When Sendou stepped into the Batter's Box, the arena gradually quieted down.
It seems that, apart from the Cheerleading Squad Pep Band on both sides, most people want to carefully appreciate the duel between the strong pitchers and strong hitters.
"Although I know you will definitely not relax, you still need to maintain precision!"
You should know what the consequences would be if you shot the wrong way, right?
Is it really that tiring to score just 48 goals?
Despite the fact that they are not used to the hot summer and are most tired in the middle of the game, the Seidou Batting Lineup, the strongest in the country, is no joke.
bring it on!"
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Boom!"
"Thump!"
"Nice shot!"
"Yoshia!!!" Hongo Masamune shouted loudly after sending Sendou's attack missing its target once again.
"Swinging through the air!!"
Sendou-kun swung at the Fast Forkball in the inside corner and missed again!
And this ball was... 142 kilometers long!!
"Nice ball!! Authentic!"
"Keep going!"
"Have you recovered your spirits?"
Looks like he's really obsessed with that Home Run!
"An interesting fellow!" Sendou said.
"Because you are special to the true lineage!" Enjo replied.
"Oh! I see!"
That's an honor!
Sendou extended his right arm, head, and the upright baseball bat in his hand, forming a straight line with Hongo Masamune Hongo Masamune.
He then placed the bat behind his head, gripped it with both hands, and shortened it by two centimeters.
"Did the fourth batter hold the bat too short?"
"This guy... is going to get serious!" Enjo's expression turned serious when he saw Sendou's actions.
"Even if this guy holds the bat shorter, he can still hit the Outside Corner Ball by taking advantage of the length of the bat and his arm!"
bring it on!"
"Ouch!"
"Call out!"
"Thump!"
"Bad ball!"
"The second goal was another Fast Forkball from the Inside Corner Ball!"
However, Sendou-kun did not make a move!
"Did you see through it?" Enjo noticed that Sendou's gaze was fixed on the ball, but he didn't make a move in the end!
He didn't notice that even though he missed the first ball, Sendou's bat was still close to the ball, but it dropped too much and missed.
Sendou has always been positioned at the very back of the Batter's Box, giving him more time to observe the ball and wait for the ball to change direction before making his shot.
Then, relying on superior reaction speed to strike a fraction of the time and explosive power to arrive first after being caught off guard.
Even though Hongo's pitch was fast, the first pitch Fast Forkball, and Sendou's backhand swing was barely timed.
The reason why the Fast Forkball can become the true winning shot of Hongo Masamune is that he can control whether the ball lands in the Strike Zone or the bad zone.
However, Sendou has not yet developed good habits. In this kind of extreme duel that requires concentration, Sendou's lack of concentration and experience mean that his subtle judgment is far inferior to that of Captain Tetsu and others.
Of course, he wasn't skilled enough to see such a fast-moving ball and wait for signs of change in its trajectory, and still have time to think before making a shot.
This play can only be attributed to Sendou's mental analysis before the opponent's pitch, which showed that the opponent wouldn't take a good pitch, so he planned ahead and let the Forkball go.
Sendou couldn't believe that the other person would ask for a good pitch from someone who often hits bad shots and has such poor hitting choices.
Despite his personality, he's actually very self-aware.
"It's a bit of a pity I didn't make a move, but while his attention was focused on the inner corner..."
"Puff!"
"Piu!"
"Thump!"
"144!"
"Bad ball!"
"What? You didn't make a move again?"
What's going on?
Sendoh Sendou had previously made very poor swing choices, suddenly stopped hitting bad pitches for a series of times.
Are they finally starting to seriously choose their balls?
And such a quick reaction! "Yuancheng felt that Sendou was a complete mystery."
The batter, who always seemed to love hitting the ball and didn't care about being chased, actually let the ball go several times.
I originally thought that I was taking advantage of Sendou's attention being focused on the inside corner to trick him into shooting at the sudden Outside Corner Ball.
Seeing that Sendou's right foot, which had been resting on the ground without exerting any force, paused for only a moment before moving forward and firmly landing the ball the instant he released it, Enjo thought it was a done deal and the batter was about to make his move.
The result was simply that he learned that it was just that Sendou's reaction was too fast.
After all, it's chilling to think that the batter could react so quickly after two consecutive inside corner shots, especially considering the strong impression Inside Corner Ball shots.
