Chapter 171: The Thorny Challenge of Nanagamari Tech
"Whoosh!"
"Clang!"
"Pop!"
Furuya's high fastball forced the third batter from Nanagamari Tech to instinctively swing, resulting in a high fly ball to left field.
The ball flew with an unusually high and slow trajectory, clearly a sign of how Furuya's pitching power had subdued the batter.
Eijun quickly assessed the ball's flight path and position, moving into place with agility.
Though he wasn't quite as sharp in his fielding as someone like Jun Isashiki, his fundamentals were solid, showing a reliable base in his defense.
He easily caught the ball, securing an out against Nanagamari's third batter.
With that, the top of the first inning ended, and Nanagamari Tech's offensive was over.
"Out! Three outs! Change sides!"
"Nice pitch, Furuya!"
"Haha, not bad, kid!"
"I thought you might crack under the pressure of your Koshien debut, but you look pretty solid out there."
"Keep it up!"
"Let's go!"
As Furuya returned to the dugout, his Seidou teammates looked pleased.
After all, this was the opening match of Koshien, and the seniors were focused and serious, a bit worried if Furuya could handle the pressure.
Now it seemed their concerns were unnecessary—while Furuya wasn't much of a talker, he was definitely someone they could rely on in key innings.
What's the saying? "Silent but deadly." That's pretty much Furuya in a nutshell right now.
"Great pitching, Furuya," Haruichi patted Furuya on the back with a smile.
Haruichi had worried that Furuya might get nervous on such a grand stage as Koshien, but it turned out he needn't have.
Eijun just chuckled to himself; he'd never doubted Furuya to begin with.
Hmm, he thought about a scene from the original series where he himself made a dazzling debut at Koshien.
Unlike his counterpart in the original story, Eijun couldn't help but recall the embarrassing performance he gave back then.
"Yeah, Tanba-senpai told me to just pitch with everything I've got. If I get hit, I'll just blame it on Miyuki-senpai's pitch-calling mistake. Thinking that way makes pitching a lot easier."
What the heck?!
Eijun glanced at Furuya, who had just said this with a straight face, leaving Eijun's mouth slightly agape and a twitch in his cheek.
This guy really could deliver that line with a completely serious expression.
Eijun could only shake his head helplessly.
Miyuki, who had just taken off his catcher's gear, stumbled slightly and looked over at Tanba with a pained expression.
Tanba-senpai, are you kidding me? You're corrupting the freshmen! Miyuki thought, feeling somewhat exasperated.
Sensing Miyuki's gaze, Tanba turned his head, a question mark practically floating above him.
This only made Miyuki even more annoyed.
"Let's keep up the defensive rhythm. For our offense in the bottom half, take advantage of any favorable pitch without hesitation! Overwhelm them with our spirit!"
"Yes!"
Three consecutive pitches, all over 150 km/h, roared like a tiger's growl.
The spectators were buzzing with excitement, erupting into an explosion of cheers.
Most of the audience immediately took out their phones to record.
The reporters from news and magazine outlets perked up, finally having some exciting material to cover!
The monster pitcher famed in Koshien had returned, Seidou High's core first-year pitcher.
However, for those who were more familiar with Seidou's current lineup—especially the scouts from other teams—their expressions turned slightly bitter.
They had initially thought that just having a left-handed first-year pitcher capable of suppressing Inashiro Industrial was already a challenge.
They came today to gather intel and prepare their final scouting report.
But to their surprise, Seidou had an even bigger surprise in store.
A pitcher with speeds of 150 km/h, possibly even reaching 152 or 153 km/h, and with the potential to go as high as 160 km/h in the future—this super fastball pitcher, Furuya Satoru, was indeed unexpected.
In the stands, Ochiai watched Furuya from the dugout with a look of satisfaction.
This is what pure talent looks like.
With his pitch speed and the potential to refine his control and mix in difficult-to-read breaking balls, Furuya was undoubtedly ace material.
His initial assessment of Furuya had not been far off.
But in this Seidou team, there was another unique presence—Sawamura Eijun. Watching him jog back from left field to the dugout, Ochiai's gaze flickered with interest.
Even though he highly valued Furuya's talent, in terms of current skill, Eijun still firmly outshone him.
Ochiai had reviewed footage from the finals against Inashiro Industrial.
Even his critical eye had to admit Eijun's performance in that inning was flawless.
Scoring, home runs—these were inevitable in baseball.
No pitcher goes their entire career without allowing a run or a home run.
What impressed Ochiai most was how Eijun handled himself after conceding runs. If Furuya showed future ace potential, then Eijun had the qualities of Seidou's current ace.
Moreover, his potential with the moving ball, combined with his flexible joints, made him a left-handed pitcher with a bright future.
Managing these two pitchers would be Seidou's most challenging yet rewarding task.
If Seidou could handle their development well, they had a real shot at building an unstoppable powerhouse team over the next two years.
Ochiai stroked his chin, thinking this over.
In the first-base dugout, Coach Sakata of Nanagamari Tech was feeling a headache coming on. Facing a pitcher like this required time to adapt to his speed and pitch type.
The only opening might be Furuya's somewhat shaky control; if he didn't throw breaking balls, they could manage. But if he did, it would be even trickier.
As a seasoned coach, Coach Sakata had already analyzed most of Furuya's skills and tendencies in this opening inning. Even if some details were based on guesswork, it showed his insight and experience.
"His control isn't that great. Let's hold our defense; opportunities will come. No need to rush," Coach Sakata said steadily from the dugout.
His priority now was to keep the team's morale steady.
The game had only just started, and getting too eager would only lead them to fall behind faster.
"Yes, sir!" the Nanagamari Tech players responded in unison.
"Bottom of the first inning, Seidou High at bat. Leading off, shortstop, Kuramochi!"
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