"A curveball? This curveball doesn't move much laterally." Sendou thought to himself after looking at the third ball.
He then assumed a striking stance, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Three bad balls, and the batter doesn't want to shoot anymore!"
The fifth goal!
A curveball with a high outside corner!
This is the only chance to score a strike!
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
Sendou remained motionless, but a barely perceptible smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Smack!"
"Nice shot!"
"Yoshi! It's a low-class trick, but it's really yoshi!" Enjo shouted in his heart immediately.
It's really not easy to catch up with the Sendou, especially after so many rounds and when your hands are already hot.
The ball count is full!
Moreover, Sendou-kun did not make a move at all!
Are they completely misled?
"The catcher from the Kyoma, his pitch selection is truly profound! It's hard to believe he's a freshman!"
"Nice ball, Hasebe- senpai!"
"We're after him!"
"The attacker has absolutely no way to make a move!"
"Nice ball, you bastard Yuancheng!"
Once the ball count was full, the cheers from many neutral spectators who had initially been supporting Sendou were no longer as enthusiastic.
It's not that they're fickle; they're still individual fans of Sendou. But they'd rather watch this increasingly exciting duel unfold.
Furthermore, pitchers should be quiet when throwing to avoid disturbing the concentration of the players they support.
"Huh? You've got a knack for this!"
"How about it? Your favorite kid is being pursued!" Ichinose said to Ozawa with Ichinose light laugh from the sidelines.
He looked quite interested.
"That bastard isn't so easily swayed!"
He's full of bad intentions; nobody knows what he's thinking.
That catcher's pitch selection must have been an adrenaline rush, which made him think clearly and perform beyond his usual level!
However, while that ball placement was beautiful, it wasn't enough to prevent that bastard from even getting a shot off.
He must have already set his sights on something.
"The fact that he dared to let that ball go means he thinks he's completely figured out the catcher's pitch selection," Ozawa replied expressionlessly.
"Is that so?" Ichinose smiled slightly, her expression showing a hint of disbelief.
However, that expression, overall, looks a lot like Miyuki ... (You're not Miyuki's older sister, are you!...)
"It's rare to see someone interested in high school students!" Ozawa suddenly asked.
"Of course! How could I not care when my beloved has been taken away?" Ichinose said with a rather exaggerated expression.
Ozawa frowned slightly but did not speak.
"You'll never find a boyfriend if you're this cold and aloof!"
Or is it...?
"Don't talk so outrageously!" Then Ozawa punished her with a chop to the neck.
Although her personality has changed a lot, and she has become aloof from the inside out, it seems that nothing in the world matters to her.
However, being aloof doesn't mean she's completely submissive. If you annoy her, she'll take direct action...
"Ouch! Don't be so rough!"
"Did I guess right?" Ichinose wicked smile.
"Sigh! You know, she only has baseball on her mind, how could she possibly fall for a man?"
"Isn't it better to live a good life?" said the girl Shiina Ozawa the other side of Ozawa, rubbing her forehead.
"You never know! Stones can bloom too!... Ouch!"
"Don't disturb my viewing of the game!" After saying that, Ozawa himself had no intention of saying anything more.
Ze spread his hands, as if to say, "There's a limit to joking. You know her personality."
Azuma Kiyokuni, who was standing next to them, also heard the conversation between the two.
However, this fat guy also had a somewhat simple-minded personality. Although he knew that the girls next to him were there to see Sendou, and seemed to know them, he was still a bit simple-minded.
He showed absolutely no interest in topics involving girls; he was only interested in the competition.
He glanced at the three of them, his eyes looking a bit... dazed, then continued watching the game. (I've seen that look; he's definitely a straight guy...)
"Let's decide the winner with this final shot!"
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
"Puff!"
"Outside corner? It's obviously a bad ball!" Thinking this, Sendou, who had just shifted his weight, suddenly stopped hitting the ball.
"So..."
"Whoosh!" The ball suddenly changed direction.
"Ping!"
"This ball will be Slider!!"
"Ah!" Yuancheng exclaimed in surprise, his expression filled with disbelief.
When Sendou slowed down the bat just now, he thought he was holding the bat, and that he would just watch the bat strike out and win.
"Piu!"
"Puff!"
The white ball moved backward at high speed and landed in center left field almost instantly.
The infielders didn't even have time to react physically.
