Chapter 348: Fight to the End
"Fifth batter! Third baseman, Sudo!"
"Hit it hard! Tanba!"
Even at this moment, Jun-senpai still seemed a little worried.
"Let him hit it!"
"Fushi!"
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Strike!
"An inside curveball! An aggressive pitch call! The very same curveball that was just hit earlier is thrown again as the first pitch! And the ace Tanba perfectly responds to his teammate's expectations!!!"
.....
"Fushi!"
"Ping!"
"The fastball has been hit! The runner on second started running the moment the ball was struck—smack! It's gone! A home run! Seidou's ace Tanba's inside fastball has been blasted! Kiryu High instantly takes the lead! This is the power lineup of Kiryu High!!!"
The commentator finished his passionate call amid the roaring cheers of the crowd.
....
"That home run was extremely important! Seidou's second round of the cleanup lineup will also come up in the bottom half of the inning."
After the excitement settled slightly, the commentator said this to the guest beside him.
"That's right! That home run will surely ignite the fighting spirit of Kiryu's players! It was completely won with power! Tanba's pitch had plenty of velocity and wasn't affected by the previous hit. And Sudo hit it without even lifting his front leg—though it barely cleared the fence!"
....
"N-no, no problem…!"
Jun-senpai started to panic, or rather worry about Tanba. He didn't want Tanba to leave the mound like this.
"Two outs already, Tanba-san!" Kuramochi added.
Both of them looked fierce on the outside but were actually very thoughtful.
"Ugaa! Let him hit it!"
Masuko-senpai struck a muscle-flexing pose.
"Reset your mindset," Tetsu said gently.
"That ball being hit couldn't be helped," said Ryousuke.
"Tanba-san! Your pitches have great power! It's fine!" Miyuki finally spoke up as his partner.
"That's right! The pitch had power! The pitch location was good too. If anything, it just needed to be a little further inside. Against the fifth batter, maybe we shouldn't throw something they're aiming for. That pitch was completely my mistake in pitch calling. Still… as expected of Kiryu's fifth batter. At times like this, you can only praise the hitter. What a terrifying team. Every single player is faithfully carrying out the coach's instructions—attacking from the very first inning and constantly applying pressure. And this isn't even the star-studded lineup they had last year, right? Back then they were only runners-up… Was it right or wrong to play that practice game against them? What terrible luck with the draw, Tetsu-san…"
Miyuki began reflecting on his pitch calling in his mind, while also complaining about Tetsu's unlucky draw.
....
Then Miyuki glanced at the dugout.
Coach Kataoka nodded slightly but made no move.
"The bench isn't reacting… which means it's not the worst-case situation yet. They're leaving the judgment to us?"
Understanding the coach's intention, Miyuki was about to stand when—
"Hmm?"
He saw Tanba shake his head at him.
Miyuki's whole body trembled.
He suddenly remembered the qualifier finals.
Even after being hit repeatedly and looking momentarily lost, Tanba had never shown any sign of retreat.
....
"So that's it… Tanba-san has changed. When did it start? The Inashiro game? No… even earlier. It began after that injury… during the Shuuhoku practice game.
The weakness he used to have is gone. And the Inashiro game elevated his spirit even further. Coach must have noticed that change too—that's why he stayed calm just now."
Miyuki's face was full of satisfaction.
....
"Sixth batter! Catcher, Nagumo!"
"Phew… getting hit is normal. Giving up runs is normal. But if I become afraid because of it… then that's the pitcher's fault. Why did I only understand this now? I'm such an idiot. No matter how many times they hit my pitches, I won't be afraid anymore.
I'll fight to the end!"
While pitching, Tanba glared fiercely at Nagumo.
It startled him.
.....
"Fushi!"
"Because this is my last summer!!!"
"Whoosh!"
The ball carried Tanba's fighting spirit as it flew toward home plate.
"Smack!"
"Although that last pitch was my mistake, ignoring a Tanba-san with this much fighting spirit isn't my style!"
Catching the ball, Miyuki smiled broadly to himself.
"Strike!!!"
"An inside fastball! Even if it gets hit, he'll answer back with an even stronger pitch! The ace's pitching seems to be declaring exactly that!!!"
Even the commentator's emotions were stirred by Tanba's pitch.
"So aggressive!"
"That's unbelievably aggressive!"
"Seidou doesn't just have first-year pitchers!"
Many scouts at the stadium lit up with interest.
Although Tanba's skill level still had room to grow, his spirit and determination were impressive enough.
Though in truth, most of them were eyeing the catcher.
"YOSHA!!!"
Tanba roared like he was about to devour someone.
His shout shook the stadium.
No one would believe that normally he was quiet and even shy.
Just like no one would believe that the skull-faced pitcher on the other side was also shy and introverted.
....
What no one except Chris-senpai noticed was Coach Kataoka's right hand clenched tightly into a fist.
Chris revealed a gentle, almost motherly smile.
After all, Tanba was a player personally trained and nurtured by Coach Kataoka.
There was nothing more gratifying for a coach than seeing the growth of his own disciple.
Chris understood the coach's feelings well.
Every time Sawamura improved, both Kataoka and Chris felt the same deep satisfaction.
But there were simply too many players who made Coach Kataoka proud.
Tetsu, Jun, Masuko, Ryousuke…
The generation once called the most disappointing year had now become the pillars of Seidou.
All of them were players personally developed by Coach Kataoka—enough to make him proud for a lifetime.
Perhaps to him, every generation of students was the same.
