" The First Match of today's Koshien Semifinals "
The match between Seidou High School, representing West Tokyo, and Seibou High School, representing Aichi Prefecture, is about to begin!
It's very hot today!
Please drink plenty of water!
"...!"
"Now, please have the players from Seibou High School come onto the field for ball-throwing and catching practice!"
The match will officially begin in five minutes!
After the broadcast, the commentators began their commentary on today's match.
"Looks like the competition is finally about to begin!"
Next to me is our special guest commentator Mr. Che!
Today's First Match is a battle between the two top contenders!
The temperature is really high today!
It's only 10 o'clock now, but the temperature is already close to 35 degrees Celsius!
If this match goes on for a long time, we'll have to face today's highest temperature!
Kuruma-san! What are your thoughts on the two teams today?
Or rather, which team do you favor more?
"Both teams are well-rounded in both offense and defense, but they also prioritize lane dominance!"
Modern high school baseball has gradually evolved into a situation where high-flying and low-pitching become more important, with the outcome increasingly determined by the batting lineup.
However, this year's Semifinals surprisingly include two teams with four pitchers each!
This can be considered a way to deal with this situation!
For example, at Seidou High School today, although the individual strength of the pitchers is not as good as that of Saibang.
However, due to the four-man pitching lineup, the amount of exercise for each pitcher in each game was almost the same as in their usual practice.
In other words, every pitcher is at their peak.
This also improves defensive capabilities, allowing them to wait for the opponent to score.
Although Seibou High School has an absolute ace, and has been throwing a lot of balls recently, it's hard to know how they are doing. But if it gets into a long game, it will probably be hard for them to last until the end.
In terms of defense, it's about five against five!
After all, Seidou's defensive lineup, apart from the pitcher, is just too luxurious!
The key to deciding the outcome today will probably still be the lineup!
Both sides have strong laners, and laners are the most unpredictable element.
Therefore, the outcome of today's match is unpredictable.
Personally, I'm leaning towards Seidou winning. If both sides are in their best form, Seidou Batting Lineup clearly has the advantage! As a commentator, Mr. Che shared his opinion, which was generally a very objective assessment.
However, the contestants from the West Bund might not be willing to accept this, since they are all teenagers aged 15 to 18 and are unwilling to easily admit that others are stronger.
"Is it okay? Akila spent most of her childhood at Going-Home Club and never experienced exercising outdoors in such hot weather!" In the stands, Sendou's mother was a little worried. Sendou was still only fifteen years old.
Although I will be sixteen in two months.
"It's okay! That guy is a man now!"
"A real man always has to go through all sorts of difficult situations!" Sendou's father was very supportive of his son, encouraging him to face more challenges.
Although these two are often in China, they still have some understanding of the situation in the world of Sendou.
"It's about to begin!" someone shouted, and the scene gradually quieted down.
"The players from both teams on the bench have lined up in the center of the field!"
This means the match is about to begin!
"Salute!"
Please give me your guidance!
"After exchanging greetings, the guards who entered the field were from Seibou High School!"
Standing on the Pitcher's Mound is, of course, Saibang's ace Hoshinomiya Yukino!
The powerful batting lineup of Seidou, the [Number One in the Nation], is about to launch their attack!!
"Hmm...!" After a simple toss and catch, the usual air raid siren sounded in the stadium.
" Top of the First Inning! Seidou High School's attack!"
One hit! Shortstop, Kuramochi's innings!
"Go for it, Kuramochi!"
"Disrupt them with your speed!"
"Fight back!"
"This isn't a great hitter, and he's on the right batting table, isn't he?"
"Be careful with your pitch at the start!" Saibang's catcher, Kiriyama, gave the Signals for the first pitch of the day after observing Kuramochi's actions.
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
"Was this a good ball too? Looks like the referee is being lenient today!" Kiriyama thought to himself as he saw the first controversial ball being awarded a good ball by the referee almost without hesitation.
"Then! Here!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"The second ball went high into the inside corner! It's a pity it was a little off!"
Next, the West Bundesliga pitcher and catcher immediately gave the Signals for the third pitch!
"With such a great opportunity today, we should naturally focus on the outer corners!"
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
"Um?"
"Bite!"
"Oh! Safety Bunt!"