"Yoshi!" Countless spectators jumped up from their benches, shouting wildly, and the stadium was instantly filled with cheers.
"Hit! A single to center left field!!!"
The runner on second base is heading home!
The runner on first base bypassed third base and charged straight to home plate!
"What a joke! You think you can get two runs with just one Long Hit?!" Center back A-Jiu, who had the ball, took a run-up and threw it straight to home plate.
Having strong shoulders doesn't mean you can't complete a straight pass over 100 meters; it just means you need one or two more steps in your run-up.
For movements that are measured in seconds or less, and aim for a fraction of a second, one or two steps, or about a second, can make a world of difference in the outcome.
"Smack!"
"Get back to base!!!"
Second point!!!
A blow from the fourth batter!!!
Timely Hit two to third!
The score gap widened to six points in an instant!
Seven to one!!!
After failing to assassinate home plate, Sendou naturally ran to third base.
You could even say that assassinating the runner at home plate is more reliable than killing Sendou, who is closer to him.
Speed is on a completely different level.
"Yoshi!!" Isashiki and Onii-san, who had narrowly made it back to home plate, gave each other a big high-five.
He then gave a thumbs-up to the third baseman, Kusunoki-senpai.
This was a coordinated and fierce attack by several Seidou athletes.
"Fifth batter! First baseman, Yuuki-kun!"
"Men have their own world!"
If a metaphor is needed, then it is like a star streaking across the sky!
Charge out! Yuuki!!
Yuu~Kiyo!! Yuu~Kiyo!!
The Captain Tetsu, entered the Batter's Box to the accompaniment of cheering music.
At the same time, it was met with a huge cheer from the audience. In the eyes of ordinary viewers, this moment was likely to decide the outcome of the game.
At this moment, Hasebe called a pause, and it took several seconds for Madoka to realize that the call had been paused and to recover from her daze.
He then quickly ran up to the Pitcher's Mound.
"What's wrong, Hasebe-san?"
"Is something wrong?" Yuan Cheng asked urgently in a row as soon as he arrived.
"I'm fine!"
"You're the one in trouble!" Hasebe said slowly.
"I?
"I'm so sorry, I was just spacing out!" Yuancheng immediately bowed and apologized.
"Nothing!
I think you need some time to calm down!
"That shot you just took hit you harder than it did me!"
"That man is too strong!"
That was incredibly strong; I never expected that ball to be hit so solidly!
But it's Hasebe-san!
"Are you really alright?" Yuancheng's tone sounded a little more honest, or rather, a little dazed.
"Ah! Genius... his heart is unexpectedly delicate!"
You'd better take this opportunity to calm down! Hasebe sighed. To him, Madoka was already a genius-level player.
He knew that Enjo, like Hongo, had a very strong competitive spirit towards the path of Sendou, but had been defeated.
Veteran players like him, who were already mentally prepared to be eliminated, didn't feel much pressure.
It's like a role player; being outplayed won't affect them.
On the contrary, those who consider themselves extraordinary and exceptionally talented are more likely to be discouraged.
"Hi!"
"I'm alright now, senior!" After adjusting her mindset, Enjo thanked him.
"Then let's go back!"
"Hi!"
The match then resumed.
After returning, Yuancheng did not squat down, but stood there and placed the gloves in the area of the left mat.
The meaning couldn't be clearer: the bases are empty, and there's no need to continue the battle with Captain Tetsu.
As for why Sendou didn't stay at second base, it was because he anticipated that this would be the outcome.
" Kyoma walked Yuuki-kun! Now there are no outs on first and third base!"
"That's a smart move! The bases are empty, and there's no reason to continue fighting against such a top-class hitter." The two commentators each gave a sentence describing the situation of the game.
"Sixth batter! Third baseman, Masuko-kun!"
"The crucial first goal after the free pass!!!"
"Puff!"
"Call out!"
"Ping!"
When Yuancheng heard that voice, his heart almost broke.
"Pfft! Snap!" But this time, the second baseman, the second-year Nishi Hideo, truly became a hero.
After making a spectacular save from the powerful hit, he used his eyes to distract Sendou at third base and passed the ball to the shortstop at second base.
"Smack!"
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Double kill failed!!"
But Yuki, who played second base, was out in the inning!
"That enormous Masuko is incredibly fast!" the commentator exclaimed.
