"Training is over for today! Everyone, finish with a five-kilometer run! I want to hear every single one of you shouting!"
"That's it? We barely trained today, did we?" Sawamura asked in confusion.
"The Practice Match is tomorrow. We only needed to get a feel for defensive practice, and we've practiced bunting and baserunning enough for today. Save your strength! All right, stop talking and line up!"
"Akagi Middle, fight!!! Louder!" Sendou shouted at everyone through a megaphone, lazily sitting on his bicycle nearby!
"Akagi Middle, fight!!!" everyone running laps echoed.
"Uncle! Are you sure about tomorrow's Practice Match? You said you'd handle it, so I left it to you."
"Who do you think I am? How many coaches in Tokyo would dare not give me face? Your opponents tomorrow are Seiwa Middle School, not far from Wildcats. Their coach is Takei, your senior from Wildcats. They're considered above the second tier in Tokyo, and their overall strength is a bit higher than yours. So don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Good luck!"
"Okay!"
"All right, that's it for now. Goodbye!"
"You all heard that?" Sendou said to his companions after hanging up.
"So? Nervous? They're a team with better overall strength than us." Seeing no one speak, Sendou smiled.
"We'll win!!! We'll win!!!" someone immediately started shouting.
"Ei-chan said so, right?"
"Yeah!" The others began nodding as well.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. That overall-strength assessment is only that uncle's judgment. It's not that there's anything wrong with his judgment, but he made it without knowing what Eijun's pitches were like. Have a little faith in our ACE."
"And their overall strength being slightly better is just that. It means their pitcher definitely isn't someone we can't overcome! Doesn't that make things feel a