Yuma's first battle in Koshien had come like this, but judging from his expressions, he probably wouldn't want to. Kazuya looked at him walking to the home plate and turning back three times. He looked so pitiful and had no confidence at all. It was better to say that he was going to the execution ground than to play.
Kazuya, who knew little about baseball, now understood that this was not a game of the same level. It is a bit like a professional boxer beating a kindergarten child.
He turned to Shin and asked, "Shin, what's going on?"
Shin was also shocked, "This..." This was not the case when he saw the video from last year. He knew more details than Kazuya, so he was more surprised than him.
Haruna also rarely stopped stuffing snacks into her mouth, holding her chin and murmuring: "Is our school really so weak? It feels like they might as well let me come!"
Yoko didn't understand, but she knew how to look at ambience. When she saw the atmosphere, she knew that the current situation was not good, so she huddled aside and said nothing.
It took Shin a long time to calm down. He looked at Yuma squatting at home base with worry and reluctantly said to Kazuya: "At present, Naganogawa High School has become stronger this year and may go very far. They have a real offensive line, which is somewhat like that Hao Ikeda verus Storms. Without an excellent shooting and catching combination, their scoring ability cannot be suppressed. But they must have been prepared for a long time. Although the pitcher seems to be a newcomer, he is above the average level..."
Kazuya nodded lightly. It sounded like Yuma and the others couldn't prevent the opponents from scoring, but it was also difficult for them to score. Isn't this a sure defeat?
He got serious and carefully observed the players from both sides for comparison. He found that the Naganogawa players had more muscular bodies. Although it was a bit difficult to distinguish them through their baseball shirts, he could barely tell that their upper bodies had an inverted triangle shape. It was very likely that they had consciously entered into a lot of upper body strength training under the guidance of professionals.
The other party was indeed more prepared. Looking at their first battle, it was obvious that they were ambitious...
The third inning began. Yuma squatted on the home plate and watched Naganogawa's batters with a stern look. He kept sending secret signals to his pitching partner. The first-year pitcher obviously couldn't trust Yuma. Seeing the seniors in the third grade losing so miserably, he became timid before fighting. He hesitated in his movements and kept wiping his sweat nervously.
But he couldn't stop pitching, and his level was not as good as that of a starting pitcher. The ball speed was slower, and his mental quality was not up to par in the first inning. He actually walked three opponents and gave up the opponent with a loaded base through four consecutive bad balls. Not only audience but also the referees were confused.
The situation got worse.
Kazuya looked towards the bullpen of Hope's Peak Academy to see why their coach didn't give instructions, but he couldn't see clearly from the same side. At this time, the coach also seemed to be anxious. She took a few steps forward and tried her best to signal to the pitcher, telling him to calm down quickly. This figure made Kazuya stunned.
Isn't this the school doctor Hanako Hayami? The one who treated little radish? Are you a school doctor serving as the coach of the baseball club? Is the school crazy?
Kazuya couldn't believe it, but it seemed that there was no other teacher and it was indeed her who gave the instructions. He pointed at Hanako and asked Shin, "What does that person do?"
"The supervising teacher who leads the team."
"Is she the coach?"
"No, our school's baseball club doesn't have a coach. Hayami Sensei is just leading the team to prevent accidents among students."
Okay, Hope Peak Academy probably felt that it was impossible to enter Koshien, so they didn't spend any cost on this aspect, leaving it to the students to play by themselves.
The importance the two sides attach to the game was completely different. If they could win like this, it was really a daydream.
Sure enough, the next two innings were completely crushing games. The home base that Yuma was guarding was like the stairwell where the opponent came and went at will. They passed one by one and made Yuma be beaten to the point of losing his balance.
He couldn't even catch the ball from his partner. He made several mistakes, either sending the opponent on base or giving the opponent points.
In the end, the referee couldn't stand it anymore. Seeing that Hope Peak Academy had lost all fighting spirit, the game ended in five innings. There is no such thing as "effective game" in the Koshien finals. You can score as many points as you want. But the local games consider this, so as not to waste the strength of the strong team in vain when they meet some too weak team.
It was obvious that Naganogawa High School and Hope Peak Academy were not on the same level and it was meaningless to compare. It was better to protect the promising teams. This is an event that almost all schools will participate in, and there is huge difference among the teams. Just like this time, it can only be said that Naganogawa High School was very lucky. It was almost considered to be sent to the second round, second only to the bye.
The air-raid siren sounded again, and a group of defeated players from Hope Peak Academy were all in disarray. After barely shaking hands with their opponents, several of them sat down.
Kazuya covered his face, not wanting to look at the scoreboard. 0:0, Hope Peak Academy didn't score a point. Regardless of personal physical fitness, technical and tactical level, and mentality, they were completely crushed by the opponents.
"Let's go!" Seeing players left the field, Kazuya stood up and said.
Yoko followed him obediently and held his hand again, but Haruna muttered that she was very dissatisfied with the result. She felt that she had lost a lot by coming all the way to watch only half of the game. She kept saying that maybe girls on the softball team can play better than these boys, at least they won't score zero and embarrass the entire Aichi Prefecture.
Shin had nothing to say. He seemed to feel even more uncomfortable than losing. He followed behind with his head lowered and a gloomy look on his face.
They waited at the exit of the passage for a while, and then players came out carrying their bag and hanging their head, while Hanako followed beside them and comforted softly, which was considered to be her specialty as a school doctor.
However, there were no obvious results. The soul of the entire team seemed to have been absorbed. They were like a group of zombies.
Shin stood aside and bowed his head in salute: "Thank you for your hard work, Senpai!" But no one paid attention to him. The high-year students, especially the third-year students, lost their usual majesty as seniors. They all lowered their heads with regret and pain on their faces.
Maybe they regret not sweating more during training? Or were they hating the person who drew lots for picking such a first-time opponent?
Yuma followed at the end. He didn't even have a bag on his back. He carried it in his hands but the straps were not adjusted properly. He just dragged it along without paying attention.
When he saw Kazuya and Shin, he stood blankly, his eyes were dull and his face was ashen. After a while, he murmured: "Shin, Matsuoka, am I not suitable for playing baseball?"
He felt pretty good playing in school. But now that he was participating in the competition, he felt like he was back to kindergarten level.
Kazuya sighed, and Shin quickly comforted him: "This time your opponents are just too strong. Yuma, don't give up on your dream!"
Yuma stared at him blankly, lowered his head and burst into tears, choking up: "My dream is dead, my passionate youth is over... I also told Junko that I would dedicate this victory to her. What should I do? Shin, what should I do? "