"Smack!"
"Safety!"
"A beautiful short-sleeved shirt! Kuramochi!"
"So fast! That's how it should be!"
"Keep the attack!"
"The next thing is going to be painful! The two Yuma duo from Seidou!"
We're not just the number one duo in the country, we also have the Fourth and Fifth Batter Combination!
"This is only the first game! Are you already attacking so fiercely?" Kiriyama thought his opponent would definitely put up a fight in the first round.
However, although Seidou's idea was similar, his main purpose was to put pressure on the defensive lineup, and entanglement was not the only method.
This Safety Bunt was also based on Kuramochi's own judgment.
" Seidou's batter reached base with an unexpected Safety Bunt!"
Once this batter reaches base, he's going to have a very high scoring percentage.
Sure enough, they left the base!
"Second baseman, Kominato Ryosuke-kun!"
The commentator had just finished speaking when the loudspeaker announced the next batter's entry.
"This is not good! The fourth batter will be in this inning!"
Be careful! We can't let them pile up and run around anymore, Miyanouchi!
"Smack!"
"Safety!"
"Ha!" Kuramochi, turned around and smiled.
Saibon really didn't dare let Kuramochi be too comfortable on the bases.
However, Kuramochi's base-running skills are really good, otherwise he wouldn't be so lethal.
"Let him run if he wants to!"
"Leave the runner to me! This batter is not someone you can relax with!" Before pitching, Kiriyama used Signals to clarify the division of labor, and he dared not let the ace be distracted at this moment.
"Stealing a base!"
"Call out!"
"The first goal?... This is...!"
"Hit and Run?"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
This Hit and Run gave Saibon a real scare; if the ball had gone in, Kuramochi could have flown to third base!
However, since it was out of bounds, it could only be returned to first base!
Although Seidou's concealment turned the ball into a good one, their goal of putting pressure on the defense began to work.
When people are mentally stressed, their physical energy is depleted the fastest.
The brain is a major consumer of the body's energy. Even if the brain is completely shut down, it still consumes nearly 20% of the body's energy. You can imagine how much energy is consumed when you are mentally excited and focused.
"Stealing a base!"
"Here we go again!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"Don't underestimate people!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Safety!"
"Successfully stolen a base!!!"
"Yoshia!!!"
"Oh!!!"
"Nice base run! Kuramochi!"
"That's exactly how it should be, Kuramochi!"
"Aim high for the next base! (This was clearly just a random shout based on the atmosphere; after all, Kuramochi wouldn't easily Stolen Third Base in front of the prestigious Saiho team!)"
"Don't worry about it! Fortunately! Compared to the runner getting into scoring territory, it's the batter getting a hit that's the most terrifying thing!"
I don't want to face that Fourth and Fifth Batter Combination with several runners on base in the first inning!
Those are two formidable fighters, comparable to Shuzo!
"Um!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"Call out!"
"Nice shot!"
"Referee! Isn't your Strike Zone a bit too big today?" Oni-san complained to himself. Luckily, it was only the second strike, otherwise he might have been screwed over by the referee again.
Just like the Meikawa Battle!
"Call out!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"They're actively pursuing us! Kominato Ryosuke!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"This fighter is too troublesome! We can't let him keep going like this! Here!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"Knowing that the referee's standards were somewhat lenient today, would you still watch this ball go?"
"He's definitely a tough fighter!"
"The ball count is full! Will the next ball decide the winner?"
"Puff!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
"The attacker is out!"
" Slow Curveball! After dealing with so many Fastball, I missed the Slow Curveball!"
That's it, he's out!
Next up is Seidou High School's formidable Center Batting Lineup!
"Hey! This kind of fastball, is he Changeup pitcher? Are you kidding me!" Isashiki thought to himself in the waiting area.
"Third batter! Left fielder, Isashiki-kun!"
"There's no other way! We have to go all out!"
"Out!" Kiriyama shouted as he stood up after Isashiki entered the Batter's Box, glancing at Sendou was heading towards the preparation area.
"Out of the game!" Miyanouchi the first to respond.
"Out of the game!"
Let's tackle them one by one!
The athletes on the field encouraged each other.
"This guy!"
"You glanced at Sendou instead of me just now, didn't you?" Isashiki's anger was rising rapidly.
