"SAWAMURA!"
"SAWAMURA!!!"
The cheers for Sawamura showed no signs of stopping even as Miyuki Kazuya stepped into the Batter's Box.
"This guy is really popular!"
Miyuki glanced up at Sawamura, who was now standing on second base.
Sawamura's recent performance seemed tailored to respond to his fans, hitting the ball beautifully in an astonishing way.
Miyuki guessed that the battery of Ichidaisan High School must be seething with rage right now.
They probably never imagined that the Maou Sawamura would outsmart them at this moment. They hadn't chosen to intentionally Walk Sawamura or evade him, which was already a bold move.
After all, many teams have taken that approach against Seidou High School before, including several top-tier teams.
In this situation, they abandoned the tempting idea of avoiding Sawamura and decided to face him head-on, a decision that couldn't be called unreasonable, as avoiding him would only give a bigger advantage to the next batter.
But instead of engaging in a normal duel, Sawamura unexpectedly struck the ball from the first pitch with an impressive stunt.
'Even the hype prelude was omitted…'
While it's understandable in the heat of competition, it still felt somewhat surreal.
The battery of Ichidaisan High School was experiencing a similar realization to what Miyuki had anticipated.
The calm expression that Takami had maintained was now completely breaking down, his facial muscles twitching.
'Was he expecting it?'
They had planned to use an inside pitch to force Sawamura back. As long as he stepped back, the strike zone would be wide open.
'That would have given Kousei's breaking ball room to work.'
Unexpectedly, the opponent completely ignored this tactic, choosing to swing at the first pitch without hesitation.
In this scenario, Ichidaisan's battery was caught pants down.
They didn't realize what had happened until Sawamura had already hit the ball.
But what good was that realization? The duel was over.
Takami's mood at that moment was as complex as eating something bitter.
Kousei on the mound was equally bewildered.
Sawamura had struck the ball before he could even fully utilize his own strength, leaving him entirely unprepared.
'Damn!'
This frustration gnawed at his insides.
Kousei had deep regrets right now!
If he had known it would end this way, he might as well have pulled out his winning shot from the start.
Even Sawamura would be helpless against his evolved winning shot.
Their frustration was immense, but there was no time for reflection now.
Because Seidou 's offense was still in motion, and standing in the Batter's Box was the fourth batter, Miyuki Kazuya.
Seidou High School had many formidable hitters, not just Sawamura. Once someone reached base, Miyuki Kazuya posed an even greater threat than Sawamura.
In the stands, Owada Akiko, a reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine and a devoted fan of Seidou High School, was ecstatic.
With Sawamura on the mound and now a point ahead, even if the overall outcome wasn't certain, Seidou High School had already gained a significant advantage. So much so that when the surrounding supporters cheered for Seidou and Sawamura, she joined in enthusiastically.
"That's amazing!"
The greatest strength of Sawamura, the Maou, is that he can not only withstand a hard battle but also execute complex tactics.
There are still people online claiming that Sawamura is a genius with an IQ of at least 180.
Although Seidou officially denied this, the imagination of netizens is boundless. They have at least 10,000 reasons to explain how Sawamura pretends to be a simpleton while outsmarting others.
Seeing those explanations made even Sawamura blush.
Next to Akiko, Fujio nodded slightly.
"After carefully studying Sawamura's performance in the Akagi Middle School baseball team, it's clear he isn't someone who seeks quick success. Though he possesses grand goals, he doesn't act rashly. Instead, he steadily approaches his goals."
"What do you mean?"
Fujio's lengthy explanation left Akiko feeling she understood each word, but couldn't grasp the overall meaning.
Fujio smiled wryly but stated plainly.
"Sawamura is someone who knows exactly what he needs to do at any given moment. He doesn't hesitate in the process…"
"So you're praising Sawamura?"
"Exactly!"
"AWESOME!!!"
The duel on the field continued, as did the chatter surrounding Sawamura.
Of course, the audience primarily cared about the match itself.
