Post-Match Discussion

"In the end, Kawakami couldn't even hit the pharmacist's Center Batting Lineup!"

"It's precisely because only Furuya is performing well that it's worrying!"

"If that's the case, Sanada completely shuts down the offensive line, so it's not very reliable!"

"It's not good at all compared to last year!"

Not to mention summer!

Having just dominated the nation, the Autumn Tournament has completely dashed their hopes!

"But tomorrow is the Regional Preliminaries Drawing Lots, the competition is less than two weeks away, and the official competition will start in just one month!"

Can the team be reorganized in such a short time?

"Yes!

Even if the Sendou immortality were to return, it would be meaningless!

A team with only four batters—their opponents won't even bother to compete with them!

"This is really worrying!"

When OB and the others left, they were all talking about the team's current situation and were really worried about how far the team could go in the Autumn Tournament.

Meanwhile, the Seidou players were tidying up the court, and the coaching staff waited silently for the audience to leave.

When only the players remained on the court, Coach Kataoka gathered everyone together.

The team had lost the anticipation and confidence they had before the start.

Even those who didn't perform well were aware of how badly they performed.

The team fell into a brief silence.

"What a complete defeat!" The first to break the silence was Coach Kataoka.

"This is your current strength... the combined power of the entire team!"

We really should thank the pharmacist for making this clear to us!

Now you've faced reality!

Hearing the coach's words, many people were extremely unwilling, but that was the truth.

"This atmosphere! I really shouldn't have accepted this match!" Naturally, it was Head Manager Oota was most worried about the players' mentality.

"Strike!!!"

Especially second-year students!!!

Not aggressive enough in the Batter's Box!

Perhaps you're overly concerned with team coordination...

But if you can't even play to your own style and can't even get the ball, then it's pointless!

The reason I dare to allow you to freely engage in combat within the Batter's Box during this period is...

I'm hoping that you can perform at the same level as you did in practice...

That will allow you to achieve excellent results!

But now it seems...

I can no longer trust you when it comes to dealing with this issue!

The starting lineup and the order of play will not be fixed...

Whether it's first grade or second grade, as long as he's in good form, I'll keep letting him play.

Everyone should prepare themselves mentally for this!

When Coach Kataoka finished speaking, all the starting players widened their eyes.

Many people were already sweating bullets, especially those who didn't perform well today.

"We're done stretching, then we're dismissed for today!!"

"Hi!!!"

"Miyuki! Kawakami! Sawamura! And you!"

"The four of you are just going to stay here!" The last one to speak was naturally Sendou.

Sendou and Coach Ochiai have become the brains of the entire coaching staff. Now that so many issues have been discovered, Coach Kataoka also needs someone to help him sort things out or, in other words, brainstorm ideas.

"Then I'll head back now!"

"There's been a lot of poaching lately!" Rei-chan said.

"Is it starting already?" Sendou asked.

"Um!

First, we need to finalize the list, and then contact each person individually...

If it's like what happened to you last year, then we'll need to arrange a visit as well.

In short, I've been very busy. I've been lacking sleep lately and I even have dark circles under my eyes. I wonder if I'll get wrinkles!" As she spoke, Rei-chan slightly furrowed her cute brows.

"Wrinkles are probably a sign of your age... no, I mean, it's probably because you've forgotten to take care of yourself!" Sendou almost blurted out the bombshell about age, but thankfully he cleverly backed down.

"I take care of my skin every day!"

"Then there's no problem!"

Let's go back quickly!

"Going home earlier means going to bed earlier, which means less chance of getting wrinkles!" With that, Sendou quickly changed the subject, urging Rei-chan to go back and forget about the topic to prevent her from thinking about it too much.

"Okay!" With that, Rei-chan left.

"Phew!" As soon as Rei-chan left, Sendou immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The conversation between the two was quite ordinary, and the others weren't really focused on it, so they didn't have time to think about it further.

Coach Kataoka then took them to the observation room.

As soon as he entered the room, Coach Ochiai found a stool and sat down.

There weren't many seats in the room, so everyone else stood in order.

Coach Kataoka looked out the window at the stadium and remained silent for a while, as if he was thinking about where to start.

"Sawamura!"

