After seeing Minamidaira's pitch, Chris immediately called Sawamura to do some warm-up.
This kind of pitcher with a strong fighting spirit and his own unique way of playing will be difficult to conquer for a while.
Correspondingly, the time for Seidou's side to play defense will also be much earlier.
"Ideally, I would prefer for us to be in the lead before pitching." Chris felt sorry.
It's not that he doesn't trust Sawamura's pitching, his main consideration is the progress of the game. If they can take the lead, then Sawamura's pitching will put more pressure on the opponent and make it easier to defeat them.
If you can't lead, the game is likely to devolve into a pitching duel.
After all, this was the first battle of the Seidou High School Tournament. If it were too difficult, it would damage morale.
If they can't solve the battle against Maimon easily. That won't just give morale to the other teams, even your Players will doubt their own strength.
The standard of high school baseball is very high. Even a professional team can have a tough match against a strong high school team.
They may not necessarily lose but a normal professional team will have a difficult time.
This is the difference between professional and non-professional.
It is not just about strength, but also mentality.
If the first game goes smoothly, it will be very helpful for the games Seidou has to play after.
"Oh!"
Sawamura agreed and warmed up with Chris by passing and receiving the ball.
"Ten balls are fine!"
Sawamura's shoulders are soft, and he can warm up with hardly too many balls.
While there is a warm-up pitching in the bullpen, a fierce duel is still unfolding on the other side.
Kominato Ryosuke didn't plan to use his own stunt, which would also need a lot of focus for the Batter. It is not easy to hit the ball out of bounds accurately.
Maimon's pitcher is not worthy of it!
Nevertheless, his Submarine form is tricky.
Ryosuke deliberately stared at the below of the strike zone.
This point has not escaped the eyes of the catcher of Maimon High School.
'The batter is very concerned about the low breaking ball!'
In that case, use the outside corners to decide the outcome.
Thinking about it, he gave Minamidaira a sign.
On the pitcher's mound, Minamidaira nodded silently.
Whoosh!
As if it was coming from the ground, a small ball suddenly rushed out and whistled.
Kominato Ryosuke's face became serious.
He aimed at the outside corner and swung decisively.
With Minamidaira's ball speed, Ryosuke didn't need to lock at a certain course at all. He could swing and hit any ball at any time.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and flew off the sideline of third base.
SNAP!
The third baseman of Maimon High School caught the white ball in his glove with his backhand.
"OUT!"
Ryosuke's face was a bit embarrassed.
The opponent's ball is not powerful, he subconsciously wanted to hit it a long hit, but he made a mistake and pulled too much.
The ball comes from the bottom of the zone!
'Looks like I calculated wrong'
"Two Out!"
"Are Seidou okay like this."
"This state is not good."
The seniors and alumni of Seidou became nervous one by one.
It seems that today's luck is not on the side of Seidou.
This is too bad luck.
Two Outs, no one on base. It was Isashiki's turn at bat.
"Roar, Spitz."
"Work hard!"
"You can do it!"
Maybe because the situation was too unfavorable, the cheers on the field became louder.
At this moment, Isashiki, who heard the word Spitz, was furious.
"I've said it a thousand times, I'm not a Spitz!"
"Oraaaa!!!"
With a roar, the white ball was hit and flew out.
Isashiki has a lot of experience in hitting this kind of ball that others can't hit well.
The small white ball flew straight to the outfield.
Once it hits the ground, it must be a super long hit.
It is a pity that the outfielder of Maimon who retreated early caught the ball.
SNAP!
"OUT!"
The offense in the first inning of Seidou High School ended here.
Three up and three down!
For the explosive Seidou, this start is unfavorable.
In the dugout of Maimon High School, Superintendent Chiba Junichi looked overjoyed.
'Minamidaira is back! He finally back!'
'There is a chance to win this game. Maimon really has a chance.'
"Even if Seidou High School wants to go all out, subconsciously, they still underestimate us. And this is a good opportunity for us to take advantage of it."
"Fight, attack with all your might, and score points!"
Chiba Junichi shouted to his students excitedly.
"Yes!!"
At a time like this, Maimon High School's own players also thought they had a chance.
The pitcher is Minamidaira, as long as they can get a point from Seidou. Then you can defend it fully.
The balance of victory will inevitably tilt toward Maimon.
"I'm so sorry, such an opportunity cannot appear."
Sawamura stretched his arms and walked grimly on the pitcher's mound.
If you want to suppress the opponent's momentum completely, the most effective way is to make the opponent despair.
Sawamura is quite familiar with this point.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!!!"
By barely using normal Straights and the Wall-Making Form, Sawamura Struck out the first three batters of Maimon High School.
Sawamura didn't need to use the Moving ball or any of his myriad Breaking balls, he didn't even need to use his control much.
With nine balls, less than three minutes in total, the defense mission of Seidou High School in the first inning was over.
The members of the Brotherhood of Red Heart and the Demon King's Guards just started to take formation, and they haven't started to shout their slogans.
But it was over~
"Oh my, our Demon King has a style."
On the other hand, at the dugout of Maimon High School.
Everyone looked stupidly at Sawamura who was walking down the pitcher mound.
When Sawamura played just now, they knew that the opponent was a first-year, and they were quite happy.
Unexpectedly, the Famous Seidou would have a first-year Ace.
Like this, they were ready to go all out and do all they could to score before Seidou replaced him.
Unexpectedly, such a monster came up.
In the rest area of Maimon, the only first-year player stared blankly at Sawamura.
"That person is the Demon-King Sawamura!"
Because of Obayashi and Kobayashi, Miyamoto didn't have time to react, and that first grader didn't recognize Sawamura at the beginning.
Now he remembers him!
"Who?"
Chiba Junichi's voice changed.
How could he not know that there is such a player?
"That's right, I'll never mistake him, that person is Sawamura Eijun, who graduated from Akagi Middle School, the Demon-King Sawamura Eijun!"
"I felt the atmosphere was wrong before. Even if Seidou is a Famous School, it is impossible to have so many fans right now. So it's them?"
Chiba Junichi's brows furrowed into one.
"Who are they?"
"The Demon King's Guard and the Brotherhood of Red Heart!"
In the stands.
Obayashi, Kobayashi, and Miyamoto looked at each other.
'My lord, aren't you going a bit too fast.'
'We didn't have time to start cheering yet.'
Three ups and three downs, with three Strikeouts in a row!
In the first inning of the confrontation, Sawamura won.
However, at a time like this, the players of Maimon High School did not feel hopeless.
They still have a little bit of fantasy about their own pitchers.
…
T/N: The First Chapter!