In the top of the eighth inning, Yakushi High School is at bat.
Ping!
"FOUL!!"
Mishima, with a powerful batting strength, is currently in the Batter's Box, locked in a duel with Seidou's Sawamura on the mound.
Up until now, this is the six-pitch thrown against him!
Mishima exudes a fierce aura.
He knows very well that this is probably Yakushi's last chance to mount an offense.
In this inning, Yakushi's lineup includes the 3rd, 4th, and 5th batters, their core lineup.
If they can't take down Sawamura with the clean-up batters, then the probability of Yakushi winning this game today is effectively zero.
In the Yakushi High School dugout, Coach Raizou Todoroki has unknowingly straightened his lazy back. His eyes are intently fixed on the matchup on the field.
"Mishima, you should know. Our hope of winning…"
'Currently, Sawamura's overall strength is significantly limited. There are many breaking balls he can't use, or perhaps he simply doesn't want to use them!'
'It doesn't matter, whatever it is, it works to Yakushi's advantage.'
'Given the intense nature of this match, if you get on base, it's very likely that Sawamura will choose to confront Raichi head-on.'
'Mishima, it's all on you, you have to do it!'
Todoroki places much of his hope on Mishima. For Mishima himself, this is, of course, a thrilling opportunity.
'Don't worry, Coach. Even if the opponent is my ideal, I'll make sure to take a piece of him this time!'
For Sawamura, who can only use basic breaking balls, Moving balls, and Straight balls, are not outside Mishima's reach.
He's very confident that he can hit the ball. The reason the two are still locked in a battle is, on one hand, to wear down Sawamura's momentum, and on the other, to wait for the right opportunity.
The longer the standoff, the stronger Mishima's aura becomes.
Sawamura, on the mound, has long since lost the calm composure he had at the start of the game. Sweat drips down his face.
He expended a lot of energy in yesterday's semifinal, and today, he's been completely focused. His stamina feels like a flood that has broken its dam.
There's no stopping it.
By now, Sawamura feels a faint sense of fatigue.
It must be said that the pressure from Yakushi's lineup is considerable. It's not just the star players, even the average ones require Sawamura to use up some of his energy to handle them.
'The strongest in the country!'
'In a sense, that's true.'
Sawamura takes a long breath, adjusting his breathing rhythm.
'Six Outs left.'
'Just six more Outs.'
Whrroosh!
With a quick motion, Sawamura releases the ball from his hand, sending it flying like a sharp missile.
Mishima, unhesitatingly, swings his bat and makes contact with the ball.
Ping!
The ball Mishima hit flies past Sawamura's head. Sawamura tries to leap and catch it but fails.
He watches helplessly as the ball floats past him.
'Yeah!'
Mishima, pleased with his hit, throws away his bat and runs to first base.
As the ball flies past Sawamura, a lightning-fast streak suddenly rushes forward.
Snap!
In an almost impossible angle, the figure intercepts the ball, preventing it from flying to the outfield.
But having already fallen, it's too late for him to throw it to first base.
"You-san!"
From the opposite side, another figure rushes over to help. It's none other than Kominato Haruichi, the second baseman.
The one who stopped the ball was Kuramochi, who immediately threw the ball to Haruichi.
Kominato, without hesitation, turns 180 degrees and throws the ball like a dart.
Before Mishima steps on first base, the ball lands in Maezono's mitt.
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
One Out, no one on base!
"Thanks!"
Sawamura raises his hand and thanks Kuramochi and Kominato.
"Make it look more sincere!" Kuramochi retorts rudely.
Haruichi gives Sawamura a thumbs up.
It's not mocking, just their way of cheering each other on.
"It's really reassuring."
Sawamura turns and looks at Raichi, who is stepping into the Batter's Box.
He breathes a sigh of relief.
'It's good to have won against Mishima here. Otherwise, I'd have been in trouble to face Raichi like this.'
'Now, I can face Raichi in a duel with no worry.'
That's right, an upright duel with Raichi. This was Sawamura's plan all along…
In the stands, Owada Akiko pats her chest in relief. The scene just now was so thrilling; they almost gave up a hit.
"The game has changed!"
Fujio, sitting beside her, suddenly says something unexpected.
"What?" Akiko asks, confused.
Fujio shakes his head, not saying anything more.
Originally, Miyuki wasn't in the game, so Seidou's situation wasn't ideal. Even with Sawamura, the Maou, on the mound, things weren't entirely reassuring.
