'It fell!'
The high-speed ball, reaching nearly 160 km/h, suddenly dropped just before entering the strike zone.
'How could this happen?'
Despite being mentally prepared, when Matsumoto saw the ball flying toward him, he froze in shock.
'How could the ball change direction so sharply? And this ball!'
Thud!
Before Matsumoto could fully comprehend what had just happened, the small ball zipped past him, popped out of his mitt, and bounced behind him.
"Tsk!"
For the first time, a look of unwillingness crossed Matsumoto's face.
Even though he respected his Shisho, he had to admit that Furuya's forkball surpassed that of Sawamura.
Furuya's pitch was nearly ten kilometers faster than Sawamura's actual speed.
At such velocity, Matsumoto couldn't react to the suddenly descending ball.
And understandably so.
'Still, it was impressive.'
"Again!"
Rarely, Matsumoto's fighting spirit flared up.
But Miyuki didn't give him a chance.
"Let's stop here for now! No need to rush; there will be more opportunities later. If you're not well-prepared, this guy might throw too many balls, and you could get injured."
Matsumoto felt a bit dissatisfied but realized Miyuki was looking out for him.
Indeed.
There was still a considerable gap between them and the Senpais.
Meanwhile, Kawakami and Okumura had their own success.
"This Kohai is really impressive!"
After finishing, Kawakami complained to Miyuki.
Miyuki involuntarily glanced at Okumura.
He had known that this Kohai in his dorm was no ordinary player, but he hadn't expected him to be this good.
'Although Nori's pitch speed wasn't fast, his sidearm style combined with the ball's unpredictable angles made it difficult for an average catcher to handle.'
Despite it being Okumura's first time catching, he only missed one out of ten pitches.
'Now this is something.'
'The other two Kohais were still working with their partners.'
'They weren't ready to take the field yet.'
'However, Okumura and Kawakami should have no problem cooperating.'
'They could head straight into a game!'
The last group was also the first to start playing.
They had practiced 20 pitches.
So far, Ono hadn't missed a single ball.
No matter what kind of pitch Nishiyama Kibo threw, Ono caught it steadily.
"Are you looking down on me?"
Ono frowned at Nishiyama on the mound.
"You must have some hidden cards, right?"
It was just a feeling, but Ono trusted his instincts.
Nishiyama remained silent.
"Keeping your cards close?"
Ono decided not to push further.
"The fastest speed should be around 140 km/h, and his control is decent. He can also precisely manage pitch speed…"
"This guy could probably go straight into a game!"
Although it seemed like Nishiyama wasn't giving his all, Ono's evaluation was still quite favorable.
Miyuki gave Nishiyama a deep look before exchanging a glance with Ono.
That look meant: how does he compare to the other three?
The other three were, of course, Sawamura Eijun, Furuya, and Kawakami.
Ono hesitated but eventually replied truthfully.
"Although I feel he has untapped potential, based on observation, he should be about on par with Nori!"
Is he pitching better than Kawakami?
This left Miyuki astonished.
"Is he better or…?"
"Without having tested him in a game, it's hard to determine the specifics. But purely in pitching, his ball should be more challenging to hit than Nori's."
The eight players regrouped and decided to form new pairs.
Sawamura Eijun scanned Okumura and Matsumoto's faces before settling on Okumura.
"Okumura-shonen, let's partner up!"
Okumura didn't hesitate and readily accepted the Senpai's invitation.
On the other side, Furuya teamed up with Kaoru Yui, while Matsumoto paired with Nishiyama Kibo.
The two second-year players, Ono and Kawakami, became bystanders.
They had worked together too many times, so they were already familiar with each other; there was no need for unnecessary additions.
After the new pairs formed, Matsumoto easily caught Nishiyama's pitch.
Nishiyama was surprised by this scene.
The previous Senpai was one thing, but now, the newcomer was effortlessly catching his pitches.
Such outstanding skills shouldn't be underestimated.
'Seidou was indeed the right place; these monstrous players were all gathered here!'
