章 123: <123> The Power of the Batting Lineup
Chapter 123: The Power of the Batting Lineup
"Sendo! What kind of team are we up against today?" Sawamura asked as they headed to their practice match.
"Not sure. All I know is they're not a weak team," Sendo replied lazily, stretching with boredom.
"Ohhh!" Sawamura exclaimed, watching Sendo yawn.
"Did you even sleep last night?" Sawamura shouted, exasperated.
Sendo ignored him, and before long, they arrived at their destination: the gates of Fukasawa Junior High School, their opponent for the day.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the coaches exchanged lineup cards.
However, since neither team had prior scouting information, the lineup cards held little meaning.
Both teams proceeded with their warm-ups.
Akagi's Batting Order for the Day:
1. Leadoff - Shortstop: Ohno
2. Second - Right Fielder: Aoki
3. Third - Second Baseman: Kondou
4. Cleanup - Catcher: Sendo
5. Fifth - Pitcher: Sawamura
6. Sixth - Center Fielder: Omura
7. Seventh - Third Baseman: Oyama
8. Eighth - First Baseman: Takada
9. Ninth - Left Fielder: Shin
The lineup was straightforward. Ohno, the leadoff hitter, was selected for his batting skills and speed.
Aoki, the second batter, was a skilled contact hitter, ideal for advancing runners.
Kondou, the third batter, was the strongest hitter aside from Sendo.
Sendo, as the cleanup hitter, was there to drive runs home.
Sawamura's role as the fifth batter was to lay down bunts to advance Sendo.
Omura, batting sixth, was a strong hitter, just behind Sendo and Kondou in power.
The rest of the lineup focused on advancing runners with precision and technique.
This lineup was still experimental.
Sendo wasn't entirely sure about Omura's spot and wanted to observe his performance during the game.
...
The game began with Fukasawa batting first.
"It's been a while since we formed a pitcher-catcher battery," Sawamura remarked as the game was about to start.
"Don't hold back. Just pitch with everything you've got, aiming for my glove!" Sendo said, patting Sawamura on the shoulder.
Sawamura watched Sendo jog onto the field, a strange expression on his face.
Moments later, he joined his teammates on the field.
"Let the practice game between Akagi Junior High and Fukasawa Junior High begin! Bow!" the umpire announced.
"Please take care of us!" both teams said in unison, bowing respectfully.
After that, Wakana returned to the bench.
Despite Sendo being on the field, she was still listed as a substitute due to a lack of players.
After a few warm-up pitches from Sawamura, the game officially began.
This was Sawamura's first time pitching at full strength since teaming up with Sendo during last year's practice game against Sakura Girls' University.
He raised his arms, straightened his legs, lifted one knee, took a step, swung his arm, and released the ball!
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Nice pitch, Ei-chan!" came an immediate cheer from behind him.
"Not bad! Your arm motion is solid, and the ball speed… nearly 130 km/h!" Sendo exclaimed with satisfaction.
Softball pitches tend to be faster than baseball.
Sawamura's fastball, combined with its unique movement, caught Fukasawa's leadoff hitter completely off guard.
Even the players on their bench were shocked by Sawamura's velocity.
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
The result?
A string of swing-and-misses and two consecutive strikeouts.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Sawamura cheered, celebrating on the spot.
He himself was surprised by his performance.
For over a year, his training had been focused on running, balance drills, and explosive strength exercises.
He hadn't had a chance to fully test his abilities until now.
"This feeling… I can't stop!" Sawamura thought, fired up.
...
Against the third batter, the first pitch also resulted in a swing-and-miss.
Although the opposing team tried adjusting by stepping forward in an attempt to hit the ball before it moved, they couldn't keep up with Sawamura's speed.
Realizing this, the batter stepped back slightly for the next pitch.
"Pinh!"
The batter managed to hit a high fly ball toward second base.
"Pop!"
Kondou caught it easily.
