When Fujita swung early at a low inside pitch, Su Qing realized that Fujita had most likely seen through Harada's pitch selection. Fortunately, although he had swung early, it was a strained swing. Su Qing felt that Fujita hadn't been able to put all his strength into the bat.
Besides, Su Qing knew his own pitches inside out. There was no way a casual swing like that could hit this one out. A Major League batter would definitely have been in trouble, but this was just a kid.
Judging from the angle of the swing and the batter's point of force, the ball would likely head toward center. That was why he had called Carlos and Shirakawa over.
He didn't know how much strength Fujita could generate, but this ball would undoubtedly be a Fly Ball. The only question was how far it would travel. If that kind of swing could still send it out, Su Qing would admit his bad luck.
But if Shin Kō really had a batter this strong, why wasn't he batting fourth?
The ball was hit, and Inashiro's defense, which had been watching the show, sprang into action all at once. The first baseman quickly ran to the bag, bracing one foot against it and stepping forward with the other as he waited for the throw.
And just as Su Qing had predicted, the ball flew toward center. The most focused and quickest to move were undoubtedly shortstop Shirakawa, second baseman Hirai, and center fielder Carlos.
The ball flew extremely high, and Carlos had to face the sun, which made his vision blur a little. Still, he quickly ran to where he judged the ball would land, spread his arms, and waved them to signal the others not to come closer. He would take this one. In the end, Carlos caught the ball cleanly.
The ball had been descending between second base and center field. If it had flown a little faster or lower, it might have dropped in. Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
After seeing the ball caught, Fujita returned from first base to home plate and picked up the bat he had tossed aside. At the same time, he shook out his hands.
Damn it, what kind of monster was this?! Not only was his velocity fast, his Pitching Power was heavy too. Fujita couldn't put any force behind that ball at all. He could only squeeze it out with all his might. His original plan to hit it toward left field, since the left fielder was playing shallow, had been completely overturned the instant he made contact.
Forget pulling the ball. He should have thanked the heavens just for managing to put it in play.
As Fujita walked out of the batter's box, he gave Su Qing a complicated look. Even though he had guessed the pitch selection, he had still been utterly crushed. Did pitchers like this really exist?!
After Fujita left the field, Harada called for time and headed up to the mound again. It was another infield conference, but this time Carlos joined them as well.
"Sorry, this was my fault. They guessed my pitch selection, which was why the ball got hit." Harada's eyes were full of apology.
He truly had never partnered with a pitcher as worry-free as Su Qing. Other than surprising him during the second at-bat of the previous inning, Su Qing had never shaken his head. Whatever Harada called, he threw, and he hit exactly the spot Harada wanted every time. For a while, Harada had even wondered whether Su Qing was a Pitching Machine.
But was Su Qing really that satisfied with Harada's pitch selection? Not at all. Su Qing wasn't particularly happy with Harada constantly calling for low pitches.
Still, he had long been used to following the catcher's calls. In his previous life, Su Qing rarely shook his head either. Come on, could he really understand a batter's hitting habits better than the catcher?
Besides, most of the catchers Su Qing had partnered with were experienced veterans. If he dared to show his teeth, he would definitely get taught a lesson off the field.
By the end of his professional career, the catchers he partnered with were mostly rising youngsters. But bullying juniors was far too boring. He was a renowned ace, after all. How embarrassing would it be if word got out that he bullied younger players?
That didn't mean Su Qing never shook his head. He simply wasn't used to doing it. There was another reason he had not shaken his head even once in this game: they simply couldn't hit his pitches. Their swing speed couldn't keep up.
If they swung hard and missed, it was a strike. If they didn't swing, it was still a strike. In that case, it made no difference where in the strike zone he threw. Su Qing was happy to act as a Pitching Machine and watch the kids flounder as they tried to catch up with his velocity.
And Fujita had just placed another fact before Su Qing: even if they could catch up to his velocity and movement, they still couldn't hit him well. Sigh, the game had suddenly become so dull.
Su Qing suddenly thought of a song: How lonely, how very lonely, it is to be invincible.
But for now, he should comfort his partner, who was feeling terribly guilty over having his pitch selection guessed.
"It's fine. Everyone's here. Even if the ball gets hit, with everyone's defense, the batter still won't get on base."
"Yeah, Captain! You've still got us!"
After Su Qing started it off, everyone offered their encouragement.
"Everyone... thank you!"
"Captain, just call the pitches with confidence. Su Qing's pitches aren't easy to hit. I saw Shin Kō's batter's expression crystal clear just now. He did hit it, but you should've seen his face the instant he touched the ball. It was as vicious as it gets."
First baseman Yamaoka described what he had seen from Shin Kō's batter, though naturally with a little artistic embellishment. He hoped Harada would not put so much pressure on himself.
Still, something felt strange. In the past, they had always gathered around to comfort Narumiya Mei or the other pitchers. Why had it now become them and Su Qing comforting Harada together? It was just too weird.
"I'll work harder on my pitch selection in the next at-bat, Su Qing-jun."
"Yes."
"If you aren't happy with my pitch selection, you can shake your head. Don't refuse just because you think I'm scary."
Harada had seen pitchers who never shook their heads before, but those pitchers lacked confidence in their ability and didn't dare to do so.
But Su Qing's pitching was so formidable, and he didn't seem especially introverted either. The only reason he wasn't shaking his head was definitely because Harada was the team captain and a third-year, while Su Qing had just joined the team. And after Harada had snapped at him during the last timeout, Su Qing probably didn't dare shake his head anymore. That wouldn't do.
Harada was more than willing to take a pitcher's suggestions. Two people thinking together would certainly consider more than one person alone. And he wanted Su Qing to give him feedback—for example, what kinds of pitches he disliked throwing, or which locations he preferred. Harada wanted to know all of that.
After all, every pitcher had their own strengths. Take Narumiya Mei. His Fastball was his lifeline, but his breaking pitches formed another lifeline. Used together, they were practically unstoppable. However, Narumiya Mei didn't particularly like throwing Curveballs, even though his Curveball was quite good. And whenever he threw a tantrum, he would toss some very hittable Fastballs.
Right now, Harada desperately wanted to know Su Qing's preferences during games, or which locations made his pitches more powerful. For example, some pitchers simply threw better on the outside than the inside, making those pitches harder to hit.
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