"Today was Inashiro against Yakushi."
"Yeah, I wonder how Narumiya Mei dealt with Todoroki Raichi."
The discussion that came up over breakfast had its answer by noon.
"He struck out Todoroki Raichi consecutively? And he used fastballs for almost all of them?" Even Kōshū slowed his eating as he listened to everyone talk.
"So forceful. Why?"
"Who knows? Could it be because Todoroki Raichi and the others made such a splash at Koshien?"
Kōshū secretly shook his head. No, he was just angry.
But compared to how Narumiya Mei shut out Yakushi, he was more interested in Inashiro's batters.
"Yakushi's Sanada came on from the start. After suppressing them for five innings, Carlos from Inashiro hit a Home Run off him. Then they strung together hits and scored two more runs."
"That ability to string hits together is what we should really be wary of." They were like weeds that went wild at the slightest breeze. Once a pitcher showed mental weakness after giving up a Home Run, they would lock onto him and keep pounding away.
But everyone remained rather optimistic. "Well, Yakushi's ace had been on the mound for five innings, so Inashiro's batters got used to his pitching patterns. Seido uses a relay pitching strategy. We simply won't give them the chance to get familiar with us."
Remarks like that had become more common lately. Even those who did not say it aloud carried that tendency in their hearts to some extent.
After returning from Koshien, they had attended no fewer than three award ceremonies. People on the team practically floated when they walked.
Fortunately, the captain and vice-captains at the front were all steady people. And after returning as champions, it was immediately the new term. The exceptional quality of this year's freshmen had invisibly added