The cooperation between the two newcomers was seamless, but Furuya and Kaoru Yui's collaboration was less satisfactory.
The straight ball was manageable, but Yui barely caught it.
He missed two out of ten pitches, but both were nicely blocked by Yui's body in time.
This young man's experience was unmatched by other newcomers. He quickly analyzed and dealt with crises.
This is a crucial skill for any good catcher.
But when it came to breaking balls, whether vertical Sliders or Forkballs, Yui couldn't catch them at all.
With such high velocity, he couldn't keep up with his eyes and had to rely on instinct. He was fairly accurate with straight balls, but his instincts weren't enough for breaking balls.
He quickly fell behind.
Furuya was the first to give up.
On the other side, Sawamura and Okumura were working well together.
SNAP!
On the first pitch, Okumura caught the ball beautifully with his Mitt, producing a crisp sound.
"Nice!"
Such a performance made Sawamura's spirits lift.
'It still feels great!'
"Alright, next, let's raise the level."
Sawamura started the second pitch with a moving ball.
Okumura's catch was also solid, even if it didn't make the same crisp sound as the first.
Still impressive.
Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki exchanged looks and quickly decided to increase the difficulty again.
Here it comes!
Whoosh!
The ball flew right to the center.
Okumura, in the catcher's position, had a completely expressionless face.
He just stretched out his Mitt, ready to catch the next pitch.
Then he witnessed something astonishing.
The ball coming toward him didn't drop at all; instead, it kept rising.
'A floating ball?' (Moving-up.)
Having studied Sawamura's pitching habit, Okumura quickly figured out the nature of this pitch.
Without hesitation, he raised his Mitt to meet it.
Clearly, he was mentally prepared for the catch.
But the rise of the ball exceeded his expectations.
Snap!
The ball nearly grazed the top of his Mitt, flying behind Okumura.
Miyuki frowned and looked at Sawamura.
"Did you just use a wrist-pressing throw?"
Sawamura shook his head firmly at Miyuki's question.
"No, it was a Moving ball Kai."
'What was it?'
Upon hearing Sawamura's answer, Miyuki's eyes lit up.
In contrast, Sawamura was puzzled. As he noticed the change in Miyuki's expression, he realized something.
He hadn't used a wrist-pressing throw!
Yet the ball had risen so much.
It felt like a cool breeze had rushed past his head, enlightening him instantly.
How could he forget that?
Previously, the reason Sawamura had figured out the level 4 breaking ball was due to such inspiration.
Today was no different.
In the past six months, Sawamura and Miyuki had undergone extensive training but hadn't discovered the key.
Now that key had presented itself.
It truly felt like effortlessly finding something after a long search.
Of course, this didn't mean their previous efforts were in vain.
It was because their prior accumulation was robust enough to allow for a sudden breakthrough.
Bring it on!
Sawamura suddenly felt invigorated about pitching.
"Change catchers!"
If he wanted to pitch comfortably, neither Yui nor Okumura could meet Sawamura's expectations.
Sawamura fixed his gaze on his former Kohai, one of his direct students.
Matsumoto Jun.
When his Senpai called out, Matsumoto had no reason to refuse.
He happily stood up and partnered with Sawamura.
Unbeknownst to them, everyone around had stopped pitching.
All eyes were on Sawamura Eijun.
As if sensing something, they looked forward to Sawamura's next performance.
Indeed, Sawamura was entering a wonderfully peculiar state.
He vaguely felt something was about to happen.
So he urgently sought the possibility of that occurrence.
Here it comes!
He took his stance, and the ball, like a laser beam, crossed more than ten meters and reached the catcher.
Snap!
As if prepared, Matsumoto easily caught the ball.
Immediately after, Sawamura sent another straight ball flying.
This ball's position formed a perfect cross with the first.
Faced with this sharply thrown pitch, Matsumoto's reaction was unremarkable.
He had already caught the same pitch before, so he naturally wasn't concerned about catching a few more.
…
T/N: They ignored Okumura…
Let's hope his imagination doesn't run more wild than it already is. XD