"Coach Ochiai?"
Miyuki, who was about to catch the ball, looked at Ochiai in surprise.
Given his intelligence, it was not difficult for Miyuki to understand what Ochiai meant. Even Furuya seemed to get it, judging by the sparkle in his eyes.
However, according to the training plan he and Chris-senpai had set, Miyuki wanted Furuya to focus on developing his ball control first. Overloading him with too much too soon might not be beneficial.
"I understand, but in high school baseball, there is also the concept of stepping up in a crisis. I'm just suggesting this. Whether or not to accept it depends on him."
'This means the team needs it now.'
Miyuki sighed. He was well aware of the team's current issues, facing strong opponents in successive games.
In this situation, while it's possible to rely entirely on Sawamura, it definitely carries risks.
The team needs another pitcher to share the pressure on Sawamura. Moreover, Sawamura himself is aiming for Major League Baseball. Even if he is not, they will slap him and send him there.
The team is now very cautious about his training and games, with Coach Ochiai and sometimes Superintendent Kataoka monitoring his training personally every time. Unless absolutely necessary, they will not tire or overwork Sawamura.
After all, Sawamura is still in his physical growth phase. If he gets exhausted from competition, Seidou will have no place to mourn.
For Seidou High School, having a graduate like Sawamura after winning the National Championship is even more important than winning another title.
'At this moment, someone needs to help shoulder the pressure on Sawamura.'
When the coaching staff discussed this with him earlier, they agreed that the task should be assigned to Kawakami.
Furuya still has many areas where he is inexperienced. Allowing him to pitch now could lead to significant problems if opponents get on base.
'Now, Coach Ochiai wants to advise Furuya. What exactly does he want?'
At this point, Miyuki could only watch silently as things unfolded.
"Since coming here, Coach Kataoka has guided you diligently, and your skills have steadily improved. By now, in terms of pitching, you are close to being among the top in the country. What you are lacking is fielding. When opponents are on base, your performance is too immature."
'A pitcher is the player who holds the ball the longest on the field. If this person is inexperienced, the attacking side can exploit this in many ways!' Ochiai thought as he looked at Furuya seriously.
"Normally, after another six months of training, your skills would be honed, and you could then challenge Sawamura for the ace position. However, the team needs your abilities right now. If possible, would you be willing to add another approach?"
Ochiai's words left Miyuki bewildered.
He had never known that this seemingly uninspiring coach could be so serious.
"What approach?"
As expected, Furuya couldn't resist the temptation of upgrade.
"Since it's easy to cause problems when opponents are on base, why not prevent them from getting on base in the first place? Have you considered learning a new Winning Shot?" Ochiai suggested, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
***
In East Tokyo, at the Teito High School Baseball Club.
"Hey!!!"
A booming voice echoed across the field.
"Idiot! How can you hit the ball with such a swing? Don't be foolish. If Sawamura could be easily hit for home runs, he wouldn't have maintained his no-run-streak so far. You don't need to swing hard. Just make contact with a slight body movement. Hit the ball out. Once someone is on base, immediately use hit-and-run and forced scoring. Trust our defense; every point is a victory."
The speaker was a stern man in his fifties, still vibrant and energetic despite his age.
He was Coach Okamoto of Teito High School!
At that moment, Teito's field had two pitching machines set up in an unusual way.
Their batters were divided into two teams, continuously practicing hitting.
The pitching machines were set to an odd configuration: throwing at 145 km/h and positioned about a meter and a half forward. (5 ft.)
Even Teito's players were momentarily puzzled by these strange settings.
Superintendent Okamoto was coaching them in their hitting practice.
Nearby, Teito's battery was practicing pitching.
The pitcher was Taiyou, and the catcher was humorously referred to by Kuramochi as a middle-aged man, Inui.
"Senpai, don't you need to practice?" Mukai Taiyou asked curiously.
Inui, who was catching, replied calmly, "I've practiced enough!"
'Meaning he was accustomed to such unusual pitches.'
'Reliable indeed!' Mukai smiled.
"Relying only on pitching machines won't be effective. You need to face real pitchers to truly understand."
"By the way, your hand must be really unlucky to have drawn Seidou in the first round?"
Mukai suddenly remembered and looked at Inui reproachfully.
"You're from the same year as Sawamura. You should know him well, right?"
When Inui left middle school, Sawamura had just started to make a name for himself. Inui didn't know much about him, mostly just his name from TV.
But Mukai had seen Sawamura play during his third year in middle school.
"Oh, of course."
Mukai's smile held a hint of nostalgia. "Even if he might not remember me, I saw him win against Narumiya-san long ago!"