Upon hearing this news, Yuan Cheng felt a mixture of bitterness and relief. He lamented the strength of his opponent's talent, but was also relieved to have discovered some characteristics of the Sendou, which would prevent him from suffering losses in the future.
"Two bad balls and one good ball!"
Sendou-kun has the advantage in the number of balls!
How will the Kyoma respond?
"There's no other way! Fighting against this kind of fighter requires taking some risks!"
Don't worry about the number of balls; if two balls go bad in a row, the batter will definitely want to take a shot!
Make sure you bet on the right one! Authentic!
"If this shot goes inwards, something bad will happen!" Looking at Hongo Masamune, Enjo also felt a cold sweat on his forehead.
It's not that I lack confidence in the Hongo Masamune, it's just that the Ball Trajectory is somewhat dangerous.
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Great Ball Trajectory!"
"Puff!"
"They've taken a step! Will they make a move?" Yuan Cheng's heart tightened.
If Sendou hadn't made a move, it would have been a triple ball!
If they continue to fight to the death, they will be at a significant disadvantage.
"Boom!"
"Ping!!"
The moment the ball flew out, Enjo took off his mask and then exhaled.
"Outside the boundary!!"
"Yoshi ah!"
That makes it two good and two bad!
We're back to square one!
"Well done! Authentic! Renji!"
After the result of this goal, the Kyoma relaxed a little and shouted out.
"That was incredible ball play! The ball flew very far, but it also went very far off course!"
He hit a powerful shot on a bad ball that was slightly off the Strike Zone and high outside the corner!
If it's in-flight, then it will undoubtedly be another Long Hit!
And... the ball's speed reached 146 kilometers per hour!!
If the outside corner is high, and it easily enters the Strike Zone, it's undoubtedly an easy Ball Trajectory for a batter of Sendou's caliber.
This only proves Enjo Renji's boldness and his trust in Hongo Masamune.
Similarly, Hongo Masamune reciprocated his trust.
"No problem! Keep attacking, Sendou!"
The timing was perfect!!
Next time, we must kick them out!
" Senior Chris! Did Sendou just let two bad balls go?"
And there's also a Outside Corner Ball!
"What's going on?" Sawamura asked, puzzled, as he returned to the bench to drink water after warming up and shouting on the field.
" Sendou didn't suddenly become good at watching the game; he measured it and knew it was a bad shot, so he didn't shoot!" Senior Chris laughed.
"You measured it? Could it be... could it be..."
"What did you think of, Eijun-kun?" Kominato asked, seeing Sawamura's surprised expression and assuming he had guessed something.
"That Sendou guy actually brought a ruler?!"
Everyone instantly lay down!
"What... how did you even come up with that idea?"
"No matter what, it's impossible!!!" Kuramochi shouted after getting up.
"But..." Sawamura wanted to argue, but Senior Chris spoke up again, so he could only listen to his master finish speaking.
" Sendou is a bit lazy, but he's really smart!"
He once compared the range of the Strike Zone by taking a certain number of steps and considering the area covered by the bat when he was holding a short bat.
So when this guy is holding a short bat, as long as it's not too far off, like half a ball off, he can tell which ball is bad!
This guy determines the distance he steps and how long he grips the short bat.
He can then know the coverage area of his bat and estimate, based on that area, those bad balls that are too far off-center for him to distinguish.
To put it simply, they're using a baseball bat as a ruler!
"It's amazing that he can find a way to make up for his shortcomings!"
"Although it was to be lazy..." Senior Chris finished speaking Miyuki smiled.
"I don't understand at all!" Sawamura still said he didn't understand anything.
Chris and the others ignored the clown and turned their attention back to the venue.
The other side has already started using new Signals.
"You missed!"
No matter how far you fly, it's meaningless!
Next goal!
"Put your ball here!"
"Puff!"
"Piu!"
" Low Ball inside corner!
"If I throw from here... my swing will be slower." Sendou was somewhat affected by the previous Outside Corner Ball, unable to follow the ball to the end, and could only release the ball a little earlier.
"Whoosh!" When Sendou saw this one suddenly fall again, his pupils widened, and he could only grit his teeth and fight desperately.
"Ping!"
"Out of bounds... out of bounds!" The referee was stunned for a moment, and for a second, he forgot his responsibilities because of the intensity of the competition on the field.
The ball was barely managed to land behind the catcher!
