"Out!"
"A Line Drive ball! Yabe, the key pinch hitter who excels at Inside Corner Ball, is completely powerless to resist!" The commentator chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.
You can't blame him for saying that; the ball that Yabe hit, like the catch between defenders, lacked power.
To everyone else, this match seemed like a complete victory for Sawamura.
"Oh!!!"
"You did a fantastic job, Sawamura!"
"Isn't this a perfect performance!"
"That expression was terrifying! Hahaha!"
"But we can't let our guard down, Sawamura!"
"Keep the attack, Sawamura!"
Head Manager Oota was practically spinning around in delight on the bench. The long breaks in the middle of the baseball game meant that both the spectators and the players were enjoying themselves to the fullest.
Aside from the Summer Tournament Akikawa and the three academic geniuses who Inajitsu Inashiro, Yakushi, Ichidai San, and Sensen, probably no other team wanted Seidou to lose.
The third-year students in the special Ichidai San, because of Sasaki and Manaka's relationship, had long since sided with Seidou.
"Yoshi ah!"
"The first attackers are dealt with! Well done! You brat!" Azuma Kiyokuni laughed like a 200-pound fat man, and speaking of which, he really did seem to weigh 200 pounds...
"Of course! He's the kind of guy who can go toe-to-toe with me!" Zaizen said arrogantly.
This genius, who is probably going to Narumiya Mei Meiji, is truly beginning to realize his love for baseball.
"One out!" Sawamura calmly said to the defensive formation behind him.
"Out of the game!" Koharu, who was facing Sawamura, was the first to respond.
"Out of the game!"
"Out of the game!"
On the benches, players were calling out to each other to encourage one another.
Let's face the challenges ahead together.
"One hit! Center back, Kamiya Carlos!"
"Now the battering spree has once again fallen to the center forward, Kamiya Carlos."
Is it to defeat Inajitsu's proud first and second battering duo and keep the game going?
Will Inajitsu seize the opportunity and kill the game in one fell swoop?!
"What an amazing secret weapon!"
Did they solve the Yabe with Inside Corner Ball?
However, we will never back down!
absolute...!!!"
Carlos once again positioned himself to block home plate!
He wanted to block Sawamura's Inside Corner Ball in this way, since Sawamura's outside corner kicks were not consistently controlled, which meant he could only hit the Inside Corner Ball in the Batter's Box.
Then just lower it as much as possible, at most to the opponent's knees, which is still some distance from being tricky.
If you continue to move forward and lower the ball, it will only result in a bad shot, at most providing some assistance to the inside corner.
However, the effect of not entering the Strike Zone is limited. At most, it can increase the batter's sensitivity to the Strike Zone, which is often referred to as the Strike Zone becoming larger.
As I always say, if you can't get into the Strike Zone, the overall effect will ultimately take precedence.
Another function is probably to slightly dampen the spirits of those who are about to strike, and to suppress their desire to attack.
However, that's all.
"This guy...!"
In a sense, Sawamura and Kenji were the same; they had no choice at all!
Furthermore, Sawamura, who only knows how to take Inside Corner Ball kicks, has virtually no other options.
Only offense!
We're going to have to use some tricky Ball Trajectory to attack!
If it were you, you could do it!
"Attack! Sawamura!"
Having received permission from his supervisor, Miyuki fearlessly signaled for an attack.
All the others could do was cheer for Sawamura!
Sawamura fearlessly raised his hands that were holding the ball.
"Don't run away! ×n" This is the common will of all the players on the field and on the bench.
"Show your Fighting Spirit! This is your weapon!"
Sawamura's golden eyes reflected his high Fighting Spirit. Miyuki didn't even play a bad ball to the outside corner like he did in the Ninth Inning in his previous life, and went straight for an inside corner attack.
" Eijun ..." Wakaba looked at the figure on the Pitcher's Mound with a worried expression.
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
" Seidou's first-year left-handed pitcher fearlessly sank the Inside Corner Ball, leaving the batter nowhere to dodge!!!"
If you're not aiming for the inside corner when blocking home plate, there's nothing you can do except dodge if the opponent actually throws the ball in.
" Yalu! She really is a fearless first-year student!"
"It's okay if it hits me, isn't it?" Carlos thought to himself as he hurriedly dodged, nearly losing his balance.
In reality, Sawamura's thought process is too simplistic right now; he hasn't even considered that possibility...
