Seidou has made a substitution!
This is a significant event for both the players of the two teams and the fans at the scene.
The Texas team, who had previously researched the Seidou High School baseball team in detail, naturally knew who the two players being substituted were.
"But it is too late, don't you think?"
"What can these two do now!"
Although the Seidou High School baseball team's decision greatly annoyed them, after four innings, with Texas leading, they figured, even if Seidou substituted in their real ace players, what difference would it make?
The outcome of the game had already been decided the moment Texas took the lead.
On the other hand, the players from Seidou High School's baseball team felt quite uneasy.
Although they gained some confidence after Sawamura and Miyuki were substituted, they still couldn't deny one fact.
Texas' strength far exceeded their expectations, especially with their Ace, Lincoln.
Up until now, they still hadn't discovered any weaknesses in Lincoln, let alone figured out how to deal with this pitcher.
From the perspective of the game situation, the current circumstances were not favorable for Seidou High School's baseball team.
Sawamura, who replaced Nishiyama, was now batting third.
At the end of the fourth inning, Seidou's lineup had also reached the third batter.
Simply put, even if Sawamura was lucky enough to hit multiple home runs, it was unlikely he would be able to catch up with the score in the remaining time.
"Did the Japanese give up the game?"
One young spectator, dissatisfied, said.
Although he was happy to see Texas winning, he wouldn't be pleased if the opponent simply gave up the game.
He had come to watch a high-level match, not a weak opponent who had lost their nerve.
A win like that would be tasteless.
An older man with a scruffy beard, seemingly an old fan, shook his head when he heard the young man's frustration.
"The game isn't over yet, why rush?"
Although he also didn't believe that Seidou High School's baseball team had any hope of making a comeback, one must have patience when watching a game.
Being too impatient could mean missing out on a lot of exciting moments.
For example, watching Texas dominate the opponent.
'And why was Texas' Ace Lincoln playing so aggressively?'
Many other spectators shared the same opinion as these two fans, and some were already complaining.
It was mainly a few Japanese who, although few in number, were still firmly supporting Seidou High School's baseball team.
In such an atmosphere, a man wearing a large mask and sunglasses, with his hair half-gray, shook his head.
He could hear the surrounding comments clearly but scoffed at them.
'Who says the game is decided already?'
Even though Texas appeared strong, the opponent still had a chance!
Not to mention, Texas had its own major flaws.
"Don't all look so down. You've played well, and the opponent's weaknesses have already been exposed, haven't they?"
Before heading onto the field, Miyuki gathered his teammates and said.
His words immediately captured everyone's attention.
It wasn't that Miyuki was particularly skilled in speaking, but rather that he touched on the core issue everyone was most concerned about.
After Sawamura and Miyuki entered the game, the players of Seidou High School's baseball team were quite confident about their defense.
Now, the only thing worrying them was how to score against their opponents.
Finding the opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them to strike decisively.
That was the real plan for Seidou High School's baseball team at this moment.
And Miyuki's words caught everyone's attention on this very matter.
"What are you talking about?"
Kuramochi's eyes were darting around.
If there were any flaws in the Texas team, he would not show mercy.
He had suffered enough in the earlier part of the game.
If he had a chance to exact revenge, he wouldn't hold back.
Seeing the light return to his teammates' eyes, Miyuki nodded secretly.
'Whether or not we had a specific plan, the team's momentum was crucial.'
If the teammates lacked confidence, how could they expect to hit the ball?
As all the teammates gathered around, Miyuki quietly shared the issues he had noticed with them.
After this small meeting, the players of Seidou High School's baseball team walked onto the field, heads held high, like proud little roosters.
Before the game began, Sawamura suddenly turned back to glance at Miyuki.
At that moment, Miyuki was laughing and chatting with his teammates.
Though their smiles were subtle and restrained, it was evident that the players had relaxed, and their confidence for the upcoming match had increased.
Sawamura couldn't help but think to himself.
'He is doing his job as the team's captain seriously,'
The top of the fifth inning began with the Seidou High School team attacking first.
The first batter to step up to the plate was the fourth batter, Yuuki Masashi.
In today's match, because neither Sawamura nor Miyuki had stepped up earlier, Yuuki had been entrusted with the important role of the team's fourth batter.
Although Yuuki had not shown any impressive performance up to this point...
'Hit it!'
'I must hit it out!'
Masashi, in some ways, truly lived up to being the younger brother of Yuuki Tetsuya, sharing a similar mindset with his older brother.
At this moment, standing in the Batter's Box, Yuuki had only one thought in his mind: to hit the ball out of the park.
As for the strategies that Miyuki had shared with the team earlier...
What does that have to do with him?
It's not that Yuuki didn't take the Captain seriously, but he had his own stubbornness and persistence.
Right now, he couldn't bring himself to follow Miyuki's strategies.
What he could do was stick to his own batting style.
If he tried to follow Miyuki's tactics, he wouldn't be Yuuki Masashi anymore.
Vizzzzzzz!
"STRIKE!"
Vizzzzzzz!!
"STRIKE!!"
Vizzzzzzz!!!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Yuuki's swings were powerful, and even from the side, it was easy to feel the strength behind his swings.
It felt exhilarating.
But... that was all there was to it.
He swung three times but failed to make contact with the ball even once.
In the end, Yuuki Masashi walked back to the dugout, his face showing a bit of embarrassment.
His teammates came up to comfort him.
"Don't worry, it's okay!!!"
Apart from those two words, his teammates couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment.
"Next time, I'll definitely hit it out!!!"
Yuuki didn't feel too discouraged.
For him, as long as he could stick to his batting style, other things seemed less important.
Seeing this, Sawamura and Miyuki exchanged a glance, neither of them knowing what to say.
