'Take it seriously!'
On the bench, Sawamura gave his sign.
Kawashima seemed to have received the signal and nodded slightly.
It looked like it was impossible to defeat these new freshmen in one go.
These freshmen were really putting in the effort, and their strength was no joke. They had stabilized their position and counterattacked.
They had already proven through their actions that they were absolutely not inferior to the second-string players. They deserved respect.
Whoosh!
Ping!
"OUT!!"
The third batter behind them was Out.
Ping!
Kawashima had initially thought he could quickly take down the opponent and finish with three Outs.
He hadn't expected so many strong freshmen.
The tall and silent Kagami Kouta aimed at a fastball and hit it directly.
The ball flew high and landed in the outfield.
Throughout this, his expression was like he had done something trivial.
Of course, that wasn't the case—he had done an excellent job, enough to impress others.
Asou frowned slightly.
"This guy reminds me of Shiratsu!"
Though his presence wasn't very strong, his strength was genuine.
Nearby, Maezono also nodded in agreement.
And so, the situation was now one Out, with runners on first and second.
The fifth batter from the freshmen's side, Mogami Takeshi, was up.
Mogami felt something incredibly strange.
It was truly, very strange. Since he started learning baseball, he had never encountered a situation like this before.
At Seidou High School, there is a saying that is widely circulated.
Once you enter high school, any achievements you made in middle school are essentially wiped clean. Only players who can demonstrate results in daily practice or competitions are eligible to represent Seidou High School on the field.
In fact, whether it's Coach Kataoka or the entire coaching staff of Seidou High School's baseball team, they truly follow this principle and give every player a nearly fair opportunity.
However, the irony is that most of the players who first show results are those who achieved success in middle school.
There's Nishiyama Kibo, Yuuki Masashi, Yui Kaoru, Okumura Koushuu, and Seto Takuma, who were all famous players in middle school.
Every one of them, without exception, was a well-known player in middle school.
Takashima Rei is not blind; if her recruits weren't worth it, how could she have put in so much effort to recruit them?
This includes Kuki Youhei, who gave up nine points but showed extraordinary fighting spirit during his pitching. Even though his results weren't ideal, he was still a very well-known player in middle school.
Of course, There was also a player who was very famous in middle school but hasn't shown the strength to match his reputation after arriving here.
That person is Mogami Takeshi!
A kid full of inner drama.
When he first entered school, Mogami was quite conspicuous. There were two reasons for this: one, he had some fame in middle school; and two, the dormitory he was assigned to.
His dormitory was shared with Kominato and Maezono, as well as Lee-Hyun, the international transfer student in a big program from South Korea.
Even a fool would know that this dormitory was no ordinary one.
Looking at it this way, Mogami's position was very high! At least in the eyes of the Seidou High School coaching staff, his role should be very important, right?
He was a key player to be nurtured.
Being so highly regarded by Seidou's baseball coaches meant that Mogami's ability was unquestionable.
Today, he was batting fifth for the freshmen.
This position also indicated his extraordinary expectations.
Originally, Mogami was full of confidence and eager to perform on the field. But today, he didn't know what went wrong. He felt like he was floating, completely out of sync with the game.
Mogami felt as if he had caught a terrible cold—his body was completely unresponsive.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed like there was nothing physically wrong with him.
This left Mogami utterly confused.
'My strength should be more than this. Why am I performing so poorly?' Mogami-kun couldn't figure it out.
But no matter how confused he was, some things had to be faced. Like now, with runners on first and second base, he stepped up to the Batter's Box.
As a cleanup batter, the other talented freshmen had already begun to show their skills.
As one of the talented newcomers, Mogami should also be showcasing his strength.
But now, Mogami felt completely uncertain. He stared blankly at the pitcher's mound, at the imposing opponent.
He didn't understand why the upperclassmen of Seidou High School were so serious.
'This isn't like a freshman Orientation game; it felt more like a life-and-death battle.'
It felt a bit like the regional finals in the summer tournament.
Win, and you go to Koshien; lose, and you lose everything.
This made Mogami feel like he was running through water—it was incredibly hard. He couldn't even run...
The cheers of his teammates echoed in his ears, but Mogami had no interest in them.
He watched helplessly as the small ball flew toward him.
Mogami gritted his teeth.
Deep down, he knew that he absolutely couldn't back down now. If he did, he'd be finished.
Behind him was Coach Kataoka.
'Right now, my performance would be completely visible to Coach Kataoka.'
If he wanted to be promoted and didn't want to give up that chance to someone else, he had to show the strength that would surpass the other freshmen...
Only then could he earn the right to be promoted to the second string.
'Heavens above, please bless me!'
'Anyone up there will do, just help me hit this ball!'
Whoosh!
Before Mogami's inner thoughts were finished, the ball had already flown toward him.
Without any sign, it came straight at him.
Mogami had trained a lot during middle school. Though his thoughts couldn't keep up now, his body responded naturally.
Although his response seemed stiff, he still made the connection.
Ping!
The delayed swing struck the ball with determination, sending it flying...
'Thank you!'
Mogami felt his inner world come alive. It had been a long time since he felt like this.
His swing had finally connected with the ball—at least it wasn't too embarrassing.
In the Senpais' dugout, Eijun's eyes flashed slightly.
"He really is an interesting person."
