be anxious! '
Akiha glanced at the opponent unexpectedly, thinking he would hit the first pitch. Because everyone will assume that the first pitch after the pitcher is hit will not be as satisfactory, and the first pitch will put extra pressure on the pitcher.
But that's not the case with Yaoshi's ace Sanada. He always maintains a good mentality. If he throws a hit ball, it's most likely not because he was hit.
'If you don't hit the first ball, then the next ball will be here. '
Sanada exhaled and nodded.
"Pa--" The risky ball was like a white light, heading away from the batter, and was finally caught by the catcher's glove.
"Bad ball!"
Kōshū let go of his hitting action. His eyes were following the trajectory of each ball until the last moment before home plate. However, because the two balls showed that they were in the wrong direction very early, he did not take action at all.
'It's really troublesome.' After testing two balls, the situation slowly developed in the direction that was favorable to the hitter. Two bad balls and no good balls left the batter with less and less room to catch the ball.
But you can't be anxious at this time. It's important to get a good number of balls, but being caught and hit out cannot be compensated by a good number of balls. The risk is too great.
Without hesitation, the next ball came, heading towards the batter's outside corner Strike Zone.
Kōshū followed closely, and the power accumulated in his body was about to be released on the swing, but he stopped midway.
"Bad ball!"
This is a ball Cutter that turns to the outside corner. Kōshū has seen countless other people's balls and is most familiar with this trajectory.
There were three bad balls and no good balls. The decision was made at the next moment when Medicine Master's shot was caught.
"Bad ball!"
"Four balls, walk!"
Kōshū threw down the bat and ran to first base with a sense of stability. This is what he wanted to convey to the coaching staff. Whether he was hitting out or being walked, he could be stable On Base.
Next, in the ninth bat, Asou unsurprisingly used Sacrifice Bunt to advance the bases.
This time, one out, and there are people on second and third base.
"Safe!"*2
With Kuramochi's high fly, the runners on second and third base quickly started.
In front of the audience's field of vision, the scoreboard changed again.
The score became "3:0".
Seido once again expanded its leading advantage.
"Tch—" Coach Todoroki made an unbearable noise and changed the direction of his crossed legs.