Just when Miyuki was giving his initial speech, in the West Tokyo area, a practice match no less than the final level of Koshien was under intense preparations.
The two sides of the competition were Inajitsu, the runner-up in West Tokyo, and Yakushi High School, one of the top eight in West Tokyo.
These two high schools are well-deserved strong schools.
When Seidou High School was still immersed in the joy of national domination, the two teams that lost to Seidou High School magically got together.
"I didn't expect so many people to watch it!"
Owada Akiko looked at the dozen or so colleagues around her in amazement, as well as dozens of spectators.
"This also shows the popularity of these two high schools!" Fujio said.
Now Tokyo, when it comes to high school baseball, is getting more attention than ever, of course, it is mainly because of Seidou High School.
Not only in the Tokyo area but in the whole country, there is now a whirlwind called Seidou.
The Maou Sawamura Eijun, the Steel Heart Coach Kataoka, five-star players…
Their news is getting hotter and hotter, and it has been more than a week after the finals, and the popularity has not declined, but has an upward trend.
Now, during the daily training of Seidou High School, there are countless reporters, professional baseball managers, and scouts who come to visit.
In such an atmosphere, the game between Inajitsu and Yakushi High School can still attract so many people to watch. It has to be said that it is a very magical thing.
"After Seidou High School won the nation's championship, there are still two teams in front of me who can still pose a threat to Seidou High School, and in the same area." Fujio Mine sighed emotionally.
Although Inajitsu's performance in the practice competition was very average. But their combat power is indeed very complete. The entire main lineup has retained a full half. Even if the third-year players have all retired, there are also excellent players in the second year.
The only problem is the catcher.
Tadano was also a famous player in Tokyo when he was in middle school. It's just that at his current level, as Narumiya Mei's partner, he is still a bit lacking.
It is believed that as long as the Tadano grows, Inajitsu will immediately have the same combat power as before.
In contrast, after Seidou High School removed the third-year players, the second-and first-year substitutes obviously couldn't make up for the gap left by the third-year.
The weakening of Seidou High School's strength is predictable.
Under the circumstances of this change, Inajitsu is definitely the rival of Seidou High School, which has to re-enter Koshien.
The other one is Yakushi High School!
The experience of Yakushi is also very legendary. Their explosive batting power is not inferior to Seidou High School.
In addition to Sawamura, Seidou High School had three very powerful pitchers at that time: Tanpa, Furuya, and Kawakami.
The only one who defeated the three of them was Yakushi!
If it weren't for the big problem with their pitching lineup at the time, it's hard to say who would win in that game.
After this summer, the members of Yakushi High School have not been idle. Under the leadership of their Coach, they fought battled schools nationwide and played practice games with the famous Schools and Academies all over the country. So far, Yakushi has won 33 consecutive victories.
Such a terrifying record even attracted the attention of the media.
"A Crownless Tyrant!"
This is what Yakushi High School is being called now.
These two teams are rivals in the same region and are supposed to never meet.
But something must have sparked the Coach of Yakushi High School, Todoroki Raizou, and he even applied for a practice competition with Inashiro.
The moment he saw the application, the head of the baseball department of Inajitsu High School thought it was April Fool's Day, just kidding.
Looking at the calendar, it's already August, not the start of April.
"Maybe my brain is hot and confused!"
The president of Inashiro's baseball team chuckled, recounting the story to the Coach.
"If they want to play the game, it will be on the morning of August 31st."
Hearing the words of Superintendent Kunitomo, the president of the Inashiro Baseball Club was at a loss for words.
"Coach, we- we are opponents in the same region, and when it comes to the Fall Tournament, it is likely to be the target of each other."
"Do you think we can advance in the Fall competition with our current performance?" Coach Kunitomo asked.
These words made the Inashiro Baseball Club president bewildered.
To be honest, he thought it was difficult.
Judging from Inashiro's current performance in the practice game, it may be difficult for them to defeat Seidou led by Sawamura Eijun.
Without mentioning the outside media says that there are six of the nine main players in Seidou High School. In the fall, the combat power was severely weakened.
But as the main competitor of Seidou High School, Inashiro's research on Seidou High School cannot be so shallow.
Seidou High School is a giant no matter what, even their substitute players and even the players from the Second String are very good. The most terrifying thing is that the main structure of Seidou High School has not changed.
Seidou's battery, Ace Sawamura, and main catcher Miyuki. Even if the strength of the cooperation between the two is not stronger than when Sawamura and Chris teamed up before, they will not be worse than before.
With the two of them here, Seidou High School retained the jewel for their defensive strength.
Adding to that the high fielding level of a Famous school like Seidou, you can say that the defense of Seidou is mostly unaffected.
The only problem at Seidou High School right now is the attacking lineup.
As long as this problem is solved, even partly, if Seidou is not stronger than before, it will not be much weaker.
Therefore, relatively speaking, the problem of Seidou High School is manageable in the current timetable.
In contrast, Inashiro faced a critical problem with their catcher's capability, which directly became their fatal flaw!
The importance of a good catcher plays a decisive role for the team.
This is the problem Inashiro faces.
Also because of the incompatibility between Tadano and Narumiya Mei, the whole Inashiro is in a dilemma.
Facing Seidou High School in this state, they would be lucky not to be annihilated.
Not to mention winning.
"But?"
The president of the Inashiro baseball club also understands this reason. However, he always felt that it was not suitable for them to compete with Yakushi High School.
"Tadano is a very talented catcher. The reason why he can't cooperate with Mei is not that his strength is really that bad, but that after Mei played with Seidou High School, especially after the game with Sawamura, has made significant strides. Even if Harada is the one catching now, their cooperation will not be as handy as before."
Saying that Superintendent Kunitomo shook his head and made a creaking sound.
"It's time for the players to understand this for themselves!"
Previously, Inashiro's defeat wasn't by a significant margin. If the batters worked hard, it wasn't impossible to recover the score.
But they seemed to have lost their drive!
This wouldn't do. They needed a suitable opponent to stimulate them properly.
This was the real reason why Superintendent Kunitomo agreed to Yakushi High School's practice match.
And so, a practice match of no less than Koshien finals caliber began.
…
T/N: Don't worry, we won't dive into this game. Just a few moments here and there as it is important for the Next two Volumes.
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