Chapter 338: Yamada's Relief Performance
"Yokohama Kohoku High's counterattack has been completely extinguished by Sendo's brilliant play! That last one really made everyone's heart skip a beat! Wasn't that ball originally in left field's range rather than center? And yet Sendo managed to run over there and make the catch before Furuya! Though, that also has something to do with Furuya himself."
As a first-year—or rather, like most first-years—Furuya's ability to judge where a ball will land is still weak. When he tracks a fly ball, he tends to stare at it and move step by step.
Experienced outfielders, on the other hand, run while tracking the ball. Even Itai, the third-year who somewhat drags down the overall offensive strength, has solid fundamentals and experience—he just occasionally misjudges situations. Otherwise, Coach Kataoka would have long since benched him.
Seidou has paid dearly for Furuya's defensive issues before—both against Yakushi and Inashiro.
But the commentators can't criticize him too harshly. He's a two-way player—pitching and hitting. If his defense were also beyond what's normal for a first-year, that would be too much.
Unlike Sendo—who doesn't rely on experience at all, but calculates the landing point purely through dynamic vision and brain processing of the arc. Honestly, he doesn't look human.
How else could he determine the landing spot with just one glance? Even experienced players have to track the ball continuously, sometimes even judging the power of the hit by the sound of the bat to estimate the exact drop point.
"This game is basically over. Sendo alone, with one explosive offensive play and two defensive masterpieces, has completely shattered Yokohama Kohoku's fighting spirit," Mine Fujio commented.
"Huh? Yokohama still looks very fired up," Oowada said, puzzled.
"But it's just fighting spirit now. They no longer have that desperate, sacrifice-everything, do-or-die mindset from before. Now they're probably just thinking about leaving no regrets. And once they start thinking like that, miracles become impossible. Unless… they can somehow score a few runs…"
After saying that, Mine Fujio seemed to realize he'd said something odd and shook his head. Oowada fell silent.
As the saying goes: strike while the iron is hot—momentum fades after the first surge.
Sendo's home run had already shaken Ino's heart to some extent, making it difficult for him to face Sendo again—and even causing a hint of fear toward the following batters. But it hadn't destroyed his will to win.
Masuko's home run, however, crushed half of that will.
The other half was taken by Sendo's extreme catch just now.
The seed of "what if we can't score at all?" had begun to sprout.
"You okay?" Shiraha asked.
"Let's go."
"…Yeah." Shiraha sighed as he watched Ino's back. Though Ino spoke decisively, his tone no longer carried the same fierce edge as before.
....
"Bottom of the seventh! Seidou High's offense!"
"Let's go, Seidou!"
"Push on!"
As the game shifted, the crowd had almost entirely taken Seidou's side. And this was a rare high school team—almost like a pro team—built around aggressive offense.
"Seidou High announces a substitution: replacing Sawamura is pinch hitter Kominato Haruichi! Batting eighth: Kominato Haruichi!"
"He's here! The last first-year!"
"Hit it out there!"
"Show us the full strength of the Super Diamond Generation!"
"Go! Go!"
"Haru! Let's go!" Though he had just been subbed out, Sawamura was cheering for Haruichi with a huge grin, as if he himself were going to bat.
"A pinch hitter now—so they're probably changing pitchers next inning."
"Yeah. Koshien's schedule is tight, and since Seidou has plenty of main pitchers, they likely want to keep the whole rotation fresh."
"Speaking of four-pitcher systems, Hokkaido's representative Komadai Fujimaki is the same this year. They also have an electrifying first-year pitcher—Hongou Masamune. His velocity might not match Furuya's, but his control is probably even better.Even as a first-year, he's essentially their ace already."
"That's right! Both teams don't really need to worry about stamina. It's starting to feel like… a professional game."
"Exactly! In high school, pro leagues, even MLB—offense may shine, but pitching remains irreplaceable. If you don't have a fully developed genius ace, then a multi-pitcher system is a strong strategy. Still, as Japanese fans, we love the existence of a true ace. And speaking of that, Seidou's Furuya might be exactly that. A future ace!"
