"Why is it suddenly so quiet?" After Miyuki of Seidou was struck out, Yoshizawa and the others noticed that Narumiya Mei had suddenly become quiet.
"There's nothing there! I already knew that Yi Yi's attacks were unreliable!"
"It really depends on how Sendou and Tetsu-san perform!" The white-haired man spoke with his mouth wide open, using an exaggerated tone.
"..." The group exchanged glances and chose to ignore it.
"Oh!!!"
Sendou stretched and stepped off the bench to warm up before going on the field to defend, when his eyes met those of Hongo Masamune.
It turned out that while Hongo Masamune was running towards the bench, he kept his eyes on Seidou's bench, so when Sendou came out at that time, he naturally got watched.
"Seriously! What a stubborn guy!"
It seems that our desire to defeat him will be difficult to achieve.
However, it feels pretty good! Sendou didn't dislike Hongo's competitive personality; on the contrary, it aroused his interest and Fighting Spirit.
The last time this Fighting Spirit guy showed interest in someone and was motivated to Fighting Spirit was during a double Practice Match between the three teams of Shu Bei Inajitsu in Seidou.
However, due to the course of the competition, Narumiya Mei's fighting spirit has become even stronger over time, while Sendou's Fighting Spirit against Hongo is still at the initial stage.
"Wow, that was fast! That guy's shot!" Miyuki complained to Sendou as soon as he got back.
"Is it your fault?"
"I haven't practiced hard enough, that's why my swing speed is so slow!"
"You have no right to say that to me!" Miyuki squatted down and began to put on his protective gear, not forgetting to raise his head to resist.
"But my swing speed is fast enough!"
There's no need to act prematurely like someone else; that's something I only needed to do in the second year of junior high!
"Forehead!"
Miyuki was speechless after being rebuked; the other person could rely on talent instead of practice, and there was simply no way to reason with that.
So, he obediently put on the protective gear with the help of the people around him.
"How lonely it is to be invincible!" Sendou said in a flamboyant Chinese.
"What did you say? I don't understand Chinese!" Miyuki thought the guy was cursing at him.
"I'm saying again that I'm very handsome!"
Sendou remembered a line from the anime/manga series "Classroom of the Elite": "I'm so beautiful!"
It was slightly modified to be a bit quirky.
"Well! Forget it!" Although Miyuki felt very aggrieved, he still surrendered, knowing that he wouldn't get the truth out of her if he asked any further.
Moreover, even if Sendou curses at him in a language he doesn't understand, there's nothing he can do...
Miyuki knew that Sendou had gotten perfect scores in all his subjects, which meant that... he also knew English!
In terms of knowledge reserves and breadth of knowledge, Miyuki knew that he was no match for Sendou!
He seems to know a little about everything, although he's not an expert in every single thing, but at least he can understand what professionals are saying, compared to myself...
"Bottom of the second inning! The attack from Kyoma Daifuji Maki High School!"
Fourth batter! First baseman, Suzuki-kun! (There are many people with the surname Suzuki in Japan, though not as many as Sano.)
Miyuki's break between games ended in this frustrating way.
"The attack in the last round was really spectacular!"
And don't Sendou-kun's Home Run and Yuuki-kun's strikeout also demonstrate Sendou-kun's strength?
"That's not entirely true. There's no mistake that the two are still fighters of the same level!"
"That's right. We can see that the first striker of the Kyoma, Main Gun -Suzuki-kun, has entered the Batter's Box!"
The Seidou police have also confirmed the Signals!
First goal!!!
"Puff!"
"Fushi!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"Ping!"
"Out!"
"Smack!"
"The attacker is out!"
"Ping!"
"Smack!"
"Out!"
Senior Tanba successfully suppressed the attack, and the three batters starting from the fourth batter also got their third strikeout of the day.
The two sides then began a pitching battle, and the game time gradually passed.
"What should we do in this round? Should we supervise?" Yuancheng asked his coach before the game started.
Meanwhile, Hongo Masamune's gaze was also somewhat nervously fixed on Coach Nitta.
Do you still want to settle things with that man?
Then let's put a runner in front of him!
"Whether it's a hit or Four Balls," Coach Nitta said, looking at Hongo.
