Although both were full of Fighting Spirit spirit, Coach Matsumoto's methods were clearly more skillful.
Faced with formidable opponents, they instead utilized the talents of Sendou and others to boost the Fighting Spirit of the contestants.
" Kataoka-san! I never imagined my words would come true!" Coach Matsumoto thought to himself as he looked out the window after the meeting.
Kiryu and Seidou are evenly matched in overall strength, but strictly speaking, Seidou has a slight advantage over Kiryu.
It's Seidou's ability to score points in their Center Batting Lineup that's the key. To put it bluntly, the combination of Sendou and Yuki is too consistent in scoring. Except for bad luck, it's almost impossible for them to avoid scoring a point in a round. On the other hand, Kiryu's lineup is really unpredictable.
As a renowned player, Coach Matsumoto didn't mention one thing at the meeting: in Seidou's first game, Sendou's first hit was a bit strange. He clearly had a chance to reach third base but stopped at second base, and then Yuki hit it solidly.
But that's all.
Perhaps they didn't want to take risks at the beginning, so they didn't put pressure on the players. They need to observe them carefully tomorrow.
"However! To be honest! Tomorrow's match will be tough."
This may actually be the most vulnerable year for Seidou in recent years!
Especially those few people when they were in third grade!
Tomorrow we may need to resort to some extreme measures!
"Don't blame me, Sendou-kun, Kataoka-san..." After a long silence, Coach Matsumoto sighed.
Coach Matsumoto was referring to Sendou and the other first-year students.
In his view, once these first-graders have fully matured, they will be the most difficult to deal with next year and even the year after.
Coach Matsumoto believed that even if Sendou and his teammates were particularly bad when they were in their third year, they would still be able to maintain the fighting power of Koshien champion candidate.
on the contrary,...
It seems all we can do is pray for fate. However, with the big battle looming, Coach Matsumoto only had this thought in mind regarding the future.
A few hours later, after Seidou finished recounting his battle, Sendou went to sleep.
Even Captain Tetsu didn't force Miyuki to play Go, but that was only today; Miyuki has been going crazy lately...
When Sendou first found out he was in the same room as Captain Tetsu and Miyuki, his maniacal laughter perfectly illustrated Miyuki's tragic fate; now, Miyuki feels nauseous at the sight of shogi.
Vertical day
"Is there something good, Sendou?" As they arrived at their stop and were about to get off the train, Sawamura leaned close to Sendou and asked.
"What?" Sendou asked.
"Come on, don't give me that!"
Even though your expression is still poker, you must be in a great mood, right?
"How many years do you think I've known you?" Sawamura nudged Sendou with his elbow in a cheeky manner, and said the last sentence with unusual confidence.
"Soga!"
"I'll be able to see Kan's sly grin today, I can't wait!" Seeing Sawamura's funny face, Sendou couldn't help but put his hand on Sawamura's head.
"Really? That terrifying expression?" Sawamura even closed his eyes for a moment to cooperate, but then suddenly opened them a few seconds later.
"You bastard! Sendou!"
"You just mistook me for a Shiba Inu, didn't you? (Some of Sawamura's designs seem to be based on Shiba Inus.)" Realizing that it was Sawamura, he opened his eyes, broke free from Sendou's large hand, and pointed at Sendou, shouting.
"No way! You're the one looking like a Shiba Inu, completely enjoying yourself!" Sendou said softly and calmly.
"So you really do think I'm a Shiba Inu!"
"I already told you, you were the one behaving like a Shiba Inu. I was just casually patting your head!" Sendou emphasized.
"Huh? Is that so? Kanemaru!" Sawamura turned his head, trying to find Kanemaru, who wasn't on the car.
"Get off the bus right now!" Just as he turned around, Kuramochi, who had lost his patience, grabbed him by the collar, dragged him to the door, and kicked him off the bus.
Sure enough, with Sawamura around, there's never a lack of joy.
"Hey! You're not really looking forward to that scary face, are you?" Miyuki also spoke up.
"What's so scary about it? It's so addictive! I can't get enough of looking at it!" Saying this, Sendou opened his phone, and the cover of the wallpaper was that smiling face.
"Ugh...! How scary!" Miyuki said, then flipped through his phone.
Aside from this sly grin, the other wallpapers are all kinds of embarrassing moments from the teammates, including Sawamura's, Azuma-senpai's ( Sawamura poked him in the stomach before the Inajitsu ), and even his own.
"You actually survived!" Miyuki said after reading it.
"By whom?" Sendou asked in return.
