pitcher, throw better!"
"We don't want to lose because of you!"
Most of his teammates behind him not only didn't provide backup but instead blamed Hirano, as if the current crisis wasn't caused by them.
Kiriyama Ren now looked at them with some suspicion. He couldn't act out because they were still considered teammates. He had just managed to calm Hirano's nerves, but they kept messing with their teammate's mindset.
Whoosh—
"Batter, swing!"
The batter for the special selection group was a first-year student, which put even more pressure on Kiriyama Ren, who was squatting as the catcher. Just from that powerful swing, he knew that if Hirano relaxed even a little, that ball would definitely fly out of the stadium.
If they conceded a run, they wouldn't even be able to talk about how to approach Narumiya Mei.
A thought emerged in his mind, but it required his teammates' cooperation. If his teammates couldn't provide backup, they would definitely fall into an irreversible situation.
He immediately walked up to Hirano to discuss a strategy.
"Let's load the bases."
"Huh?"
Hirano's first reaction to Kiriyama Ren's words was shock. Loading the bases was indeed the best way to resolve this crisis, but his pitches today had been hit consistently. Could he really handle a bases-loaded situation?
"It's up to you. After all, if the pitcher reluctantly avoids it, loading the bases makes it even easier to be hit." Kiriyama Ren spoke calmly, his eyes still clear. He hadn't given up at this point.
At the same time, he turned to look at the special selection group's dugout. Without a double play, it would inevitably be the ninth batter, Harada, the catcher: "It's best to end the game before that catcher, otherwise, I'm afraid we won't be able to suppress him."
"Since you say so, then we must load the bases?"
"If we don't load the bases, my pitch calls will still lead the opponent to hit ground balls, but it will inevitably allow the third base runner to score."
"Then I'll follow your lead!"
Hirano's mood relaxed after the brief exchange. This person had thought through every step, and if he held him back, it would be too cowardly.
He had always been just a substitute in little league. Coming here was just to try his luck, to see the gap between himself and others, and then find a random public school to be a third-rate Ace.
But now, he just wanted to grow together with this person on the same team!
"Alright!" Kiriyama Ren showed a genuine smile.
Returning to his catcher's position, Kiriyama Ren directly raised his glove on the other side of the batter. He didn't even bother to throw a symbolic ball, opting for an intentional walk.
The spectators nearby were somewhat surprised by this scene. Is this how you play? But then they found it amusing; their defense catching a double play seemed like a fantasy.
"Shortstop, we can only rely on you."
Currently, the only effective defense visible was the shortstop and Ichirui. The others either hadn't been tested in defense or had already proven to be liabilities. But Ichirui had to handle the simplest Ichirui putout, leaving only the shortstop to deal with the ball.
Bang.
"Foul ball!"
The seventh batter swung hard, smashing the ball fiercely out of bounds, seemingly venting his anger at being intentionally walked with the bases loaded. He glared at Kiriyama Ren, expressing his dissatisfaction.
As if he hadn't seen it, Kiriyama Ren took a white ball from Coach Kunimoto's hand and casually tossed it back to Hirano.
He hadn't said he was specifically targeting anyone; it just happened to be his turn. If he had to target a specific batting order, he would rather target the more familiar top five batters.
"Then I'll let you know that targeting me is a mistake!" the seventh batter thought fiercely to himself.
If there's a strong desire to hit the ball out, then the bat's feedback will easily aim to attack a Fastball. At this moment, only a gentle Changeup needs to be thrown.
The seventh batter stepped forward and swung his bat. The ball's drop forced him to passively hit the white ball with the bottom of his bat. The ball bounced once on the ground directly in front of him, creating a grounder.
The ball landed directly in front of the pitcher's mound.
It seemed the shortstop wouldn't be able to handle it in time. In the end, it was his own carelessness that cost a run... Kiriyama Ren felt his decision was a mistake.
"I got it!"
With a shout of "I got it!" Hirano leaped high, caught the ball with his glove, and after landing, quickly threw it forward into Kiriyama Ren's glove. He swiftly retreated, stepped on Home plate, and then quickly threw to Ichirui to get the slower runner out.
Two outs, runners on second and third base.
The crisis was suddenly more than half-resolved.
Hirano gave a thumbs-up to Kiriyama Ren at Home plate: I don't always need you to help solve crises. It's about time I solved the crises I created myself.
Now, as long as he didn't throw a walk, it seemed he wouldn't face Harada, who could exert immense pressure just by sitting on the bench, in an absolute crisis situation.
Either they would be cleaned up, or they would escape safely.
Now there were only these two choices.
But don't relax your guard because it's the eighth batter; they were still players who could play in the autumn tournament during their first year.
Now that Hirano's mindset had relaxed, an inside pitch should be possible, right? Kiriyama Ren's foot moved inward, another direct attack on the inside knee. Only by constantly attacking could they create a winning situation; avoiding the outside corner was not the answer.
Bang!
The batter had no intention of letting the inside pitch go easily. He twisted his waist and scooped up this low-angled pitch.
The ball flew towards left field at an extremely fast speed.
Kiriyama Ren immediately took off his mask and stood up, his eyes fixed on the white ball flying in a flat trajectory. He hoped the left fielder could catch this ball. If he remembered correctly, that outfielder's first choice was right field. He hoped he could defend left field.
One could only say that, from a positive perspective, the ball wouldn't fly over the wall.
But of course, he still hoped he could catch the ball.
During its flight, it showed signs of losing power and began to slowly descend, but unlike the first ball, this time the fielder was closer to the ball.
A slide, extending his glove, while simultaneously expanding his defensive range. Even if he couldn't catch it, he wouldn't let the runners advance too many bases. The runner on second base, who had already started running, was ready to return to Home plate. If he couldn't catch it, two runs were certain.
Swish—
Thud!
One second later, a glove was raised high, and a small white dot was still visible in the distance—undoubtedly the white baseball.
"Out! Side retired!"
The selection team actually held on in a bases-loaded, no-out situation, and the left fielder's action made Kiriyama Ren even more overjoyed. It seemed he wasn't the only one who truly wanted to win. Whether the previous action was a coincidence or skill, getting an out was the best result for them.
The side retired allowed him to completely relax. He wasn't as confident in his bases-loaded strategy as he had let on, but from the results, no other outcome could have been better than the current one.