Bab 109: <109> The Third Play on Harada!
Chapter 109: The Third Play on Harada!
Miyuki seemed to have already seen through the true nature of Furuya's changeup.
The ace catcher of the Seido High School baseball team simply curled his lips into a smile.
He recalled a certain rumor he had heard earlier.
Among those pitchers who have not received formal training, occasionally a genius or two might emerge.
The baseball they throw is completely different from the type of pitching everyone else is familiar with.
Such pitches have a collective name: quirk balls.
Another first-year pitcher on their team, Sawamura Eijun, was an outstanding member of this group.
Sawamura's naturally flexible arm caused his fastballs to have some unique, unknown movement.
As a result, batters facing Sawamura would often suffer losses if they weren't careful.
Previously, during the freshman game, it was precisely with these quirk balls that he won over their coach and manager.
It should be noted that when Sawamura first joined the team, he made a huge mistake.
Although because of that mistake, their coach didn't completely strip Sawamura of his chance to play, the mistake would have likely made it difficult for Sawamura to get an opportunity until the months leading up to the summer tournament.
However, because of his excellent performance in the intrasquad game, Coach Kataoka directly promoted him, and now Sawamura was already the ace of the Seido second string.
Furuya Satoru's growth trajectory on the surface did not seem to resemble Sawamura's.
Sawamura's team was weak; everyone in the team was an amateur.
Although Furuya was also playing soft baseball, his middle school team was the runner-up in Hokkaido.
Purely as a pitcher, Furuya's comprehensive qualities were undoubtedly superior.
But that was it.
The credit for his team winning the Hokkaido runner-up was more than half Furuya's.
Yet, the training he received from that team was not much.
Despite appearances suggesting Furuya was a semi-professional baseball player, in many aspects, he was also an amateur.
Even the way he pitched was developed by himself.
This resulted in this unexpected surprise.
"Although your violent pitching is irreplaceable, these self-developed pitches are quite interesting too!"
Miyuki crouched down again, ready to catch.
"Whoosh!"
The white baseball quickly flew out.
Furuya's stamina was depleting rapidly, not only making it impossible for him to continue throwing those terrifying fastballs but also reluctant to throw too many change-ups, which were not as demanding on his stamina.
Already having two strikes against the batter, he seemed eager to finish Harada cleanly with just this one pitch.
"Ping!"
But this time, Furuya did not succeed.
The white baseball was struck, soaring over Miyuki's head and the head of the umpire behind him, landing beyond them.
"Foul ball!"
The umpire subconsciously swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry as a desert.
Whether it was the Seido High School baseball team's players or the prodigies from the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team, truth be told, none of these kids gave him any peace of mind.
Every time he watched them compete, the field umpire had a jolting feeling.
Those die-hard supporters of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team in the stands were gesticulating excitedly.
When their batter was cornered in the first two pitches, these die-hard supporters of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team felt immense pressure as well.
They had a nagging, ominous feeling.
Would Harada, one of West Tokyo's Big Three Sluggers, hit a snag at this crucial moment?
Just thinking about this possibility gave the players and supporters of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team an unsettling feeling, like swallowing grass.
The more they dwelled on it, the more it agitated them!
Then came the third time when Harada hit the ball foul.
It was as if they had won the lottery from heaven.
Originally, they thought Harada wouldn't be able to figure out Furuya. Now, it seems they were worrying unnecessarily!
Although they were not entirely sure whether Harada had completely deciphered Furuya's pitches or not, there was one thing that the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team's players and supporters were absolutely certain of.
That was enough for them to believe that Harada, whom they held in high regard, had figured out a way to deal with Furuya's pitching at that moment.
"Go for it, Harada!"
"It's up to you, Captain!"
Whether in the dugout or in the stands, all the supporters of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team showered Harada with immense support.
This was the treatment reserved for the core members of the team.
In fact, Harada had indeed noticed some clues at that point.
Although he wasn't 100% certain, he felt like he'd identified the trick in Furuya's pitches. "It seems to be an issue of pitching rhythm! Though his arm swings fast, the ball comes slightly slower. It's not much, just a fraction of a second, but it's enough to disrupt the batter's swing timing..."
Harada wasn't sure how Furuya managed this, but it didn't matter. As an excellent batter, he didn't need to understand every detail.
He just needed to grasp the intricacy of the pitch and send the ball flying.
"Swing just a tiny bit later, just a touch, and then swing with full force to blast the ball…"
Harada appeared to have made up his mind, lowering his center of gravity.
Harada's evident change did not escape Miyuki's keen eyes.
Squatting in the catcher position, Miyuki narrowed his eyes.
"As expected of Harada-senpai, he's sensed it already?"
Thinking this, Miyuki discreetly signaled to Furuya on the mound.
"Let's start with a ball..."
However, before Miyuki could finish setting up, Furuya had already poised himself and thrown the ball.
"Whoosh!"
Seeing this, Miyuki's eyes were filled with intense anger.
"Too reckless!"
Did he think he could completely immerse himself in his pitching rhythm just because he was confident in it?
This was almost a common fault among strong pitchers.
But it was forgivable in ordinary times; now it was the crucial inning that could decide the game.
A single mistake from Furuya could have catastrophic consequences.
Just as Miyuki felt things were going wrong, Harada swung, his momentum overwhelming.
"Boom!"
The sound of the bat cutting through the air was sharper than ever.
Miyuki's mind went blank.
But soon, the experienced catcher regained his clarity.
"Pop!"
"Strike!!"
"Strikeout!!"
Harada's confident swing didn't even make contact with the ball.
On the massive electronic scoreboard, an astonishing number was displayed.
99!!!
99 kilometers per hour!
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