"Do you three have a moment?"
Ushijima approached Maezono, Asou, and Higasa, who were resting near Field B.
"Huh? What is it?" Asou asked, surprised.
Ushijima rolled his shoulders lightly.
"I just finished the Red-White Game. Furuya took the mound, so I barely pitched."
"Watching someone else throw while I stand around is a little frustrating."
"But throwing bullpen sessions to a catcher isn't very interesting either."
He looked at the three upperclassmen.
"So if Maezono-senpai, Asou-senpai, and Higasa-senpai have time…"
"How about some batting practice?"
"You get to hit, and I get to loosen up and stay in rhythm."
The three of them froze.
Just moments ago, they had been talking about wanting to face Ushijima's pitches.
They never expected the opportunity to arrive this quickly.
"What's wrong?" Ushijima asked. "Will it interfere with your training?"
"No! Not at all!"
All three shook their heads immediately.
A chance to face Seido's Ace was something most players could only dream about.
"Good."
Ushijima nodded.
"Then the three of you, plus Toujou and Kanemaru."
"I'll throw thirty pitches to each batter."
"Mostly Cutters, Sinkers, and Shootballs."
"I won't throw many Four-Seams or Two-Seams. You'll see plenty of those from other pitchers anyway."
"Two-Seams are still relatively uncommon in high school baseball, but that's fine."
"The important thing is getting used to breaking pitches that move late."
"Most high school pitchers who throw Cutters, Sinkers, or Shootballs use them as their winning pitches."
Maezono and the others immediately agreed, their expressions full of anticipation.
As for Toujou and Kanemaru, they had already faced Ushijima's pitches many times before.
Batting practice soon began on Field B.
Ushijima limited himself to 150 pitches total—thirty for each of the five batters.
For him, that was actually less than usual.
Meanwhile, Coach Kataoka had already heard about the session.
When he learned who had been invited, he nodded knowingly.
"It seems Ushijima has noticed it as well."
"Once the third-years retire, the players most likely to move up from the second string are Maezono, Asou, and Higasa among the second-years."
"And among the first-years, Kanemaru and Toujou stand out the most as hitters."
Takashima Rei adjusted her glasses.
"Especially Toujou and Kanemaru. With Ushijima constantly giving them advice, their batting has improved remarkably."
"As long as they stay healthy, they should become important pieces of Seido's lineup."
She paused before adding,
"Two years from now, I can already imagine the core of the team: Ushijima, Haruichi, Furuya, Toujou, and Kanemaru."
Coach Kataoka silently nodded in agreement.
"This year's first-years are an exceptional class."
"We recruited six players with tremendous potential at once."
"And four of them are pitchers."
Rei smiled slightly.
"Toujou probably has the lowest ceiling as a pitcher among the four, but his batting is excellent."
"Sawamura is the opposite. His pitching potential is tremendous, but his batting…"
She left the sentence unfinished.
Coach Kataoka looked toward the two unusually quiet first-years.
Furuya and Sawamura had both become noticeably subdued after the Red-White Game.
After a moment of thought, the coach spoke.
"Takashima."
"See if we can arrange practice games for the second string during August."
"The first string will be occupied with Koshien, so they won't be available."
"But the second string can still play."
He continued,
"Build the lineup around Maezono, Kanemaru, Toujou, Asou, and Higasa."
"And make Sawamura the starting pitcher."
"I want to see how they perform in real games."
"I want to evaluate both the hitters and the pitcher."
Rei's smile widened.
"That won't be difficult."
"In fact, we can probably attract some strong opponents."
"Other schools are also preparing for the transition after their third-years retire."
"Once they hear that Seido's future first-string candidates will be playing, they'll be interested."
"They know our current first string is busy with Koshien, but they'll also know these players are likely to become Seido's next core."
"For them, that's valuable preparation too."
Coach Kataoka nodded.
Seido wasn't only preparing for this summer.
They were already preparing for the next era.
Takashima Rei's explanation reassured Coach Kataoka.
After a brief moment of thought, he called out,
"Sawamura."
"Huh?"
The first-year immediately ran over.
"You don't have to travel with the first string to Koshien."
"...Eh?"
Sawamura froze.
A second later, his imagination began running wild.
"G-General..."
"Wh-What does this mean?"
"Am I being abandoned already?"
"Used once and then thrown away?"
"Has my value as a human being already reached zero?!"
His exaggerated cries instantly left everyone speechless.
Coach Kataoka rubbed his forehead.
This kid...
Can he stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions for just one minute?
The surrounding players couldn't help but smile.
"You can still come if you want," Coach Kataoka said helplessly.
"I won't stop you."
"But..."
"This August, the second string will be playing a series of practice games against other schools."
Sawamura blinked.
"For those games..."
"You'll be our starting pitcher."
The words immediately caught his attention.
"If you come with us to Koshien, there's a good chance you won't get the opportunity to pitch."
"But with the second string..."
"You'll take the mound as the starter."
"And Toujou will be your relief pitcher."
Sawamura's eyes gradually lit up.
He had already accepted that breaking into Seido's Koshien rotation would be difficult.
Compared to spending weeks watching from the dugout...
Actually pitching sounded far more appealing.
"I understand!"
He clenched both fists.
"I'll win every single practice game this month!"
Coach Kataoka immediately shook his head.
"Winning isn't the priority."
"Huh?"
"What I want to see..."
"...is your stability."
"And your performance as a pitcher."
His voice became more serious.
"You've spent several months training under Chris and Ushijima."
"These practice games will show how much you've truly improved."
Sawamura nodded firmly.
"I understand!"
Inside, however, his competitive spirit burned even brighter.
If he couldn't shine at Koshien...
Then he would prove himself somewhere else.
The second string practice games would become his stage.
The surrounding players smiled as they watched the determined first-year.
That simple-minded enthusiasm...
Really was pure Sawamura.
Meanwhile, over on Field B...
Ushijima had finished all 150 pitches of batting practice.
The three second-years—Maezono, Asou, and Higasa—looked utterly defeated.
Thirty pitches each.
Not a single fair hit.
Most of the time, they couldn't even make contact.
The few balls they managed to hit were weak foul balls that barely nicked the bat.
None of them produced a clean hit that could have reached base.
Only after facing Ushijima's pitches themselves did they truly understand why Seido's first-string batters improved so quickly.
Training against a pitcher of this caliber every day...
It was impossible not to improve.
Compared to them, the two first-years performed noticeably better.
Toujou's Results (30 pitches)
15 swings and misses
6 foul balls
4 infield hits
5 outfield hits
Batting Average: .300
Kanemaru's Results (30 pitches)
14 swings and misses
8 foul balls
5 infield hits
3 outfield hits
Batting Average: .260
The gap in ability was obvious.
Maezono and the others exchanged bitter smiles.
They finally understood why Ushijima held Kanemaru and Toujou in such high regard.
The two first-years weren't merely talented.
Thanks to months of training against Seido's Ace, they had already begun separating themselves from the rest of the second string.
And if they continued improving at this pace...
Earning promotion to the first string in September would only be a matter of time.