"Fourth batter, catcher, Miyuki!"
Miyuki replaced Sawamura as the new team's fourth batter.
"Good luck, fourth batter. I'm hoping to return to home plate!"
From the second base, Sawamura cheered for Miyuki enthusiastically.
"You really know how to put on pressure."
Miyuki looked at Sawamura on second base and could only smile wryly.
After the New team was formed, even with Sawamura's performance on the batting box, it was Miyuki who was selected as the fourth batter.
Miyuki's selection was not only due to his advancement from a substitute to one of the five stars but also because of his hitting characteristics! When there were runners on base, Miyuki's performance was almost invincible.
In this situation, placing Sawamura in the third hole was very ideal.
Kuramochi, Kominato, and Sawamura!
These three can expand the field before him, especially Sawamura, whose on-base percentage was alarmingly high, and he also hit a lot of doubles.
With them on base, Miyuki's hitting style had more opportunities to shine.
Conversely, if Miyuki's position were swapped with Sawamura's, it would be less beneficial. Miyuki's on-base ability is not as good as Sawamura's, and without runners on base, even if Sawamura performs well, scoring runs would be difficult.
If Sawamura had to be the fourth batter, then Miyuki could only be the fifth batter, and finding a suitable candidate for the third spot became a problem. The biggest headache was that this would also affect the connection with the first and second batters.
The coaching staff was troubled!
Instead, Sawamura handled it decisively.
He understood the characteristics of each player and was not attached to the fourth batter position (Or more like he didn't care). So he made a rational judgment.
The coaching staff's indecision was also due to fears that Sawamura, as the core player, might have a reluctance to accept this change. The thoughts of young players are often a headache.
Sawamura himself obviously had no such concerns, and he inadvertently helped the coaching staff a lot.
"This arrangement, to some extent, is really quite fitting."
Coach Ochiai also agreed.
Sawamura in the third spot, Miyuki in the fourth, and Shiratsu in the fifth.
This was the perfect lineup in his mind!
Of course, every decision has its pros and cons. Appointing Miyuki as the fourth batter inherently places a heavy burden on him.
The Fourth batter, the team Captain, the main catcher!
All these responsibilities fall on Miyuki alone, and whether he can handle it is a big question.
Fortunately, Sawamura is the core now. If Miyuki were the core, giving him that position would probably exhaust him to the point of collapse.
Miyuki did not disappoint everyone's expectations, continuing to display his hitting style as usual.
With runners on base, he was like the second coming of Suzuki Ichiro.
'The runner on second base was Sawamura. The situation was two Outs…'
'If you were Chris-senpai, how would you approach this battle?'
By putting himself in Chris's shoes, Miyuki could guess Chris's game calling.
Smart people's thinking is similar most of the time.
And it was the same now.
'The first pitch was an outside Straight ball!'
Miyuki stepped forward, leaning his whole body into the swing, and then took his shot.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and soared high into the air.
Taking this opportunity, Sawamura sprinted toward third base.
As the baseball landed, Sawamura had already run several meters…
In the catcher's position, Chris's eyes narrowed dangerously.
'Miyuki guessed it right!'
It was clear that Miyuki hit the ball after correctly guessing the pitch.
'This guy is really something!'
Not just him, but the moment Miyuki hit the ball, Sawamura made a judgment that the fielders couldn't catch it.
So, he ran ahead of time, even reaching third base without stopping.
"Continue!"
On the third base side, Kanemaru, who was responsible for base coaching, gave Sawamura a positive signal.
Sawamura didn't hesitate, directly running past third base and heading for home plate.
"You Brat! Don't get too cocky!"
The moment Sawamura crossed the third base, the ball hit deep into the outfield and was picked up by Isashiki Jun. Without hesitation, he put all his power into throwing the ball back to home plate.
A throw as long as the previous Toujou's 70 meters(76 yd.) appeared.
Whoosh!
The ball flew from the outfield to home plate like a white arrow.
'Danger!'
At that moment, all the New players had their hearts in their throats.
