In the dugout of Seidou High School.
Sitting on the rest bench, Sawamura felt a slight sense of unease.
The game had only gone through two innings, yet Seidou High School's baseball team had already built a nine-run lead.
To put it bluntly, it seemed that Minori Shigeru had no hope of making a comeback.
Seidou High School's baseball team was a powerhouse. Although many people, because of Sawamura's dominance, might think Seidou was a one-man team led by him, the truth was that even without Sawamura, Seidou High School's baseball team would still be a super elite team.
They might not have the same powerful standing as they do now, and they might not be able to secure a three-peat championship, but they would still be a highly powerful team.
Compared to Seidou High, Minori Shigeru was at a disadvantage in every aspect…
Even if Sawamura didn't play, this gap would still be there.
Anyone with a clear mind at this point would have already reached a conclusion.
Minori Shigeru had no chance of catching up with the score anymore…
Although the game had just begun, the outcome was already set.
But strangely, the players from Minori Shigeru didn't seem to have any intention of giving up.
Before the third inning started, their players held a long meeting.
This was definitely not the behavior of a team ready to throw in the towel!
As for Hanayama, whom Miyuki was wary of—although he had not yet shown any particularly outstanding skills up to this point, his actions had caught Sawamura's attention.
For one thing, this guy was an expert at expert at being persuasive.
The morale of Minori Shigeru's players had sunk to rock bottom, but after Hanayama's encouragement, the light in their eyes had returned.
It was a rather mysterious occurrence!
"What did he say to his teammates?"
Sawamura was extremely curious.
At the same time, he also thought that if he could learn this skill, he would be able to go further on the path of becoming an Ace pitcher.
Being an Ace wasn't just about pitching well.
When necessary, one must also be able to influence the atmosphere on the field, such as using words to inspire teammates' fighting spirit!
Baseball, after all, was a team sport. It wasn't a game where one player could decide the outcome just because they were exceptional.
This was different from basketball and soccer.
In basketball and soccer, if one player was particularly outstanding, their influence would be felt everywhere.
Because that player would always be on the field, continuously exerting their influence.
Baseball was different!
Except for the pitcher, other players rarely had such a powerful impact. And even pitchers often weren't on the field, such as when the team was attacking.
This meant that the opponent had more opportunities to exploit weaknesses…
Miyuki repeatedly reminded Sawamura to be cautious of Hanayama, but why was Sawamura so calm in response?
A very important reason was that in baseball, the excellence of a single player could not decide everything.
Not even someone as strong as Sawamura could control the game on his own.
Let alone Minori Shigeru and Hanayama!
However, the opponent refused to give up and clearly intended to fight to the end against Seidou's baseball team.
This was quite troublesome!
'It was better to end the game quickly,' Sawamura thought to himself.
Top of the Third Inning: Minori Shigeru's Offense!
"OUT!"
"OUT!!"
"OUT!!!"
As expected, Kawakami made quick work of Minori Shigeru's batters, retiring them in order.
After the top of the third inning, Seidou High School's baseball team still held a 9-run lead.
"Nice!"
"Great pitching!"
"As expected of our third-year Ace!"
In the dugout, the players were excited.
Kawakami's excellent performance was, of course, a source of joy for the entire Seidou High School baseball team.
Especially for the third-year players, they were overjoyed.
Though Sawamura was a reliable powerhouse and Furuya, the monster, could bring surprises to the team, the third-year players still felt that their seniority deserved more recognition.
Kawakami's rise was something they were pleased to see.
Even if he couldn't eventually challenge Sawamura for the ace position, having a pitcher like him in their grade was reassuring.
The game moved to the bottom of the third inning, with Seidou High School at bat.
The first batter up was the seventh hitter for Seidou High School.
Toujou Hideaki.
As Toujou stepped up to the Batter's Box, he deliberately glanced at the scoreboard.
9-0!
They were only one point away from reaching the mercy rule, where the game could be ended early.
Sawamura noticed that Minori Shigeru's players hadn't given up yet.
Toujou noticed that as well!
As a member of the dominant Seidou High School team, and considering the tough games ahead, Toujou felt that ending the game early and allowing the players to rest would be beneficial.
So, like Sawamura, he believed they had to score more points.
In fact, they didn't need too many points—just one more would suffice!
Even though the score was 9-0, and Minori Shigeru's players were still energetic, once the lead became a double-digit gap, the pressure on them would multiply.
Clearly, if it became 10-0, the game could end early in the fifth inning.
At that point, Minori Shigeru would either go all-out with reckless offense or simply surrender and end the game.
No matter which choice they made, it would benefit Seidou's team.
It was like a check in chess—once the move was made, the opponent would have to respond.
'One more run!'
With this resolve, Toujou stared intensely at the pitcher's mound.
On the mound, Minori Shigeru's ace, Hanayama, was also under tremendous pressure.
Hanayama couldn't afford to give up any more runs, or the consequences would be catastrophic.
Whoosh!
