The first half of the ninth inning.
After Isashiki and Yuuki scored that point, the battery of Komadai Fujimaki High School seemed to have lost their soul.
Even pitching became limp.
Because he wanted to make sure that he would not be targeted in the process of stealing home plate, Isashiki, who had run to second base, did not move on.
The situation is now two Outs, with a runner at second base.
It's Masuko's turn.
After losing the score, all the players in the entire Komadai Fujimaki High School seemed to have suddenly lost their energy.
The belief they have always held, the 'advantage' they have been working hard to maintain, has completely collapsed at this moment.
The players of Komadai Fujimaki High School do not expect the bottom-lineup batters to be able to conquer Sawamura Eijun's pitching.
Then there is nothing to say. So far, Sawamura Eijun has not let the players of the Komadai Fujimaki High School get any hits, so the opponent he faces in the second half of the ninth inning is the low-ranking batters of Komadai Fujimaki High School.
The Seventh, the eighth, and the ninth batters.
Of course, the Coach of the Komadai Fujimaki High School can also replace them. But if someone really is stronger than these players on the field. Nitta, the superintendent of Komadai Fujimaki High School, unless he suddenly lost his mind, why would he not send them on the field before?
The results are extremely pessimistic.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that all the players of the Komadai Fujimaki High School have low morale.
In the rest area of Seidou High School, after confirming that he was in the lead, Coach Kataoka gave Masuko a sign who was on the sixth batter without hesitation.
'Get a hit, hit them hard, hit as far as you can.'
Right now, if you don't take advantage of the opponent's low morale to destroy the opponent, are you still waiting for the opponent to wake up, and then reverse the situation?
This point will definitely shake all the players at Komadai Fujimaki High School. In other words, now is the best time to defeat them.
Therefore, despite being confident in Sawamura's pitching and the defense of the Seidou High School players, Coach Kataoka gave the order to continue the attack.
'Two points is far safer than one.'
After taking the lead by this point, the burden on the hearts of the Seidou High School players has been lifted.
If there is no pressure, the players can naturally play better.
Even the rest area of Seidou High School was filled with an air of joy.
On the contrary, in the rest area on the side of the Komadai Fujimaki High School, the air was heavy and thick with depression.
All the players closed their eyes, pursed their mouths, and said nothing.
They had already reached the finals, they had persevered until the ninth inning, they had already seen the dawn of victory, and this last-minute blow was too heavy.
So far, Sawamura Eijun has pitched nine full innings. Even if he has a lot of stamina, his pitching right now has no way to compare with the first inning.
If the game can really be dragged into the extra inning, there will be more and more consumption. And Sawamura Eijun will definitely reveal more flaws. It will no longer be a dream to conquer the Maou.
But unfortunately, the people from Seidou High School did not give them this chance.
It was as if a big hand was pressed down fiercely, crushing all the signs of their resistance.
The difference is too big!
Not only the players in the rest area but also the players playing on the field, felt their energy leaking.
Even Renji and Hongou, who are the most powerful in psychological quality, are at a loss right now.
The school where Sawamura attended was always like an insurmountable mountain for them.
'Looks like I'll lose again this time!'
Before the game is over, Of course, they don't want to think so, but this hunch is always in their minds, lingering like a devil whispering.
SNAP!
"BALL!"
"BALL!"
"BALL!"
"BALL!!"
After four Balls in a row, Masuko, who was ready to hit the ball, was miraculously Walked.
With Hongou's ball control, it is very rare for such a scene to appear once in a game. Even if it did appear, it would only be possible to face opponents like Kominato Ryosuke or Shiratsu who had a very good dynamic vision.
Is Masuko such a player?
The answer, of course, is no, and this is what happened, which can only illustrate one problem.
The pitcher who is pitching on the field now has a problem.
"Idiot, if you don't want to stay on the pitching mound, then get off right now. Komadai's pitching mound doesn't need trash!"
After Hongou threw the four Balls, Coach Nitta sent a messenger, and this is what the player who came told Hongou.
'Damn!'
It can be seen that Hongou was very angry when he received this order. If it wasn't for the fact that he still wanted to continue playing baseball at Komadai Fujimaki High School, he might have rolled up his sleeves and went straight to punch Coach Nitta.
This anger is still very useful to the Hongou.
After that, his pitching returned to normal.
No, he became even better!
Ping!
Two Outs, with runners on first and second base. Chris hit the outfield with his batting skills, but he couldn't overcome the power of Hongou's pitching, so the hit was slow and was picked up easily by the outfielder from Komadai Fujimaki High School.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
Yuuki and Isashiki, after using strong consecutive hits, scored points. Seidou High School did not seize the opportunity and won additional points.
"It's a pity."
Ochiai stroked the goatee on his chin, his tone a little thoughtful.
However, he was not worried about the outcome of the game.
At the same time, in the Komadai dugout, coach Nitta was looking at his player with wrath and irritation.
His player was acting like the game was already lost.
"The difference is not that big, it is only one run! Are you so weak-hearted that even a one-point difference will destroy your spirits?!"
The players of Komadai, with their Coach's encouragement and scolding, found their will to win again, and the hunger for victory was in their eyes.
"I didn't train such cowards! That pitcher is not that scary, no matter how extravagant he looks, he is only a first-year pitcher! He is only a few months out of middle school! Is such a pitcher enough for you to be this desperate?! YOU FOOLES!!" Coach Nitta's voice was getting louder with every word he spoke. And the spirits of his players were flaring up more and more with every second.
"It is already the ninth inning! No matter how high his stamina is, he is only a freshman! So fooling around and get this pitcher down for me!!"
"YES SIR!!"
The players were ready to do everything they could to win the game.
The players changed their equipment and were ready to fight with Sawamura until one of them fell first!
Before they went to the field, Coach Nitta gathered the batter that was going to attack this inning giving them instructions.
"Don't be afraid of being Out. I want you to be annoying and persisting as much as you can. Do not swing fully unless there is a good chance for you to swing. They should be nervous too, and the more difficult the situation is the more anyone is prone to mistakes, especially this first-year pitcher."
"So keep him pitching and pressured. And when there is a chance swing with all of your might. And never be afraid of getting a Strike Out. Understand?"
"YES SIR!!"
"Good! Now go!" after giving them instructions, he sent them to the field.
At the same time, on the mound, Sawamura and Chris were discussing tactics.
"Shisho, I want to pitch that pitch," Sawamura said with a serious tone.
…