Maybe he couldn't tailor perfect technical advice for every body type, but aside from that, he had done everything a coach possibly could.
He gave players direction.
He helped them overcome mental barriers.
He ensured their training was fundamentally sound.
He cared deeply about their physical and mental condition.
He guided them not only as baseball players, but as people.
Back to the game.
When Tanba threw that flawless inside pitch—
the spirit of the Seidou players rose with their ace.
"Fushi!"
"Ping!"
"Thud!"
"Smack!"
Ryousuke dove through the air and caught the ground ball cleanly.
It looked almost identical to the play during the practice game.
But this time, Ryousuke planted his right hand, pushed himself up with both knees, twisted his upper body, pulled the ball from his glove, and fired the throw—
all in one fluid motion.
"Smack!"
Out!
Three outs! Change sides!
"Thanks to second baseman Kominato Ryousuke's super fine play, Seidou gets this crucial out! Although they've been reversed, the difference is only one run!
And the upcoming offense starts with the heart of Seidou's powerful lineup!!!"
"Nice play, Ryousuke!" Kuramochi was the first to rush over.
"Ryousuke…" Tanba looked at Ryousuke standing beside him, unsure what to say.
Ignoring Kuramochi, Ryousuke simply extended his fist toward Tanba.
"Ryousuke!"
Tanba, who had kept a fierce expression even in the toughest situations, suddenly had tears well up in his eyes when he saw that fist.
No matter what, Tanba was an introverted person.
He wasn't good at expressing his feelings, but he remembered deeply what everyone did for him.
"Don't look so pathetic! Don't act like I tried so hard just for you. It's disgusting!" Ryousuke said bluntly as always.
"Yeah!" Tanba nodded while crying.
Even the sharp-tongued Ryousuke felt helpless at that.
People with sharp personalities often have soft hearts toward their own teammates—whether it was Ryousuke, Miyuki, or Sendo.
Especially when dealing with guys like Sawamura or Tanba, who could be quietly moved to tears over small things.
"Nice pitching, Tanba-san!"
Before the others had even gone a few steps back to the dugout, Sendo from the outfield rushed over at lightning speed.
He casually removed Tanba's cap.
"Sendo! What are you doing? And Tetsu too—stop! Don't touch!"
The second complaint was because Tetsu had actually been the first to reach out.
The whole motion looked completely natural—Tetsu taking off the cap with his left hand while reaching out with the right.
"Just as expected from our proud fourth-and-fifth batter combo. Such perfect teamwork! Speaking of which, I deserve a reward too!" Ryousuke said with a smiling face, stretching out his hand.
"Ahaha! Then excuse me!"
"Ugaa!"
In an instant, Tanba's head was covered with who-knows-how-many hands.
"Hey! You idiots! What are you doing behind my back again? Let me join too!" At that moment Isashiki rushed over and stuck out his hand as well.
The reason he said "again" was clearly because he remembered the time during the Inashiro game.
Baseball was never a sport played by one person.
It was always a sport that tested all nine players as a team.
…
"Nice pitching, Tanba! Next inning is yours too!" Back in the dugout, Coach Kataoka placed his lightly clenched fist in front of him and said with a smile.
"Yes!!!"
Tanba, who had just been mercilessly patted by his teammates, almost cried again.
"Keep applying pressure on them! Don't be afraid of getting out. Bite down on them relentlessly. Even if you get out, make them feel our fighting spirit. Don't obsess over this one-run difference. Focus on your swings. Put pressure on him physically and mentally.
In this heat, I don't care if he's in peak condition or not—he's just one person. If we keep pressing like this, he'll definitely break. When that moment comes, seize the chance and crush him all at once."
Coach Kataoka gave instructions to the batting lineup.
"Yes!!!"
At the same time, his words removed the risk of the players making mistakes out of impatience to tie the game.
Coach Kataoka could accept getting out.
But he absolutely could not accept players making foolish mistakes that handed the opponent momentum.
Normally, even if Sendo or Tetsu made such a mistake, they would immediately be sent to the second string to reflect.
Though of course, those two would never do something like that.
.....
Bottom of the 4th inning — Seidou's offense
Third batter: Left fielder, Isashiki!
"YOSHA!!!"
After receiving the coach's motivation and instructions, Jun-senpai strode into the batter's box like a sideways-walking crab.
"What are you looking at?!"
Seeing Tate's terrifying expression, Jun glared back with an even fiercer face.
Although Tate couldn't hear what Isashiki said, he could understand the expression.
If this weren't a baseball field, the introverted Tate might even feel intimidated.
But this was a game.
So it didn't affect him at all.
"Pah!"
"Whoosh!"
"…Slider?"
Jun held back his swing at the last moment.
"Smack!"
Ball!
He had almost swung and missed though—almost striking out.
"Nice eye, Bearded-senpai!"
"Who are you calling Bearded-senpai, you idiot?Sawamura! Shut up!"
Even though Isashiki knew yelling at Sawamura was useless—the guy forgot things instantly.
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Strike!
Because of the trajectory of the first slider, Isashiki couldn't react in time to the second pitch—a fastball that followed the exact same path before breaking.
Or rather, by the time he reacted, he had already missed the timing to swing.
"Come on… come on… come on… come on…"
Jun reset his stance, muttering under his breath.
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Ball!
"So now he's completely refusing to swing at bad pitches? This batter…He wasn't like this at all before!
What's he trying to do now? I can't understand him at all!!!"
Nagumo wondered what Isashiki was up to this time.
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