Sawamura, dancing in shackles, was significantly restricted.
But what happened just now sent a message to everyone in the stadium. It's not just Sawamura that makes Seidou's defense strong. It's their overall defense!
'When Sawamura is at his strongest, Seidou's defense doesn't shine as brightly.'
'But when Sawamura is struggling, their defensive presence becomes much more evident.'
In the end, Seidou is a legendary powerhouse. Their steel wall defense is the hallmark of such teams.
'Yakushi is struggling!'
Fujio refocuses on the field, now having guessed the result of the matchup.
He just doesn't know what Seidou will do next.
Sawamura soon answers that question for everyone.
Originally, Ono had planned to continue using the Walk strategy.
Ever since Sawamura explained it to him, the young man's mind has been in turmoil.
Everything keeps replaying in Ono's mind like a movie. In the end, he agrees with Sawamura's perspective.
Everything is for the team.
Putting the team's interests first is always the right approach.
So when Sawamura can't fully showcase his abilities, Ono naturally believes they should continue Walking Raichi.
So, he signals Sawamura for a Walk.
Sawamura firmly shakes his head.
Ono tries again with another signal.
Once more, Sawamura shakes his head.
"Time!"
At this point, with no other options, Ono had to call a timeout and shout to the referee.
Then he angrily ran up to the mound.
Originally, he had been persuaded by Sawamura's passionate words, believing that Walking Raichi was the natural course of action at this moment.
This had nothing to do with whether Sawamura trusted him or not. It was just a more cautious strategy…
But now, Sawamura had done something completely different from what he had said earlier.
He said one thing, but did another!
Ono wanted to ask, what was this guy thinking?
Initially, Ono was full of anger, but when he really got close to the mound, he didn't know what to say.
Sawamura was not the impulsive kind of pitcher, and he always had his own reasons for his actions.
"What's wrong?"
In the end, all the questions were replaced by these words.
"Walking him twice in a row is too much of an impact on us." Sawamura directly explained his reasoning.
"In this case, even if the opponent hits a home run, the score would just be tied. If we successfully take out the remaining batters and drag the game into extra innings, we are still the winners. Facing the opponent head-on would be good for us…"
Before Sawamura finished, Ono understood.
At this point, if they Walked Raichi again, the impression that they were afraid of the opponent would be firmly etched into everyone's minds at the scene.
Sawamura might not care about this, but Seidou High School couldn't afford to ignore it.
And it would have a huge psychological impact on both teams. It would always be a shame if the players of Seidou High School thought they won by chickening out.
On the other hand, Yakushi's momentum would soar to a very terrifying level.
In that case, facing the opponent head-on seemed more beneficial to the team…
Nodding at Sawamura, signaling that he understood, Ono continued to ask.
"Any strategies?"
"Of course!!"
Sawamura smiled confidently.
Although he had explained his reasoning to Ono, Sawamura had other plans in his mind.
Choosing to confront Raichi head-on now, he was doing so with some confidence.
If he didn't have any confidence, why would Sawamura take such a risk, especially if all he needed was to protect that one point?
During the time he spent discussing tactics with Ono, Sawamura managed to recover his breathing.
His physical and mental states gradually adjusted back.
After Ono called a timeout, he discussed with Sawamura for two minutes before returning to his position behind the plate.
His entire state felt like he had just been pumped with adrenaline.
Sawamura's final words kept echoing in Ono's mind.
"If Raichi doesn't hit the last pitch, you must make sure that the ball doesn't get past you no matter what!"
"I know!"
"Well, I believe you."
It wasn't unbearable if Ono couldn't catch the ball. But if he couldn't even stop the ball, then Sawamura's breaking ball would truly be useless.
"I believe in you!"
When Sawamura said these four words, he pumped his mitt toward Ono, conveying his trust.
Ono smiled a little and pumped his Mitt too clearly acknowledging his expectations.
No wonder Ono was acting like he was now.
The game continued.
"Keha-ha-haa! Keha-ha-haa!!"
Raichi ignored the changes from Seidou and just stared intently at Sawamura on the mound, hesitating in his heart.
'Will he Walk me?'
Raichi would have regretted dearly if he did not have a proper duel with Eijun.
He really wished that, on this field, he could have faced Eijun in a fair duel.
'Come on!