"Three outs! Switch sides!" the umpire called.
"Yes! Three up, three down!"
Sawamura retired the top of Fukasawa's lineup with just eight pitches.
"Nice pitching!" his teammates praised him.
"Is it really that good?" Sawamura asked shyly, scratching his head with his left hand.
"Alright, it's our turn to bat now. Ohno! Watch the ball carefully!" Sendo said.
"Got it! Leave it to me!"
After some quick preparations, the bottom half of the first inning began.
With no prior information on each other, the game would be a test of raw skill and adaptability.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"An outside pitch to start, huh? This speed isn't bad—it's almost as fast as Eijun's pitches. The control isn't great, though… or was that just luck?" Ohno thought, analyzing the first pitch.
As the opposing pitcher prepared for the next throw, Ono refocused.
Once again, he was reminded how difficult it was to be the leadoff hitter.
For years, their team had played games with little to no scouting, making his role as the first batter especially tough.
But this experience had also honed his ability to fight through at-bats, even more so than the technically skilled Aoki.
For the second pitch, Ono suddenly squared to bunt at the last moment.
"Pop!"
But when the pitcher intentionally threw outside, Ohno pulled the bat back.
"Ball!"
"Their team is this annoying?" Fukasawa's catcher muttered, frustrated by Akagi's tactics to disrupt their rhythm.
As a team that wasn't particularly strong or weak, Fukasawa was used to straightforward games where teams relied on power hitting.
This kind of strategic play was unfamiliar and left them unprepared.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
The same tactic resulted in the same outcome, leaving Fukasawa's players visibly flustered.
"Let him hit it! Focus on the batter!"
Fukasawa's fielders began shouting words of encouragement to their pitcher, trying to settle him down.
"They're right. Let's pitch aggressively. Even if they try to bunt, we'll stop them at first base," the catcher thought as he signaled the next pitch.
The pitcher nodded deeply.
"Looks like he's going to throw with full force this time," Ohno thought, observing the pitcher's nod toward home plate and his intense gaze.
Fourth pitch:
"Ping" An inside fastball was struck.
"What?!" the catcher exclaimed in shock. The technique Ohno used might seem simple, but it was rarely executed with such precision at the junior high level.
"Darn it, I didn't hit it well," Ohno muttered as he ran.
Even though it wasn't a clean hit, the ball still landed safely, allowing the quick-footed Ohno to get on base.
"Yes! Our first hit!" the Akagi team cheered excitedly.
"Heh," Sendo chuckled lightly.
"Keep it going, Aoki!" Sendo encouraged the next batter.
"That hot-blooded Ohno didn't hit it cleanly! What kind of pitch was that? Guess I'll have to test it out," Aoki thought, all while teasing Ohno in his mind for being reckless.
"Don't worry about it!" Fukasawa's players called out to support their pitcher.
The next second, Aoki squared up to bunt.
"What an annoying team!" the catcher grumbled internally.
But the game continued, and there was no choice but to deal with it.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
Aoki squared up to bunt again.
"As expected, these guys don't swing at bad pitches. They just pull back when it's not in the zone," the Fukasawa battery analyzed after deliberately throwing a ball to test Aoki's intentions.
"If that's the case, let's let them bunt!"
As the ball flew toward the plate, Aoki pulled back his bat and swung.
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
Aoki intentionally hit a foul ball, using it to gather more information about the opposing pitcher.
"Good pitch movement," Aoki concluded. He squared up to bunt again, giving Ohno a knowing glance.
After years of playing together, Ohno understood the signal.
He extended his lead off first base dramatically, stepping more than five meters away from the bag.
"Are they really going to bunt this time?" The Fukasawa battery suspected as much.
The catcher signaled for a pickoff throw.
"Nice lead," Aoki thought, satisfied with Ohno's daring lead.
"Pop!"
The pitcher threw over to first, but Ohno easily dove back to the base.
Fukasawa simply wanted to keep Ohno in check and prevent him from extending his lead even further.