"What's your opinion on today's pitching?" In the end Coach Kataoka decided to start with Sawamura.

He wanted to know if Sawamura was aware of, or rather, whether he was aware of, the issues he needed to address.

"Hi!

Once the other party starts to harass me, it becomes very difficult for me to get the elimination count!

It's been like this since Koshien!

"You know that enough, because you can't shoot any other kind of Ball Trajectory except for Inside Corner Ball."

Moreover, their ball control isn't great either. If you keep them on your heels, you'll definitely get an opportunity!

Plus, Metal Bat are your Nemesis!

While not everyone can do this, it's difficult to deal with such a fighter.

The original plan was to let you continue to upgrade your existing weapons!

However, it now seems that after winning all the way in Koshien, we have also been put under a magnifying glass by our opponents.

Once a weakness is discovered, it will naturally be targeted!

So, you need to make a change! Coach Kataoka paused for a moment after saying this.

"Sawamura!"

"Oh?!" Sawamura looked up.

"Hmm?" Just as Coach Kataoka was about to speak, he suddenly realized what Sendou had done earlier.

So he glanced at the guy and continued speaking.

"Starting tomorrow, the training content will be changed!"

Focus on jogging and perform targeted lower body strengthening exercises!

Pitching Practice in the Bullpen will be reduced, and all other practice will be canceled!

Do you understand?

"The competition is approaching, yet you're making me run...?"

This means...

"The Sendou!"

"Continue Sawamura's subsequent training according to your plan!"

Your own practice routine will remain the same; I don't plan to let you compete before the main event of the Autumn Tournament.

"Get well soon and come back healthy!"

"Okay! I understand!"

"Sendou?" Upon hearing Coach Kataoka's words, Miyuki glanced at Sendou.

He had already sensed that Sendou's reaction to Sawamura being abused was a little strange, and guessed that Sendoh was doing something in secret.

In retrospect, his guess was correct.

Now, after receiving guidance from Coach Kataoka and considering Sendou's previous efforts to get Sawamura to run, he finally understood everything.

"Kawakami!

Although they hit the ball, the pitches, which were mostly Low Ball pitches, were not bad!

Take this time to rest and adjust before the big competition!

"Hi!!"

"Soga!"

"Is Sendou helping me in secret again?" Sawamura thought to himself, head down.

"Currently, the team's scoring ability is much worse than that of previous teams."

Therefore, the most important thing for the team now is to strengthen its defense.

It's unlikely that we'll see a large lead like we did in the summer again.

There must be a lot of matches played by very narrow margins!

No matter how good the Furuya is!

His stamina hasn't reached the point where you can hand over the entire game to him yet!

Your strength is essential for us to continue winning in the Autumn Tournament.

Only by doing a good job in defense, treating every point as if it were Extra Innings where every point could lead to a decisive victory!

Then comes the attack!

There's only one challenge in autumn: getting a hit!

Without Sendou, if you can't consistently get hits, you should definitely take the run!

Even if you don't get any points, you still have to make sure you stack up the bags!

Miyuki!

This is where you need to score!

After Sendou returns, you will become his henchman...

Only when he has a formidable batter behind him, and a large number of runners piled up on the bases, can he prevent the opponent from easily walking him.

Therefore, before you return to Sendou, I hope you will strengthen your ability to decide the outcome of crucial moments!

Do you understand?

"Hi!"

Miyuki also realized today that while there was no shortage of hits, there was a lack of a hitter who could decide the outcome at crucial moments.

This also led to everyone being too eager to score points through teamwork, which backfired and affected their ability in the Batter's Box.

In this match, he also saw clearly what the team truly needed.

"That's true! No matter how much you strengthen it, the progress in a short period of time is limited."

The team's current goal is probably to help them regain their original mindset and strength.

Therefore, how to make good use of the destructive power of the Sendou will be an important issue for the Autumn Team in terms of scoring!

Only by having a stable scoring point can you win the game, and it will also give players more confidence when defending.

Not a single point can be lost. Once this atmosphere is established, even the best defense will have problems.

Offense and defense are inherently complementary. Coach Ochiai wholeheartedly agreed with Coach Kataoka's decision.

"Miyuki! Kawakami! Sawamura! You guys go back first!"

