The game between the Seidou High School baseball team and the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had reached the top of the fourth inning.
This marked the climax of the game!
From the situation, with the reigning champion Seidou High School baseball team scoring their second point,
The chances for Osaka Kiryu High School to turn the game around had become very slim.
Although a score of 2:0, with five innings still to go, doesn't mean much,
The pitcher on the mound is Sawamura, and that alone says a lot.
The champion Seidou High School baseball team has never been overturned when leading by two points.
In other words, since Sawamura joined the Seidou High School baseball team, as long as they led by more than two points, they had always won the game.
Theoretically, of course, Osaka Kiryu High School still had a chance for a comeback.
After all, baseball isn't like soccer or basketball.
Even with two Outs in the bottom of the ninth, there's still a chance for a comeback.
But that would only be a hope!
Who would give Osaka Kiryu High School the chance to make a comeback?
At least the players of the champion Seidou High School baseball team had no such lofty ideals.
Right now, they were all focused on getting more points.
The game was so tense.
Logically speaking, at a moment like this, the focus of the audience should be on the game.
But strangely,
After Seidou scored their second point,
The focus of the discussions in the stands was not on the score of the game.
Instead, it was on the miraculous pause that happened when Sawamura faced Hakumatsu.
When he was running the bases, he suddenly stopped!
This caused the impenetrable defense of Osaka Kiryu High School to show an opening.
Just as Hakumatsu was about to tag Sawamura Out, just when everything seemed like it was going to end,
Sawamura, who was originally stopping to be tagged Out, suddenly changed direction and broke through Hakumatsu's defense.
This miraculous move left everyone speechless.
They had no idea how to describe their overwhelming emotions right now.
All they could do was applaud loudly to cheer for Sawamura Eijun.
"Nice job!"
"That was amazing!"
Owada Akiko, unable to keep up her usual composure, raised both her hands high, looking as though she was about to fly.
As a fan of Sawamura, it was not surprising for her to act this way.
But as a special correspondent for the Baseball Kingdom magazine, this kind of behavior was a bit questionable.
It inevitably gave the impression of unfairness.
As a media person, once such an impression is formed with the public, it could limit future achievements.
Fujio sighed helplessly.
He wanted to remind her, but he also knew deep down that it would be pointless.
Akiko's personality wasn't something developed overnight; it had been cultivated over time.
Perhaps her life's goal was never to become a great media reporter.
Fujio had never asked Akiko directly.
But judging by her daily actions, it seemed she didn't have much ambition in her career.
Maybe this was the life she preferred!
Everyone has the right to choose their own path in life, and once a choice is made, they must bear the consequences.
Just like Fujio.
Now, even though he was just as excited as Akiko,
As a mature media professional, at the very least, he couldn't outwardly show support for the Seidou High School baseball team.
Nice job!
Although he couldn't openly support them, he silently repeated in his heart!
That was really impressive!
What Sawamura did just now, to put it bluntly,
Had far surpassed the level of a high school student.
His ease in the game, his grasp of the opponent's psychological state,
Had long exceeded the typical high school player.
If Fujio hadn't watched Sawamura grow step by step,
He might have suspected that Sawamura was possessed by some old monster!
Otherwise, how could he have such a rich game experience?
How could he be so precise in reading the opponent's thoughts?
Although Sawamura always gave the impression of being exceptionally intelligent in baseball,
But honestly, if you spent enough time communicating with him, you would realize that his IQ is just at an average level.
He wasn't the type of genius with supernatural intelligence.
In that case, all of his extraordinary performances, his mature behavior couldn't be explained by flashes of genius.
'It was experience!'
It seemed as if this guy was born to play baseball; his baseball experience was as rich as a seasoned veteran.
Just like his earlier confrontation with Hakumatsu.
Hakumatsu had managed to catch the ball a step ahead, something no one had anticipated.
Osaka Kiryu High School, being one of the top-tier schools in the nation, had such a strong defense that it was almost unbelievable.
The baseball came back so quickly, no one expected it.
Normally, Sawamura would have had a clear shot to run home.
But now, he no longer had the opportunity to face the catcher directly.
Because the catcher had already gotten up, and no matter which direction Sawamura tried to break through, the opponent would always be there first.
After all, Sawamura couldn't avoid the interception; he had to go behind the defender.
When an ordinary player faces such a predicament, what is the most common reaction?
It's to fight!
Without a doubt.
They are all passionate boys, and when two brave souls meet, only the stronger one survives.
Since they had already met, there was no reason to avoid it.
Either way, running would result in death, so they might as well go for it!
It would look very heroic.
But in fact, such a move was reckless, with almost no chance of success.
The purpose was too clear, and the action too simple.
The opponent could easily see through your plan.
Intercepting you would be a breeze.
But Sawamura didn't do that.
When he realized he couldn't break through forcefully, he stopped.
At first glance, it seemed like he had given up resisting.
But in reality, he was waiting for his opponent to make a move.
The catcher, who had stopped in his tracks, was like an immovable obstacle.
No matter which direction the runner tried to break through, the catcher could quickly follow and block him.
Waiting for the right moment, like waiting for a rabbit to run into a trap.