'Pitch it!'
'FACE ME!!!"
The burning thoughts in his heart turned into desire in his eyes.
That intense feeling was so strong that even Sawamura could sense it.
'Don't worry, I will!'
With a slight smirk, Sawamura raised his foot high and then stomped down hard like a battle axe splitting the ground.
In the process, his whole body spun like a huge windmill, and he hurled the ball from his hand with all his might.
WHRROOSH!!!
The ball shot forward like a laser, reaching the batter in the blink of an eye.
Looking at this incredibly sharp pitch, there was no panic in Raichi's eyes, only a flash of light.
'In the zone!!!'
This time, Sawamura's pitch didn't miss the strike zone; it dove directly into the heart of the strike zone!
This meant that Eijun wasn't avoiding the confrontation with Raichi anymore but had chosen to resolve the outcome face-to-face!
'IT IS HERE!!!!!'
Raichi felt like all the cells in his body suddenly came alive!
It made him feel invigorated and refreshed.
'AMAZING!!!'
'AMAZING!!!!!"
BUUUUZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The bat in his hands unleashed terrifying power, like a bolt of lightning.
PAAAANNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!
The bat smashed the ball hard, sending it flying high and far.
Sawamura on the mound didn't even turn his head.
His eyes were firmly locked on Raichi at the strike zone.
It was as if he wasn't worried that the ball would fly out.
In fact, the ball didn't break out at all. It landed just outside the foul line, about three or four meters from the sideline.
"FOUL!!" The umpire called out.
Raichi seemed to have been stimulated in some way, and his whole demeanor changed to one of fiery intensity.
'AMAZING!!!!'
'After The Ball Entered The Zone, It Suddenly Veered.'
'INCREDIBLE!!'
'As Expected Of Eijun!'
'More!'
'More!!'
"MORE!!!"
The enthusiasm in his eyes grew stronger.
Now, he was eagerly awaiting the breaking ball from Sawamura.
'Here you have it!!'
Without making him wait too long, Sawamura's second pitch came flying.
WHRROOSH!!!!
From how low it was flying, the ball looked like it would hit the ground.
But, Raichi had a different feeling.
To him, it seemed like the ball was rising back to the zone!
'AMAZING…!!!'
He was amazed, he never saw anything like that!
BUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!
But when he swung his bat, Raichi didn't hold back.
As long as the ball entered the strike zone, he wasn't going to let it pass.
BAAAAAANNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!
He smashed the ball directly, but his contact was not perfect.
The ball was struck and flew behind the catcher.
CRASH!!
"FOUL!!"
Two Fouls in a row.
During this sequence, Raichi displayed an incredibly powerful swing, and there were faint signs of suppressing Sawamura.
In the stands.
"SAWAMURA!"
"SAWAMURA!!"
"RAICHI!!!"
"RAICHI!!"
The supporters of both teams were shouting their names hoarsely, trying to send their strength to their side.
The voices of support were equally matched.
Now even Sawamura's fans felt their hero was being suppressed, let alone anyone else…
Of course, not everyone saw it that way.
For example, in Seidou's second and third-string teams.
The blond-haired Okumura made a different comment.
"Sawamura-senpai is about to make his move!"
And the one who nodded at this with him was Yui Kaoru.
These two understanding of baseball far surpassed their peers.
They weren't just enjoying the spectacle; they saw deeper meaning.
To them, it wasn't that Sawamura was being suppressed.
Instead, he had set a big trap for Raichi, and now Raichi was walking right into it.
'The net had been cast, and it was time to harvest!'
'But you don't care about that, Right?'
'RAICHI!!!"
WHRROOSH!!!!!!
Without any warning, Sawamura threw his third pitch.
The ball shot up like a rocket, rapidly approaching the batter.
'IT IS HERE!'
'IT IS HERE!!'
'I WILL HIT IT!!'
'I WILL SMASH IT!!!'
'I WILL WIN!!!!!'
"EIJUN!!!!!!"
BUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!
Without hesitation, Raichi swung his bat.
BAAAAAAAANNNNNGGG!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball collided with the bat, producing a sharp, metallic sound!
It soared high into the air as if it might break through the sky.
It took a long time before the ball finally descended.
At second base, Haruichi had long awaited the ball's descent. He stretched out his mitt and caught the ball securely.
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
The Thunder Beast, Todoroki Raichi, was dealt with!!
…