Afterwards, Sendou lost his balance and took a half step back, sitting on the ground.
"That was close!!!"
"Ah...! What a pity!"
That batter was just a hair's breadth away from striking out!
That's incredible!!!
"You can keep up even like that!"
What followed was a cacophony of noise from the crowd, as the excitement they had just experienced allowed them to release their pent-up emotions.
"Are you alright, Sendou?" Seidou's bench saw Sendou sitting on the ground for a few seconds without moving and wondered if he was injured somewhere.
Sendou did not answer. Two seconds later, just as Sawamura was about to step forward and say something, he slowly got up, supporting himself with one hand on the ground.
However, he kept his head down and didn't say anything.
"Hey!" Sawamura tried to shout, the audience was still releasing their emotions, so he unconsciously raised his voice.
"No problem!" Sendou said calmly in a normal voice after fixing his helmet, and then shook his right hand before brushing the sand off his body.
The people of Seidou naturally couldn't hear what Sendou was saying in such a noisy environment, but they could still understand the gestures.
So everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They were really afraid that if Sendou got injured at this time, it would not only have a big impact on the Koshien finals, but also put the preliminary rounds before the Autumn Tournament in danger.
Qualifying for the Autumn Tournament will begin at the start of September, which is less than ten days away.
No one heard what Sendou said, and naturally no one noticed the slight coldness in his tone.
This guy is getting a little angry.
He himself didn't know why he was angry, and it wasn't the first time he had fallen in the Batter's Box.
Perhaps it was Hongo Masamune's gaze that made Sendou feel uncomfortable. Or perhaps it was because he had fallen rather awkwardly in front of so many people, or maybe it was for some other reason.
Sendou analyzed the reasons one by one, but all of them were denied; it was just a nameless anger.
To be honest, he didn't dislike Hongo Masamune's attitude, and he admired him for being similar to himself, possessing a spirit of never giving up.
However, after getting up, Sendou was somewhat displeased with Hongo Masamune.
He also realized why he was angry.
His gaze, after Sendou fell, gave him a sense of superiority.
Regardless of what Hongo Masamune thought, Sendou just had this feeling. Even though he knew it was just his imagination and that was how the guy really was, he was still very unhappy, so he got angry.
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
"Puff!"
"Piu!"
"Ping!"
"Outside the boundary!"
There were already two good shots, so we had to shoot all the balls. The reason Sendou fell down earlier was because we forced a shot.
In crucial moments, most batters want to take control of their own destiny and don't want to leave it to the referee to decide.
Some balls are hit much off-center, and some are hit only slightly off-center.
However, Sendou still held on!
"Here! Finish him off with Fast Forkball!"
After missing their chance earlier, Enjo used these balls to distract Sendou and create another opportunity to decide the outcome. Of course, if Sendou didn't play well and was eliminated by the defense, that was also part of the objective. In any case, none of them were good balls; they were all incredibly tricky.
Now the decisive moment has finally arrived.
"Puff!"
"Ouch!"
"Piu!"
"Puff!"
After settling into position, Sendou stared intently at the ball.
"Call out!"
Sendou's eyes narrowed as he watched the ball fall.
He only needed to make the ball out of bounds, but the nameless anger he felt earlier was like a raging fire, causing Sendou to suddenly become a little upset.
"Asshole!..."
"Ping!!"
"You really thought I couldn't hit you?!" With this surge of anger, Sendou roared inwardly and unleashed his full power.
"Call out!"
"Pfft!" The high-speed, low-altitude Line Drive easily tore through the infielder's defense. The infielder barely had time to raise his hand before landing just over ten meters behind the shortstop.
"We've landed!!!"
A hit in left-center field!!!
The shortstop was retreating, and the left fielder and center fielder were moving forward... A sudden single, accompanied by the commentator's passionate commentary.
"Yoshia!!!"
"Haha! The runner on first base has reached third base!"
" Sendou-kun has undoubtedly reached second base!"
"Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes! The second Long Hit!!!" Seidou's supporters cheered wildly.
Double!
A powerful blow from the fourth batter!
Two at-bats, two Long Hit! The Kyoma Daifuji Maki was completely helpless against Seidou's fourth batter!
They are about to face the biggest crisis of the game! The commentator concluded with a loud voice, summarizing the series of attacks and defenses.
It's the end of the month today, please vote!
End-of-month tickets, and also tickets for the beginning of next month...