The whole game lasted over two hours and was nothing short of spectacular.
"What did you think?" Sendou asked after it ended.
"That was amazing!"
"Fine." Sendou had already given up on discussing it with this bunch.
"Now I want to confirm something. What is Akagi Middle School Baseball Club's goal? ...Is it victory, or is it having fun?"
"What do you mean?" Sawamura asked, not understanding.
"With Akagi Middle School's current situation, if you want to win, you'll have to give up the fun baseball you used to play. So what's your answer?"
"Victory! I want to win. I want to take everyone to nationals!"
"Since Ei-chan says so, right?"
"Yeah, we want to win too!"
"So even if that means going through hellish training, you're fine with it? What's your answer?" Sendou asked again.
"Yes!!!"
"Alright! I'll be strict with all of you. I can't guarantee I'll take you to nationals, but in return, I'll let you experience the taste of victory."
"First, let me explain the significance of that game. You saw the lineups: Gunma Prefecture Hakuryu High School versus Osaka's Kiryu High School. Hakuryu's style of play will form the foundation of how we play in the future."
"Of course, we can't perfectly replicate their style."
"The first thing we need is solid fundamental defense. For now, we don't need that much coordination or that many tactics. We just need to make the basic plays, get the outs, and avoid stupid mistakes. Balls going through your legs like that can never happen again."
"Then there's offense. From now on, nobody is allowed to take big swings without my permission! Ah, Eijun, you can do whatever you want."
"Huh?" Several people cried out.
"Why?" Someone's wail was mixed in. Clearly, Sendou saying Eijun could do whatever he wanted did not mean Eijun's batting was reliable.
"Hm?"
"Nothing!" Everyone hurriedly shook their heads and waved their hands when they saw Sendou's look.
"Eijun, your swing is the soul of Akagi Middle School! Without your swing, my life would become dark and lose all its joy!" Sendou suddenly changed his expression and teased Sawamura.
"Mmmph!"
"There it is, the puppy-like snarl! ...And next, baserunning!"
Sendou changed gears so quickly that the others were left dumbfounded. He had been teasing Sawamura one moment, then abruptly turned serious the next, leaving Sawamura with no chance to retort. Afraid of interrupting Sendou's plans, he could only glare at him with endless resentment.
"Next, baserunning! Everyone must learn Hakuryu's steal-focused offense. Stealing timing, running speed, and training the explosive burst needed to accelerate from zero to full speed will be the top priority of our offense."
"After that comes coordination between batters and runners, and between runners themselves. We need to learn how to constantly pressure the opposing defense from the bases and force them into mistakes."
"Once the pressure is there, no amount of training will save them. Once their mentality is disrupted by pressure, the unceasing strain will leave their defense gasping for air, and their entire defensive system will collapse. Oh, right—you need to lose weight!" That last sentence was aimed at the chubby boy.
"Hahaha!"
"Then there's bunting. All of you need to master bunting and become good at telling balls from strikes. Since our hitting is weak, we'll get on base through plate discipline, then combine that with pressure from runners to score. That's also why I said we have to give up fun baseball."
"By next summer, at the very least, we need to be able to select pitches and bunt. Batters and runners need to manage simple coordination, and runners need to learn how to find the right moment to break. As for more advanced baserunning tactics that apply pressure through coordination, we'll deal with those afterward."
"On defense, I'm not asking for coordinated plays, and I'm not asking you to allow no runs. But you need to avoid simple mistakes and be able to handle basic ground balls and fly balls. We have to secure the outs that are handed to us."
"As for swinging and batting, we'll talk about those after we've built up some foundation for competing."
After some light teasing, Sendou explained his thoughts and summary of the week to everyone in simple, clear detail. He even repeated quite a few things, worried that these people who could not even remember the basic rules would not understand.
"Did Sen-chan come up with all that?"
"That's amazing!" Several of them said at once after listening to Sendou's explanation.
"Looks like you've accepted it. Don't let how simple I made it sound fool you—training will be incredibly dull and exhausting, so you'd better be prepared."
"Starting tomorrow, for the month until summer vacation, every practice will continue until it gets too dark to see the ball. All training will also become defensive practice. On game days, Wakaba and I will record footage. For important games, I'll let you know so everyone can go watch together."
"Yeah!"
"Oh, right. Once summer vacation begins, we'll have an intensive Training Camp. When that happens, this guy will be your bunting coach!" Sendou said, draping his right arm around Sawamura's shoulders and pointing at him with his left hand.
Sendou would not forget the existence of the Little Bunt Prince.
"Huh?" Everyone cried out, especially Sawamura, whose voice was the loudest.
"Relax. You just need to imitate his movements. This guy isn't very bright, so he can't teach anyone."
"Hahaha!" Everyone immediately burst out laughing.
Only one person could not feel happy at all.
What no one knew was that Sendou understood Sawamura's batting problem. His swing was too fast, yet he did not possess Sendou's ability to glance at the ball once and accurately find the timing.
But Sendou did not want to interfere too much, afraid of delaying Sawamura's growth. The others were destined to have no future in professional baseball anyway, so he could train them however he wanted.
After saying that, he took out several cups and poured juice for everyone. Previously, they had all used teacups.
"To Akagi Middle School's future, cheers!" Sawamura said. No one was better suited to say it than him.
"To Akagi Middle School's future, cheers!" everyone said in unison. Only Sendou silently raised his cup without saying a word. Fine, it felt too embarrassing for him to say aloud.
"We're definitely going to nationals!!!" In the end, Sawamura was the only one left roaring that line.
"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed loudly, and Sendou shook his head with a smile.
Sendou began to wonder whether spending every day with this group of overly dramatic baseball boys would make him unbearably embarrassing in the future too.
But no matter what, from today onward, Akagi Middle School Baseball Club had officially set sail!
Before you continue