In the first half of the sixth inning, Hoshiryu attacked.
Tanpa Koichiro, who originally planned to pitch five innings, was still not substituted.
Speaking of which, this is also a matter of course. So far, he has not thrown more than 70 pitches, and his physical strength is still very strong.
Although he was hit by a home run by Nanami Haruka before, his subsequent performance was still very good.
At the very least, Coach Kataoka was very satisfied with Tanba Koichiro's performance.
Superintendent Kataoka is indeed pragmatic, typically unconcerned with the number of hits that pitchers allow from the mound.
As long as you firmly maintain control of the game and avoid losing runs, you are deemed qualified enough for him.
From this point of view, Tanpa Koichiro is very qualified.
In the words of Superintendent Kataoka, it doesn't matter what kind of pitch the pitcher throws as long as it can bring the team a victory. Tanpa can stabilize the situation at a critical moment, and he already has the potential of an Ace.
right now, every time Tanpa throws an additional inning, his impact will be bigger.
So far, Tanpa has pitched five full innings!
And he dropped just three hits. Two of them were blocked midway, and only one was effective. (Nanami Haruka's home run.)
This performance is simply perfect.
Coach Kataoka would not mind him continuing to sell himself right now.
So he will let Tanpa continue to Pitch another inning, which is just this inning.
Regardless, he would not allow Tanpa Koichiro to continue pitching into the seventh inning against the core lineup of the Hoshiryu team for a third time.
That would be too dangerous and not in the interests of Seidou High School. Even for Tanpa himself, it was by no means a good deal.
"Tanpa!"
"Tanpa!"
"Seidou!!"
"Seidou!!!"
As the sixth inning commenced, Seidou High School's fans were already indulging in the atmosphere!
They shouted the name of Seidou High School and Tanpa's name at the same time.
After being hit a home run, Tanpa's performance satisfied them.
It is very important for a pitcher to be able to stabilize the situation in subsequent innings after being hit with a home run.
In the dugout of Hoshiryu, Hosho Ryuki gazed upon the frenzied stands, a trace of iciness in his gaze.
"The momentum is really strong!"
'But it really helped a lot that they are not changing pitchers.'
'Right now, it is estimated that the impact of Nanami's home run has not completely ended.'
'The choice is very simple, Straight balls and Forkballs.'
'Hirata, get a hit!'
In the sixth inning, the first Batter of Hoshiryu High School was Hirata the Eighth Batter.
He graduated from Tenryuji Middle School, where he was the fourth batter. Although he is eighth in the lineup on his new team, his performance remains strong.
Straight ball!
After choosing the path to aim for, Hirata stared at Tanpa on the mound without blinking.
Then he saw Tanpa Koichiro take a stride, and through the transfer of his body's center of gravity, he steadily threw the baseball in his hand.
'Here it comes!'
'A Ball to the Inside corner!'
'It's a Straight ball!'
Although it was just a Ball, Hirata decided to swing at it. He stepped away from the strike zone, pulling his frame away.
In this way, the ball in the inner corner becomes the center ball which is easier to swing at.
"Let's go!"
Pick the ball and swing the bat with all your might.
Although he is now in the eighth hole, Hirata never had the idea of accepting his fate.
He believes that as long as he keeps training persistently, he will soar to the sky sooner or later.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and landed directly in front of home plate.
Hirata ran to first base with an ugly face.
At the catcher's position, Chris took a few steps forward, caught the bounced ball, and passed it to first base.
SNAP!
"OUT!"
Reluctantly, Hirata twisted his neck to sneak a peek at Tanpa, who was reigning over the pitcher's mound like a king on his throne.
The ball just now was a high drop Curve, because he hit it earlier, and touched the ball when the Curve just fell.
In this way, it only touched the top of the baseball, and the ball bounced off the sideline in front of home plate.
'I miscalculated!'
In the rest area of Hoshiryu, Hosho Ryuki's face sank.
'The opponent has completely overcome the psychological barrier and unlocked the high drop Curve again?'
'So fast!'
According to his previous judgment, as a catcher, Chris will temporarily seal Tanpa Koichiro's high-drop Curve because the pitcher's mentality was not good enough.
Otherwise, there is absolutely no need to seal the path of the ball because of being hit with a home run.
The selection of a temporary seal indicates a significant impact on the pitcher, or more directly, it suggests that the pitcher's psychological resilience may be lacking.
'I didn't expect Tanpa to adjust back so quickly.'
'Incredible!'
'On the baseball field, mentality is more difficult to hone than skill.'
The game continues!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!"
Following Hirata, Hoshiryu's ninth Batter was struck Out again.
Re-unlocking the high drop Curve, Tanpa Koichiro's current momentum is terrifyingly high.
High drop Curves, Straight balls, and Forkballs.
The three kinds of balls were used interchangeably, which directly fooled Hoshiryu's ninth Batter.
Two Outs, no one on base.
In the stands, There were already professional scouts who began to pay attention to Tanpa.
Due to the dominance of the Maou Sawamura Eijun, the other pitchers at Seidou High School often lacked a notable presence. At times, some would stand out, but mostly, the spotlight was taken by Furuya.
After all, Furuya Satoru is the fastest fastball pitcher in the country, and even Sawamura Eijun, the Maou, cannot completely cover up Furuya Satoru.
With these two people around, it is conceivable how little Tanpa Koichiro and Kawakami exist.
Even in the process of the game, Tanpa Koichiro didn't have any particularly dazzling performances.
This is not to say that he is not good, it is just that in this game, Maou Sawamura Eijun was standing there. Although he did not pitch, everyone knew his strength.
And in this game, Nanami Haruka's performance was also remarkable.
He is a star player himself, making few errors in the match against Seidou High School. Until now, only four hits have been allowed.
Despite losing two points, facing an opponent like Seidou means that the performance was commendable rather than disappointing. Seidou's reputation in baseball is well-established, with a lineup of strong defense and offense. Such a context suggests that even a small margin of loss indicates a strong showing against a formidable team.
Not to mention, he hit a home run while they were still hitting.
Compared to Sawamura and Nanami Haruka, Tanpa seems to have nothing left.
Unexpectedly, after a few innings of pitching, Tanpa was not weak at all.
Even when compared to the country's top star pitcher, Nanami Haruka, he holds his own quite well.
Such a record is difficult for professional baseball scouts not to pay attention to.
"There are still some gaps!"
"He is a rare find, a truly good pitcher."
…
T/N: Tanpa has the second-best Curveball in the series after Umemiya Seiichi, and the third overall in the best breaking balls after Amahisa Kousei and Narumia Mei. (Sawamura doesn't count.)