Chapter 294: I Can't Become the Team's Weak Point
"Happy…? This game?"
To be honest, aside from Miyuki, probably no one could truly understand how Sendo felt.
The others could understand his thinking, but they couldn't truly empathize with it.
"Yeah…But if we don't win, then it means nothing,"
Sendo replied to Jun-san. Even though he knew Jun-san had spoken offhandedly, in truth, he was answering his own heart.
"So then!"
"I said it before, didn't I? I've never had the impression that we would lose."
With that, Sendo put his cap back on and headed toward the field ahead of everyone else.
The seniors looked at his back and exchanged smiles.
"Let's go!" Captain Tetsu shouted.
"Oh!!!"
"What an arrogant brat ×n!"
Everyone thought at once—except for a few airheads and one scheming glasses-wearer.
"I never imagined that the batter's box could be this exciting—beyond just the wonderful feeling of bat meeting ball!"
As Sendo headed to center field, he wore a smile he didn't even realize himself.
What he also didn't realize was that his focus had never been sharper than it was now.
...
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Alright! Last pitch!"
On the field, Seidou finished getting ready.
"That first-year pitcher…There's very little information on him, and those weird pitches are beyond imagination. But they're not unhittable. There's no need to rush and force a hit. Adapt little by little.
Even if you can't see the release point, just keep fighting. His control is only so-so. There will be openings. Aim for the pitches you can hit—then swing!"
"Yes!!!"
"Bottom of the 11th inning! Inashiro Industrial at bat!Ninth batter! Right fielder, Yabe!"
This turn, tied to the top of the lineup, was the greatest threat to Sawamura—and to Seidou.
And Yabe, batting ninth, was a power hitter himself.
"Starting with a right-handed hitter like Yabe…" Owada Akiko murmured.
"Yeah… judging from Sawamura's pitching so far, Yabe's a really bad matchup for him…"
...
"Yoshi!!!"
Yabe's roar cut off the reporters' conversation.
"I remember this guy's especially good at inside pitches," Miyuki thought, watching him.
Miyuki also knew their matchup wasn't good.
For a pitcher like Sawamura, whose release point couldn't be seen, the real danger came from power hitters catching the ball near the sweet spot—
even slightly off-center, the ball could still fly a long way.
But with Seidou's elite outfield defense, unless it was a home run, those high, floating balls still had a good chance of being caught.
The real concern was the infield.
"He might smoke one through here, Masuko-senpai,"
Miyuki flashed a cautionary sign toward Pudding-senpai.
Masuko nodded gravely.
Everyone on Seidou watched the showdown with tense expressions.
Batting first in this situation was a disadvantage—especially since Seidou didn't have a pitcher who could end things in one blow.
Furuya flared his aura, his fighting spirit surging—only to be immediately bonked by Oni-san with a megaphone.
"Be careful with the first pitch! A leadoff walk is the worst possible outcome!"
Remembering Chris-senpai's teachings, Sawamura focused intensely.
"Yabe! Swing on the first pitch!"
"Give it everything!"
"RAAAAH!!! Come on!!!"
Yabe roared to pump himself up.
"I have to create a chance! I won't repeat what happened last inning! This pitcher will throw inside at some point! That's the pitch I'm swinging at!"
"First pitch! Inside fastball! Don't lose the momentum, Sawamura!"
Miyuki raised his glove.
"That's right—this is it. Win or lose, nothing in between. If we want to keep going, we have to win. We cannot lose! And I cannot become this team's weak point!"
Yabe's ferocious glare shook Sawamura, but he knew he couldn't back down.
"Whoosh!"
"Ah!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Yoshi! Nice ball, Sawamura!"
"Keep it going!"
"Don't lose! URAA!"
Even Sachiko's voice rang out from the stands.
"So this is… this guy's inside pitch! The velocity isn't high, but there's no time to adjust—just like a fastball!
I see it now! That's how the others got taken out before they even understood what happened!"
Yabe, an inside-pitch specialist, was stunned by Sawamura's ball.
He never imagined that on his first look at this pitch, he'd be completely unable to swing.
By the time he snapped out of the momentary shock caused by the ball seemingly appearing out of nowhere, it was already in the catcher's mitt.
"Calm down!"
Yabe made his decision instantly and choked up on the bat.
"Keep it low!"
Miyuki signaled for the second pitch.
"I won't… lose to you!"
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Choking up—can he even reach the outside pitch?"
Miyuki thought as he looked at the outside pitch sitting around Yabe's belt height.
Yabe couldn't swing at it—despite it being a hittable height.
It wasn't just the inside–outside pressure, or the loss of reach from choking up.
More than anything, Sawamura's pitching as a whole was simply too hard to adapt to.
Aside from Hirai and Bon, none of Inashiro's batters had actually faced Sawamura in the box—and that was the real problem.
"I'm cornered… It's do or die now!"
With that thought, Yabe returned to his normal grip, turning his body inward to cover the inside—
exactly like Carlos and Shirakawa had done in the ninth inning.
"AAAAH!!!"
"Giving up his strength to target the outside? Or is he trying to pressure Sawamura—or even get hit by a pitch?"
Having seen Kawakami rely on avoidance earlier, Miyuki naturally ran through every possibility as he watched Yabe scream to summon courage.
"Throw it with everything!"
Miyuki flashed the sign—decisively calling for another inside pitch.
It was a bold choice.
And it showed absolute faith in Sawamura's big heart.
"This team is invincible. No matter who we face, we won't lose! I cannot become the team's weak point!"
"Puff!"
"Whoosh!"
"This is payback! From the very start, my target was only one thing—the inside pitch!"
Yabe recalled what Haruichi had done in his first at-bat and copied it exactly.
"Ah!"
Yabe underestimated Sawamura.
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
Sawamura calmly caught the powerless ball and stared down Yabe, whose face twisted like he was constipated.
"Yoshi!!! Pitcher line drive!"
-------------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21