First Complete Game Shutout

At the top of the second inning, Kōshū returned to the Pitcher's Mound, which he had made a complete mess of in the first. Now it bore other people's marks as well, and for some reason, that made him a little uncomfortable. Only after roughly sweeping the dirt flat did that feeling fade.

What's wrong with me? Is it because the last inning ended too quickly? Kōshū silently mocked the strange possessiveness that had suddenly surfaced.

Cheers from the Dugout echoed across the empty field.

Were they cheering last inning too? Without even thinking about it, Kōshū knew everyone must have been cheering for him then as well. But the adrenaline had blocked out every sound. After one inning's adjustment, the hormones had receded slightly, and beneath the sugar coating, the true taste of competition began to emerge.

"Great pitching!" Hayakawa Aki threw the ball back, hoping to bring the slightly distracted Kōshū back into the game.

Kōshū spun the baseball twice and stopped overthinking.

In the second inning, the first batter he faced was Yoshinaga Little League's cleanup hitter and captain.

Hayakawa Aki, also a captain, crouched behind Home Plate and observed the cleanup hitter. In this year's Kanto Tournament round of thirty-two, he went three for four with one RBI. He seemed to have batted fifth in that game. His specialty, if I remember right, was...

Hayakawa Aki's thoughts did not delay his Signals. He quickly called for an inside ball.

What's with this batter? There was absolutely no need to throw a ball here. Kōshū knew Senior Nozawa's advice was right, but standing on the Pitcher's Mound for real, he could not suppress the commentary in his head.

The inside ball shot past Yoshinaga's cleanup hitter's chest, and he hurriedly straightened up to avoid it.

The second pitch was a borderline Outside Low Corner ball. The home plate umpire had called it a strike last time, so they would test the umpire's Strike Zone again.

"Strike!" He called it again. Lucky! It seemed the home plate umpire's Strike Zone was quite wide today.

So for the third pitch, another ball at chest level on the inside. Don't hit him, Hayakawa Aki lightly traced a circle with his glove. Kōshū's pitching had always been accurate, but his expression had been a little stiff since the inning began, and Hayakawa feared he might suddenly fall apart.

Kōshū knew his condition was a little off, but he could still rely entirely on instinct to throw the ball into that glove.

Crack— The cleanup hitter turned to look at the glove and understood that the catcher had been setting him up. So he knew he was good at hitting Inside Corner Balls. Then throw an inside strike if you had the guts.

As he wished, the next pitch came low and inside.

Yoshinaga's cleanup hitter's eyes lit up. They all knew Kinoshita Little League's pitcher had no Changeup. Two consecutive balls at chest level inside had already made him very familiar with this pitcher's fastball path. All he had to do now was swing.

He swung the bat with all his might, but just as the ball neared Home Plate, Yoshinaga's cleanup hitter sensed something was wrong.

What? It's dropping a little? It shouldn't have dropped that much. It was too late to adjust his stance. The baseball, not struck squarely, died in the infield, and the cleanup hitter was out in an instant.

Not wanting to disrupt the fifth batter's at-bat, Yoshinaga's cleanup hitter did not pass any information to the teammate he brushed past. But once he reached the Dugout, he quickly told the coach what he had noticed.

"A dropping fastball?" The coach rubbed his graying hair, leaving a tuft sticking up beside his ear. "Brother Ninomiya, you sly old fox. That must be that low-spin fastball, the pitch he spent a year researching before successfully putting it into practice. Don't tell me even the pitchers on his team have learned it now? Next time, I'll pour him a few more drinks and make him reveal the secret of how he teaches it."

"Um... Coach..." The cleanup hitter's questioning tone brought the coach back to himself.

"Oh, even if this pitcher's fastball comes in two or three varieties, they're still fastballs in the end. He can only make them hard to hit through movement before Home Plate. From now on, stand a little farther forward and swing aggressively to put pressure on their pitcher!"

"Yes—"

Amid the chorus of agreement, the cleanup hitter heard the voice of the fifth batter behind him.

"Huh? Why are you here too?"

"..."

"He popped up in the infield." One of the troublemakers in the Dugout answered for the speechless fifth batter.

"The home plate umpire's Strike Zone seems especially wide today." Ignoring everyone's laughter, the fifth batter reported the information he had gathered.

The gray-haired old man rubbed his messy hair again. "This pitcher has an unexpectedly high Deviation Value. Though it hasn't even been two innings, it looks like nearly all his balls were called by the catcher. Once someone gets On Base, watch carefully. And Makino—"

Makino, the catcher, received his assignment for the bottom of the second. The coach wanted him to guide his pitcher into throwing borderline pitches as well, to see just how wide the home plate umpire's Strike Zone was today.

"If nothing unexpected happens, this pitcher will be Kinoshita Little League's ace next year. Make sure you get a good look at his pitching!"

While Yoshinaga Little League's Dugout buzzed with activity, the top of the second ended. Yoshinaga's sixth batter swung through an inside ball for a Strikeout and quickly returned to the Dugout with his bat.

Hayakawa Aki removed his mask and gently asked about Kōshū's condition. "You pitched very well. Every ball went where I set my glove. Is the weather too hot? Make sure you drink more water between innings."

"Okay—okay—" Kōshū was scared by Hayakawa Aki's nanny-like manner and hurried back to the Dugout.