Under such circumstances, even if Sawamura wanted to break through Hakumatsu's defense, it was almost impossible.
So he stopped, waiting for Hakumatsu to come forward and tag him out.
At this point, the situation had changed completely.
Sawamura had become the one waiting patiently for the right moment.
He waited for his opponent to make a move and then avoided Hakumatsu's attack with a sudden change in direction.
He sped up and slipped past Hakumatsu's body, running to home plate.
These words may sound simple, but the exchange between the two lasted only an instant, a fraction of a second.
In such a short time, Sawamura came up with a trick and successfully broke through the opponent's defense.
Such ability was truly awe-inspiring.
"Amazing!"
"No wonder he's the Demon King, that was beautiful!"
"Did they think just adding pitchers and batters could make them compete with the King Seidou? They're too naive, Osaka. You still have a long way to go!"
"That's Sawamura for you!"
"Wonderful pause!!"
The fans in the stands were all ecstatic.
This incredible moment was even more exciting than Sawamura's home run.
They were all eagerly waiting to see Osaka Kiryu High School crumble.
But Osaka Kiryu didn't let the crowd have their way.
During the following part of the game, they decisively took action.
When it was Toujou's turn to bat, they all positioned themselves close to the infield.
They made the infield as impenetrable as a steel wall, not giving Seidou any opportunity to bring a runner home.
Toujou had no choice but to face off directly with Morishita.
The result of the confrontation wasn't optimistic.
Toujou hit a high fly ball to third base.
The third baseman of Osaka Kiryu High School effortlessly caught the ball with his mitt.
Three Outs, side change.
Seidou's offense in the 4th inning only scored one point and had to stop.
They were obviously not satisfied with this result.
But surprisingly, Coach Kataoka didn't comment on the outcome.
Instead of talking about the result, he discussed the strategy for the upcoming game.
"Our opponents are very strong, don't underestimate them. Osaka Kiryu High School has always been one of the nation's top giants, and their strength is sometimes unfathomable."
Coach Kataoka spoke very seriously when he said this.
The Seidou team almost believed him.
If not for the strange tone in his voice afterward, they would have almost thought their coach was praising them.
"Our strategy wasn't wrong, let's continue with this approach and score more…"
Coach Kataoka's final remark was somewhat abrupt.
Saying the strategy wasn't wrong and asking them to score more,
Wasn't that implying they had missed many opportunities in the previous exchanges?
Unbelievable!
They didn't expect Coach Kataoka to be like this.
It was hard to believe.
He used to be direct, but now he had learned to use indirect methods to scold them.
The teammates were suddenly drenched in cold sweat!
Based on their knowledge of Coach Kataoka, once he got angry,
It would not be easy to calm him down.
When they return to school, even the third-year players who had retired would probably face serious consequences.
When Coach Kataoka got stubborn, even retired players wouldn't escape punishment.
And with half a year left until the third-year players graduated,
They would likely still be practicing on the baseball field to stay in shape.
There was no way Coach Kataoka would let go of the chance to teach them a lesson.
Coach Kataoka was angry!
No other reason was needed. Just this was enough to make Seidou's players work desperately!
By the bottom of the 4th inning, when facing Osaka Kiryu's top three batters,
Sawamura gave it his all, using his disappearing ball to strike them all out.
By now, Sawamura had already surpassed ten strikeouts.
The fans were incredibly excited.
Could it be that today they weren't just watching such a brilliant confrontation, but also witnessing Sawamura break his own strikeout record?
Breaking the single-game strikeout record.
Just thinking about it made them excited.
Osaka Kiryu High School's players weren't backing down either, and in the following inning, they used the same fighting strategy as before.
This time, after Sawamura was Walked, there was another batter ahead of him.
That was Kominato.
The strategy they used before was no longer effective.
They could only watch as Morishita dealt with the batter…
The game continued, with both sides exchanging blows.
Finally, it was the 8th inning.
The score was still 2:0!
Seidou led by two points.
Despite some runners reaching base, Seidou hadn't managed to score again.
On the other hand,
The players of Osaka Kiryu High School seemed just as confused by Sawamura's pitching.
It was so bizarre!
No one had yet been able to find any weakness in Sawamura Eijun.
The game continued into the 8th inning.
The first to bat was Kominato Haruichi.
In such a situation, the Osaka players seemed to have mastered the situation.
Though according to their original strategy, whether Kominato reached base or not didn't matter much,
Considering it was the 8th inning,
If they could get rid of Kominato, they wouldn't have to face the same batters in the 9th inning.
So, they decided to deal with Kominato head-on.
On the mound, Morishita had just stepped up, but his sweat was already flowing like he had just washed his face and didn't have time to wipe it off.
He looked like he was on the verge of collapse, exhausted beyond belief.
He hadn't pitched in the previous games before Koshien, but the intensity of high school baseball had left this 15-year-old boy drained.
That wasn't the worst part; the worst part was his opponent.
The mighty Seidou High School baseball team.
Even when the boy had successfully gotten an Out and dealt with a batter,
He had expended a lot of energy and stamina in the process.
Now, it was clear that he was running on empty.
…