The throw was incredibly fast; Sawamura would likely be tagged Out as he reached home plate!
Moreover, Sawamura had already run more than halfway; it was too late to return to third base.
"Damn it!"
Kanemaru's face turned purple. He was stunned by this sudden turn of events. When Sawamura reached third base, he had never imagined that such a long throw could be delivered back so quickly.
'Hacks!! They are using hacks!!!'
And because of his misjudgment, Sawamura might be Out.
As Kanemaru felt bad, Sawamura, who was running towards home plate, didn't feel the same way.
'Faster!'
His ear had already caught Isashiki's loud voice, so that means he caught the ball and he is now throwing it back. The distance from Isashiki's position to home plate was 70 meters.
The ball's flight time was nearly two seconds.
Even if there were no errors, these two seconds were enough for Sawamura to approach home plate.
As long as Chris didn't have time to adjust his position, Sawamura had a chance to score.
But if Chris had time to adjust his stance, with his exquisite technique, it would be very difficult for Sawamura to touch home plate under his watchful eye.
So even if it's just 0.1 seconds, Sawamura had to be faster. Fast enough that Chris wouldn't have time to move or adjust.
When he sprinted with all his might, Sawamura's speed surpassed Kuramochi's. In the blink of an eye, he closed in on home plate.
Snap!
The moment Chris caught the ball, Sawamura, with unmatched speed, slid into the home plate area.
'The chance is here!'
Sawamura leaped, fully extending his body, his hand quietly reaching for the home plate.
During this process, Chris did have a chance to stop him. If he forcefully twisted his body and used his Mitt to tag Sawamura, he might have touched him.
But he didn't want to risk him or Sawamura being injured unnecessarily.
Both of them have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders, any mishap could lead to a disaster.
And more importantly, Chris has experienced the feeling of being injured. He didn't want Sawamura to face the same situation.
Senpai and Kohai!
Shisho and Deshi!
Their bond surpassed baseball, at least surpassing Chris's previous obsession with the sport.
Now Chris seemed to watch his stubborn younger brother assert himself, seeing Sawamura place his hand on the home plate.
Chris's mouth curved with a mix of helplessness and satisfaction.
Sawamura may have been at Seidou for only half a year, but he truly embodies the spirit of Seidou and represents it the most.
'Keep being stubborn, you still have a long road ahead! A very long road!'
"SAFE!"
In the bottom of the inning, the combination of Sawamura in the third hole and new team captain Miyuki in the fourth hole perfectly assisted the first and second-year team in scoring a run.
President Ota, who was observing the game, felt it was surreal.
Both Furuya and Miyuki had proven themselves on the Koshien stage.
Similarly, the battery of Chris and Tanpa was well-known at Koshien.
These two batteries, no matter how you look at them, were strong. Yet, they couldn't even hold the first inning and had already lost runs.
"Am I seeing things, or is the situation really like this?"
President Ota muttered.
"It's not that the defenses of both sides are weak. They are both putting in their best effort. It's just that both sides' offensive power is too strong!" Coach Ochiai also felt quite emotional about this.
Who would have thought that the former strongest lineup in the country, even split into two teams, still had such terrifying offensive power?
He couldn't even bear to recall the previous Seidou High School lineup; just thinking about it brought tears.
'Kuramochi, Kominato, Isashiki, Yuuki, Sawamura, Chris, Miyuki, Masuko, Shiratsu…'
'Oh my, I can't think about it any further. Even if all the top hitters in high school were gathered, this team's lineup might not be less to them.' (Sakai:...Wait! What about me?!)
'It's just a pity that with the departure of the third-year players, this once strongest lineup in the country no longer exists.'
'But, that doesn't mean we can't get another one…'
Ochiai remembers all the current players in the New team, none of them lack the talent or the spirit compared to the previous team.
And he has been giving them systemic training during all the summer games, and their base level has improved a lot.
'After this game, most of the fatal problems will be revealed. And the players will understand what they need to improve in.'
Adding his technical guidance and Coach Kataoka keeping their spirit high, a new super lineup is very possible.
…