"It's incredible!"
In an indoor gym in Kanagawa Prefecture, Takuma watched in disbelief as the live footage of Koshien played on TV.
At this moment, the footage was paused on the ball speed monitor.
Ball speed: 147 km/h!
Since Sawamura Eijun began pitching with his four-seam Straight-Fastball as his lifeline, his speed has never dropped below 144 km/h.
The previous speeds displayed were 146 km/h, 145 km/h, 144 km/h, and 146 km/h.
The final pitch reached a terrifying 147 km/h.
One pitch at that speed might be a coincidence, but maintaining such high speeds consecutively shows a genuine improvement in Sawamura's ball velocity.
The already formidable pitcher is now even more terrifying.
"Every time I watch Sawamura-senpai play, it's a real pleasure," Takuma said with a smile, glancing at his friends.
"From a catcher's perspective, partnering with Sawamura-senpai must be a great experience, right?"
Both he and Okumura had passed Seidou High School's special recruitment process and were now members of the Seidou High School baseball team. Although their admission procedures were complete, the school had not yet started.
The blond-haired Okumura beside him said flatly, "With the increased ball speed, and with the fastball as his lifeline, the breaking balls will be even harder for batters to read."
Okumura Koushuu, watching Sawamura on the screen, felt an inexplicable surge of determination. He was eager to catch for Sawamura. Even watching from the TV, Sawamura's pitching was fearsome. Catching it in person would be a different experience.
'What kind of pitching will it be? How will his pitching break?'
'I really want to try it.'
Even people thousands of miles away can feel Sawamura's growth. The audience present, of course, is even more captivated.
Owada Akiko, clapping and cheering with those around her, was no longer just a reporter but a fervent fan.
Koshien is indeed a magical place. Every move of the players here draws cheers and support. If you perform well, you quickly become the center of attention.
As Sawamura's ball velocity continued to rise, the crowd at the scene roared like wolves. Applause accompanied every Strikeout or Out.
The sensation was intoxicating.
Fujio shot an irritated look at his partner. 'I've seen incompetent reporters, but never one as bad as this. She probably forgot what she was supposed to do.'
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Homei High School, which had expected Sawamura to change his pitching rhythm starting from the second round, had clearly miscalculated.
Sawamura did change his rhythm and focused on his fastball. However, this fastball was vastly different from what they had anticipated.
The velocity was terrifying as if it could devour them at any moment.
"Damn it, just a few kilometers faster, and you can't handle it?" The bearded Homei High School coach shouted angrily at his team.
"That guy's pitching is different!" The first batter, who has recently been Struck Out, looked ashen. Thinking back to the pitch he saw, his body still trembled.
'What the hell was even that!?'
'The ball seemed to appear out of nowhere, moving too fast to track. It was more frightening than facing a 150 km/h pitch from a machine.'
Their swing timing was completely off. They couldn't find the right moment to hit.
"Don't be a coward!"
The bearded coach, fuming, scolded his students and then turned to look at the strike zone.
It was no surprise Sawamura had such strength. But even if they couldn't get a hit, they should at least make contact. They couldn't let the opponents maintain this rhythm.
Now, they could only hope for their core lineup.
Homei High School's core batters were also a formidable group. Like Seidou, they had gathered top players from their region and beyond.
While elite high schools might lack top pitchers, they never lack strong batters.
Like this third batter.
Although Sawamura didn't remember him from his previous experiences, he was still a difficult opponent. His height was average, about 1.7 meters, but his muscular build was evident even through his clothes.
'He possessed tremendous power and used a large metal bat. Even a slight contact could send the ball flying.'
'Should we continue with the fastball?'
Miyuki, the catcher, looked at Sawamura with questioning eyes.
Sawamura nodded firmly.
The fastball had already begun to enter Homei High School batters' minds. If they gave up now, their previous efforts would be wasted.
'It was essential to stay tough. If things went wrong, switching to a breaking ball would not be too late.'