"Don't underestimate people, you bastard!!!"
"Ping!"
However, the ball was indeed a Ground Ball between first and second base!
"Ah!..."
Thinking of his cool shout earlier..., Isashiki's face instantly turned red!
"Smack!"
"Out!"
"Safety!"
Although Isashiki undoubtedly out, Kuramochi easily made it to third base!
"The batter was Force Out first base! But the runner made it to third base!"
Third base is runner Kuramochi Youichi, and the batter is a first-year Cleanup Hitter! Sendou Akira...!!!
Seibou High School faced a huge crisis right from the start; every single Infield Hit was a run!
Moreover, Sendou-kun's speed is better than Kuramochi-kun's, which means that a Infield Hit Ground Ball the infield could very well be a single, also a run! The commentator described the perilous situation. No one expected that what was originally thought to be a lukewarm start would turn out like this.
"As always, Jun-san!" Sendou joked to his Isashiki-senpai, in his mind.
"However, the situation where only Cheetah are running has now turned out to be mine!"
"How novel!" Sendou chuckled softly, then slowly stood up!
"Fourth batter!! Center forward, Sendou-kun!"
"Fourth batter!! Center forward, Sendou-kun!"
"Oh!!!"
The situation is difficult to control!
"They're out! The Monster Batter!"
"Genius hitter!"
" Sendou-kun!"
"Akila-chan!"
"Jiang?" A spectator overheard the girl next to him shout and couldn't help but turn around to look.
"Sorry! You're out so quickly!"
We should keep him occupied and at least make him take a few more shots!
"This time, I'm counting on you!" Jun-san whispered to Sendou as he returned.
"No problem, I'm not sure I can hit it either!"
"You bastard, talking such discouraging things again! I'll beat you up if you don't listen!"
"No problem!" Sendou smiled as he looked at Isashiki-senpai's face.
Isashiki-senpai saw seriousness in his smile.
"The game is still going on! Please don't take this to heart!" But before Isashiki-senpai could say anything, Sendou walked towards the court.
"Ah! Please! Fourth Master!" Jun-san turned around and looked at Sendou's back, saying softly.
Afterwards, he high-fived Captain Tetsu, who came up to him, said a few words, and returned to the bench.
"Second out!"
The shouts, initiated by Kiriyama, echoed once again throughout the arena, a mutual encouragement.
"In the end! Will he still get the chance to have runners on base in the first inning?"
"And the runner is still on third base!" Kiriyama shouted, lowering his arm. He glanced at Sendou and thought to himself.
"However, we cannot easily show weakness!"
"Take him down here, and completely steer the game in our favor!"
Seeing his partner so Fighting Spirit, Miyauchi Miyanouchi the Pitcher's Mound's mound smiled too.
The ace of a prestigious family is not a coward who easily backs down!
"Let's settle this once and for all!" This was the sentiment of everyone in the arena.
"Monster rookie! Let me see just how good he is up close!" Monster Batter Sano Shuzo stared at Sendou from third base, even ignoring Kuramochi behind him.
This made Kuramochi very unhappy, although he didn't dare to Stealing Home.
Kuramochi knew perfectly well that this stage now belonged to the man in the Batter's Box.
"Today is Sendou-kun's first time hosting a banquet!"
The highly anticipated first goal!!!
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"The first ball was a bad one, low to the outside corner! This ball was clearly off target!"
Then came the second goal!
"Call out!"
"Ping!"
"Bump!"
"Outside the boundary!"
The ball hit just a short distance behind Sano.
"Incredible play, but unfortunately that ball went out of bounds!"
"Hey! Hey!"
Is this guy really a first-year student?
This is no joke! This is a first-grader's swing!
It really is a monster!
They're probably even more so than I am!
With just one swing, Sano understood what kind of batter was in the Batter's Box.
If I had previously been somewhat eager to see the legendary first-year monster, now I truly dare not make a single joke.
"As expected, there is still a significant difference between the video recording and what we actually saw on site."
"Is this guy even human?" Sano unconsciously lowered his center of gravity. He understood what had just happened; if the ball had landed in bounds, even going all out might not have been enough to stop it.
This day went by so fast! I thought it was the first of the day!...