Practice Match (1)

The next day, Sendou was announced as joining the First Team, but he wouldn't train with them.

Over the following week, Sendou improved rapidly. He mastered all the basic techniques of a catcher and grew accustomed to his pitching form, though his batting stance still wasn't fully refined.

In the coach's words, with the tournament approaching, he'd let Sendou use whatever stance felt comfortable for now. Then he'd consider helping him adjust gradually, either finding a stance that suited him or referencing the batting styles of certain hitters.

Coach Nakanishi, who came from the Major League, knew full well that some beliefs in Japan were mistaken.

For example, while long-distance running for pitchers did help stabilize their lower body, the idea that it steadily increased pitch speed was wrong.

What directly affected pitch speed and power was explosive strength—channeling the body's full force into a single point in an instant.

Long-distance running, on the other hand, stabilized the lower body and improved control.

Similarly, the endurance built from long runs didn't actually boost a pitcher's stamina in the way people thought.

Pitchers relied on explosive power, just like how sprinters and long-distance runners had different training regimens.

The energy drain of a sudden burst versus sustained output were completely different modes. That was why, no matter how much a pitcher ran, they still couldn't throw many more pitches. Only when the body got used to that instant explosion could it deliver.

(To put it simply: a person could jog ten kilometers, but try a hundred-meter sprint a few times and they'd collapse.

That was the difference between sustained endurance and explosive bursts.)

Sendou's training menu was packed with explosive power drills.

This kind of long-distance training wasn't suitable for Little League or Little Senior League practice. Elementary and middle school were for learning technique; high school was for building up.

Of course, while the explosive training was intense, it was still within what an elementary schooler's body could handle.

Coach Nakanishi was constantly monitoring Sendou's physical responses to the training, even contacting friends in America for advice. He didn't want to ruin everything.

After a few joint practices, Sendou's batting and pitching quickly earned the team's recognition. With his form corrected and habits formed, he improved by leaps and bounds, earning a spot as the Wildcats' ace and Cleanup Hitter without anyone objecting.

Even Coach Nakanishi hadn't expected such rapid growth.

"Sendou, you've got a Practice Match tomorrow against the Sailors Little League. I'll have you start as the Starting Pitcher, so head home early today!"

"Got it!"

The next day was Sunday. A prestigious team like the Wildcats, with their own bus, often went out for practice matches. And the summer tournament was approaching.

Whether the Wildcats' catcher was weak depended on perspective. For an elementary school team, it was good enough. Elementary school pitch-calling was just flexible adjustments based on the book anyway.

"The Sailors' coach has something come up, so the Practice Match is postponed to next Sunday!"

Life is Unpredictable. These things happened.

A week later, "Supervisor Nakanishi, a fourth-grader as the Starting Pitcher and Cleanup Hitter? That's not your style!

Doesn't the Wildcats win through absolute team coordination?" The opposing coach clearly noticed the odd lineup.

If it were just about letting a talented player get used to the game atmosphere, they wouldn't make him the Cleanup Hitter.

Besides, this was the first time he'd heard of the Wildcats putting a fourth-grader on the First Team.

"Coach Yasuda, this year's a bit special."

"I see!"

"So that's what Coach Nakanishi means—a player whose individual skill surpasses the team?"

"Then I'll be watching closely. A player who can outshine the so-called absolute kings of the Wildcats Little League!" he thought to himself.

"Play ball!"

The Sailors Little League took First Attack.

Per the coach's arrangement, Sendou would hold back on his pitches to work on defensive coordination.

Regardless, the Wildcats Little League had always won through professional-level tactics and superb teamwork and execution.

Even though Sendou was an individual addition to the defense, his reaction speed wasn't a liability.

So even if the opponent could hit the ball easily, the Wildcats' infield defense was no joke. The first and second batters were easily forced out. The third batter got on base with an Infield Hit. Then came the Cleanup Hitter, a sturdy kid on the opposing team.

The catcher called for an outside corner ball, keeping the Ball Trajectory as low as possible. That was a common approach against an unfamiliar batter.

After all, there was too much unpredictability in youth baseball. You never knew when a talented player might show up, so testing was necessary.

Plus, the Sailors' Cleanup Hitter and catcher were fairly well-known.

But that didn't matter to Sendou. He didn't even know his own teammates by name; during practice, they communicated by position.

That was the Wildcats' rule—to prevent coordination errors from new First Team members not knowing names.

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Ball!" The opposing batter held back cautiously.

Sendou's control wasn't good enough to pitch balls that just missed the Strike Zone, even though the rule said any part of the ball crossing the zone counted as a strike.

"Second pitch, Inside Corner Ball, Strike Zone!"

Upon seeing the signals, Sendou silently recited the first set of signals as if confirming them, then nodded and glanced at the runner on first base.

"Steal!"

Just as Sendou turned his head and began his pitching motion, the runner on first suddenly broke for second. But Sendou had already started his throw and couldn't stop.

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Strike!"

"Smack!"

"Safe!"

Even though he fired a quick pickoff throw, the runner still managed to steal the base.

"That scared me!"

Coach Yasuda thought to himself, I figured no matter how talented, he's still a beginner, so there's no way he'd have mastered all kinds of pitching forms. That wide-open delivery of his would give runners a chance to get on base.

But this fourth-grader—his arm speed is way too fast. That kind of explosive power is terrifying.

Good thing that catcher isn't the type with a strong arm. If it were our team's Miya, he'd probably have been thrown out.

With that kind of explosive power, even with a runner on base, he doesn't need to bother with a set position. It was then that Coach Yasuda realized Sendou had been holding back earlier—his arm speed now was on a completely different level.

"I know all the problems beginner pitchers have, but this kid's physical talent makes it hard to exploit him, even with all the usual rookie flaws," Coach Nakanishi said, easily seeing through the opponent's intent. Stealing and bunting were the things beginner pitchers hated most and were most vulnerable to. But after two weeks of intensive training combined with Sendou's inhuman explosive power, those weaknesses were no longer easy to target.

"Next pitch, inside corner again. Make it a ball, but don't make it too obvious."

"Steal!"

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Ball!"

"Back-to-back steals?"

"Smack!"

"Safe!"

"Starting off like this, huh? Two outs, runner on third, batter in the cleanup spot, count two balls and one strike," Sendou thought to himself.

I can't target this pitcher, but this catcher's weak arm is exposed. I'm not going to hold back, Coach Nakanishi.

"Still too obvious. Next pitch, outside corner ball. Let's settle this in the strike zone."

But then Sendou shook his head. He could see from the opponent's overall stance that they were clearly waiting for an outside pitch. Inside corner followed by outside corner—it was the standard catcher's sequence. The opponent was a catcher too, and he had let both the inside strike and the inside ball go without swinging.

Just as the previous pitch was being thrown, Sendou noticed the opponent's foot starting to shift, though in the end it didn't extend. But Sendou caught every bit of it.

This practice match will feature some familiar faces, you know. I think many of you have already guessed who. Also, if I can finish writing the practice match in three chapters, I'll rename the chapters as Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.