After Yuuki Masashi was Out, it was Miyuki's turn to bat.
He was taking over for Yui Kaoru and was now the fifth batter.
It was unclear what Coach Kataoka was thinking when he made the decision to boldly put the new players into key positions. At the start of the game, the clean-up batting spots were all occupied by first-year students: Nishiyama, Yuuki, and Yui.
The two reliable third-year players had been moved from their original spots.
Shiratsu took the second spot, and Maezono the sixth.
In other words, Seidou High's lineup had been completely rearranged.
In the first four innings, Seidou's offense had not posed any serious threat to the opposing team.
It was understandable.
With this lineup, it was hard to threaten anyone.
One Out, no one on base.
Miyuki stepped into the Batter's Box and coldly sized up the pitcher on the mound.
Before today, they hadn't prepared much for the ace pitcher Lincoln from the Texas team.
But once they faced off, they quickly realized how tough their opponent was.
A powerful fastball, an aggressive rhythm, and sharp breaking balls!
On the surface, it seemed like the pitcher had limited weapons.
However, his pitches carried a unique momentum.
At this moment, Miyuki couldn't help but remember what he had said to everyone earlier.
"The rhythm is off for the other side! That kind of pitching where the pitcher seems to be throwing with all his might every time, it's not sustainable for the whole game. Either Texas has a killer pitcher waiting in reserve, or this guy will eventually show a weakness."
"Ugh!"
Such a passive strategy made Kuramochi very uncomfortable.
He preferred to finish off the opponent quickly and decisively.
"We can't just rely on luck to decide the outcome, can we?"
"What if their pitcher can last until the end?"
At the time, the team wasn't fully convinced by Miyuki's strategy either.
But Miyuki had clearly anticipated this.
"Then it's up to your skills..."
If the opponent's stamina was sufficient, no problem. Just wear him down...
With the pitching burden and Seidou's players' strategies, it was impossible for Lincoln to keep going indefinitely.
Though a few impatient teammates didn't fully appreciate the slow, grind-it-out approach, they didn't have a better plan, so they had no choice but to go along with it.
Miyuki wasn't the first to step up, but relying on Yuuki Masashi to tire out the opponent wasn't realistic.
It wasn't practical at all.
Not only did Masashi lack those small, tactical skills, but if he actually thought about that during his at-bats, he wouldn't be Yuuki Masashi anymore.
So while the strategy was sound, it wasn't suitable for everyone.
At the very least, it wasn't right for Yuuki.
But it was perfect for Miyuki.
Step by step, he could lead the opponent into a trap—this was Miyuki's specialty.
To play this role well, Miyuki had thought carefully about it.
In the beginning, he made sure to look determined to hit the ball out of the park.
The Texas players were aware of Seidou's lineup, and they knew that Miyuki, wearing glasses, was their fourth batter.
'In other words, he was Seidou's strongest hitter.'
So, Lincoln immediately showcased his signature pitcher.
Whrroosh!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!!"
Miyuki didn't swing at the next two pitches.
It seemed like he had been intimidated by the strength of his opponent.
The players saw this and thought,
'This is a chance!'
The opportunity came so suddenly that they couldn't help but feel excited.
It seemed like they had been overly worried before, as the Seidou High School baseball team was clearly not on the same level as the Tokyo representative team.
Now, they thought, defeating their opponents didn't seem too difficult.
Lincoln, filled with confidence, threw his third pitch.
Although he had been surprised that his opponent hadn't swung at the previous two pitches, at this point, he mostly believed that the opponent was out of answers.
It was a foregone conclusion that they would win.
Whrroosh!
As Lincoln threw his final pitch, he could already see Miyuki being struck out.
However, contrary to expectations, Miyuki, who hadn't swung at the previous two pitches, suddenly swung his bat at this one.
Paak!
The baseball was hit and bounced out of bounds.
Miyuki, standing in the Batter's Box, felt as if his hands holding the bat were still shaking.
'So strong!'
The tremendous recoil made it impossible for Miyuki to control the ball's landing and direction.
At this moment...
Miyuki's expression turned grim.
'It seemed like all our previous assumptions had been wrong.'
Originally, they had thought Lincoln's pitches were just fast, rhythmically smooth, and somewhat deceptive. But now, it seemed they had completely misjudged him.
'His pitches were so heavy, it felt like he was hitting cannonballs.'
Not only was it difficult to hit these balls, but even if they did make contact, it was almost impossible to hit them well.
'What a headache of an opponent!'
In the dugout, Sawamura watched the ball that Miyuki hit, and a flash of insight appeared in his eyes.
The Gentle Reaper!
The "gentle" referred to Lincoln's pitching rhythm, while "Reaper" referred to the broken bats caused by Lincoln's powerful throws.
This guy had a very unique record.
In his baseball career, he had broken 37 bats of his opponents during one season.
From this, it's not hard to see how powerful his pitching truly was!
He's practically inhuman...
'However, everything has two sides. His pitches were so forceful that they naturally consumed more energy.'
'Moreover, Lincoln was also easily lose his temper!'
If the opponent managed to hit a few balls in a row, Lincoln would instinctively try to throw with even more force.
This was a normal reaction for anyone.
It was a habitual one.
This weakness of Lincoln's had been pointed out many times.
But he never corrected it.
This meant that this habit had already become part of his nature.
This was why Sawamura was surprised when Miyuki pointed this out.
'It must be because Lincoln's rhythm had been disrupted from the start.'
'Once he could no longer maintain his usual rhythm, his stamina would deplete faster...'
'Miyuki-senpai noticed this and came up with a plan…'
The only thing left to worry about now was whether the Seidou High School baseball players could seize that opportunity.
And whether the Texas team's coach would be decisive enough.
…