Sawamura felt confident. Despite the opponent's intimidating presence, he was sure they wouldn't hit him.
'Good!'
Miyuki was very pleased with this. However, the opponent's strength was not to be underestimated. If the pitch was too predictable, it would be like asking for trouble.
'The pitch had to be tricky.'
Miyuki positioned the Mitt at the batter's chest area, targeting a high inside corner. If accurately controlled, even the strongest batter would have trouble making contact.
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura nodded in satisfaction. As expected, Miyuki's plan matched his own perfectly.
Sawamura went through his form and threw the baseball with force.
Whoosh!
The white ball, like a streak of light, targeted the batter's chest.
As a left-handed pitcher against a right-handed batter, Sawamura's high inside pitch created a long diagonal line.
From the strike zone, it appeared to aim directly at the batter's chest.
'Damn!'
Though the batter was reluctant, he couldn't swing at this pitch.
His body instinctively took a step back.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
Without a swing, the batter was struck out. The highly anticipated third batter didn't even get to swing.
In the stands, the crowd's reaction changed. Initially, they were objective, cheering for whoever performed well. Now, they were clearly drawn to Sawamura, becoming his fans.
"Too strong!"
"Nice Pitch!"
"That was cool!"
"Drink some water!!"
When Sawamura returned to the dugout, he was welcomed like a hero coming back from battle.
Even though they had visualized this result countless times in their minds, seeing Sawamura dismantle Homei's lineup with their own eyes felt different.
It was exhilarating.
At this moment, the restless cells in their bodies began to cheer.
'Yes, it's possible. It's definitely possible.'
Under Sawamura's lead, they would follow in their Senpais' footsteps and win the Championship.
With an Ace like Sawamura on the team, as long as they stayed ahead, they would never lose.
'Even so, we still need to put in the effort ourselves.'
The bottom of the fourth inning.
The starter was the fifth batter, Shiratsu.
"STRIKE!"
"BALL!!"
Shiratsu didn't swing at the first two pitches, leaving everyone puzzled about his thoughts. The Homei High School pitcher and catcher were also feeling uncertain.
In the end, to play it safe, Shiratsu threw a Strike to the inside corner.
Here it comes!
The expressionless Shiratsu's eyes flashed with a glimmer of insight.
'Watanabe had discovered that Homei's pitcher used inside corner balls when he wanted to test the batter.'
'It turned out that it is true.'
'Excellent!'
Shiratsu thought to himself with satisfaction and took a firm swing at the incoming ball.
Ping!
The white ball was struck and flew along the third baseline.
The third baseman jumped but missed by a good ten centimeters and couldn't stop the ball.
"Nice hit!"
"Shiratsu!!!"
"Great!"
Since taking over the fifth spot from Maezono, Shiratsu had initially struggled.
Now, after several months of intensive training, he had elevated his performance significantly.
Even when there were no runners on base, he could still show steady strength.
In the dugout.
Sawamura chuckled and teased his Captain.
"Shiratsu-senpai might actually be better suited for the fourth spot than you."
Miyuki smiled wryly.
Although his overall level had improved significantly since becoming the Captain, his performance could sometimes be inconsistent with no runners on base.
In short, he was still unstable!
This was probably his only current weakness.
If he wanted to lead the team to the championship and form the strongest lineup, he needed to fix this issue.
"I won't be outdone either!" Miyuki said, adjusting his glasses with a serious expression.
"Well said! As expected of the Strongest-Substitute! He is really different!" Kuramochi jabbed from the side.
"Tsk! Why haven't you forget this? I am already the Captain!"
"See! Much better, right?" Kuramochi ignored him and said to Sawamura.
"Yeah! The serious expression doesn't suit his character at all." Sawamura and Kuramochi laughed at their captain mischievously.
"Screw you guys!" They were really getting on his nerves.
…
T/N: The Spring Koshien Starts!!
As always, Thank you all for reading!!
Have a good day people!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +130 Chapters there.