Miyuki then realized that, apart from him and Sawamura being from Seidou, the other people with dark histories were either from other teams or Azuma Kiyokuni, the OB.
It seems that he and Sawamura are no match for Sendou...
"Let's go!" Seeing Miyuki expression, Sendou smiled and got off the bus.
Seidou's match is the Second Match today, so you can watch the match between Nishiho and Ikuei from the stands now.
In the early stages of the game, both sides engaged in a pitcher's duel, with the first five innings ending in a suffocating 0-0 tie. However, no one who watched the game believed that Ikuei and Xi Bang were evenly matched.
Just like the game between Seidou and Yokohama, Saibang didn't score, but he still got hits from time to time, and Ikuei the Monster Batter Sano in the all-out attack.
Although it was an offensive walk, the walk was too obvious. However, we should give the pitcher some face so that he thinks it was a tactic and that the batter didn't swing.
The idea that the Changeup is still on the edge of the Strike Zone before it reaches home plate is self-deceptive.
But it's too obvious that they didn't make a single good shot.
However, as Saibang's batters gradually got used to Ikuei's pitching, hits began to increase. Even after a runner appeared on third base, Sano hit a Timely Hit single on a ball that was previously mentioned as a bad pitch.
A walk when there are no runners on base is no different from a single, but a single is different when there are runners on base, and not just on first base.
After throwing for so long, I can still hit this kind of ball, it just doesn't fly far enough.
After all, Sano's limbs are standard Asian features, and his striking range is on a completely different level compared to Sendou, who has long limbs like a "genetic mutation".
Not to mention, Sendou can handle a longer bat, which is a natural talent difference that Sano can't help.
Sendou, however, greatly admired Sano and Captain Tetsu's batting skills.
Although Sendou can hit bad balls into Long Hit or Home Run, it's not something he can just aim at and hit; there are also many foul balls that fly out of bounds at terrifying distances.
But a ball out of bounds is a ball out of bounds. Unless you're lucky enough to be very close to the boundary line, you don't even have the right to scare your opponent.
However, Coach Kataoka's technical guidance can only cover general techniques.
Compared to coaches like Coach Nakanishi, Coach Sakaki, and the soon-to-be- Coach Ochiai, who can design hitting postures based on the batter's physical characteristics and provide various detailed suggestions.
That's when the difference really became apparent, and since Sendou's posture had already been adjusted by the Coach Nakanishi, his suggestions were even more limited.
So at this time, although Sendou was lazy and hated practicing, it didn't stop him from envying those with good skills.
The match began to collapse completely in the sixth inning when Ikuei's defense faltered.
Although the West Bund's ace was moved to the outfield early to conserve his energy, he finally managed to score two valuable runs in the Eighth Inning, effectively ending the game.
The final score was 8-2, and Westbrook advanced smoothly.
Although the West Bundes pitchers were fatigued from pitching consecutively, they had conserved a lot of energy today.
The Second Match match of the morning, the highlight of today's Koshien, has finally begun.
Today's four matches were the only ones where, based on both their theoretical strength and overall capabilities, the two teams were described by the media as evenly matched.
The match between Seidou High School in West Tokyo and Osaka Toin is about to begin.
The players were greeted with a lot of cheers when they entered the arena to warm up.
The clash between two prestigious teams, especially a championship-level match, was enough to send the more than 50,000 people in the audience, and tens of millions of viewers watching on television, into a frenzy of adrenaline and excitement.
It's worth noting that half of all Japanese people who watch sports are baseball fans, and there are no other games during the Koshien tournament, so the level of attention is already high. Add to that the hype surrounding this game, and it's absolutely irresistible.
Currently, Kyoma is still a dark horse, so the teams with the highest popularity and considered to have the strongest overall strength are Kiryu and Saibang, who were both Koshien for the title of winner at the beginning of Koshien, and Seidou, who became a new contender for the title of winner due to their demonstrated strength.
The winner between Kiryu and Seidou will play against Nishibang tomorrow. The three contenders for the title will be locked in a fierce battle before the finals, which is exciting to think about.
Although no one underestimates the Kyoma, their batting lineup is really not outstanding. They rely entirely on Small Ball Strategy and the connection between the batting lineup to score, without a high-scoring power hitter as the pillar of the batting lineup.
To put it bluntly, the team won by relying on the crazy rookie Hongo Masamune and the defensive ability of the Kyoma.
Although this tendency is more pronounced in spring, nobody knows it!
Therefore, it's not surprising that the media doesn't think Kyoma can beat the three top contenders.
After the opening warm-up, the match is about to begin.