The two commentators chatted casually, but Sawamura and Furuya's ears practically perked up.
"Ace! ×2"
Sawamura wore a demon-faced, gritted-teeth expression of unwillingness, while Furuya—
"Boom!"
"Hey! Put your aura away!" Haruichi, in the batter's box adjusting the dirt and warming up his swing, shouted toward the on-deck circle where Furuya was radiating overwhelming pressure.
"By the way, pinch hitter Kominato is practically Seidou's pinch-hitting ace right now! He has an extremely high batting average and even uses a wooden bat—remarkable for a first-year."
Hearing the commentator praise him, Haruichi blushed…
But he quickly composed himself and prepared.
"High average, but not many at-bats. No need to fear him. Test him outside first."
"Got it."
"Ping!"
"It gets through! First-year Kominato with a right-field extra-base hit! He reaches second in a flash! Double!!!
Seidou once again launches a fierce attack on Yokohama Kohoku!!! For some reason, Kominato Haruichi is bright red on second base!"
"There it is! The red-faced celebration pose!"
"Nice hit, Haru! Ahahaha!" Sawamura flailed his arms wildly.
"Yosh!"
While Seidou celebrated wildly, Ino stood frozen, staring blankly ahead.
"Batting ninth! Left fielder, Furuya!"
"Damn it…" Facing Furuya, Ino's face showed unwillingness—and deep within his eyes, a trace of confusion.
He no longer knew what his three years of hard work had truly been for.
Equally overwhelmed, Shiraha didn't notice that flicker of confusion. Seeing Ino's frustration, he assumed they could still fight.
"Bunt!"
"Seidou chooses to advance the runner with a bunt!"
"First baseman!"
"Pop!"
"Out!"
"Batting first! Shortstop, Kuramochi!"
"One out, runner on third! Seidou's top of the lineup is up next."
"…Kuramochi, the leadoff batter, once again squares around to bunt!"
"It could also be a hit-and-run, so let's miss slightly with the first pitch!" Shiraha was still relatively calm.
"Whoosh!"
"Damn! Too far inside! He'll crush that!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"That was close!"
"So close!"
Gasps echoed throughout the stadium.
"It's not a hit-and-run, and it's not a squeeze play either! They probably didn't expect such a hittable pitch. Are they trying to draw a ball?" Shiraha glanced at Kuramochi and Haruichi on third.
"But what really worries me is…!" In the end, Shiraha shifted his gaze to Ino.
Seeing the stunned look on his face, even without noticing that earlier flicker of confusion, Shiraha knew—Ino was done.
This wasn't just an ordinary control mistake. It was the kind of miss that came from a lapse in concentration.
Shiraha shook his head toward the bench.
Yokohama Kohoku's big-toothed coach lowered his head and sighed.
No matter how strong your heart is, it's hard to endure such a relentless barrage of hits.
Especially with all those hits, plus two home runs—and now even a first-year ripping an extra-base hit this inning. His mentality was already tattered like a rag.
"Go call Yamada," the coach nodded to Shiraha and signaled the bench.
"Yokohama Kohoku High announces a pitching change! Replacing Ino is Yamada! Batting ninth and pitching, Yamada!"
"They're finally changing pitchers. They didn't have much choice. Ino actually pitched well—he's a good pitcher!"
Even the scouts on the sidelines acknowledged Ino's performance. But Seidou's lineup had simply been too ferocious.
Still, that's what being the ace means. When you replace your ace in this situation, it signals that Yokohama has run out of options.
Whether the new pitcher can withstand this psychological pressure remains to be seen.
"Sorry, Yamada. I'm counting on you," Ino forced a smile as he stepped down from the mound.
"Ino-senpai…! Yes! I'll do my best!" Yamada bowed deeply toward the back of his departing senior.
"Yamada Katsuyuki! A second-year sidearm pitcher—very similar to Kawakami in that regard! Unlike Kawakami, though, his fastball control isn't as sharp, and his curve and slider are the pitches to watch.