Hongo Masamune remained silent for a moment, but his eyes...
"Hmph! Still not convinced?"
Then let's prove it with our strength!
"Renji! I'm counting on you for this round!" Coach Shinjou's attitude towards Madoka and Hongo was completely different.
All I can say is that Hongo Masamune's personality is too competitive, which is an advantage, but unfortunately, he is also too easily provoked.
"In the top of the fourth inning, Seidou High School's attack..."
Second baseman, Kominato Ryosuke-kun!
The fourth game, with both sides playing their second round of top-ranked attacks, could be a game that changes the course of the match.
The score difference between the two sides remains at only one point.
The two teams are still in the Kyoma phase, with only three hits in total.
Seidou, with only one hit, took the lead by scoring the first run thanks to Sendou-kun's Home Run.
However, no one knows when or if the two sides will start to clash.
After all, both sides are using a follow-up strategy, making it difficult for the offensive lines to fully unleash their potential.
Ultimately, it depends on the performance of the subsequent pitchers from both sides.
"One point is not enough, we need at least two more!"
He's been pitching with all his might for three innings already!
"The second round of batting, with almost forty pitches already thrown, is an opportunity!" Coach Kataoka thought to himself, looking at Onisan in the left batting box.
"That's really impressive! In a round of multiple batting, out of ten batters, they struck out eight!"
But I'm sorry!
"I'm going to tease you a little, but I can't let you do whatever you want!" Oni-san squinted at Hongo Masamune.
"Puff!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"144!"
"What a fast ball!"
It seems that even though it was only 37 balls, it really took a lot of effort to wear down your stamina!
No matter how good they are, they are only first-year students. It is difficult for them to have enough stamina to last the whole game. In such a highly concentrated and hot summer game, their stamina is worn down even more.
The middle game, which is now, is the most tiring, and like Furuya, it comes from Hokkaido.
The heat at Koshien must be quite unsettling, right?
"With the ball speed already starting to drop, how many more innings can this all-out pitching last?" Oni-san's mischievousness began to surface.
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
" Fast Forkball! The batter misses!"
"We're after him!"
"One goal left! Take him down!!!"
"This Changeup is also very tricky!" Although the people on the sidelines were shouting things like "challenge" and "press", Oni-san didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"Smack!"
"Bad ball!"
"How many balls Hongo?" Coach Kataoka asked Chris.
"That was exactly forty-two goals. It doesn't seem like the number of goals is dropping much. They're very resilient!"
That pitcher!
"Yes!" Kataoka nodded solemnly, agreeing with Chris's words.
Although his ball count and power began to decline during his match against Kominato, he still fought tenaciously against him.
"The current ball count is two bad and two good!"
Seidou Batting Lineup is also starting to show their resilience!
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
"Bite!"
" Safety Bunt!"
"Third baseman!"
"Smack!"
"Safety!"
"A sudden Safety Bunt!"
Seidou High School has its first runner!!!
"Nice shorts!"
"A perfect Safety Bunt! Onii-san!!!"
"Third batter! Left fielder, Isashiki-kun!"
"Does Ryosuke's bunt mean that this pitcher's pitches are still quite sharp?" Isashiki glanced at Hongo and looked towards the bench.
Coach Kataoka's instructions were not to let him get away with it easily, but to keep him occupied.
"No outs on first base! Will they use a short-hit?" Enjo carefully observed the situation on the field, pondering what countermeasures Seidou might take.
"In the top of the fourth inning, with no outs on first base, the batting Isashiki in the third Batter's Box, followed by Sendou in the fourth batter position, Yuki in the fifth batter position, and Masuko the sixth Seidou Batting Lineup."
It's safe to say that Seidou is very likely to get the extra points they've been dreaming of because of this.
There's no need to run away!
His use of short-range shots indicates that he is backing down!
Sendou Akira!
"I'll prove it to you!" Hongo gave his partner a Signals, then stared at Sendou in the preparation area.
"Hey! Your opponent is the fighter in front of you!"
If you get knocked out, even the coach wouldn't let you compete against Seidou's fourth and fifth batters at the same time, right?
"And the one who gets a free pass is definitely that fourth batter!" Madoka thought to himself, noticing that Hongo Masamune hadn't even looked at the batter.