Even Miyuki didn't want to go to the inside corner. At this point, even Miyuki was a little scared, afraid that the Hit-by-Pitch would allow Carlos to get on base.
"This first-grader has some serious guts!" Oomae exclaimed in front of the TV.
"Ah! The opponent is the team's top player, Junzu. They definitely don't want him to get on base because of Hit-by-Pitch -the-pitch!"
Furthermore, with the game now in the latter part of extra innings, a situation where not a single run can be allowed, the pitchers on the Pitcher's Mound should be under immense pressure.
But..." Manaka didn't continue, and everyone understood what he wanted to say.
"If at that time..." Manaka recalled Raichi Todoroki's Home Run.
It's fair to say that, apart from Sendou, Seidou and the third-year students from Ichidai San who are watching the match today, have all overestimated Sawamura's courage.
"The ball is very powerful!" Miyuki encouraged her as he passed the ball to her.
"Smack!"
"Phew!" Sawamura took a deep breath.
"That scared me to death!" Miyuki was also quite frightened by that ball.
"However,... thanks to you, I can now make better use of the Strike Zone for ball distribution!"
The attackers should also be wary of Inside Corner Ball kicks!
After all, if the umpire thinks he can get out more, they'll call the ball correctly. Besides, this kind of dodging affects his batting performance; he should play more conservatively...
"Hmm?" Miyuki saw that Carlos was still unmoved and once again blocked home plate with his body.
Carlos remains convinced of the team's intelligence and the coach's instructions.
Thus, despite having a clear understanding of the situation, Miyuki still dared not place the ball too deep into the Inside Corner Ball.
After all, leaving the outcome of the match to the referee is not something Miyuki, nor does he believe the referee will make a decision based on his own ideas.
" Sawamura! Attack!" the Third Year Senior Trio shouted in their hearts.
" Sawamura-kun!" It's Haruno!
" Eijun x2!" This is Fumino and Wakaba.
"Attack! Sawamura..." Kanemaru Mama and Maezono, who dared not speak out of turn, were also nervously encouraging each other in their hearts.
"Go!!!" But as Sawamura pitched, Kanemaru could no longer suppress his pent-up emotions and shouted it out!
"A bad ball is fine! A bad ball..." Miyuki stared at Sawamura, repeating this to himself.
"Call out!"
"Too sweet! It's going to be hit!" However, from Miyuki's perspective, what he saw was a very high and easy shot, but it didn't go out of the Strike Zone as he expected, but was barely a good shot...
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
However, Carlos's shot wasn't much faster than a catch, but fortunately, it was low enough to go out of bounds.
"...!" Carlos swallowed hard as he watched the ball land.
If this ball goes out of bounds, even with both legs, he'll be killed by Seidou's infield.
"Hey! You were still swinging late, and you were way off!" Carlos, feeling a bit deflated, adjusted his helmet and readjusted his mindset and timing of the swing.
"No problem! The ball is powerful, Sawamura!" Miyuki stood up and encouraged loudly.
"We can't drag this out any longer; we have to decide the winner in the next point!"
"Use the Carter ball..." Miyuki said to himself.
"The coach is right! This pitcher's control is not consistent, there will definitely be some easy Ball Trajectory he can hit!"
However, the timing is really hard to grasp, and this posture where you can't see the ball's release point is really unfriendly to the hitter!
Just like when Furuya's Fastball is unmarked on base, there's almost no time to react.
'Too fast...'
Another incredible first grader!
All the tricky, bad shots were abandoned...
"I'm not some straw man who just stands there. If there's an easy Ball Trajectory... I won't hold back!" Carlos quickly sorted out his thoughts and got ready again.
In the blink of an eye, it only took a second or two.
Moreover, Carlos's positioning this time...
Although his feet were still pressed tightly against the boundary line closest to home plate.
However, his upper body did not block home plate, so he only needed to take a step back with his back leg to effectively hit the ball he was aiming for... an easy ball in the Inside Corner Ball.
His eyes even revealed a warrior's will to die for his country.
"What... was it all for?"
Why?... To this extent? Sawamura looked at Carlos's eyes, recalling that Narumiya Mei and the others also had that same reckless look in their eyes... and gritted his teeth.
"Although I don't know what Koshien is like!"
I don't know why you guys went to this extent...
but,...
If we run away here...
I have this feeling that I'll never be able to stand on the Pitcher's Mound again...
How could I possibly run away?!
"Pfft!" Sawamura's steps were more powerful than ever before, as if to express his state of mind and determination.