Lang Zhi lagged two steps behind and covered his mouth with his glove as he said, "It's fine. I'm close to him, so I'll keep an eye on him from behind."

Hayakawa Aki nodded. Having already reached the Dugout entrance, he said nothing and merely patted Lang Zhi on the back.

With the cup a teammate had handed him in his mouth, Kōshū understood his own condition. I probably need an official game to truly adapt. But Hayakawa is way too sharp. I pitched great, yet he still used that tone to reassure me...

In the bottom of the second, Hayakawa Aki, who had just taken off his gear, came up as Kinoshita Little League's cleanup hitter. After Kinoshita Yanagi's simple adjustments, he could now hit Outside Corner Balls with some real form.

The first pitch was Outside Low Corner, but the home plate umpire did not call it. Beneath his mask, Makino's expression turned serious. Just as the coach had said, the umpire's Strike Zone had been influenced by the opposing pitcher.

The second pitch was again low and outside, but slightly higher. Hayakawa Aki latched onto the somewhat elevated Outside Corner Ball and sent it down the right-field line. As the second baseman mishandled the high throw, he barely made it to second base.

Kinoshita Little League's Dugout erupted in cheers. Kōshū joined everyone at the railing and shouted his approval, only to receive a round of sidelong looks. Finally, Lang Zhi tugged at him. "Takano, you're the sixth batter. Go get ready."

Leaving aside the commotion Kōshū caused in the Dugout, Katsumura, the fifth batter and right fielder, was fired up by the cleanup hitter's hit and swung at the first pitch. The ball landed near the center-field wall. Hayakawa Aki raced home from second to score, while Katsumura ran a few steps toward second, saw that center field had already picked up the ball, and stopped before retreating to first.

Then it was the sixth batter, pitcher Kōshū's turn. With his large frame standing in the Batter's Box, he was especially conspicuous from the catcher's perspective. This pitcher has to be over six feet tall. So tall. Yoshinaga's catcher Makino had no batting data on him, so he first called for an Outside Low Corner pitch to test him.

Unfortunately, now that his new batting stance had stabilized, Outside Low Corner was Kōshū's favorite pitch to hit. To raise his launch angle against low outside pitches, Kinoshita Yanagi and Kōshū had spent half a month studying it. This Outside Low Corner pitch was practically being spoon-fed to him.

"Perfect~" Kōshū drew out the last word as he scooped up the ball. Before everyone's eyes, the baseball flew powerfully toward right field and slammed straight into the netting.

"Home Run!" Kōshū slowed as he rounded the bases.

Why do catchers always test unfamiliar batters with an Outside Low Corner pitch? That's so cliché. Kōshū silently complained as he returned to the Dugout and was thoroughly ruffled by his teammates.

Yoshinaga's pitcher lowered his head and tidied the Pitcher's Mound, but when he faced the next batter, he issued a four-pitch walk.

In Yoshinaga's Dugout, the coach's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he shook his head. Sigh, these middle schoolers are still too immature.

By the bottom of the second, Kinoshita Little League had scored four runs, and the batting order had turned over to the second batter.

Once the third inning began, Kōshū gradually adapted to the noise of the ballpark and the pressure that the game only began when he released the pitch. Yoshinaga Little League's batters struggled as they went Three Up, Three Down again and again.

In the end, Kinoshita Little League won that Saturday afternoon practice game, and Kōshū welcomed the first Complete Game Shutout of his life.

As the coaches shook hands, Yoshinaga Little League's coach habitually complained to Coach Ninomiya. "You old man, you're ridiculously lucky. Someone hands you chopsticks when you eat, and a spoon when you drink soup. Why does your team have a pitcher like this?"

"Hahaha, your pitcher isn't bad either, aside from his mentality."

"Only at times like this do I realize these kids are still just middle schoolers. You can't demand too much from their mentality. I only hope they don't lose confidence."

After arranging a drinking session for Sunday, Yoshinaga's coach left with his players.

Coach Ninomiya also announced some welcome news to his own team. "Since everyone has been rather tired lately, we'll continue training tomorrow morning, but you'll have the afternoon off. You can go home early and rest."

When Kōshū brought the news home, Mr. Sasaki was delighted. Ever since the two children had started playing baseball together in Little League, the whole family had rarely had time to enjoy a weekend together.

"There's an Autumn Tournament game tomorrow afternoon. Let's go watch it together, then have dinner at that restaurant in front of the station."

"Autumn Tournament?" Kōshū's first thought was of the Kanto Tournament that had just ended.

"It's the high school Autumn Tournament. My high school alma mater made it into the semifinals this time."

Mr. Sasaki's high school alma mater? Kōshū only remembered that Mr. Sasaki had played baseball for a long time, but could someone who played baseball still get into medical school?

"Which high school was Mr. Sasaki's alma mater?"

"Seido High School in Kokubunji City. To be honest, I was only a casual club member throughout my three years of high school. Later, I got busy with my studies and simply quit the club. I haven't taken part in any OB activities for a long time. But Seido has finally made it to the semifinals again after so long, so I have to go watch."

Hahaha, I found the motivation to get Kōshū into Seido. Hehe, forgive an author's obsession with writing fanfiction.

Also, I'm still gathering a huge amount of material. If anyone has useful resources or analysis videos, feel free to leave them in the comments so I can study them.