"Hi!" Sawamura and Miyuki glanced at Sendou with different feelings before walking out.

"The future direction is probably what I just mentioned."

"Is there anything I've forgotten?" Coach Kataoka asked after everyone had left.

"That's really all we can do right now!"

The most important thing is to get their mindset back on track. Coach Ochiai spoke first.

"I have no objection either!" Head Manager Oota also chimed in.

"And you, Sendou!"

"That's all we can do for now!"

However, judging from today's match, this level of competition is very effective in testing strength and finding weaknesses!

"Once the team has adjusted their mindset and made some progress, we can continue to organize this kind of competition!" Sendou said.

"Well?!!!

Today's game has already made the team's atmosphere so gloomy!

"If we fight again!" Head Manager Oota immediately retorted upon hearing Sendou's words.

"Um!"

"Well?!!

Are you serious? To Head Manager Oota's disbelief, Coach Kataoka nodded.

"That's absolutely right!" Coach Ochiai added.

Head Manager Oota's expression was exceptionally interesting.

"Head Manager Oota!"

There's really no need to worry!

Those guys won't really be discouraged by such a small thing.

"I'm afraid they must be very unwilling to accept this now and want to work twice as hard to avenge their defeat!" Sendou said with a smile when he saw Head Manager Oota's reaction.

"However, it's difficult to find opponents of this caliber for Practice Match at this point," Coach Kataoka raised a new question.

Today's match exposed so many problems, which made Coach Kataoka realize how effective it is to play against strong opponents.

These are exceptionally talented players with remarkably strong mental fortitude. There's no need to worry about them being discouraged.

"That's true. The Autumn Tournament is coming up soon, and schools will be starting soon too."

It would be difficult for powerful clans in other regions to launch expeditions at this time.

Meanwhile, our rivals in the same region are starting to hide their intelligence, making it even less likely that they will fight us.

"The pharmacist is just an exception!" Coach Ochiai nodded in agreement.

"The opponent is actually the easiest to deal with!" Upon hearing their conversation, Sendou chuckled nonchalantly and sat down on the edge of the table.

"Hmm?" Coach Kataoka frowned.

"Sendou! Where can you find a team like this?" Head Manager Oota thought Sendou was making a fool of himself in front of the coach, so he quickly spoke up, hoping that he wouldn't anger the coach.

This minister deserves recognition for his concern for the students.

"Sunglasses Uncle!"

"When will the Autumn National Games that Tetsu-san and the others are going to participate in start?" Sendou asked seemingly casually.

"Ten... um?" Coach Kataoka instinctively wanted to answer, but suddenly realized what Sendou really wanted to say.

"You mean you want Yuki and the other third-year students to be the new team's opponents?" Coach Kataoka asked.

"I see! That's right!"

The Japan's Number One team in the summer mostly consists of third-year students, and teams composed of third-year students are also among the top in the country.

"They certainly live up to our description of a formidable opponent!" Coach Ochiai said with agreement.

"Moreover, the seniors' matches were around the same time as our preliminary rounds, and before that, there were matches of the Japan-America Friendship Baseball Team."

It's like they're each other's sparring partners!

Real-world practice is always more interesting than tedious drills, and the timing and effectiveness are also much better!

Moreover, the veterans must have been holding back a lot of anger and wanted to vent it during today's match.

"It's not good to keep them holding it in!" Sendou with a wicked smile.

The gist of it is that since the seniors have nothing better to do, they might as well teach the juniors a lesson to vent their pent-up anger, and it can also help them regain their fighting spirit and prepare for the competition.

"Oh!

I've recently been considering how to balance training the third-grade students while also building a new team.

In retrospect, training separately has only yielded mediocre results. Fortunately, the third-year students were willing to practice indoors, and subsequent adjustments have gone relatively smoothly.

The consequence is that when you're focused on training, you can easily lose sight of what's happening on the court.

Your proposal solves this problem perfectly.

"Then let's do it this way!" Seeing Sendou's gloating expression, Coach Kataoka still approved his proposal without hesitation.

And there is absolutely no reason to refuse.

It's really hard to explain in a few words.

In short, due to an upset stomach and various other reasons, I only managed to write 4,000 words by this point under normal circumstances...

Requesting votes before bed...