At the position of first base, Kominato Ryosuke, who had gone to base safely, still had the same sly smile on his face.
'You guys can't be this naïve, right?'
Ryosuke will not choose to entangle with all opponents. Especially if the opponent is Komadai, he will not be foolish enough to mess with the opponent's pitcher's ball count.
Like Seidou, Komadai has a strong pitching squad and their coaches are unhesitant at making substitutions. There have been several games at Komadai Fujimaki High School in the past, and they were the ones who won by constantly changing pitchers.
In this case, how could Kominato Ryosuke consume the ball count of the opponent's pitcher stupidly? Even if he exhausted the opponent's physical stamina, it would be of no use.
In this way, it is better to go to base safely.
And as long as he can successfully hit the base, Seidou High School's hope of scoring will be great!
The two batters behind him have always been the scoring guarantees of Seidou High School.
The third batter, pitcher, Sawamura.
The fourth batter, first baseman, Tetsu.
"Come on, it's time to show your strength."
Ryosuke calmly began to move towards second base. He didn't really want to steal bases, he didn't have the perverted agility and speed of Kuramochi, and by stealing bases on his own, the probability of success was almost negligible. The reason he did it was just to distract the pitcher.
Use action to disrupt pitchers and create opportunities for batters.
As long as the players of Seidou High School can get on base, they must be aggressive. It's simply not realistic to expect them to stay on the bases honestly.
"Third batter, pitcher, Sawamura-kun."
Kominato Ryosuke made an act to steal the base, and Sawamura went to the strike zone.
Today he was readjusted back to the third Batter of the cleanup.
This also marks that in this match, Coach Kataoka asked him not only to pitch but also to contribute to hitting.
In the stands, the members of the Demon-King's Guard and the Brotherhood of Red Heart cheered on Sawamura like a tsunami.
The band was playing his favorite 'Abarenbou Shogun' and the cheerleaders of Seidou High School were also cheering hard.
Kanemaru, Toujou, Maezono, and the others led the members of the Second String and the Third String, and they also sang and cheered with the Megaphones in their hands.
Attacking in the first inning Kominato Ryosuke, who was the second batter, hit a base!
The batter on the field is Sawamura, and behind him is Yuuki, the fourth Batter…
This is a good scoring opportunity as far as the situation goes.
"The pressure is huge!"
In the strike zone, even the extremely experienced Sawamura could feel the pressure brought by the stands.
'This is not good!'
The expectations are too high and the pressure is too high.
If you don't perform well, all this cheering will turn into heavy pressure on the players of Seidou High School.
'It must be done as soon as possible!'
Sawamura's eyes became bright, and he stared at Nitta on the pitcher's mound.
His stance gave the feeling as if whatever pitch came over, he could find the moment and hit the ball beautifully.
In the catcher's position, Sato, the catcher of the Komadai Fujimaki High School, has yet to fully recover from his previous shock.
He didn't understand, why the information they got before suddenly did not work.
Kominato Ryosuke's stance just now, looked like he wanted to entangle. How could he swing the bat on the first pitch?
'I see.'
The opponent's batters don't have to follow their habits all the time, they act completely different according to the situation on the field. The players of Seidou High School probably thought that there was no need to bother with the count facing Nitta, and they could attack directly.
It took a long time for Sato to understand Kominato Ryosuke's plan.
After thinking about it, he let out a long breath.
'So exciting!'
If you underestimate the opponent for a moment, you will have to pay heavily for it.
'This is what National finals should be!'
'We too have to go full throttle from the start.'
With a plan in mind, Sato gave a sign to Nitta on the pitcher's mound.
Whoosh!
The white ball whizzed in, clearly deviating from the strike zone in the inside corner.
On the strike zone, Sawamura moved back and let the ball go.
SNAP!
"BALL!"
This Ball, Sawamura is not surprised at all. The opponent is forcing him to step back and make better use of the strike zone. What surprised him was that the opponent completely ignored Kominato, who was waiting for the opportunity to steal bases.
'It seems that they are not worried about Ryo-san stealing.'
In other words, they believe very much in the ability of their own catchers, even if Kominato Ryosuke steals the base, he can easily stop him.
As long as the opponent is not stupid, it means that they are very confident.
'This is not easy to deal with!'
A team with enough confidence is tricky.
In this case, they can't let them accumulate momentum.
With a plan in mind, Sawamura returned to the original position, his eyes locked on Nitta on the pitcher's mound.
Sato glanced at Sawamura's position and was very surprised.
In the face of an inner corner ball that may hit him directly, the temper of the average person is inevitably fluctuating. It is very rare to be able to hold on to a fire. Not only Sawamura did not get angry, but his position remained the same as before.
Moreover, he is the Ace and pitcher of the team, and this is the final of Koshien, but he is able to keep his calm.
This is the first time Sato has seen this kind of guy.
'As expected of the Demon King!'
'But can you hold on for so long?'
After he complimented the courageous young Ace, Sato made up his mind and gave a sign to Nitta on the pitcher's mound.
Whoosh!
SNAP!
"BALL!!"
"BALL!!"
Three Balls in a row, all outside the strike zone near the batter.
Sawamura was forced to retreat again and again, but every time he dodged the ball, he stood back in the original position where he was waiting before.
He didn't swing the bat against the Ball, and he didn't act like he didn't have a pair and stood his ground on the Box.
In that case, Sawamura is bound to bring greater pressure on Nitta and Sato.
Which made the catcher do it again.
"Okay, it's time for a head-to-head confrontation!" Sawamura said lightly.
The Chicken Game was over from his side, and it was their turn.
After three Balls, the pitcher was chased. One more Ball and Sawamura Will have a Walk!
In this case, the opponent must want to save the situation.
'The next ball, no matter where it is thrown, it must be hit!'
Sawamura, who made up his mind, raised the bat in his hand high, and stared at Nitta on the pitcher's mound, waiting for him to throw the ball.
'Bring it on!'
His calm attitude undoubtedly put a lot of psychological pressure on his opponent.
Sato hesitated for a long time, then he gritted his teeth and gave Nitta a sign.
On the pitcher's mound, after Nitta nodded in disbelief, he threw the baseball in his hand.
Whoosh!
The small white ball soared to the inner corner.
On the strike zone, Sawamura's eyes first flashed a stunned look, and then he couldn't help but be amazed.
'So they didn't chicken out!!'
Continuous use of the inner corner is really brave.
And this one is a Strike.
'Here we go!'
Counting the timing of the arrival of the ball, Sawamura's two arms swung like a whip, and the bat he grabbed in his hand also lashed out at the ball.
The bat swung towards the baseball and hit it hard.
At this moment, Sawamura used all his strength to swing.
Ping!
The moment the bat touched the baseball, Sawamura's face suddenly stiffened.
'I was fooled, it's not a Straight ball at all!'
'It's a Screwball…!!'
...