章 67: [67] The Misfortunate Shuuhoku High School
Chapter 67: The Misfortunate Shuuhoku High School
As Eijun and Furuya followed Miyuki to the indoor training facility to repeatedly practice their individual areas of focus, the three-school practice tournament officially began on the field.
The practice matches were set in the following order: Seidou High School faced Shuuhoku High School first, followed by Inashiro Industrial against Shuuhoku High School, and finally Seidou High School against Inashiro Industrial. Each team played two matches through these alternating matchups.
In a strict sense, neither Seidou High nor Inashiro Industrial regarded today's practice matches as being particularly critical.
For both Coach Kataoka and Coach Kunitomo, with the summer tournament fast approaching, they were cautious about revealing too much about their teams in these preparatory matches against a strong rival like Inashiro.
In contrast to the events portrayed in the original story where Narumiya Mei planned to use his intimidating change-up pitch to scare Seidou, his coach had actually forbidden such actions as inappropriate.
Nonetheless, Narumiya, still showing some immaturity in his character, occasionally acted on his own whims.
Narumiya's impetuousness aside, the essence of a game-winning pitch is its capability to secure outs even when the batters are aware of it.
Narumiya's change-up was just such a pitch, with only two people in the original story managing to hit it once: Isashiki Jun and the team captain.
In reality, only the captain managed to turn the game around with his hit.
This level of mastery over his breaking pitches underscored why Narumiya was regarded as having the "Golden Left Arm" and being Kanto's top left-handed pitcher.
Before the matches began, both coaches tacitly agreed to field their main lineups against Shuuhoku High but opted for substitute players when playing against each other, avoiding revealing their strategies to each other before upcoming critical matches.
This arrangement was particularly unfortunate for Shuuhoku High School.
They approached these matches with confidence, having performed well in recent games against other schools.
Receiving an invitation to compete against powerhouse teams like Seidou and Inashiro was not only an exciting prospect but also one they met with great self-assurance.
They believed they had the strength to challenge these teams. Their aspiration for the year was to topple teams like Kasuga and Teito High and make it to the prestigious national stage.
However, upon arriving at Seidou, they were harshly reminded of the stark difference in skill level between themselves and the top-tier teams. Within the first three minutes of the opening game, Shuuhoku High's players began to question their capabilities.
"Whoosh"
"Crack!!!!"
Yet another powerful hit.
"Whoosh"
A brilliant white light streaked through the sky.
"Bang"
It slammed into the left field fence with a loud thud.
"Nice hit, Kominato."
"Ryo-san, your brother is really something."
"Haha, he's still got a long way to go," Ryousuke Kominato replied with a smile, standing with his arms crossed in the dugout.
"That was an impressive performance."
"Two more runs, making it the seventh run already."
As Haruichi Kominato rounded first base and stepped on second, he couldn't help but blush slightly at the cheers and support from the crowd.
While Seidou High's dugout exuded a relaxed atmosphere, the scene was quite different for Shuuhoku High School.
They were in a state of bewilderment, having already given up seven runs by the third inning alone, managing only a single hit in return.
Was the gap in skill really so vast?
The players of Shuuhoku began to question themselves internally. Even their coach had a grim expression on his face. In every aspect—batting speed, infield coordination, base running, sliding, strength, and offensive structure—Seidou was overwhelming them like a force of nature.
Shuuhoku was completely overwhelmed, unable to mount any defense.
It felt like an exhibition match where Seidou showcased their superiority in every aspect over Shuuhoku.
By the latter half of the game, Coach Kataoka even substituted in a large number of reserve players to give them some warm-up time, yet they continued to dominate Shuuhoku High School.
Under such circumstances, even Seidou's second-string team could likely win against them.
By the time the ninth inning ended, it felt like Shuuhoku's players were in a waking nightmare, with the final score at 19-0—a score they could hardly believe.
If it had been a formal regional match, the game could have been declared over by the fifth inning under the mercy rule. It was a painful realization.
If Seidou High School's performance was a brutal wake-up call for Shuuhoku, then Inashiro Industrial' performance was the final straw.
Following their defeat against Seidou, Shuuhoku faced Inashiro next. Both Seidou and Inashiro seemed like they were using Shuuhoku as a means to show off to each other.
In the second match, Inashiro also fielded their main lineup, thoroughly overpowering Shuuhoku. In just five innings, they managed to score in double digits, completely dashing Shuuhoku's remaining hopes, leaving them powerless to respond.
Shuuhoku High truly came to realize how laughable their previous aspirations were. If Seidou and Inashiro were this formidable, then Teito High, another team of equal stature, must also be immensely strong. Even against Kasuga, a second-tier opponent, Shuuhoku felt they might not stand a chance.
These two practice matches caused the players of Shuuhoku to seriously doubt themselves and question the point of their arduous training over the past three years. Their pale expressions spoke volumes about their internal turmoil.
Meanwhile, Narumiya Mei, the "prince" eager to intimidate Seidou, couldn't resist the urge to demonstrate his change-up pitch, his signature pitch, while dominating the Shuuhoku lineup. Filled with a reckless determination, he threw the pitch with the intention of asserting his power.
However, his plan backfired. Instead of intimidating Seidou, his actions only fueled their fighting spirit even more.
The fierce expressions of the "Cheetah" and the "Silky Terrier," the mysterious blue flames of determination behind their captain, and the seemingly benign yet ominous words spoken by Ryousuke all hinted at how Narumiya's bravado had the opposite effect.
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