"That catcher was pretty good!" the third batter on second base muttered when he heard Harada shout.
"He guessed right, but our Cleanup Hitter isn't someone to be taken lightly. The old man would rather disrupt our overall coordination than let him become the Cleanup Hitter. He's a real monster," he thought.
"This catcher is the cautious type. When facing an unfamiliar batter, he'll use outside pitches to test him."
Recalling what the two seniors who had scored said when they returned to the bench, Sendou slowly stepped into the left-handed batter's box.
"Play!"
Whoosh!
Smack!
"Play!" (Sometimes used to indicate a strike.)
"He didn't move at all? That makes it harder to call pitches. Keep going with the next one, but shift it slightly!" The opposing side was clearly concerned about Sendou's reaction to that pitch.
Even without a coach's reminder, he knew that any player this team was willing to promote at the expense of its coordination would not be an easy opponent.
The Wildcats were famous nationwide for their teamwork, so his batting...
At that thought, Harada, who had just been stunned by the Wildcats' coordination, shuddered.
"No, I absolutely can't back down!" Regaining his focus, Harada slapped his glove against his left hand and signaled that he was ready.
Whoosh!
Crack!
"What? That was a ball!" But what happened next made his face change drastically.
"Fair!" the distant umpire called as the ball hit the ground.
"Nice! A long hit to left field!" The Wildcats' bench erupted.
"Run, run! Get to third! They won't make it in time!"
It was incredibly rare for elementary school players to have the arm strength to throw directly from the outfield.
And Sendou was frighteningly fast in an actual game. On top of that, the hit had come suddenly and landed in an excellent spot.
After landing in the outfield, the ball bounced directly out of bounds. Unlike the infield, a ball that landed fair in the outfield would not be ruled foul just because it later bounced out.
Even an outfielder capable of making a direct throw could only watch him reach base. No matter what, though, the ball definitely would not get back to home plate. It was an Inside-the-Park Home Run.
"He hit an outside ball for a three-base hit to left field? What kind of joke is that? And the first half of his swing was so slow to get started.
Now it's no outs with a runner on third. The fifth batter... wasn't he the Wildcats' Cleanup Hitter last year?" Harada was truly confused this time. He had never expected the other side to swing at such an obviously off-target ball, much less forcibly pull it toward right field, the same direction as the left-handed batter's box.
"That bastard Sendou still can't tell balls from strikes at all." Someone below accidentally exposed Sendou's weakness.
"Idiot, who just blurts out intelligence like that?!" Sure enough, Sendou muttered a complaint under his breath as well.
Their ace did not throw very fast. In an elementary league where pitchers mostly threw straight fastballs, pitchers like that were more easily hit by strong batters.
But swinging at such an obvious ball was indeed rare. Even Harada Masakatsu's mindset began to waver this time.
Although elementary league games were usually slugfests and relied on overall defense, the Wildcats' teamwork put far too much pressure on the defense.
Even among elite schools, the overall individual ability of elementary school players was not that different, aside from a select few. At times like this, the gap in team coordination began to show.
"Time!" Coach Yasuda came out and called for a timeout. The entire team gathered on the Pitcher's Mound.
"What's wrong? Already can't handle it?" Coach Yasuda said, then smiled.
"The Wildcats are strong, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Their individual ability should be about the same as ours, but..." Harada Masakatsu said.
"That's right. The Wildcats are strong. You could say even ordinary Little Senior League teams would not be their match.
Their strength is not in their individual ability. I don't have the foundation Coach Nakanishi has, so I can't teach you those things.
But I wanted you to learn something through this Practice Match and understand the direction you need to work toward.
Xiaoya, you were right. Aside from that Cleanup Hitter, whose technique is poor and who cannot be judged from a single at-bat,
I dare say you are the strongest among them. So after you go back, think carefully about this game," Coach Yasuda said after clearing his throat.
"Listen carefully. When I applied for this Practice Match, I never cared about winning or losing, or even how many runs we lost by. I have only one request: no matter what happens, never abandon your will to fight. Understood?"
"Yes!!!" The resounding shout instantly rang in everyone's ears. Amid that sound, Coach Yasuda returned to the bench.
"It wouldn't be interesting otherwise," the Wildcats' third batter, who had just come off the field, said.
"Of course. The Mariners are still an elite team, and Coach Yasuda is no slouch," the second batter beside him added.
"Play!"
As the pitcher and catcher confirmed their Signals, the former Cleanup Hitter, now the fifth batter, made a gesture to Sendou.
"That gesture is... interesting. No mercy, huh?" After briefly recalling the Signals and understanding his meaning, Sendou smiled faintly.
The pitcher and catcher confirmed the Signals, and the game resumed.
Whoosh!
"Steal!"
"Squeeze play?" Hearing the signal from third base, Sendou had already taken off before the ball was even thrown. Just as the pitcher was about to release it, the fifth batter immediately squared to bunt and used a squeeze play. By then, it was too late to change the Ball Trajectory.
"First!"
Harada gave the command quickly, but no one had expected such a sudden squeeze play. The infield defense had been overwhelmed by the consecutive pressure and attacks, their reactions slowing, and in the end the runner safely reached first base.
"Damn it!!!" Looking at his guilty teammates, Harada vented more of his own frustration.
"That's the fifth batter, a central lineup hitter, and the former Cleanup Hitter! Why would he lay down a bunt for a squeeze play? It was no outs with a runner on third, and the batter was such a power hitter!" Harada simply could not understand it. The mindset Coach Yasuda had painstakingly calmed down exploded once again.
"Rather than the pride of a central lineup hitter, they chose to prioritize crushing the opponent's mentality? What kind of team is this? Every one of them thinks, and they pursue victory purely as a team. These children have been educated incredibly well!" Coach Yasuda praised sincerely.
As for not bunting in a Practice Match? That depended on what kind of team it was. For the Wildcats, not using any tactical coordination was equivalent to holding back. If they did that, they would tell their opponents beforehand and keep making substitutions throughout the game.
But this game was more of a full-roster practice session with all starters playing. There was no way they could hold back.
That meant they would display the strength of a King.
Crushing their opponents with everything they had and winning the game, no matter the form, was a King's pride. With all starters on the field, flexibly employing every kind of tactic was the Wildcats' regular players giving their all.
It was three o'clock again before I knew it. Sorry, everyone, but I really can't stay up late. If I'm still busy late into the night and haven't updated next time, Wuzui may have to skip a day. This chapter only wrote the protagonist's one at-bat, but it is a very important chapter. I wanted more to convey the changes in the opponent's psychology and mindset. Since it is almost midnight, I received a contract offer yesterday afternoon. I'll probably not get up until noon again today, so tomorrow I need to go to a bank in the city to check the bank's name so I can reply to the reviewer. Registration for the exam has also begun, and I need to deposit money into my card to pay the registration fee. No matter what, I have to make the trip. Even though the exam is not until next May, I'm so nervous!
Before you continue