Inajitsu's ga had just begun, and news also arrived from a ga taking place at another venue.
"Ichidai Third High won!"
"They won by a large margin, ending the ga early in the 7th inning!"
"Ichidai Third High sent out their first-year pitcher, Amahisa Kousei, from the fourth inning onwards."
Hearing the news, the Seido team nodded slightly, not paying too much attention; their real focus at the mont was Inajitsu.
In the subsequent gas, the state Inajitsu displayed—from their defense to their batting lineup—put a lot of pressure on Seido. Facing an opponent also in the top 8, Inajitsu actually hit four ho runs in this ga! One of them was even hit by Narumiya i.
On the pitcher's mound, Ace Matsumoto Takumi and first-year Narumiya i took turns completely suppressing the opponent, not giving up a single run.
"This kid's pitching has evolved again."
"It feels sharper than during the Kanto Tournant, and his control is more precise."
"He's tough to deal with. Senior Azuma, are you confident?"
Hearing his teammate's question, Azuma Kiyokuni frowned, looking at the Inajitsu team celebrating their victory on the field.
Beside him, Kanzaki Ryou also felt heavy-hearted at this mont. Narumiya i's pitching had beco even more terrifying after months of growth. If he rembered correctly, in the original story, during the next matchup between Seido and Inajitsu, Seido's batting lineup was completely suppressed by Narumiya i, with only Azuma Kiyokuni getting a single hit.
However, over the past few months, as long as it wasn't a rest day, Kanzaki Ryou had consistently thrown live pitches for the first-string mbers during batting practice. Seido's batting lineup had improved trendously. If they faced Inajitsu again, there was no way they would be completely shut down like before.
"I can hit it!" Azuma Kiyokuni said decisively. As the Captain and cleanup hitter, he absolutely could not show weakness at this ti.
He was confident he could hit both Matsumoto Takumi's and Narumiya i's pitches. What he worried about were his teammates; if they couldn't get hits to connect the offense, even if he reached base, it would be aningless.
"Yuki, how about you?"
Yuki Tetsuya nodded faintly.
"I can do it."
His thoughts were identical to Azuma's. As the third batter, he understood his responsibilities.
After Inajitsu's ga ended, the Seido group returned to school. The semifinals were in two days. These two days were not only for rest and recovery but also for Coach Kataoka and Chris to analyze Inajitsu's lineup.
That night, at Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Club.
Coach Kunitomo gathered all first-string mbers in the conference room for an important strategy eting regarding the upcoming match against Seido.
Since the beginning of the preliminary rounds, Inashiro had been analyzing Seido. Their data on Seido's lineup was constantly updated. With two days left, holding a eting now made the next targeted training more effective.
In West Tokyo, the three major powerhouses—Seido, Ichidai Third, and Inajitsu—were like massive boulders blocking the path of other schools. Even nationwide, these three teams were well-known and at the top of Japanese high school baseball.
Thus, the three schools were constantly wary of each other, competing fiercely year after year for the single Koshien ticket. Their rivalry was deep-rooted.
And now, Inajitsu harbored resentnt towards Seido—they had already lost twice this year: once in the Spring tropolitan Tournant and once in the Kanto Tournant.
Now, in the Sumr Preliminary semifinals—a ga a hundred tis more important—they vowed revenge.
Coach Kunitomo's analysis was comprehensive, starting with Seido's first-string data: their probable batting order, formation patterns, tactics, and potential pitching changes.
Most of it was familiar. Inajitsu's players understood Seido perhaps even better than Seido understood themselves.
Halfway through the eting, the focus shifted entirely to two nas:
Azuma Kiyokuni
and
Kanzaki Ryou
One was a third-year monster batter.
The other was a first-year genius Ace pitcher.
Facing Azuma Kiyokuni, both Ace Matsumoto Takumi and genius Narumiya i had to find a way to suppress him.
"Hmph, I will never let Senior Azuma hit my pitch!" Narumiya i declared arrogantly.
"i."
"Do not underestimate Azuma Kiyokuni," Harada Masatoshi warned.
Narumiya puffed out his cheeks.
"Senior Harada, it's called strategically looking down on your opponent. You wouldn't understand."
Harada sighed. i was good in every way, but his childishness was problematic.
Compared to i, Ace Matsumoto Takumi understood Azuma far better. They had faced off many tis with mixed results. Matsumoto wasn't confident he could fully suppress Azuma.
If they wanted to accomplish that…
His only hope was Narumiya i.
Though i was inexperienced, Matsumoto had to admit one thing: in pure technique, i's pitching surpassed his own. As long as the kid remained calm and focused, suppressing Seido's lineup was entirely possible.
After nearly twenty minutes analyzing Azuma's batting tendencies, Coach Kunitomo wrote another na on the blackboard:
Kanzaki Ryou
The room instantly grew heavy.
This hateful first-year.
Yes—Inajitsu saw Kanzaki Ryou as a villain.
A detestable monster.
Their last two losses could essentially be traced back to him.
"Kanzaki Ryou's greatest strength is his ball speed. For the next two days, set the pitching machine to 155 km/h for batting practice."
Everyone nodded.
Kunitomo continued:
"Since the Spring Tournant, Kanzaki Ryou has only shown two types of pitches: the four-seam fastball and the two-seam fastball. Not once has he used a breaking ball. Therefore, I suspect Kanzaki Ryou has never used his full strength."
"Be extrely careful during the ga."
The room fell into silence.
A pitcher who had reached this far using only straight balls—without allowing a single run—was monstrous.
It was too exaggerated.
But thinking about Miyuki's pitch-calling and Kanzaki Ryou's insane control, it was finally understandable.
Still…
Facing him again, even Inajitsu felt fear tightening in their chests.
User Comments
0 comments from readers