Aoki gave Ohno another signal with a subtle glance.
Ono nodded reluctantly.
"Whoosh!"
As the pitcher began his motion, Ohno suddenly bolted for second base.
"Stealing!" the catcher shouted in excitement.
But just as quickly, Ohno stopped and returned to first base—a fake steal.
"Ball!"
The catcher was speechless.
He had no idea what the batter and runner were planning.
Was the fake steal simply a ploy to get a ball in their favor?
Or was there a deeper strategy at play?
The Akagi duo's precise techniques, tactical coordination, and complete unpredictability left Fukasawa's battery at a loss.
Without any prior information about Akagi, they couldn't decipher their strategy.
"This setup is perfect now," Aoki thought as he squared to bunt again, flashing Ohno another signal.
Ohno extended his lead off first base even further.
"Again?" the catcher thought in frustration.
With two balls already in the count, the Fukasawa battery began to suspect they were trying to load the bases with a walk.
"We have no choice. Let's fight back!" The battery steeled themselves.
...
"Steal!" A first baseman shouted as Ohno made another move.
But before the catcher could react, Aoki pulled back his bunt stance and swung normally.
"Ping!" A sharp hit shot past the infield into left field.
"A hit-and-run? And they pulled it off without any signals?"
"Yes! Back-to-back hits!" the Akagi bench erupted in cheers.
Thanks to his aggressive lead, Ohno advanced to third base easily, while Aoki stopped at first due to the ball rebounding quickly to the left fielder.
Their seamless coordination, strategic mind games, and perfect execution had set Akagi up with runners on first and third with no outs—a flawless start.
...
Next up was Kondou, Akagi's most reliable hitter after Sendo.
As Kondou stepped into the batter's box, both Ohno and Aoki took large leads off their respective bases, putting immense pressure on the Fukasawa defense.
"Great job, Ohno! Aoki!" Kondou praised their outstanding performance.
"These guys have really gotten stronger," Sendo muttered with admiration from the on-deck circle.
"What kind of team is this?" Fukasawa's catcher thought, signaling for a timeout.
The first two batters had displayed exceptional tactics, skills, and teamwork.
Now facing the heart of Akagi's lineup, the catcher had no choice but to be cautious.
"Are we sure we're not playing against a youth league team?" Fukasawa's ace grumbled as the catcher approached.
"Who knows? But judging by how their first two batters played, their third, fourth, and fifth hitters are definitely dangerous. Forget the runners—focus entirely on the batter. Be prepared to give up a few runs this inning."
"Got it."
"Playing against such a strong team will help us grow, so let's give it our all!" The catcher encouraged his teammates.
...
As Kondou stood in the box, he glanced back at Sendo, who signaled for caution against breaking balls and to focus on fastballs in favorable counts.
"They wouldn't bunt with the third batter, right? Still, better safe than sorry," Fukasawa's pitcher thought.
He made a pickoff attempt at first.
"Pop!"
"Safe!"
Despite Aoki's large lead, he slid back to the bag effortlessly.
Years of training had honed his reaction time.
"It's no use; we'll have to deal with the batter," the catcher admitted, resigning himself to the situation.
Confident in Kondou's ability, Aoki maintained his aggressive five-meter lead.
"Let's settle this!"
"Right!" The pitcher and catcher locked in on their plan to face Kondou head-on.
...
"Steal!" came another shout.
But Aoki wasn't going to make it easy for them.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Safe!"
Aoki stole second with a sudden burst of speed, perfectly timed with the pitch.
Despite the inside fastball, Kondou chose not to swing, having seen Aoki's signal to hold off and avoid risking the play.
"Darn it! Another steal? Their baserunning is incredible!" Fukasawa's catcher muttered in frustration as he watched Aoki dust himself off at second base.
...
The game had barely begun, but Fukasawa was already feeling the pressure. The situation could very well dictate the outcome of the match.
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