Carlos's eyeballs shrank instantly, and he saw a pair of... eyes that poured everything into that one sphere!
Although he couldn't see the ball's location, which was hidden by Sawamura's soft body, he already knew that this shot...
This will decide the fate of this match!
" Inside Corner Ball!" The Ball Trajectory was also known at the same time.
According to the data, all of Sawamura's decisive shots were Inside Corner Ball.
"Call out!"
Upon seeing the ball suddenly appear in his field of vision, Carlos reacted instantly, stepping back half a step with his right foot, ready to swing.
Just before he swung the bat and the ball made contact with it...
The ball changed direction upwards due to refraction...
Carlos gritted his teeth, and if anyone had seen him, they would have noticed a mixture of resentment at being outmaneuvered and the madness of a last-ditch effort.
"Ping!"
"Ugh!" After completing his swing, Carlos used the last bit of strength he had left to let out a final scream.
Although his voice was not loud because he had used up his strength and his breath was insufficient, those who could hear it could still hear the special emotion in his shout.
His voice was filled with resentment and a desperate, all-or-nothing determination...
It was as if this blow had drained all the power from his body!
Seidou's infielders retreated frantically, while their outfielders rushed forward. The ball flew slowly toward the high field, clearly without any power.
But the ball seemed to carry Carlos's will, unwilling to land in the infield.
According to Sendou's estimation, the landing point was just behind first base.
To prevent Safety Bunt, both Captain Tetsu and Pudding-senpai took positions at the front.
If he hadn't moved forward, this ball would have been a sure way to eliminate Captain Tetsu from the game.
but,
" Sawamura!!!"
"First Backup Position!" Miyuki quickly gave the instruction while nervously watching Captain Tetsu, Shirazu, and Sendou, who had flown in from across the region.
"Ku! Ku! Thud!" Captain Tetsu made a desperate diving tackle, caught the ball, and landed heavily on his back.
Even after such a heavy blow, Captain Tetsu still held onto the glove holding the ball tightly with both hands and his entire body, as if afraid it would fall out.
Almost simultaneously, tens of thousands of eyes in the stadium, including those of Carlos, who ran up to first base during the brief moment that Captain Tetsu landed, were all fixed on the figure curled up on the ground.
"Cough cough!" Captain Tetsu slowly got up, and just by turning over and kneeling on the ground, he couldn't wait to raise the ball in his hand.
"Out of the game!!!"
After the linesman ran over to check, he loudly delivered his verdict!
"Oh!!!"
In an instant, Seidou's supporters raised their arms high and cheered with abandon!
Inajitsu could only watch all this in disappointment.
Coach Kunimoto, who had been leaning forward, slowly straightened his upper body, leaving behind only a head full of cold sweat and a disappointed expression.
At this point, even this man could not hide his nervousness.
Wearing his helmet and protective gear, Carlos looked up at the sky, his closed eyes revealing his unwillingness and helplessness.
" Tetsu-san!" Shirazu, who had already run up to him, excitedly called out Captain Tetsu's name.
" Tetsu-san?" Shirazu called out, only to find that Captain Tetsu, who had finished showing off the ball in his hand, did not stand up, but was lying on the ground with his knees and elbows on the ground, panting heavily.
"Are you alright, Tetsu-san?" Sendou, who had also just arrived, asked with concern.
"Are you alright?" The linesman noticed something was wrong and asked.
"It's nothing! I just hurt myself a little from the fall!" After catching his breath a few more times, Captain Tetsu wiped his mouth with his glove and said slowly but firmly.
That posture resembled the way someone wipes blood in a martial arts novel, showing that the impact had caused Captain Tetsu to vomit water from his stomach.
"Stop!" The referee called a halt to the game!
Give Captain Tetsu some time to adjust.
"Because Yuuki-kun needs to receive treatment, please wait a moment. The match will continue later!"
Upon hearing the official pause, the players gathered around, and Coach Kataoka rushed off the bench immediately.
The tournament organizers' doctor then entered the stadium!
The organizers must confirm the health of the athletes.
Kouya's competitions are for developing players.
After taking a day off and catching up on sleep during the day, I feel much better.
After all, I wasn't feeling well the night before last, and I only slept for less than three hours.
To be honest, I never dreamed that I wouldn't even finish the two thousand words I owed before midnight last night; I only wrote a little over 1,300.
I'll pay the two thousand I owe tomorrow. I feel a little nauseous, so I'm going to sleep now.