The next day, after experiencing three large bowls of rice after morning practice, the freshman's day of struggling to adapt to training life finally began.
"First graders, the next step is to conduct an ability test on the defensive positions you want. After everyone changes into spikes, gather at B Field." The assistant coach shouted from the sidelines while holding the information.
Kōshū didn't need to test today, but he still came to Field B to see how other pitchers were doing. He took a step back and accidentally bumped into a panting person behind him.
"Ah, I'm sorry... Dogeza-kun?" Kōshū quickly swallowed the voice behind him. "Sawamura-kun."
"You were talking about Dogezaza just now, right?! Mount Everest-kun!" When Sawamura Eijun just ran over, he was stared at hard by Kataoka Manager. He panicked and ran faster.
'What the hell is Mount Everest? Maybe you know that I am Chinese? 'Kōshū trusts his intuition when interacting with people. He looked at the blushing young man and felt an inexplicable desire to get close to him, so he decisively showed his kindness. "I am Kōshū. Did senior Kuramochi tell you that? I am Chinese."
"Ah? You're actually Chinese?!" This man looked extremely flustered, as if he had just done something to damage international friendship. He said in broken Chinese that he didn't know where he learned, "You... Okay..."
"No need... weren't we just communicating in Japanese?" So is Everest just a coincidence? Of course, when Kōshū gets to know Sawamura Eijun better, you will be even more surprised that he actually knows the full name of the world's highest peak.
"Oh, that's right, hahahaha."
There were seven or eight people who wanted to be pitchers. Kōshū glanced over and some people began to swallow secretly. Everyone was secretly watching him.
"Kōshū, it's been a month since the last test. Let's take a look at your numerical changes this month." The assistant coach feels that with such a tall wall like Kōshū, those who are not suitable to be pitchers will not struggle and can move to other positions as soon as possible.
"Okay." Kōshū of course also wants to see how he fares among the rookie pitchers.
In the next explosive power test, the pitchers who started together were directly left behind.
'What's wrong with that guy? He can accelerate so fast in an instant. ' In this test, pitchers from the Little League team ranked first. In the impression, pitchers have to throw for a long time, so endurance is very important. But in fact, explosive power is more important than endurance. To put it bluntly, the job of a pitcher is to increase the speed of a ball from 0 to more than 120 kilometers in less than two seconds. Therefore, compared to long-distance running, pitchers in clubs practice sprinting most often.
And this happens to be the talent of Kōshū.
"Next is a test of physical strength, grip strength." In this item, although Kōshū pinched a very high number, a young boy who followed him also pinched a similar number.
'I've never seen this guy in Tokyo. Did he come here to study baseball? ' That was a person who looked a little distant. Kōshū didn't go up to talk to him. Instead, he looked at the number Sawamura: "Sawamura-kun, this number can probably only be ranked in the middle."
Sawamura, who had just shouted, "Let you see the palm power passed down by the Sawamura family," suddenly became silent, and everyone around who heard it could not help laughing.
Instead, Tojo, who had met once during the competition, came over and said, "That's awesome, Kōshū." He had been thinking about how to talk to Kōshū since yesterday.
"Toujou-kun, your grip strength is also good. You are indeed Matsukata Little League's trump card." Kōshū was polite.
"Hey, Kōshū, have you heard of me?" Tojo's whole mind was still stuck in his junior high school days, thinking that Kōshū had heard that he was Matsukata Little League's ace pitcher before.
This made Kōshū couldn't help but joke, "Didn't you say that yesterday?" Actually, no.
Tojo's face turned red, and he realized that he had just forgotten that he had reached high school, and all his grades in junior high school had been wiped out.
"The next step is a test of arm and shoulder strength and a test of pitching distance." The assistant coach stood at home plate and pointed at Center Field Wall, "Throws that hit the wall will count as full points. Throws into the field will be converted into points based on the first landing point of the ball. Each player will have three chances and the highest value will be taken."
The assistant coach glanced left and right. The pitchers who were originally scattered in twos and threes, for some reason, gathered into a group, with Kōshū as the core. "Then Mr. Kōshū, you should come first."
