Competition Atmosphere

Game Atmosphere

Edogawa Central Little League's pitcher threw another slider near the knee for a ball, fooling the batter into swinging, followed by a fastball high and inside. Marugame Little League's fourth batter swung and missed for a strikeout, ending the top of the third inning.

Kōshū took this break to ask about Edogawa Central Little League.

"This team is really strong. In East Tokyo, they're second only to Marugame Little League. I hear scouts from all the top high schools come to check them out every year."

"What about us?"

"Our team usually staggers their visits to different times so as not to interfere with practice."

"No wonder I never saw them."

"But what scouts watch most is games. Only real competition shows true ability. Coach Ninomiya lets pitchers participate in live practice because a pitch you can't throw in a game is useless no matter how well you throw it in the bullpen." Hayakawa added.

"Brutal..." Kōshū adjusted the booklet in his hands.

As the group discussed, the fourth inning began.

Marugame's ace stood on the pitcher's mound, looking almost frail. Right from the start, he gave up two consecutive hits. Against the third batter, he threw two straight balls.

"Not good. The pitcher keeps shaking off the catcher." Hayakawa frowned.

"He's probably lost confidence in his pitches after getting hit so many times." Shibasaki sympathized.

The catcher called time to give the pitcher a moment. He kept glancing at the runner on first, as if distracted, then threw another pitch.

"Another ball."

"The catcher's glove was set for the outside low corner. He just threw two high ones that got hit. It depends on whether the pitcher can hit the low zone."

The pitcher wiped sweat from his forehead and threw. This time he got it down, but—thwack—

The batter made contact, but poorly. The ball dropped in front of the shortstop. There was a chance for a double play, but the ball seemed hot. The shortstop fumbled it, picked it up again, but the runner on first had already reached second. The shortstop adjusted quickly to throw to first, but it was too late.

The crowd erupted in noise. At the center of the commotion, the pitcher glanced at the bases loaded behind him, then quickly turned to face home plate. He kicked up the dirt on the mound and smoothed it down, composing himself.

"No outs, bases loaded."

In this situation, giving up a few runs wouldn't be surprising. The next batter stepped up and immediately squared to bunt.

"Ah, this is such a pain." Kōshū muttered.

Hayakawa explained beside him: "Actually, bunts can be real or fake. In a situation like this, it's a real squeeze bunt. So the pitcher needs to be aggressive and ready to charge forward. Once you join live practice, you'll train for pitcher fielding."

Sure enough, the next pitch was bunted. Every infielder moved. The catcher screamed on the field. The ball was thrown to second, then to first. During that time, runners from third and second scored. Marugame Little League got two outs. After the bunt cleared the bases, the pitcher seemed to recover some composure. The next batter quickly popped out to the infield.

Then it was Edogawa Central Little League's turn to field. As things stood, even though Marugame Little League had three more innings to bat, the gap in strength was too wide. They'd almost certainly lost.

The game played out just as Kōshū thought. In the latter half, Marugame made frequent errors. The tension on the field was palpable even from the stands.

If I were in a game this far behind, what would I do?

"If I were the coach, I'd probably swap out the entire infield right now." Kōshū thought for a moment, then answered as Hayakawa looked at him in surprise. "The shortstop has already made two errors, and the second baseman botched one double-play. It looks like only two of the four infielders messed up, but the whole infield is stuck in a quagmire of anxiety. You'd have to replace all of them to salvage the atmosphere on the field."

Hayakawa was startled by Kōshū's boldness, but after thinking it over, he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, slick infield plays can calm a pitcher's nerves. But errors and impatience in the infield only pile more pressure on the pitcher."

But Marugame Little League's choice was: "Player substitution. Pitcher number 1, Shibata, is being demoted from the mound. Replacing Shibata is number 11, Yamaguchi."

"Probably less risky to just swap pitchers." Shibasaki recorded the substitution in the scorebook. "Kō-kun, don't zone out too much. Make sure to fill in the scorebook—Coach will check it."

"Ah—I forgot to fill it in this whole inning."

The air raid siren sounded again. The first game was over. Edogawa Central Little League had indeed won, 8–0 in a blowout. The next game started at 1:00. Everyone pulled out their boxed lunches.

"Takano, where were you sleeping earlier?" Lang Zhi sat behind Kōshū, his lunch already devoured.

"How did you know I was sleeping?"

"Isn't it obvious? The red mark on your face hasn't faded."

"Huh? Is it that obvious?" Everyone nodded, adding fuel to the fire: "Coach probably saw it too."

Sneaking off to sleep somewhere else during the opening ceremony because of the heat, while two groups of people frantically searched for me, enjoying my nap in utter leisure... I guess this is my image now...

