Chapter 12: Chapter 11
*Lub* *Dub*
*Lub* *Dub*
[Todoroki Raichi
Batter lvl: B4]
'He's just a single grade lower than me. This is giving me a rush.'
"Playball!"
Raichi was grinning and laughing like a monkey while I looked at Miyuki's mitt placement and the sign.
'A four-seam in-low. Starting strong and bold, huh?'
I wound up and fired the ball right into Miyuki's mitt.
*BANG*
"Strike!!"
I exhaled the breath I was holding as the ball hit Miyuki's mitt. Todoroki was a scary batter and I could already tell that he was analyzing my pitch. A numbskull but also a batting savant.
'A two-seam at the same spot.'
*SWOOSH*
*CLANG*
"Foul ball!"
'It's going to be an outside pitch. I know it, Miyuki knows it and I can tell that Raichi knows as well. He's standing close to the base. He's anticipating an outside pitch.'
I met Miyuki's gaze as he asked me to pitch in the out-low corner. I shook my head. He frowned under his visor and asked for an in-high cutter. Upon receiving my nod, he got into position and with all of my might, I threw a cutter.
The ball broke sharply and slammed into Miyuki's mitt, right next to Raichi's chest.
"Strike! Batter out!!"
The spectators erupted in cheers at the strikeout.
Back at the mount, I roared, "One out!!"
With that pitch on the inside, I'd told Yakushi that I wasn't scared of their strongest and was ready to face them head-on. I looked at their bullpen and grinned.
'Bring it, you lazy fucker. I'll strike your entire team out.'
(PLAYBALL)
'That fucking kid.'
"Oi! I want a home run, you hear me?! I want that arrogant brat's grin turned upside down!! Show him what Yakushi is made of!"
Todoroki's world emboldened his players and the next batter marched to the home plate. Akiba took his position and looked toward me, waiting for me to throw the pitch.
I cracked my neck and with utter disregard for his batter skill, I threw a four-seam right down the middle.
*BANG*
"Strike!"
[Akiba Kazuma
Batter lvl: B0]
'Four-seam, in-high.'
*BANG*
"Strike!"
'Four-seam, out-low.'
*BANG*
"Strike!! Batter out!!"
The commentator screamed into the mike, "Another strikeout by the sharpshooter, Sawamura Eijun!!"
"Two out!!"
"Nice pitch, Sawamura!!"
I stared at Mishima like a hawk. The sounds of the stadium were dulled as I drowned in my focus. It was just me, the ball, and the mitt.
[You've had a breakthrough.
Your pitcher level has increased.
Pitcher lvl: A0
All of your Pitcher talents have leveled up by 1
You are one step closer to becoming the greatest]
I could 'feel' the clarity in my mind, the warmth in my body, the power coursing through my veins, and the stability of my breathing. It was like I had achieved a higher state of being.
As Miyuki gave me the sign, I nodded and slammed my foot into the ground. The ball exploded towards the mitt and slammed into the target. The stadium was stunned silent.
"S-Strike!"
I had achieved a faster pitching speed.
Mishima was too shocked to react. The next two pitches received the same reaction. The sheer power behind my pitches had bamboozled everyone and I was not done growing.
"Strike!! Batter out!! Change!"
It was then that everyone exploded in cheer and awe.
"Let's go!!"
When Yakushi came to pitch, they appeared to be a little shaken. Sanada threw excellent pitches and struck out the top order. But their batters amounted to nothing in front of me.
It was the bottom of the fifth inning when I came out to bat. We were leading by 4 runs and the pressure was building on Yakushi players. Sanada threw his best pitches at me, but, on the fourth pitch which turned out to be a cutter, I hit the pitch and sent it over the left field.
"Sawamura hits another home run!! Seido leads by 5! Yakushi need to score against Sawamura's killer pitches if they want to win!"
'They haven't been able to get a hit off of me and I'll keep it that way.'
It was Raichi's turn to bat and as usual, he came out of the bullpen laughing like a maniac. I was ready to wipe his smile off his face.
With a forkball, four-seam, and a fast curveball, I made Raichi swing in the air and struck him out. None of the Yakushi batters could touch my pitches and I struck the entire team out.
'With me on the mound, they stood no chance.'
We won the match having scored 6 runs over Yakushi's 1. I had singlehandedly scored 3 of them by hitting 3 home runs in my 3 at-bats.
With 18 strikeouts and 3 home runs, no one stood close to my stats. I looked at Kataoka and huffed, 'Who's next?'
He nodded, 'You did well. It's time we take Seido to the nationals.'
I raised my head while looking at him, 'Not just the nationals, Seido will become champions. I promise you that. By the time I pass my third year, Seido will be holding the trophy.'
Slowly, everyone cleared the stadium after the ceremony was over. As we walked back to our bus, the spectators who had come to support us, cheered for the players and the coach with words of encouragement and claps.
"Miyuki~~~"
"Tetsu~~!!"
"Nice game!!"
"Nice pitching, Tanba!"
'The fuck...? He didn't even pitch!'
"Kataoka-saaan!! Two more left!"
"Make sure that this is the year you make it to Koshien!"
"You can do it with this team!"
"Isashiki~~~!"
"Furuya-kuuun~~!"
'Where's my Sawamura-kuuun~~, damn it! Oi! What is this?! Cheer for everyone but me, why don't you?!'
Despite all the disregard of the fans, I was quite pleased with my growth. We placed our equipment on the bus and got changed before heading back to the stadium to watch Inashiro's match.
I was buzzing with energy. Despite having pitched for 7 innings and batting, I was raring to pitch some more.
"Oi! Sawamura! Quit it already! I'm feeling more tired just by watching you all excited!"
"Huh?! I can't stop myself, Spitz-senpai!"
"Who're you calling spitz, huh?!"
My next victims were the players of Sensen.
'I'm going to break Maki and make him see the truth. He ain't all that for Seido to personally scout him. So what your pitches a bit peculiar because of your height. I'll smash them out of the fucking stadium either way. I'm ready, bring it!'
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