Chapter 349: One More Fanboy
It's actually understandable why Nagumo felt speechless toward Isashiki.
When Isashiki stood in the batter's box, no one could figure out what he was thinking. He wasn't aiming for any specific pitch at all.
Which meant he might swing at any pitch, or watch any pitch pass by.
That made things very troublesome. Even You Shunshin had once been quite frustrated with this trait of his.
In a normal matchup it wouldn't be scary, but right now they couldn't let Isashiki get a hit. Otherwise, facing Sendo and Tetsu afterward would become far too dangerous.
.....
"Two balls and one strike? The count isn't favorable.
Looks like we'll have to settle this now, otherwise we'll be the ones pushed back."
Seeing it was time to decide the duel, Tate's smile widened slightly—though since he was always smiling anyway, unfamiliar people wouldn't notice.
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
Foul!
"Now it's two balls, two strikes!" Nagumo was satisfied.
"Alright! He's cornered!"
"Finish him in one go!"
"Your timing is good!"
"Hit it!"
"Roar it out!"
"Great timing, Beard-senpai!"
"Who are you calling beard?! I told you to shut up, Sawamura!"
Even in this tense moment, Isashiki could still shout normally, showing the pressure wasn't affecting him much.
....
I know my mission clearly. I won't get out that easily!
After yelling at Sawamura and feeling slightly refreshed, Jun thought to himself.
"Come on, you bastard!!!" he shouted.
.....
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
Foul!
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
Foul!
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Ball!
"Alright!"
Isashiki's eyes were almost popping out as he encouraged himself internally.
"Tch! He's really annoying," Nagumo muttered.
Of course Isashiki was annoying.
He rarely lifted his front leg when batting.
Otherwise, with his chaotic style, he wouldn't be able to consistently send the ball toward right field.
He often produced what Ryousuke called "bunt-like grounders."
So when it came to batting without lifting his leg, Jun was practically a professional.
"Alright! Full count!"
"Back to square one!"
"Watch the ball carefully, Isashiki!"
"Tachi-senpai!"
"Show an even bigger evil grin!"
(What kind of cheer is that?)
"AAAH!!!"
That fan was clearly just trying to shout louder than everyone else.
.....
I know very well.
If there's no runner in scoring position, those two guys won't get any good pitches.
Sometimes I want to do something for that junior of mine too.
Isashiki glanced toward the on-deck circle at Sendo.
That bastard is the best junior ever.
Just wait a little.
A reliable senior will create a better hitting environment for you.
This is the only thing I can do for you.
Honestly…
Batting in front of you is really great.
....
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
Foul!
"Give it a rest already!" Tate was starting to get irritated by the endless fouls.
.....
"Pah!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ugh!"
"Big shrimp!!!"
"Ping!"
He hit it!!!
"Stop it!"
"Break through!!!"
"Get through it, you bastard!!!" Jun shouted fiercely.
"It got through!!!"
"A hit to shallow right field!!! The batter advances to second base, putting the tying run in scoring position!!! After being reversed earlier, the leadoff batter reaches base immediately in the bottom half of the inning! Seidou's lineup refuses to back down!"
"YOSHA!!!"
Standing on second base, Jun roared loudly.
Then he raised his fist toward the on-deck circle.
"Hit however you like… freely, Sendo!"
For once, Isashiki dropped his demon-like face and smiled at Sendo.
.....
"Fourth batter! Center fielder, Sendo!"
"Heh. What a reliable senior. This team really is the best."
Hearing the announcement, Sendo slowly stood up and returned the smile while locking eyes with Isashiki.
.....
"Nice hit, Demon-senpai!"
Sawamura seemed to have learned his lesson and used a different nickname this time.
"Huh? Just you wait, Sawamura!"
Isashiki turned his head instantly. The smile disappeared, replaced by the same demon face Sawamura had mentioned.
He was extremely annoyed with someone who had no sense of timing.
....
"Now it's finally time! A runner in scoring position, and the lineup has reached the terrifying 4th batter Sendo and 5th batter Tetsu combo!!!"
Since Isashiki's hit, the commentator's excitement hadn't dropped at all.