But as the next ace, he has a cheerful personality—he likely won't crumble so easily under pressure!nIf we crush him here, this game will truly be over!"
Chris-senpai instinctively rattled off the scouting report, even though the players had already memorized it.
Of course, no one truly believed Yokohama had a chance to come back from nine runs down.
But "completely ending the game" and "leaving even the slightest possibility" are two different things.
Seidou would focus on killing the game entirely before thinking of anything else.
Coach Kataoka had already given the signs.
Seidou's baseball philosophy was aggressive—apply pressure through every possible tactic.
Kuramochi once again squared to bunt, but Shiraha couldn't be sure whether Seidou would alter their strategy after the pitching change.
"The runner goes!"
"Whoosh!"
"Squeeze play!"
"Tap!"
"That curveball!"
"Foul!"
That foul ball actually brought relief to both sides!
If he'd missed it, the runner on third would've been dead. The break on that pitch was outrageous—if it had stayed fair, it might've ended in a double play.
Still, that squeeze attempt startled Yokohama.
They hadn't expected Seidou to apply pressure in this way.
"That makes it two strikes! We'll use the slider as the put-away pitch!" Shiraha decided not to hold back—he would use the out pitch to escape this jam.
"The runner goes!"
"Set!"
"A squeeze with two strikes? How aggressive can you be?!" Shiraha was stunned. You're the ones leading—why are you playing like it's life or death?
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the slider moved in a bizarre way—not purely horizontal, not diagonally downward, but sliding sideways with a rising element.
"Tap!"
"Damn it! That slider!" The moment Kuramochi made contact, he cursed the strange movement.
"Pop!"
The ball floated weakly straight into the pitcher's glove.
"Ah!"
Seeing the softly popped-up bunt, Haruichi immediately realized it was trouble and turned back toward third.
But it was futile. In that situation, even Sendo wouldn't have been able to make it back.
"Tag!"
"Out!"
"Yes!"
"Double play!"
"Side retired!"
"Nice pitching, Yamada!"
Holding Seidou scoreless in the seventh energized Yokohama's defense. This game had been suffocating for them.
Just when they were about to be crushed, the relief pitcher saved them.
"Nine runs… it's not completely impossible to come back! We have to believe in miracles!"
Even the one saying it didn't quite believe it—but you have to cling to hope.
Dreams are necessary. What if they come true?
Maybe there's only a one-in-a-billion chance—but without effort, there's zero chance.
And they had nothing left to lose. The embarrassment had already been endured.
"There's a reason they're a powerhouse in Kanagawa.
Even in this situation, they still have fighting spirit," Sendo remarked casually.
"That's exactly why we can't show any mercy," Miyuki replied.
"Heh." Sendo let out a faint, pleased chuckle.
"Top of the eighth! Yokohama Kohoku High's offense!"
"Top of the eighth! Seidou sends their ace to the mound!!!" the commentator suddenly shouted as Yokohama's batter was being introduced.
"They're bringing in the ace now?!"
"Seidou wants to end this game!"
"They're giving them absolutely no chance! All Yokohama can hope for is that Seidou's ace starts shaky!"
The crowd buzzed at the substitution—no mercy, no opportunity given.
Few knew about Tanba's struggles during the summer preliminaries. And even fewer opponents knew how much he'd recovered during the half-month break after his injury.
"Bringing in the ace instead of the second-year sidearm means he's here to finish the game," Shiraha muttered.
The ace's condition would determine the outcome.
Yokohama's seventh batter stepped in, extremely tense.
This might be one of their last opportunities.
They still had two innings, but if they failed to at least tie the game before Seidou recorded the final out, it would simply be over.
Koshien doesn't end games early—but if the visiting team fails to tie the score in the top of the ninth and remains behind, it's not an early ending. It's just the natural conclusion—because they've run out of chances to score.
"As the ace… you will finish this important opening game!"
Unlike the nervous Yokohama batter, Tanba stood on the mound with burning determination.
Coach Kataoka's words echoed in his mind like a song on repeat.
They played over and over in his head.
------------
If you want to read 20+ chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21