This shot almost became the Nishi Hideo's savior.
If you get a double kill, you can really say you've weathered the crisis and there's no longer any risk of losing points.
However, the runners are still on first and third base, and the Kyoma has only managed one out.
"What a pity, it looks like we'll have to lose another point!" Coach Nitta thought to himself, arms crossed.
"Seventh batter! Catcher, Miyuki-kun!"
"Take whatever you want, you bastard!"
"What good luck! With one out, the runner on third base is Sendou!"
"This is practically free points, don't mess it up!"
Subsequently, at Coach Nitta's Signals, Enjo stood up again and sent Miyuki on the Miyuki roll.
One out, bases loaded!
Miyuki's attack was indeed as bad as Sendou said.
However, his competitive spirit in crucial moments, his natural ball sense, and his ability to predict the ball's trajectory are enough for opponents to carry him to victory in such critical situations.
Moreover, a bases-loaded strategy makes it easy to get a large number of outs.
They couldn't stop Sendou at third base, so they tried to get as many outs as possible.
This is what Coach Nitta meant when he said it looks like we'll have to lose another point.
And the next hitter is Sawamura!
Sawamura's performance in his last at-bat clearly showed Coach Nitta that he was the best candidate.
Coach Nitta knew that Sawamura was very good at short-range attacks.
Although they can't get their hands on valuable recordings from the battle zone, they can still access the live stream recordings.
However, no matter how good his short game is, it can still be countered if he is clearly prepared, unless his speed is at least at the level of Kuramochi.
In fact, even at the Kuramochi level, with three runners on base, if Sendou can't get outs, there are two other runners who can.
This is the advantage of a bases-loaded strategy. Coach Nitta was actually happy about the change of pitcher because he no longer needed to work on that left-handed pitcher.
Coach Kataoka understood what Coach Nitta meant, but he didn't care at all, which is typical of Seidou.
"Eighth batter! Pitcher, Sawamura-kun!"
"Ah! Hahaha! I'm going to buy all the delicious food!"
"Hahaha!" Sawamura was extremely happy and once again walked towards the Batter's Box with his arrogant, crab-like gait.
" Sawamura!!"
"Hahaha! Huh?" Sawamura realized someone was calling him from the bench halfway through his walk.
Led by Head Manager Oota, a large group of people waved wildly at Sawamura.
Looking at Head Manager Oota's expression, Sawamura thought, "This scene looks so familiar!"
However, given his thought process, he couldn't recall that the expression on Head Manager Oota was the same as the expression he had when he hit the table in Inajitsu.
"Hahaha!" Sawamura laughed as he walked back to the bench.
"Boss! I understand what you mean!"
Do you want me to ejaculate?
" Home Run!!" Sawamura had no idea that he was also very familiar with this phrase.
Upon hearing Sawamura's words, Coach Kataoka broke out in a sweat, his expression somewhat speechless.
"Na...!" With a whisper, the guy once again showed an incredulous expression.
"Bite!"
"Forced scoring!"
"They actually let me!!!... Short-handed?" Sawamura emphasized the word "me" while wearing short-handed clothing.
In his mind, even if the Sendou was required to fight in short-range combat, he shouldn't be the one to fight in short-range combat.
Although Sawamura's short-range attacks were excellent, he was still caught out by the well-prepared Kyoma and got a double kill.
Sendou had already scored before they had even reached one out, so there was no situation where the score was invalid.
I can't figure it out!
Completely baffling!... I just can't understand it!
Why won't you let me hit?! It was a perfect situation with one out and the bases loaded!!!
"I shouldn't have used a short bat no matter how I look at it!" This sentence kept repeating in Sawamura's mind from the moment he started running the bases.
His understanding of baseball has indeed improved; he really couldn't understand this situation with short-ball.
The key is that the hitter in the Batter's Box is a reliable hitter...
From this perspective, Sawamura will never have any self-awareness.
Seidou was unlucky, or rather, Kyoma's infield defense was too solid, and they were double-killed.
Despite this, Seidou finished their Eighth Inning with a seven-point lead.
If the pitching lineup is reliable, the fans supporting Seidou on the sidelines can celebrate early.
However, there is absolutely no way to make people do that now.
The players from the Kyoma remain highly Fighting Spirit.
Waving frantically, begging for votes frantically, pleading for everything...