Chapter 176: The Beginning of the Transformation Journey
Many people have a misunderstanding about the structure of Japan's Summer Koshien Tournament.
They often assume it follows the same format as regional tournaments, where match schedules are determined beforehand through draws. However, that's not the case.
The National High School Baseball Championship, also known as the Summer Championship, and the Spring Invitational Tournament, are the two most prestigious competitions held at Koshien.
The Spring Invitational Tournament follows a similar format to regional tournaments, but the Summer Championship is different.
In the Summer Championship, only starting from the quarterfinals is there a fixed match schedule. Before that, all matchups are determined by random draws.
Because of this random draw system in the early rounds, teams cannot know their next opponent until all matches of the current round, including those with bye teams, have concluded.
This differs from the regional tournaments, where the bracket is predetermined, making it easy to guess your next opponent. In Koshien, it's impossible to predict.
Seidou High School wasn't fortunate enough to draw a bye in the second round and had to play in the first round.
This means they had to play one more game than some schools and had to wait for all first-round matches to finish before drawing for the second round to determine their next opponent.
After their game, the Seidou team returned to their lodging. Everyone in Seidou is currently staying disciplined and on standby.
Under Coach Kataoka's guidance and with supervision from Rei Takashima and Ota, the team is not undergoing intense training.
Instead, they are doing light, adaptive exercises to maintain their rhythm and game readiness, such as fielding practice, batting practice, and pitching practice.
During these days, Eijun has begun further developing his unique pitch repertoire.
In a quiet corner of the spacious courtyard of their lodging, two figures stood together—Eijun and Chris.
Today, Miyuki was taken away by Furuya for some extra practice.
The first match had been a significant learning experience for Furuya, and working with Miyuki to consolidate his gains was only natural.
For Eijun, however, he still preferred and felt more comfortable with Chris catching for him.
Moreover, Chris's rehabilitation had been going well recently.
While he might still struggle in official games, he was more than capable of serving as Sawamura's practice catcher. Chris himself was happy to do so.
As a catcher and a senior, Chris viewed Eijun as someone special and meaningful in his life.
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"That pitch was a bit faster than the previous one," Chris said casually as he caught the ball with ease and tossed it back to Eijun.
Catching the ball, Eijun nodded slightly. Holding the ball in his left hand, his eyes reflected a mix of joy, hesitation, frustration, and determination, all in the span of a few seconds.
These emotions stemmed from the pitch he had just thrown. While it met his expectations in terms of completion, it was still far from being viable in a real game.
"Chris-senpai, let's try it again," Eijun said, adjusting his grip on the ball with his five fingers.
This grip was the same one he would later use in the original storyline during the Autumn Tournament to experiment with a new type of pitch.
Chris nodded. "Try to lower your center of gravity as much as possible, Sawamura," he advised with a gentle smile.
"Yes!"
Numbers!
That's right—Eijun was now attempting to develop his "Numbers" pitch series. In the original storyline, this was first hinted at in the Autumn Tournament, further refined in the Spring Tournament, but never fully completed.
Eijun had underestimated just how challenging it would be to learn and master the Numbers series.
Now that he think about it, in the original story, even by the time the second series was drawing close to another Summer Tournament, Sawamura had only mastered a few Numbers.
Talking about perfection was still a distant dream, and there were pitches he couldn't control at all.
It seems he may have overestimated himself.
Moreover, the original story didn't provide precise details on how Sawamura and Miyuki practiced and developed the Numbers.
The only clear information was that the key difference lay in the grip. Even the pitching mechanics, while described as slightly different, were never elaborated upon.
The only pitch that was explained in detail was Numbers 7, the Cutter Kai/Improved Cutter.
Ironically, that particular pitch is one that Eijun can't currently practice due to his lack of control.
Forcing it would almost certainly result in a hit batter—it's practically guaranteed.
So, for now, Eijun is focusing on the high-speed changeup he initially experimented with in the original story.
This pitch combines the deceleration characteristics of a changeup with a relatively higher speed.
It also has the peculiar trajectory of a breaking ball, with a controllable break near home plate.
Yes, you read that right—a controllable break.
Similar to a cutter, this pitch can be influenced by Eijun's intent, broadening his arsenal and making it far more versatile and practical.
...
"Whoosh!"
Eijun gripped the ball tightly with his left hand, his five fingers firmly pressing against it. Lowering his center of gravity as much as possible and fully utilizing the rotational force of his body, he released the ball with all his strength.
"Pop!"
"The height is still a bit too high," Chris commented, nodding at first but then shaking his head. "The angle is good, and the trajectory is tricky, but the height makes it easy for batters to target."
"Yes," Eijun replied softly, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"Try lowering your wrist more. Don't release the ball with a full twist—let's see if that helps keep the trajectory lower," Chris suggested as a sudden idea struck him.
"Yes, Chris-senpai." Eijun's brow furrowed briefly before his face lit up with understanding. He nodded and replied with determination.
...
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Step forward a little more with your stride—yes, don't keep it too tight."
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Your left hand is gripping too tightly. Don't focus all the pressure on one point; try to distribute it across your entire palm."
"I understand, Chris-senpai."
...
One pitch after another, Eijun threw carefully and meticulously, while Chris made every effort to adjust and correct his posture and grip.
Together, they worked to refine and perfect this pitch to its fullest potential.
Eijun wasn't greedy.
He didn't attempt to practice other types of pitches.
Partly, this was due to his own self-awareness, and partly because Chris had advised him before practice began.
"Master the foundation of one pitch before exploring others," Chris had warned.
The current pitch they were developing was the best possible extension of Eijun's current repertoire.
It integrated the deceleration feature of a changeup with the movement of a breaking ball, blending them into a single pitch.
Subtle adjustments to his release mechanics, like hiding the release point better, not only gave Eijun a new pitch but also deepened his understanding of his existing arsenal.
This approach significantly improved Eijun's control and achieved multiple goals at once. It was a win-win-win situation.
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