Kōshū rotated his right arm. He had just passed and received the ball, and his shoulders were already active. At home plate, he took a slight step forward and threw his right arm forward suddenly. The sound of the booming arm echoed in everyone's ears. The ball flew into the sky and did not fall for a long time. It was not until the end of the court that the momentum slowed down slightly and finally landed on the court.
"109 meters!" came the ruling voice from afar.
Some people in the queue waiting for the test have begun to waver.
"No, he's still in the first grade."
Kōshū seems to be a little troubled, not because of his poor grades. This is all the fault of Miyuki. He keeps talking about Narumiya Mei in his ears all day long, as if to instill in him the idea of competing with Narumiya Mei. 'When Narumiya Mei was in the first grade, his long-range shot could reach 113 meters. ' In the end, I listened to it and couldn't help but start comparing.
"Second time!"
This time Kōshū took two more steps, "110 meters!"
"Come again!"
"112 meters!"
"Tsk." Kōshū was stunned after the test. Why was it so small? "When Narumiya Mei was a freshman, the ball speed exceeded 140 kilometers." ' This Miyuki, it's best to get a strong catcher this year and kick him out.
"Hahahahaha, don't be discouraged, Kōshū." The pitcher came from the country and patted Kōshū's arm, "Take your time."
The next Tojo Hideaki threw a best result of 98 meters, and Sawamura Eijun who just comforted Kōshū——
"Come on, watch the first shot of my high school career, the first shot in Sawamura Legend's history!" This loud voice attracted almost all the attention of B Field.
But as Sawamura threw out his first ball in a serious manner, everyone who had been quiet for two seconds burst into laughter. "That pitcher was testing a long shot, and he actually threw a Curveball!! Hahahaha."
"Hahaha, isn't this the guy who got off the show on the first day? Is he going to debut as a comedian in Seido?"
"Pfft——" Even Kōshū laughed. Did this guy do it on purpose? No, definitely not, so he still can't throw a straight ball? Man, what terrible conditions was he pitching in.
At this time, the dedicated coach sent the test result. "89 meters."
The assistant coach was the one who rarely remained calm amidst the laughter. "Kōshū, teach him how to throw a straight ball. The next one is Furuya Satoru."
"So, how do you hold the ball?" Kōshū pulled the blushing Sawamura aside.
"What... how do you hold it? This is how you hold it." Sawamura, who was a little confused, grabbed the ball with his five fingers and showed it to Kōshū.
"... Really, did you really join Seido through Specially Recruited Student?" Kōshū even doubted the value of his status as a sports promotion student.
And just when the two of them were struggling with how to hold it, something suddenly fell silent behind them, "120 meters!!"
Kōshū turned his head and looked into a pair of eyes that were shining with fire, 'Hostile? ' This was his first reaction, and then 'This guy's first shot was 120 meters? Farther than me and Narumiya Mei! '
"Oh, this guy is very capable... Hey, why did he come here?"
Not to mention Sawamura, Kōshū also looked confused.
"I won't give up Senior Miyuki to you!" After saying this, the man walked aside. Kōshū muttered, "I'll give it to you! It's so baffling!" What, the 'bad love' attracted by the catcher. He also wanted to complain to Sawamura, who he had just met, about how unreliable Miyuki was in Furuya Satoru's fancy, when he heard laughter coming from beside him.
"Hahaha, okay, I won't give up Senior Miyuki, let's have a fair competition!"
"Huh???" Kōshū had a question mark on his face, so the friend he just chose was also the 'bad love' of that guy Miyuki??? Inexplicably caught up in the "Miyuki battle", he really immediately! immediately! Just want to quit.
Ignoring the turmoil on the pitcher's side, Lang Zhi, who tested the infield defense, was also uncomfortable.
After several waves of screening, there are not many people left, and the frequency of rotation has also accelerated.
"Hi -" Lang Zhi just took a few breaths, and the seat in front became empty. He raised his hand to ask for the ball.