"Oh!" Inui looked interested.
Mukai shook his head. "There's not much to say. At that time, he was already as strong as a monster. It was his performance that inspired me to develop a new pitch."
"Sawamura inspired you?" Inui asked.
"In a sense. His performance made me realize that the strike zone has depth beyond just height and width. Since then, I've found pitching to be truly enjoyable."
Inui looked at Mukai with curiosity.
Half a year ago, hearing Mukai's words had been like a revelation for him, completely reshaping his worldview.
'Sawamura was indeed a monster, but wasn't Mukai a monster himself?'
"Hmm, if I get the chance to play against him, I'll repay my debt."
Mukai was confident he would not lose to Sawamura. In their generation, the competition for the top pitcher spot was fierce.
Sawamura was in the lead, but Mukai believed he would catch up soon.
The Koshien quarterfinals were just the beginning.
***
The day after the group table was released, there were still four days until the match against Teito.
In the morning, after practice, everyone headed to the baseball club's dedicated cafeteria for a meal.
The first-year students naturally grouped together.
Previously, it was just Sawamura, Furuya, and Haruichi. At that time, these were the only three first-years on Seidou High School's first-string team, and their bond as teammates was naturally very strong.
Now that Toujou and Kanemaru have also been promoted to the first string, they too had a good relationship with Sawamura. They trained together daily and ate together unless Sawamura had a late training session with Miyuki, in which case he sometimes joined Miyuki and Kuramochi.
As usual, they each had three bowls of rice.
Compared to when they first joined the team, the biggest change for the first-years is that eating three bowls of rice no longer feels like a challenge. With the high volume of exercise, their bodies quickly burn through the calories.
Sawamura sometimes finishes three bowls and still feels hungry.
After eating, Sawamura noticed Furuya looking at him like he wanted to say something.
Furuya had already finished his meal. When he first arrived, he struggled to finish even a second bowl. Now, he could eat three bowls even if he struggled a little.
"Something on your mind?" Sawamura asked.
Even without words, Sawamura could tell that Furuya had questions.
Furuya finally spoke after gathering his thoughts.
"I am thinking of starting to learn a new breaking ball now."
Sawamura was surprised but didn't overthink it. Strictly speaking, Furuya had only started serious baseball at Seidou High School, and he was now eagerly absorbing all the knowledge he could.
Sawamura understood Furuya's urgency to master new pitches, having experienced the same eagerness(and he still has it).
Although Sawamura had extensive experience, he wasn't a professional coach and wasn't sure what to say.
After some thought, Sawamura hesitated before responding.
"Did you consult Coach Kataoka or Coach Ochiai about this? From what I see, you seem fine. Your ball control training hasn't hit a bottleneck yet, but it might be challenging to make significant progress quickly."
"I did, Coach Ochiai said I can add this to my menu."
'I see.' Sawamura thought.
The faster the ball speed, the harder it is to master control.
Furuya's ability to place his pitches accurately within the strike zone in just six months is impressive. He is now working on the four corners.
Pitchers who can achieve this level of control are already above average. Very few high school pitchers can master this skill, and in the Major Leagues, there are even fewer who can divide the strike zone into nine sections and throw at any of them precisely.
Currently, Furuya still hasn't fully mastered the four corners. As it requires a lot of practice.
Moreover, it is boring.
Before the pitcher fully perfected his control, it's a big question whether pitchers can endure the boredom.
'Instead of letting pitchers lose interest in pitching, introducing new challenges while maintaining ball control practice can keep them engaged and motivated.'
Sawamura believed this and acted accordingly.
"I don't think it's a bad idea for you to start learning new breaking balls now. But make sure to continue with your ball control exercises—that's the foundation of your skills."
Every pitcher has unique traits, and Furuya's standout quality is his speed.
If he focuses solely on breaking balls and neglects his speed, it would be a mistake.
Sawamura felt it was necessary to remind him of this.
Furuya nodded, indicating he understood.
Despite being rivals, Furuya valued Sawamura's advice and was open to his suggestions. It was a strange relationship between the two.
"Then what kind of breaking ball should I learn?"
Sawamura smiled wryly. He wasn't a coach, yet here he was being asked for advice.
"You should figure that out for yourself. We've faced two very skilled pitchers in our previous matches. Your style is similar to theirs. If you want to be like Mei-san, learn the changeup. If you want to be like Hongou, focus on the Slider!"
In Sawamura's view, a Slider would suit Furuya better than a Changeup.
Finding what suits you best is crucial. What looks impressive may not always be the right fit for you.
…
T/N: That's it for now!
As always, Thank you all for reading guys!
Have a good day!
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