Kōshū bit into his meat in despair.

"So, where were you sleeping?" Lang Zhi leaned in sneakily.

"It's so hot, don't get so close." Kōshū looked at Lang Zhi, and a mischievous idea came to him. "If you take down all the pictures in your room, I'll tell you."

"Huh? Why? Why?"

"And also, swap out those thick curtains in your room. Aren't you hot?"

"What's wrong with my room's decor now?!" Having only just overcome his trauma and put the 2D anime girls back on his walls, Lang Zhi strongly protested Kōshū's demands.

"Don't ask why. It just doesn't look comfortable." Kōshū grew more self-righteous as he spoke. "This is my right as your older brother."

"Suddenly calling yourself my brother is disgusting. You have no right to decide how my room is decorated!" Lang Zhi bristled.

"Oh, is that so? Looks like I need to have a chat with Mom about a minor's mental health and views on the opposite sex."

"Ahhh, you bastard Takano! If you badmouth me to Mom, I'll..." He suddenly choked. Academically, Kōshū was at the top. In school relationships, Kōshū was too invisible to dig up dirt on. In training, compared to Kōshū's disciplined morning runs, Lang Zhi had no ground to stand on.

So he choked, sat back down, and stared at the smugly bobbing back of Kōshū's head, vowing to find his weak spot.

Everyone around felt a pang of regret when Sasaki quieted down. So, where exactly was Kōshū sleeping? Judging by the red mark covering half his face, it seemed like a nice, cool spot.

The two afternoon games featured four teams with lower rankings. The only thing that caught Kōshū's eye was the catcher from Seichi Little League. They were on defense first, and during warm-ups, the catcher received a pitch in the dirt from the pitcher, quickly fired it to second base to cut down a potential base stealer. The whole process was noticeably faster than the teams that had played before.

"That catcher's throws are visibly quicker," Kōshū remarked.

Hayakawa Aki nodded in agreement. "But in a real game, just having a fast catcher isn't enough. If the runner takes off early, the ball's still with the pitcher. The pitcher has to throw to the catcher first, and then the catcher can fire to second for the tag. So if the pitcher isn't fast enough, or the pitcher-catcher coordination isn't up to par, the steal still succeeds."

Kōshū nodded in understanding.

"Speaking of Seichi Little League—does that name mean it's a church thing?"

"Yeah, it's a little league under a Christian school. Actually, a lot of church-affiliated schools in Japan have baseball teams. In Tenri City, Nara, there's Tenri High School and Tenri University. That 'Tenri' comes from the Tenri Church."

Since they knew Kōshū was Chinese, his teammates often took the extra step of explaining Japanese cultural basics to him.

The Seichi Little League catcher was also their cleanup hitter. With the game tied 1–1, he launched a home run to left field, making it 2–1.

"A home run," Kōshū said. He hadn't watched many live games and had never seen someone hit a home run in person before.

For some reason, Hayakawa patted his shoulder with a hint of exasperation. "Yeah, yeah, it's a home run."

Kōshū shut his mouth. The game quickly moved to the fifth inning. Seichi Little League's first batter bunted on the very first pitch, catching the defense off guard. The pitcher and third baseman nearly collided over the ball, and the batter reached base safely.

The second batter squared to bunt twice, putting the infield on high alert. They crept forward two steps without realizing it, only for the batter to drop a hit behind the shortstop. If the shortstop had stayed in position, he could have lunged for it.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Seichi Little League used their remaining outs wisely to score another run.

Hayakawa Aki spoke with weight beside him. "Kō-kun, see? This is how you torment a pitcher. A pitcher gets batters out by keeping them guessing. But when batters keep showing bunt, it puts the pitcher under the same guessing pressure."

Kōshū obediently nodded, acknowledging that beyond pitching itself, he needed to learn various pitching tactics.

In the end, Seichi Little League won 3–1. Kōshū nervously handed his filled-out scorebook to the coach for inspection. Coach Ninomiya noticed that beyond the scores, Kōshū had also jotted down some of his own thoughts, with notes marked "Hayakawa" likely representing what Hayakawa Aki had taught him during the game. He placed the weighty scorebook back in Kōshū's hands.

"Don't let this happen again. Can't the game get you excited?" Coach Ninomiya frowned, recalling how Kōshū had snuck off during the last practice match too, unable to take practice games or observation seriously.

"It was an accident. I promise I'll record every game properly from now on."

"Is that so? Then since you've promised, the assistant coach will check your post-game notes from now on. Do you have any objections to this arrangement?"

Kōshū's scalp went numb. "No!"