Practice Match (2)

"They really are just a bunch of simple kids," Sendou thought with a smirk.

"So, keep going with inside corner balls? Since the speed's not in our favor, just throw strikes."

Seeing the signal, Sendou nodded this time.

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Strike!"

"Nice ball!" Cheers erupted around him. The batter had swung and missed.

"See? He's clearly waiting for the outside corner," Sendou muttered to himself.

"What are this pitcher-catcher duo thinking? Didn't they throw any outside corners earlier? Are they just racking up the strike count? Still, that last pitch—even if I'd aimed for it, I couldn't have hit it in one go."

"This guy's supposedly a fourth-year," the batter—whom Coach Yasuda had called Xiaoya—thought to himself.

"Next pitch, outside corner?"

Sendou shook his head again. Frustrated, the catcher had no choice but to flash the inside corner signal once more.

Sendou began his windup.

"This time it should be outside, right? They've thrown enough inside corners; an outside one would make it feel far for the batter. What?"

"Smack!"

"Strike, batter out!"

"Youxia, struck out swinging! We've held them this inning—now it's our turn to attack!"

Quite a few substitute players jumped up. Even though this was a prestigious team, they were far too young to keep their emotions in check.

After a quick warm-up toss, the Wildcats' First Batter stepped into the box.

The Wildcats' First Batter was a fast runner with strong hitting skills. Despite the opposing catcher's skill, he managed to push-hit a strike meant to pad the count and reached base with an infield hit.

"Go! Go! Go!" The first-base coach's voice rang out.

"Damn it, you looking down on us?" the Sailors' catcher muttered under his breath, seeing the First Batter take a lead of over five meters off the base.

And the Second Batter immediately squared up for a bunt.

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Safe!"

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Safe!" The pickoff throws came in rapid succession, but they were useless against the disciplined Wildcats' starters.

"Forget him. Leave the runner to me. Those two throws were enough. If we can't rattle him, any more pickoffs will just let them dictate the rhythm. Infield, stay sharp—the real trouble is the runner and batter working together."

The Sailors' cleanup hitter and catcher signaled for the pitcher to stop the pickoffs, but seeing that runner so far off the base was infuriating!

The real showdown began.

"Throw one off-speed first and see what he's after."

The Sailors' ace gave a slight nod.

"Whoosh!"

"Steal!"

"Smack!"

The Wildcats' Second Batter judged it a ball and pulled his bat back instantly.

Just as the Sailors' catcher was about to fire the ball at top speed, the stealing runner had already returned to first base.

"Fake steal!"

"Damn it!" Taking a deep breath, the catcher crouched back down.

"Go! Go! Go!" That little first-base runner was now especially irritating in our young catcher's eyes.

"Keep throwing off-speed? No, that'll just put the count against us. What's this 'Kanto Champions' nonsense? They're about our age—let's settle this!" After an internal battle, he finally made up his mind.

But he noticed the Wildcats' Second Batter had already returned to a normal batting stance.

Xiaoya, who had just steeled his resolve, immediately started second-guessing himself.

"The first batter's fake steal disrupts the infield defense, searching for openings. The second batter uses a bunt stance to read pitches precisely and unsettle the pitcher-catcher duo. Aggressive offensive coordination pressures the defense, creating opportunities for each other. Every player is thinking, and that practiced chemistry is on full display."

"It's like a pack of wildcats hunting together—this is the Kanto Champions, the Wildcats! Every time I watch them play, I wonder if they're really just elementary school kids.

"Even I can't be sure what this one-two combo is up to. Most likely, they're just applying pressure, waiting for us to crack under it!" Coach Yasuda thought to himself as he flashed a signal.

"Don't let them fool you. Just do your job, Xiaoya!"

At the same time, the Wildcats' First and Second Batter exchanged a quick glance.

"Whoosh!"

"Steal!"

"Smack!"

"Strike!"

A clean outside-corner ball. The catcher snapped his head up to find the first batter back in the box.

"Just putting pressure on us, huh? That batter didn't swing at all—first pitch was a joint bluff from the first and second batters.

Then the runner on first uses a fake steal to mess with our defense, letting the second batter work the count. If he connects, it's at least a double. Gotta be careful. But if it's a straight showdown, we're not backing down that easy. Count's one-and-one! Time for a decisive victory—the cleanup's up next."

But as he delivered the ball, he completely missed the first-base runner's lips twitch into a faint smile, glancing at the second batter. The second batter took a deep breath after seeing it.

"We're not going easy on you, Sailors team!" the Wildcats' second batter thought.

"Away~ away~ away~!"

With that chant, the second batter squared up for a bunt again.

"No matter how you change it up, we'll just stick to our own baseball."

"Whoosh!"

"Steal!"

"Inside-corner ball?" In an instant, the second batter's mind flashed, and he started pulling the bat back.

"Just as I thought—he's pulling back! That's two good strikes!" But just as the second half of that thought crossed his mind—

"Thwack!" A solid, moderate sound.

"Hit and run!?" Shock and anger surged. Elementary school kids, and they could pull off such an advanced tactic?

The first-base runner didn't even glance back; the second batter forced a swing and executed a perfect hit-and-run.

The ball smacked the ground, bounced high, and sailed past the infield defense. The infield's backup positions fell into chaos.

"Safe!"

"Safe!"

"Youxia! Double hit. Our attack's just starting!" The Wildcats' bench erupted.

"This is the Kanto Champions!!!"

That was the only thought in Harada Masakatsu's mind.

Nonstop attacks, probing, pressure—feints and real tactics mixed together, then crushing the opponent head-on. Even after being crushed, he had no idea how to respond.

This was the Kanto Champions, the Tokyo Wildcats Little League!!!

"A hit-and-run... I doubt there's another team in the country that can pull off such an advanced coordinated tactic." Coach Yasuda remarked with admiration.

The third batter was the same one as before; the original fourth batter had been dropped to fifth. This third batter already had a high batting average, but his long-hit ability wasn't as good as the previous cleanup.

Taking advantage of the opponent's confusion, he easily smacked a double hit. That made it no outs, runner on second, score 2-0, and up came the fourth batter, Sendou.

"A fourth-grade ace cleanup? No way he can keep up with this team's synergy—impossible. At most, he's been on the team three weeks." As he thought this, he saw the third batter on second standing perfectly still on the base.

"Just as I thought—this guy's completely out of sync with the team!"

"Snap out of it! The next guy's just a rookie. Infield, back up!" Harada started directing. Since he was the cleanup, he probably had long-hit ability, but his technique couldn't be that good. So the outfield stayed put, and the infield shifted back.

Since it was a practice match, Coach Nakanishi let the players handle it themselves, even though many of their wins came from his tactical guidance in key moments.

But having seen plenty of tactical setups, plus Coach Nakanishi encouraging them to think, often lecturing them, and fostering mutual exchange among the team, the Wildcats were just too strong for an ordinary prestigious little league team like this.

After writing, I didn't realize it was already past 3 AM. This is killing me—I keep wanting to fix my sleep schedule and go to bed early...