But it was just a rant; he knew this man wouldn't let his guard down with anyone.
"However! There's no need to recommend this hitter anymore!"
Let's deal with him with all our might!
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Thump!!!"
"146!"
"What?! His power has returned at this point?" After missing his fastball to the far corner, Isashiki looked at Hongo in disbelief. Was this some kind of last gasp?
It was clear to everyone that Hongo was always throwing with all his might, whether it was to vent his dissatisfaction with the coach or his anger towards Sendou.
Therefore, we can only conclude that this thing was experiencing a brief resurgence before it died.
With his form back on track, Hongo Masamune's shots have become even more incisive.
"Second goal! Inside Corner Ball!"
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"144!"
"So fast!!"
At this moment, it felt like the ball's power had returned!
"Look carefully!"
We are definitely not the team that will lose here!
I'm going to defeat you right here!
"Sendou Akira!!!" Hongo Masamune stared at Isashiki, but said this to Sendou in his heart.
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Boom!"
"Call out!"
" Fast Forkball!" Isashiki exclaimed inwardly as he saw the ball suddenly fall.
However, he did not give up.
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"That was close!!!"
"Luckily, we bumped into something at the very end!" Isashiki's face was covered in sweat.
"I almost got struck out in two consecutive at-bats, just like Kuramochi."
That ball is 139 kilometers long!
"What an amazing guy!"
Even if Kuramochi knew that his senior was criticizing him like that, he could only keep it to himself.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Sawamura's heart was pounding, as if he were the one standing in the Batter's Box.
The fourth pitch by the Kyoma was quickly determined.
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"145!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Smack!"
"What?!"
"Out!"
Although the ball was neither slow nor high, it was still blocked by the solid defense of the Kyoma, leaving the runner on first base unable to move.
"They actually blocked it! This defense is indeed very solid!"
"That should put the pitcher at ease!"
"But! What follows is the important part!"
The fourth batter's second at-bat!
This man isn't so easily stopped!
"That's true!"
"Fourth batter! Center forward, Sendou-kun!"
"Fourth batter! Center forward, Sendou-kun!"
"They're here! Fight them out!"
"Genius hitter!!!"
"Go!"
"One out! Authentic!"
"This time we must suppress them!"
" Sendou-kun!!"
"Akila-san!"
As expected, Sendou ultimately prevailed due to his good looks and the encouragement of the audience.
After all, it's like everyone owes Hongo Masamune a debt for his face. Most importantly, he's good-looking, since there are quite a few girls who like someone like Hongo.
But without comparison, there's no harm done!
Therefore, many girls switched sides because of looks.
"This guy is the only one who can make your heart pound just by standing next to you!"
The last meal hasn't even started yet!
"Is it really the effect of the previous Home Run?" Enjo thought to himself as he watched Sendou enter the Batter's Box.
The previous shot, after all, was fired right next to him, so Yuancheng was also quite shaken.
Let alone Home Run, Hongo Masamune hasn't given up a single run yet, thanks to the Kyoma.
Being blasted 120 meters away from the scoreboard right from the start, coupled with the suddenness of the incident, was really frightening.
However, when Enjo looked up, he saw Hongo's fiercely Fighting Spirit eyes, as if he wanted to tear Sendou to pieces.
His pupils were starting to turn increasingly bright red.
Caught between these two guys, Yuancheng felt both helpless and somewhat excited.
After all, this kind of showdown is extremely rare.
Throughout the entire Koshien tournament, Kyoma's Drawing Lots truly made them the chosen ones.
The opponents they encountered weren't exactly weak, but there was only one top-tier team: Bailong.
Even the White Dragon was easily subdued by them, although this was partly due to the White Dragon's weak offensive capabilities.
Even the capable Mima was overwhelmed by the dazzling follow-up pitches from the Kyoma, managing only one hit.
In the Regional Preliminaries, there was naturally no one who could break through their follow-up pitching tactics; it could be said that every game was a brutal defeat.
Therefore, this was the first time they had encountered someone who could so easily defeat Hongo's pitcher head-on.
Not to mention that this guy is a freshman like Hongo Masamune, and his baseball experience is practically that of a beginner.
The second round of competition has officially begun.
Please vote!