Seido had scored twice, both tis after already securing two outs.
This ti, Inashiro Industrial followed the sa pattern, suddenly launching an offense after Seido had already taken two outs.
The sudden turnaround caught Seido High School's players completely off guard.
Without any warning, Inashiro scored two runs in quick succession.
The score on the field beca 3–2, the gap shrinking to just one run.
At this mont, most of Seido's players were bewildered.
What had just happened?
On the mound, Hidezawa was in the worst state of all.
Just monts earlier, he had felt that his fastball was invincible. That confidence was exactly why he had shaken his head at Miyuki's signal.
Now, he suddenly realized that feeling might have been nothing more than an illusion.
In truth, he might not be that strong at all.
The reason he had achieved such results before was entirely because of Miyuki's guidance behind the plate.
The mont he beca even slightly overconfident, he paid the price.
The pitcher fell into confusion.
In Inashiro Industrial's dugout, Coach Kunimoto stretched his neck, then stepped forward and began signaling to the batter on the field.
Seido High School was strong. That much was undeniable.
But at the sa ti, Seido's own problems were equally serious.
The reason Coach Kunimoto hadn't acted earlier, even when Inashiro's situation looked grim, was precisely because of this.
In the ga against Ichidai Third High School, Seido had played at full power. Even without exceeding their limits, they had still given everything they had.
Such an intense match couldn't be fully recovered from in just one day.
Their bodies would be fatigued, even if their spirits were still high.
For a short ti, adrenaline could mask the exhaustion and let them perform beyond their limits.
But once ti passed, physical fatigue would inevitably surface.
And once that happened, it wouldn't be sothing players could easily overco.
Originally, Coach Kunimoto believed this window would only appear halfway through the ga.
Unexpectedly, it had arrived far earlier than expected.
Of course, with his personality and experience, there was no way he would ignore such an opportunity.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit for the authentic version.
An opportunity, once seen, had to be seized.
A baseball ga was like rolling a snowball. Only by making your own snowball bigger and bigger could you secure final victory.
So even though this turn of events surprised him, Coach Kunimoto acted decisively.
Generally speaking, he didn't give instructions as frequently as Coach Kataoka.
Coach Kunimoto believed that orders were most effective when delivered at the most critical monts. If he directed everything, players would grow overly reliant on the bench and lose their ability to think and judge for themselves.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Coach Kataoka understood this principle as well and was striving to reach that level. He also wanted his players to play according to their own judgnt. In fact, he had already nurtured so players capable of doing so.
But compared to Coach Kunimoto, his control was still lacking. Even though he knew he shouldn't give instructions so often, he simply couldn't help himself.
Without his guidance, the team's performance dropped noticeably. Caught between those two extres, he could only feel helpless.
Coach Kunimoto finished signaling.
Harada, the fifth batter in the box, didn't fully understand the aning of the signal, but he still nodded.
When the director didn't give instructions, Inashiro's players could act on their own judgnt.
But once an order was given, it had to be carried out.
This was Inashiro's tradition. And also the reason for their strength.
On the mound, Hidezawa felt confused and guilty. Miyuki, behind the plate, hadn't noticed yet.
Although the ho run just now was largely caused by Hidezawa's stubbornness, Miyuki had agreed to the pitch selection as well.
The real problem was that the pitch location had been off by a few centiters, drifting too close to the heart of the strike zone.
Fujita seized that opening and blasted the ball out of the park.
Which powerhouse team's cleanup hitter wasn't a monster?
Even if Fujita's reputation couldn't match Azuma or Kashima, he was still a top-tier batter in West Tokyo.
His batting ability clearly surpassed that of Captain Tanaka and even Hidezawa himself.
But when it ca to pitching, Hidezawa still held the advantage.
No one wanted this outco.
As long as Hidezawa could regain his previous state, Miyuki was confident they could still suppress Inashiro's lineup for the rest of the ga.
So he didn't hesitate. He crouched down and signaled for the next pitch.
This ti, Hidezawa didn't object. Instead, he took a deep breath and threw.
The mont Miyuki saw the pitch, regret flooded his heart.
How could he have been so careless? How could he make such a rookie mistake?
Hidezawa's ntality and condition had both collapsed.
The ball he threw no longer had its previous power. It looked ordinary, almost powerless, like a child's pitch.
It was over.
With a pitch like that, trying to deal with Inashiro's batters was nothing but wishful thinking.
Harada was no ordinary opponent. He was a fearso hitter, often ntioned in the sa breath as Yuuki and Omae.
Would he let such a pitch go?
The answer was obvious.
"Whizz!"
In Miyuki's horrified gaze, Harada swung with full force.
"Ping!"
The ball exploded off the bat, flying away at a speed far faster than the pitch itself.
Too fast.
From Miyuki's experience, even though the ball wasn't hit very high, its sheer velocity ant it would travel extrely far.
And at that angle, if it carried far enough, it was very likely to beco a ho run.
Was Inashiro about to tie the ga?
Back-to-back ho runs…
A flash of alarm crossed Miyuki's eyes.
In Inashiro's dugout, many people leapt to their feet the mont they saw the ball.
They were desperate for what ca next.
Three quiet innings, then an explosion all at once.
What was so special about little Seido High School?
Did they really think no one in West Tokyo could deal with them?
Those thoughts had barely ford when the baseball had already flown more than ten ters, rising to nearly three ters high.
Just as everyone believed it would sail out of the park, a figure suddenly burst forward from the shortstop position.
The figure leaped into the air, arms stretching like a long-imbed ape. With astonishing height, just as the ball was about to pass, he snatched it firmly into his glove.
"Thwack!"
Ti seed to freeze.
The smiles on the faces of Inashiro Industrial's players remained, stiff and unmoving.
************************************
Upto 20 Chapters In Advance At: P@treon/Vividreader123
User Comments
0 comments from readers