On the Jingu Stadium field.
The finals of West Tokyo were underway, and things were progressing at full speed.
In the beginning, Yakushi High School used an unexpected strategy to temporarily put the mighty Seidou High School baseball team into a tough battle.
Seidou High School's baseball team couldn't even manage a single hit, let alone score.
This situation continued until the top of the third inning when Seidou's players turned things around.
Thanks to the offensive engine, Raizou Youichi, and the perfect support from the second batter, Kominato Haruichi, they managed to score the first point.
After this point, all the Seidou supporters were greatly relieved.
When the mound featured Seidou's ace, Sawamura Eijun, every point they scored was significant.
With this lead, the Seidou players weren't exactly guaranteed victory, but they were definitely in a strong position.
From here, they could adopt a more relaxed approach and wait for an opportunity.
They could take their time figuring out how to score more points off the Yakushi High School team.
On the other hand, Yakushi's plans were quickly overturned.
When playing against Seidou High School, falling behind early could turn the situation into an unimaginable disadvantage.
In the dugout, Todoroki Raizou almost scratched his head off.
He knew the wheel tactic he had adopted came with significant risks.
If successful, it could lead to huge rewards, but a loss would mean total destruction.
A one-point deficit didn't sentence Yakushi's team to defeat, but it definitely put them in a very unfavorable position.
"This is going to make the next game tough," he muttered.
Taking a point off Sawamura was already a tough task.
If that gap were extended to two points or more, it would be extremely rare for any team to achieve that.
Since Sawamura became Seidou's ace, he seemed to have never given up more than two runs in a single game.
What a terrifying existence!
Even Raizou, who had a sharp eye, saw that Sawamura, though only 16 years old, was no longer just a "kid."
He believed that even in the professional league, Sawamura could stir up some serious trouble.
Having such a player in high school baseball was almost like using cheats—completely unfair to everyone else.
Thinking about this, Raizou couldn't help but glance at his own son.
'At least it wasn't just Sawamura who had the cheat-like advantage.'
Otherwise, this game would really be impossible to play.
Shaking his head, Raizou pushed those thoughts aside.
He sent a signal to his players on the field.
The pitcher, Tomobe, received the signal and obeyed without hesitation.
Facing Sawamura again, he pitched four Balls outside the strike zone.
"Four Ball Walk!"
This was the second time Yakushi had intentionally walked Sawamura.
From the stands, both Seidou's supporters and Sawamura's fan clubs began booing loudly.
The boos were much louder than at the beginning of the game.
Although they understood Yakushi's strategy, seeing them so timidly avoid a confrontation with Sawamura still made them feel frustrated.
What was the reason for this frustration?
They might not even be able to explain it themselves, but it just felt wrong.
With this negative energy building up, they restrained themselves from cursing, but the dissatisfaction was clear.
Yakushi, however, paid no mind.
Especially Tomobe, who, though young, had an unexpectedly mature mindset.
He had no intention of directly challenging Sawamura; instead, he chose to Walk him.
The situation now was two Outs, with runners on first and second.
When Miyuki stepped up to the plate, he could hardly contain his excitement at the tense atmosphere.
Ever since Sawamura had been placed ahead of him in the lineup, that guy had always gotten the big hits.
Whether or not there were runners on base, Sawamura always handled it himself.
This had left Miyuki with very few opportunities to hit with someone on base.
Now, even the heavens seemed to have given him a golden opportunity.
With runners on first and second, if he hit a home run, that would be three points!
Even if he didn't hit a home run, a solid hit could bring in one or two points.
Just thinking about it made Miyuki's blood boil with excitement.
He couldn't control his eager emotions and stared hard at the mound, waiting for Tomobe to pitch.
The gap in Tomobe's pitching was something he and Watanabe had studied and figured out.
Though Miyuki couldn't guarantee a home run, he was at least 80-90% confident he could make it happen.
'Come on! Kid!!!'
This was his moment, and he was counting on Tomobe to set it up.
Miyuki stood at the plate, impatient.
Tomobe, however, remained calm, just like before.
Even facing a nationwide star like Miyuki, Tomobe didn't show any panic, and calmly threw the ball.
The small baseball veered far off the strike zone, nowhere near Miyuki's hitting range.
Miyuki could only watch as the ball drifted farther away, frozen in place.
'No…'
Although he had been a little frustrated by the walk to Sawamura, this situation had actually created many more opportunities for him.
He never expected that one day, he'd be in the same position—his opponent not wanting to face him and choosing to Walk him instead.
"Ball Four!"
"Walk To Base!"
So, Yakushi's team Walked both Sawamura and Miyuki.
The situation on the field quickly turned to two Outs, bases loaded!
Miyuki's expression showed some disappointment.
He'd had a great chance, and now it was being left for Zono. Of course, he was not happy about it.
But Sawamura, standing on second base, knew exactly what Miyuki was feeling. He could read his partner's mind easily.
Miyuki had probably been longing for such a great opportunity for a long time.
But for Sawamura, this was just typical.
He knew exactly what the situation was, and there was no way Yakushi would face Miyuki directly in such a scenario.
It didn't matter if the pitcher was Tomobe, a first-year, or the former solid performer, Igarashi, or their true Ace, Sanada.
Would they really face Miyuki directly in this situation?
Not a chance.
One pitch and Yakushi would have no hope left.
Raizou, though he had a somewhat eccentric personality, wasn't a fool.
He wouldn't let his players face Miyuki head-on in such a situation.
It was abnormal for Tomobe to walk four consecutive balls.
The back-to-back hits by Kuramochi and Haruichi should've been a clear signal that their strategy had been read by Seidou's team. Continuing with it would only be handing them points.
Would Yakushi do that? Would Raizou do that?
As long as they weren't brain-dead, they wouldn't make that foolish decision.
Sure enough, Yakushi's next move confirmed Sawamura's guess.
"Substitution!"
In this critical moment, Tomobe was replaced.
Coming in was the first-year pitcher, Igarashi Sora.
Sawamura, standing on second base, could see Igarashi's back clearly.
It was an imposing figure, and even from ten meters away, Sawamura could sense the power emanating from it.
Truth be told, Yakushi's team wasn't much of a threat to Seidou right now.
Sawamura had full confidence in their victory.
As long as there were no catastrophic accidents, it would be very hard for Yakushi to shake Seidou with their current strength.
However, after this summer's tournament, the situation would be different.
These two, still a little immature now, would surely experience a qualitative leap in strength by the time the next tournament came around.
Meanwhile, the third-year at Seidou, currently the backbone of the team, would soon be retiring.
In comparison, Yakushi's team would suffer no losses.
The summer tournament would be over in just over a month, and the fall tournament would begin soon after.
What would happen when Seidou met Yakushi again in the fall?
Sawamura couldn't find an answer to that question, no matter how hard he thought.
'Looks like we won't be able to relax in the fall either,' he mused.
As Sawamura thought this, the outcome of the duel on the field was already determined.
Ping!
Maezono hit the ball high into the air, and it was caught by a fielder from Yakushi.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
On the bases, three lonely figures remained.
With the bases loaded, Seidou had failed to score.
What bothered Seidou's players the most wasn't just the missed opportunity—it was that Yakushi's players had clearly planned all along not to face Sawamura directly in any situation.
This had now become a certainty.
Another certainty, although not yet fully confirmed, was that the same tactic would be applied to Miyuki.
This meant that Seidou's batting lineup had just lost two major weapons.
In the bottom of the third, Yakushi's team began their offensive…
…
T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
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