Sendo stepping forward and Tetsu leaving the dugout created an incredibly intense scene.
....
Nagumo felt the pressure too and glanced toward the dugout.
"Sendo isn't on second, and we're still ahead. There's no need to show weakness. Walking him and then facing the fifth batter would badly affect Tachi's rhythm."
Coach Matsumoto thought briefly and decided to face him, though the signals still indicated not challenging him directly.
Isashiki's wish failed after all. There was only a runner on second, not on second and third.
Nagumo saw the coach's signal and nodded slowly.
Only in moments like this did it become clear just how ridiculous it was having Sendo followed by Tetsu in the lineup.
It almost felt like cheating.
But high school baseball was full of coincidences like this.
All they could do was face it.
....
This batter sometimes swings at bad pitches.
That's something we can still exploit.
He probably won't bunt now, right? With a runner in front of him his speed advantage won't be maximized.
Still… better be cautious.
He's good at hitting high inside pitches and low pitches that aren't too far outside.
If the pitch isn't sharp enough, even a bad ball can get blasted.
But with Tachi's current form, it should be fine.
Nagumo arranged the defensive positions while analyzing the situation.
The "sharp" pitches he meant weren't simply pitches far outside.
Even Sendo wouldn't swing at something too far off.
He meant pitches with extremely sharp angles.
....
"Pah!"
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Ball!
"First pitch, high inside! But it's clearly a ball! And for a right-handed pitcher, the inside angle is really sharp.
Even from here you can feel the angle clearly."
.....
"He didn't swing! Did he give up because it's hard to hit? Or is he just observing the pitch?"
Nagumo glanced at Sendo.
Sendo's habit of appearing reckless while actually being very smart was already widely recognized.
Nagumo had to stay cautious.
.....
After watching the pitch, Sendo turned his eyes toward Tate.
As expected… he's not throwing anything good to hit.
If there's nothing good to swing at…
"Pah!"
Then I'll just pick the slightly easier one.
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Ball!
"But that low pitch is just ridiculous…" Sendo complained internally.
....
Still not swinging? Why?
Well… let's try this one.
"Mm. Good expression." Sendo evaluated Tate's face in his mind.
....
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
Foul!
"The third pitch was a curveball! Sendo sends it foul!"
"So he finally swung. I thought he wouldn't swing at all. If the count became unfavorable, I'd have to walk you. But right now it's not that bad. The key is the second strike. This batter swings at almost any pitch after two strikes, unless it's extremely far outside. He probably doesn't trust the umpire—or rather, he wants to control his own fate. Once we get the second strike, we're close to getting him out!"
Nagumo adjusted his breathing.
At this moment, both dugouts were extremely tense.
Ota looked like he was clutching his chest and about to pass out.
It made people wonder if someone should prepare some heart medicine and place it beside him.
....
"Crush him!!! Take them all down!!!"
From second base, Isashiki was the first to shout—though his vocabulary was as rough as ever.
"Hit it!"
"The pitcher's scared now, Sendo!" Of course Sawamura couldn't stay quiet in a situation like this.
"The pitcher will want a strike—aim for it and hit!"
"Be careful selecting your pitch!"
"Suppress him!"
"Tate-senpai!!!"
"Kiryu hopes to seize control of the game here! If they can suppress the fourth and fifth batters…"
Mine Fujio commented casually.
.....
The pressure inside the stadium was enormous.
Even Sendo, who had strong nerves, was adjusting his breathing, slightly rocking the bat up and down, searching for the right feel.
"Sendo! If you hit one out here it'll be absolutely explosive! Make all of Japan go crazy! Hahaha!Actually I kind of admire him! I've even tried copying his batting stance a few times! It looks so cool!"
At Yakushi High in West Tokyo, Mishima, who wasn't training with those hardworking guys or that idiot, suddenly had a bit of a chuunibyou moment while watching on TV.
....
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
"Ball!"
At that moment, a dull sound and the umpire's call came from the television.
....
Back to Koshien Stadium.
"Alright! Three balls now!"
"Nice pitch selection, Sendo!!!"
"Ah… that… that Sendo actually chose a pitch?"