Despite the dire situation, Hanayama remained calm as he threw the pitch.
The baseball shot toward the batter like a streak of light, crossing a distance of several meters in an instant.
Toujou's pupils contracted slightly; the pitch was faster than before!
This guy! Had he been holding back his strength?
Toujou didn't want to believe it, but the reality seemed to confirm it.
Snap!
"STRIKE!"
Toujou swung and missed the first pitch!
This caused quite a stir in Seidou's dugout.
Everyone knew Toujou's batting ability, and they could hardly believe that he had missed.
The second pitch came, and the result was the same.
Snap!
"STRIKE!!"
Toujou swung and missed again!
On the mound, Hanayama seemed like a completely different person.
He even glanced over at Miyuki, as if to show off.
In the dugout, Miyuki's heart sank.
His bad feeling had come true.
The opponent had indeed been holding back. Although they had conceded many runs at the start, it couldn't be said that it was entirely accidental.
'It was clearly part of their plan, though perhaps they hadn't expected to lose so many runs.'
"Interesting!"
Sawamura straightened up on the bench, staring seriously at Hanayama on the mound.
For Toujou to miss two pitches in a row, Hanayama's ploy was larger than Sawamura had anticipated!
But now that the opponent's intentions were clear, Sawamura felt a little more at ease.
What's the most terrifying thing?
The unknown!
Because he couldn't figure out whether the opponent was being tricky, Sawamura had felt uneasy. Now that he knew the opponent was playing games, even if Seidou's team had been caught off guard, Sawamura wasn't overly concerned.
After all, there was still plenty of time left, and anything could happen.
His eyes narrowed as he started to look for weaknesses in the opponent's strategy.
Wearing sunglasses, Coach Kataoka had already started making his move.
He sent a signal to Toujou, who was about to bat.
'Send it to first base!'
Toujou, upon receiving the signal, nodded slightly and adjusted his grip on the bat, preparing for a normal hit instead of a long hit.
This did not escape the catcher, Tekuno.
He gave a slight nod to his pitcher on the mound.
'It was set!'
Hanayama also nodded, readying his stance and throwing the pitch.
Whoosh!
The ball flew toward the outside corner.
Toujou, who had been preparing for a normal hit, suddenly extended his bat and stepped forward, swinging.
Ping!
The tip of the bat made contact with the ball, sending it toward first base.
The catcher, Tekuno, froze!
'Had I missed something?'
'How did they know they were going to pitch outside?'
'So we weren't the only one making tactics!'
In his mind, Tekuno felt like there were ten thousand horses galloping.
In the dugout, Sawamura glanced at Kataoka and smiled.
He knew that his Coach wanted to seal the game as fast as possible, so he made a move now.
After two Strikes, the opponent was likely to throw a Ball to try for a Strikeout. After all, Toujou was under pressure—he couldn't afford to let any pitch near the strike zone go by.
And with Minori Shigeru suddenly starting to show their cards, Kataoka wasn't having any of this crap.
He would destroy them here and now, and let them play their tricks like clowns entertaining the King!
Kataoka made his move, he had not only recognized the opponent's reserved strength and their plans, but he had also identified their weaknesses from the start!
'Hanayama's motivating speech had indeed inspired many of Minori Shigeru's players.'
'But not everyone had been affected.'
For example, their first baseman looked especially nervous, even messing up his positioning.
At that moment, not exploiting that weakness would have been a crime!
Ping!
The ball rolled toward first base.
Minori Shigeru's first baseman froze for a moment. It wasn't until Hanayama shouted his name that he reacted.
He scrambled to intercept the ball, but his hesitation cost him.
The ball was caught, but he couldn't make the play.
Toujou was like the wind, dashing to first base.
"SAFE!"
Now, there was no one Out, and Toujou was on first.
If it ended there, there wouldn't be much to say about the offense.
But the real change came next!
When Hanayama pitched, Toujou stole second base on the first pitch!
This move left Tekuno utterly stunned.
He was still processing his earlier mistake and hadn't realized what was happening.
How had Seidou High School's offense started again?
'What the hell…?'
At this point, he didn't have time to think about anything else. He received the throw and passed it to second base, hoping his shortstop would tag Toujou Out.
But it wasn't easy.
Without any preparation, just receiving the throw was a huge challenge. Touching the runner Out was nearly impossible!
Moreover, Toujou wasn't a slouch either. He is one of the fastest players in Seidou!
And so, Toujou made it to second base.
Was this enough?
'No.' Kataoka thought in his mind as he made another sign.
On the very second ball, Toujou didn't hesitate and stole the third base!
"SAFE!!!"
Toujou's speed was too much for the surprised Minori Shigeru's players.
The next was simple, Asou was going to use bunt to send Toujou home.
Seidou High School's baseball team, with only one Out, can smoothly bring Toujou home to score.
Even though Hanayama had unlocked a new pitching strategy, he couldn't stop Seidou from scoring.
The mighty Seidou team was still an invincible force!
…