Chương 722: Chapter 16: From The Stands
Furuya Satoru successfully got the third Out and finally managed to hold the defense for this inning.
As he returned to the dugout, he anxiously watched Coach Kataoka, waiting for his decision.
Furuya's performance was neither outstanding nor poor. It was possible to trust him and let him continue pitching, but it was also reasonable to replace him, citing the two runs scored against him.
The key was Coach Kataoka's perspective.
Coach Kataoka's cold gaze lingered on Furuya for several seconds, perhaps even tens of seconds.
Just as Furuya began to feel increasingly anxious, Coach Kataoka finally nodded. "For the remaining innings, I'll leave it to you."
In that moment, Furuya felt as though the world around him had been illuminated.
"Yes!" He responded with rare enthusiasm.
The game continued, and it was Seidou's turn to bat.
The first batter was Toujou.
"Toujou!"
"It's all up to you!!!"
The dugout erupted in cheers.
Toujou was a skilled, popular, and humble player. He was one of the most friends in the team followed by Sawamura and Kariba.
Seeing him take the field, many players showed their support.
Toujou gave a slight nod to acknowledge their encouragement and stepped up to the Batter's Box.
His eyes were fixed intently on the pitcher's mound.
The game had reached the fifth inning.
The score was 2-1, with Seidou High School trailing.
The opposing pitcher, known for his low course breaking balls, had been throwing many pitches, suggesting he might be getting tired by now. Toujou was confident that now was the time to capitalize on this.
'It's time to show results!!'
Since joining the main lineup, Toujou's performance has been decent but not particularly remarkable. He was not irreplaceable in this position.
To prove his worth, he needed to perform better.
He raised his bat and slightly adjusted his stance.
'Wakabayashi Gao wasn't particularly strong but was known for his smart pitching.'
'Smart pitching could be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Smart pitchers would never throw the ball in a batter's favorite spot.'
'Then what are you going to throw at me?'
Toujou looked at his opponent with keen focus.
And his opponent delivered the pitch.
Whoosh!
'A breaking ball on the inner corner.'
Based on Toujou's batting statistics, he hadn't swung at this pitch before.
Toujou's heart raced.
'Good!'
The pitcher might have miscalculated something. Toujou hadn't swung at pitches in this spot before because he was waiting for a better one, but that didn't mean he couldn't hit such a pitch.
With resolute determination, he opted to take a swing at the ball.
Toujou adjusted his swing direction and connected with the ball beautifully.
Ping!
The white ball was hit cleanly and flew far.
The ball found its way into the defensive gap, allowing Toujou to capitalize on the chance and secure second base swiftly.
"Toujou!!!!"
The Seidou team's dugout burst into a frenzy of excitement. It was a moment of sheer thrill.
Following Sawamura's home run, Toujou stepped up and secured a hit for Seidou.
Their performance was nothing short of remarkable.
"Fantastic!"
Coach Ochiai accidentally pinched his own beard hard in surprise.
On the mound, Wakabayashi's face turned grim.
"Damn, that pitch wasn't easy to hit."
'A breaking ball in that position was likely to be a ball, and based on Seidou's previous behavior, they wouldn't swing at such pitches.'
'But swing he did, and he made contact.'
Wakabayashi glanced at Toujou, realizing that it wasn't the time to dwell on past mistakes. He needed to be cautious in their next encounter.
'The priority now was to contain Seidou's continuous offense.'
Next up was Kanemaru.
He assumed a bunt stance, clearly indicating that he intended to advance Toujou.
Ouya High School's players did not resist and tacitly accepted Seidou's strategy.
Ping!
Kanemaru's bunt landed perfectly toward the third baseman, who fielded it and threw it to first base.
Toujou, who had started running early, reached third base.
"Out!"
One out, runner on third base. Seidou's scoring opportunities were growing.
Toujou gave Kanemaru a thumbs-up. "Nice job!"
Performing well in crucial moments was what mattered.
Kanemaru also breathed a sigh of relief.
'It worked!'
He still can't help but get nervous when he is asked to bunt. Fortunately, he succeeded.
At this moment, it was Furuya's turn to bat.
He was positioned at the bottom of the lineup to focus solely on pitching without distractions.
Ping!
Furuya's hit was high but not very far.
It was a typical slow ball to the outfield.
From third base, Toujou watched the ball's trajectory, eager to act.
'About fifty meters!'
This distance was risky for a stolen base, but the third base coach and Toujou saw the opportunity.
''It is possible!''
Looking at the sign from the dugout, it appears that the Coach didn't disagree.
So sneakily, Toujou returned to the third base, and the third base coach was watching the third baseman and the outfielder.
'The opponent's fielder likely thought it was an easy Out.'
Mimura Ryouta —the third baseman coach— thought so, and seeing the outfielder stop the moment he caught the ball made him sure of this.
"GO!" The moment the ball was caught he gave the signal to Toujou who was in a running-ready stance!
Not wasting any time, Toujou burst forward like a sports car, covering the distance quickly.
Ouya's outfielder hadn't anticipated Toujou would attempt to steal such a short distance. By the time he reacted, Toujou had already gained seven or eight meters.
"THROW IT QUICKLY!!!"
The catcher's voice, now strained and hoarse with tension, filled the air.
"No way!"
The fielder, initially stunned, eventually threw the ball.
Snap!
By the time the catcher caught the ball and prepared to tag Toujou, he had already slid in.
He fell onto the plate like a sly fish.