Kiryu High School is First Attack, Seidou's players are entering the field for defensive practice.
The crisp, swift, and fluid passing of the ball is a pleasure to watch.
It fully demonstrated the high level of training of Seidou High School, especially the bold and beautiful combination of the two fielders to shorten the time required for the ball, and the fact that all three outfielders had the ability to throw long balls from the outfield to home plate, which was the most exciting thing.
After all, the most popular defensive players are the pitchers, midfielders, and outfielders.
A team that has three outfielders with long-range, accurate passing ability and high mobility is truly formidable.
Sendou speed is exceptional, standing out from the crowd!
While Kiryu's three outfielders can also throw directly, their movement speed is noticeably slower than Seidou's outfielders.
The difference in movement speed almost directly translates to a difference in defensive range.
Seidou used this method to give Kiryu a taste of his own medicine.
As for the proposal to increase outfield direct pass defense practice, it goes without saying who came up with it.
When it comes to psychological warfare, Sendou is definitely the number one in Seidou.
" The Second Match match of the day!"
The match between Seidou High School and Kiryu High School is about to begin!
First on the defense is Tanba- kun, the pitcher from Seidou High School!
Catcher Miyuki-kun!
First Yuuki-kun!
Second baseman Kominato Ryosuke-kun! (Having a brother is great; I get to be introduced by his full name on the radio!)
Third baseman Masuko-kun!
Kuramochi-kun!
Left fielder Isashiki-kun!
Zhongjian, the Immortal Sendou-kun!
Right fielder Shirazu-kun! "
"Today is the first time that Seidou has fielded its full strength!"
The nine main players with Back Number one through nine are making their first appearance this summer since the Sensen Match!
"Just as the broadcast was introducing the Seidou players one by one, Mine Fujio exclaimed."
"That's true! It's really rare!"
Due to Tanba's injury and the need to replace Shirazu with Furuya his striking ability, Seidou has not fielded any of their number 1 through 9 wrestlers except for the Sensen Match.
Clearly, they intend to rely on the defensive capabilities of their full-strength squad to gain the upper hand.
"It's finally starting!"
The Second Match match of the day!
A showdown between two contenders for the championship!
Last summer's Koshien finals narrowly lost to the runner-up, Osaka Toin High School is determined to win the championship this year, while Seidou High School Koshien again after six years, aiming to revive its prestigious status and dominate the nation!
Both are long-established and prestigious teams; what kind of showdown will they present?
" Top of the First Inning! Osaka Toin High School's attack."
One hit! The center forward, Amasawa-kun!
" Amasawa Junichiro third-year student, is fast on his feet, has accurate strikes, and possesses great strength at the same time!"
It's practically an upgraded version of Shirazu!
We absolutely cannot be careless!
This guy has never struck out in three consecutive at-bats before.
"I can give it a try!" Miyuki looked at the fighter in front of him, secretly plotting his own moves.
Senior Tanba, the Pitcher's Mound, never dreamed that the guy in front of him would have the mind to think about such nonsense at a time like this.
He simply nodded and raised his arm in response to Miyuki's Signals!
Senior Tanba has absolute trust in Miyuki's pitch selection ability; if he gets hit, he can just blame it on Miyuki's pitch selection...
So that's why Tanba knew Furuya's reasoning back then: based on his pitching strategy, if he got hit, he would blame the catcher, which on the surface seemed to make sense.
However, it's going too far to blame the catcher for your previous missed shots.
"Puff!"
"Well..., fushi!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
"The first ball was a low, straight shot that grazed the edge of Strike Zone and hit the outside corner!"
That was a great shot! Good shot!
"This is Seidou's ace, Tanba Koichiro!!!" The audience didn't expect that the commentator would start stirring up the atmosphere from the very first point.
"Nice ball! Tanba-san!" Miyuki excitedly passed the ball to Tanba.
"Hmm!" After receiving the ball, Tanba exhaled heavily through his nose, though it was far less powerful than the white smoke inside the Miyauchi.
"After Tanba-san regained his ball control, his momentum grew stronger and stronger!"
I'm getting a little excited!
The next shot will be a test of the precision of Tanba-san's signature curveball!
"No need for a good pitch, Strike Zone slides from the center to the outside corner is fine!" Miyuki quickly gave the Signals.
With the pitcher in such good form, the catcher's pitch selection will be much simpler.
Requesting votes.
So, what was I going to say again?
I wanted to say something after posting yesterday's chapter, and I planned to say it today, but I forgot again. I think I've caught Sawamura's influence...