Sawamura's mouth hung open in disbelief.
Many others were just as shocked.
What they didn't see was that Coach Kataoka and Chris were sweating heavily.
Ota was still clutching his chest like he might collapse at any moment.
.....
"How is that possible? There's no way that guy can tell whether a pitch is a ball or a strike. He must've just boldly let that one go. Only that guy would dare do something like that in this situation. Even if he guessed wrong it would just be two strikes."
Miyuki clicked his tongue after hearing Sawamura.
As one half of the troublemaker duo that constantly stuck to Sendo like glue, Miyuki was very familiar with Sendo's style.
Of course, that understanding mostly came after the fact.
....
"We'll decide it with this pitch!
If he still doesn't swing, we can walk him!"
....
"WHOOSH!!!"
"Alright! Good pitch location! Ah!"
In an instant, a yellow flash crossed Nagumo's vision.
"PING!"
"He hit it! A bad pitch outside has been struck! The ball is flying far!nThe center fielder and left fielder are retreating…!"
....
Even Sendo couldn't tell what the result of this hit would be.
But his hands gripping the bat were trembling slightly.
This swing had truly taken on Tate's heavy fastball head-on.
....
"They can't reach it! The center fielder stops just in front of the wall!!!… (one second later) Caught! Out!
Sendo's extremely deep fly ball is caught just less than a meter in front of the home run wall!"
.....
"AHHH!!! What a shame!!!"
Seidou's side clutched their heads.
"Too close!!!"
Kiryu's players' voices were shaking. Their hearts felt like they were about to burst.
The hit had come out of nowhere.
Previously Sendo hadn't even sent a ball past the infield.
Even Sendo himself couldn't tell the outcome, so the spectators were even more uncertain.
For several seconds while the ball flew, everyone held their breath.
....
"AHHH!!! So close!!! Just a little more!!!"
The most dramatic reaction came from Sawamura.
"Calm down," Miyuki said helplessly.
....
"Ah…"
Seeing himself out, Sendo rested the bat on his shoulder with his left hand, shook his head, and walked out of the batter's box.
"A bit of a pity," said Tetsu from the on-deck circle.
"Is that so?" Sendo looked at his right hand as he replied.
His expression seemed more like he was asking himself.
Those same words had once been said by Chris-senpai three years ago to Tetsu and the others.
....
"Please take care of it, Tetsu-san."
"Yeah."
After a brief high-five, the two passed each other.
....
"Fifth batter! First baseman, Tetsu!"
"Although the fourth batter was retired, the crisis is far from over. A lineup formed by two of the nation's top hitters—this is what makes Seidou's batting lineup truly terrifying!"
The excited commentator finally began to calm down slightly.
.....
"Sorry! I couldn't resist swinging at that pitch—I felt like I could hit it!"
Back in the dugout, Sendo placed his bat away and removed his helmet as he spoke.
"You don't need to apologize. That swing already put enough pressure on them. I'm not naive enough to expect you to get a hit every at-bat. 'The game is still long,' don't you always say that?"
Coach Kataoka smiled.
"Yes!"
"That's right, no need to apologize! You did great!"
"Get them next time!"
"And besides, you couldn't even tell that pitch was a ball," Miyuki added sarcastically.
"I'm telling you—don't hit me! Coach is right here! And I still need to put on my gear!"
Seeing Sendo take a step toward him, Miyuki instantly activated his survival instinct.
At the moment he was wearing catcher's equipment, with his helmet and bat beside him.
After all, the batter before him—Masuko—was already in the on-deck circle, meaning Miyuki was next.
"Hahaha! That's true!"
The rest of the bench finally reacted to what Miyuki had said.
Sendo laughed lightly and stopped walking, then sat down beside the coach.
"Next time, I'll definitely hit it out," Sendo said.
"Exactly! Just get it next time!"
The seniors spoke up one after another, hoping he'd quickly forget the frustration.
"What if you still don't hit it next at-bat?" Miyuki muttered quietly.
"You have no right to say that!!!"
Sendo snapped back without even turning around.
When it came to disappointing expectations, Miyuki was truly unmatched.
------------------
If you want to read 30 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21