"SAFE!!"
"WHOAAAA!!!!!!!!"
The crowd erupted.
After Seidou was initially trailing, Toujou's decisive move tied the game.
At this moment, Toujou's status at Seidou High had changed; he was no longer expendable.
He had become one of Seidou's key players, alongside Sawamura, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Kominato, and Shiratsu.
He had become an absolute main force.
The score was now 2-2.
The game had returned to square one.
"OUT!"
Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged.
The game moved to the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, facing Ouya's lower-line batters, Furuya showcased his prowess and easily secured three outs.
In Ouya's dugout, Coach Araki's expression was somber. Watching Furuya's impressive pitching velocity on the field made Araki anxious.
"I didn't expect this pitcher's willpower to be so strong."
Araki had initially thought Furuya was just a backup pitcher for Seidou.
'Although he had excellent pitching talent, he seemed immature in all aspects—both skill-wise and mentally.'
'Such immaturity typically meant that a pitcher would reveal weaknesses if pressured. Previous experiences had confirmed this.'
'But now, it seemed things were entirely different. Despite some flaws in the pitcher's skills, his mental state was solid. Combined with the catcher's support, they were performing better than expected.'
"This is quite troublesome!" Araki realized. Finding an opportunity to overcome Furuya wasn't going to be as easy as they thought.
While Araki pondered how to defeat Sawamura thoroughly, Seidou launched a fierce offensive.
The attack surprisingly didn't begin in the field but from the stands. In the front row of the second string, Watanabe was seated scrutinizing every movement of Ouya's pitcher.
Kuramochi, who was about to bat, suddenly looked up and met Watanabe's gaze.
Watanabe nodded at him.
Initially, without data on the side throw, Kuramochi was unsure if the tactics they had planned would work. Now, however, Watanabe had confirmed their approach.
Kuramochi nodded back, took his bat, and stepped into the Batter's Box.
To Ouya's players and other spectators, this action seemed routine. However, for Seidou players, it had a different significance.
This level of detailed strategy was new to them. Their previous strategies had been much less refined.
Now, it was time to see if their meticulously researched tactics would work.
Kuramochi, stepping into the Batter's Box, did not bunt as he had before. Instead, he raised his bat high.
Wakabayashi could not afford to be careless against Seidou's attack. He pitched the first ball cautiously, a straight ball on the outside corner.
"Go for it!"
"Focus on the batter."
The fielders adjusted their positions boldly, supporting their Ace pitcher.
Kuramochi's eyes lit up.
Whoosh!
As the ball flew, Kuramochi stepped forward and hit it hard.
Ping!
The ball didn't travel far but landed at a tricky angle.
"Hyaa-ha-haa!"
Kuramochi laughed and sprinted to first base.
No Outs, runner on first base.
Wakabayashi gritted his teeth, feeling frustrated. At the moment, he thought Kuramochi was just lucky to hit the ball to that position.
"Letting the most troublesome guy get on base!"
Once Kuramochi was on base, his impact was undeniable.
'What's next?' Wakabayashi wondered about Seidou's strategy.
'Was it a lucky hit or just another ploy?'
Despite his internal doubts, they didn't affect his pitching too much. His strategy needed to adjust for the upcoming batters: Sawamura and Miyuki.
'I needed to pitch carefully and secure an Out.'
If he could get an Out now and then deal with Sawamura and Miyuki, his options would be more flexible.
'If necessary, I could Walk both to load the bases and face the fifth batter, who was less formidable compared to the top ones.'
Wakabayashi has contemplated his options while pitching the ball.
Whoosh!
The ball, like a streak of white light, flew to the outer corner.
Haruichi stepped up, aimed the bat, and hit the ball cleanly.
Paak!
After Haruichi's hit, he reached first base, and Kuramochi advanced to second.
No Outs, runners on first and second!
The situation began spiraling out of control.
On the mound, Wakabayashi, usually calm, was now visibly flustered.
'What was happening?' He couldn't understand why his pitches seemed so easily anticipated.
Of course, this was just a suspicion without concrete proof. But it was clear the opposing batters were hitting his pitches effectively.
"Time!"
Noticing the pitcher's distress, Ouya's catcher quickly called a timeout. The infielders gathered around the mound.
"The next batters are Sawamura and Miyuki, with runners on first and second. The situation is escalating too quickly!"
Wakabayashi shook his head in frustration.
"Do you want me to give you a math problem?"
"Okay!"
"How much is 13548×567?"
"7,681,716!" (T/N: I wish I had this superpower!)
"Fast!"
"As expected of Goa-chan!"
The boys praised Watanabe, maintaining a lighthearted atmosphere despite the crisis.
"The orders!"
At this critical moment, the messenger came through, and Coach Araki had to take action.
"Are you sure about this?" the messenger asked what the coach wanted to ask.
"No Outs yet," someone replied. "Even with this plan, dealing with future batters won't be easy."
"But our chances of winning will improve!"
They discussed the strategy in a relaxed tone and then returned to their positions.
Now it was Sawamura's turn to bat.
"BALL!"
"BALL!"
"BALL!"
"BALL!"
"Four Ball Walk!!"
"They Walked him?!"
With no Outs, the opponent chose to Walk Sawamura.
"Wow!"
"Such guts!!!"
"What guts? This is clearly avoiding him."
"The next batter is Miyuki; this is already quite a strategic move."
...
T/N: That's it for now.
Thank you all for reading!
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