Kuramochi and Sawamura hit consecutive doubles, especially when Sawamura brought Kuramochi home, helping the team score the first run.
This relentless offensive wave had a significant impact on Ichidaisan High School.
Seidou High School boasts some of the best pitchers in the nation. When facing such opponents, no minor mistake can be overlooked.
One point could drastically alter the game's outcome.
Now they had lost that critical point.
No wonder the players of Ichidaisan were feeling low!
Their complicated emotions made them prone to mistakes while facing Seidou's aggressive assault.
'I am being underestimated?'
Miyuki Kazuya, currently at bat, spotted at least three defensive gaps.
At this point, he even suspected the opponent was deliberately trying to lure him in.
But it didn't matter; with the situation so favorable, if he couldn't get a hit now…
Then he didn't deserve to be in the fourth spot for Seidou High School.
From his previous observations, what kind of winning shot must Amahisa have hidden?
'To improve the success rate of hits, Sawamura deliberately avoided engaging in a duel with the opponent's Ace.'
Now, facing him, what were the odds of the opponent using their winning shot first?
'Zero!'
No matter how frustrated they felt, the battery of Ichidaisan would find it hard to use their winning shot from the start.
This is a mental thing, difficult to explain in just a few words.
According to Miyuki's judgment, if he were the catcher right now…
To help Amahisa regain his rhythm as soon as possible and to avoid being continuously attacked, what was the most likely pitch to call?
'A Slider!'
'That was the pitch Amahisa excelled at previously.'
Whrroosh!
As if on cue with Miyuki, the ball flew in.
Before reaching the batter, the ball slid to the outside corner.
Despite his efforts to restrain himself, a smile couldn't help but appear on Miyuki's face.
'Exactly as I had anticipated.'
Amahisa Kousei indeed used the slider he was best at.
Each pitcher has different grips, strengths, velocities, and feels for their pitches.
Not to mention their individual heights and weights…
Different breaking balls can evolve distinct characteristics with different pitchers.
There's always a variation suited to each pitcher.
That's where the winning shot comes into play.
Even the same kind of breaking ball can vary dramatically among different pitchers.
Some are quite ordinary, some have medium breaks…
And some natural variations can reach almost magical levels.
Just like Amahisa's Slider, which often catches batters off guard with its sharp turn before reaching the plate.
Amahisa had even used this breaking ball to Strike out Raichi.
Not only to get Raichi Out but also to prevent him from even touching the ball.
The difficulty between the two situations is vastly different.
From this, it's easy to see how sharp Amahisa Kousei's Slider is.
Right now, Takami called for a Slider to help Kousei quickly regain his confidence.
The impact of Kuramochi and Sawamura's hits on Amahisa Kousei was immense.
It wasn't that Kousei's pitching was poor or that he wasn't trying hard enough.
'But the ball had been ruthlessly hit.'
Nothing is more demoralizing than trying your best but still failing.
In such circumstances, Takami naturally hoped Kousei could quickly return to form.
Kousei did not disappoint, throwing a perfectly executed Slider.
But unfortunately, that pitch was snagged by Miyuki.
PAAANNGG!!!!!
He had aimed directly at Kousei's Slider.
On the Jingu Stadium, an astonishing scene unfolded.
After the ball was struck, it soared high into the air.
Then it kept flying.
All the way over the left field fence.
Pak!
Finally, the small ball landed in the outfield stands.
A two-run home run!!!
Seidou High School's lead suddenly expanded to three points.
The score on the field became 3:0.
This score was enough to give Sankou's players depression.
Remember, Ichidaisan High School's current opponent isn't just anyone, but the reigning champions, Seidou High School, fresh off a victory at the Spring Koshien.
'To recover at least three points from Seidou…'
'Especially with the Maou, Sawamura, on the mound.'
Just thinking about the difficulty of this task was a headache.
The players of Ichidaisan High School fell silent.
They were facing one of the toughest starts imaginable.
"It's over!"
Many fans and supporters of Ichidaisan were getting ready to leave Jingu Stadium.
They didn't want to witness their team being crushed by the opponent.
…