The coach hit a very fast and tricky Bouncing Ball. He landed for the first time near Pitcher's Mound and bounced irregularly in another direction. Even the coach himself wanted to applaud himself. Lang Zhi fell to the ground and failed to catch the ball.
"Out! Get up and go to the sidelines!" Lang Zhi didn't quite know the people on the sidelines yet. He lowered his head and walked to the side. A child with pink hair looked at him for a while, seeming to hesitate whether he should step forward.
"Hey -" The next person stepped forward and finally eliminated one of them. If this continues, the remaining ones will really be unable to hold on.
Another ground ball came over, and the man quickly put his gloves away and passed it to the basket set up at first base, but this time he got anxious and the ball fell to Foul Ball while grazing the sloping mouth of the basket.
"Out!" In a blink of an eye, another person was out.
"Ah, my name is Kominato Haruichi." The child finally plucked up the courage. He looked at the unwilling look on Lang Zhi's face and thought that he and Lang Zhi were the same type of person.
"Ah, Sasaki Rōchi."
"Sasaki-kun is so good, I kept going until the last round." The two exchanged a few polite words, and the final results were announced. In terms of ground ball receiving and passing accuracy, Lang Zhi was probably at the end of the upper reaches.
Next, there is a base running test, where you sprint toward the base with all your strength. When the coach calls out "Slide," you must react immediately and smoothly without sliding out of the base.
The coaches were not able to fully recognize everyone, so they had to conduct the test in the order of the list on the booklet. The two friends who had just chatted for a few words immediately separated.
When it was Lang Zhi's turn, he demonstrated his hitting style, and the coach gave the order "GO!" He immediately dropped the bat and rushed to first base. The coach may not give the instruction until he rushed to first base, second base, or third base. Before, he had to keep sprinting with all his strength. When Lang Zhi reached the middle of the first and second bases, he heard "Slide!" behind him and immediately slid the base without hesitation. His speed did not slow down at all. After standing up with the momentum, he stopped right on the base bag.
'It's very beautiful. ' Anyone with a discerning eye can see the difference between him and the people in front of him.
'Damn it, he must be another powerful Little League player, his basic skills are too solid. '
The assistant coach nodded, and then shouted the command, "Steal third base!"
Before he had time to dust himself off, Lang Zhi immediately rushed to third base and completed another beautiful base slide.
"Finally, hit home plate!"
It is very tiring after such a lap, but it is the next lap immediately. How you perform when you have no physical strength is also a key item to be tested.
"Sasaki, GO!"
Ignoring Lang Zhi, who was already exhausted, he returned to the pitcher's side. At this time, many pitchers were a little unstable. Anyone who saw a pitch approaching 150 kilometers would not remain calm.
'Haha, that guy, after shooting such a scary ball, glared at me again. 'Kōshū, who originally scorned the declaration of war, suddenly realized the power of the other party and became serious.
"Although the ball speed is fast, they are all high and bad balls." Kōshū whispered to Sawamura bb.
"Ah! Yes, your shots are all bad!" Sawamura was stunned for two seconds, then woke up and immediately jumped out to accuse Furuya Satoru.
Originally, he thought that Sawamura would be choked back, but who knew that Furuya Satoru seemed to be poked in his weak spot, and his arrogance suddenly became less impressive.
'What's going on? After speaking so wildly, does he turn out to be a simple and arrogant guy? '
Tojo Hideaki, who was watching everything, felt that the three people had become a circle that was difficult for others to enter, so he temporarily stopped thinking about talking about pitching with Kōshū.
As a result, after this pitching practice, Kōshū, who originally wanted to compete for the limelight among the freshmen pitchers, was actually stolen by others in the end. This can be regarded as a blow to him. High school and junior high school are completely different. No matter how many achievements have been made in junior high school, they will all be wiped out here. What everyone sees is pure strength, so guard against arrogance and impatience and move forward.
Thank you for your support~
The second update is here~
Then tomorrow it will be estimated that the first update will be at 12 noon, and the second update will be at 5 pm~