His body responded naturally before his mind could react. This amazing physical ability definitely wasn't as bad as his performance suggested.
It's just a pity that he was destined to be buried for a while.
Mogami had already made two mistakes and hadn't shown any real performance while batting.
'At least in the next six months, Coach Kataoka would not give him another chance to be promoted to the second string.'
After all, Seidou High School had no shortage of good players now!
For Seidou at this point, technique wasn't as important.
With the influx of talented freshmen, Seidou High School no longer lacked skilled players.
If technique wasn't a major consideration, then it all came down to the overall quality and mentality of the players.
Mogami's technique shouldn't be an issue.
Compared to other freshmen, he wasn't necessarily lacking.
But his overall quality and mentality were too far behind.
And this kind of thing would likely be hard to make up in a short period.
"What a pity."
But there's nothing to be done. After all, there are so many outstanding freshmen at Seidou.
After the ball flew, it was intercepted by the Senpais team's shortstop, Takatsu Hiroomi. He passed it to second base, and then second base to first base.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
The two consecutive Outs set the audience into a frenzy.
The freshmen showed off their impressive skills, but the upperclassmen weren't to be outdone and immediately counterattacked.
They got a double play.
"There must be something wrong!!!"
Mogami's heart was racing. He couldn't believe what had just happened.
'Could it be some sort of conspiracy?'
'Why was his result so tragic?'
No one could give him an answer, because that was the reality.
11:1.
The more the score stood out, the more extraordinary Okumura and Seto Takuma's performances became.
Without those two, the freshmen would have had no chance of scoring a point against the upperclassmen.
It wasn't easy.
The next game became extremely intense.
But by the end of the fifth inning, the freshmen hadn't scored again and had barely managed to get on base.
On the contrary, the old team scored again when the newly substituted in Mimura Ryota got a timely hit.
The score became 13:1!
In this process, the player who performed the best was the old team's cleanup hitter, Takatsu.
This guy turned into a terrifying demon, wreaking havoc in the team.
Half of the Senpai team's runs came from his bat alone.
Such a performance was eye-catching, even in the second string.
Even compared to the two yearmates who had been struggling lately, it was like heaven and earth.
Kanemaru felt very complex. On one hand, he was happy for his friend Takatsu, but on the other hand, a strong sense of crisis filled his heart.
Takatsu's performance left a strong impression, and there were also freshmen who made everyone feel exceptional.
This person is Okumura!
The current freshman lineup is indeed much stronger than the previous one. The star players from before haven't been replaced, and Kagami and Mogami are still on the field. Then, Okumura and Takuma were substituted.
The combination of Okumura and Takuma, even with Asada…
Their strength is slightly stronger than Matsumoto, Kuki, and the second baseman who isn't particularly strong.
Even Coach Kataoka now looks at Okumura with a different gaze.
Originally, Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai had discussed that after Miyuki's retirement, Yui Kaori would take over in order.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have made an exception and promoted Yui Kaori to the second-string team in advance.
'Now, it seems that the original plan will have to be adjusted.'
There might be better options, but that's not certain.
Whether Okumura is the better choice, he is unsure. But he's definitely a good candidate to try.
It's also beneficial for both sides to have two players competing for the same position.
Just like Furuya now, if it weren't for the presence of Sawamura, he would never have grown so quickly.
It's because he has such a towering role model in front of him that Furuya continues to strive forward.
On the side, Yuuki Masashi, who was watching turned and left the scene.
"What are you going to do?"
Nishiyama looked at Yuuki in confusion, but all he could see was Yuuki's back.
Who could tell him what his friend was about to do?
A while later, Nishiyama saw Masashi return, holding a bat.
Instinctively, Nishiyama knew this guy was up to something.
His intuition was right—Yuuki definitely wanted to make a move.
With the bat in hand, Yuuki didn't waste any time. He began swinging the bat immediately.
'Was he really going to practice his swing in the middle of the game?'
Buuzzzz!!!
As he swung the bat, it looked as though he was spinning it like a windmill. Meanwhile, the deep sound of the bat cutting through the air could be heard from over ten meters away.
The players, who had been eagerly watching the game for any changes, couldn't pay attention to the match anymore. They stared in curiosity at Yuuki, wondering what he was trying to do.
The fans and alumni of Seidou High School watching from the sidelines were also quite excited.
"This rookie's swing is really impressive!"
"You wouldn't guess from his physique that he's a first-year, just graduated from middle school."
"After all, he's Tetsu's little brother. It's only natural that he's performing this well."
For these Seidou High School supporters, every player on the Seidou baseball team was their favorite.
And among all the freshmen, Yuuki Masashi was treated like a beloved child.
On one hand, he was a local player from Tokyo. On the other hand, he was the little brother of Yuuki Tetsuya, the former captain of Seidou High School.
Of course, the most important reason was his exceptional skill.
If Yuuki hadn't been able to meet such expectations, his life wouldn't have been so easy.
In the end, strength is everything. Without it, all other factors are just empty talk.
Nishiyama looked at Yuuki Masashi and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
"This guy is really interesting."
He probably couldn't wait to get onto the field. He even thought of using this method to attract Coach Kataoka's attention.
That's some real talent!
At this moment, a figure walked from the distance.
It was Kominato Haruichi, who had finished his practice and came to watch the game.
…
T/N: Man, these first-year kids sure have the characters.
Well, That's it for now.
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