He placed his hopes on the first-year battery.
In the past, Coach Kataoka would never have done this. But now he was forced into a corner. Furthermore, this first-year battery had been performing exceptionally well recently. Letting players who were in better form play was something Coach Kataoka had always insisted on.
From his perspective, this was also the team's dilemma caused by not having an Ace. If the team had a fixed Ace, it definitely wouldn't be so troublesome.
It was like before, because of Hidezawa's presence, there was no need to overthink any critical situation. They could just send Hidezawa to the mound. That was already their greatest effort. If they succeeded, great. If not, it meant their strength could only go so far.
It was like playing poker. I've played my strongest card. If you can't beat me, then I win. If my strongest card is still smaller than yours, then there's nothing more to say.
And the situation Seido was now facing was holding a hand of cards with no big cards. Only the number of cards was different.
Whether it worked or not, they could only try to push with the most cards. Of course, when pushing, they also needed to consider the face value.
For example, holding four Jacks and six Eights. You play first, and you can only play one suit. Then you have to make a choice. The cards were certainly not equal in value, but as long as they were used correctly, winning wasn't impossible.
Coach Kataoka felt this way now. He no longer had big cards in his hand, meaning he didn't have a truly reliable Ace. In this situation, he could only choose one of his suits and see if it could hit the opponent's weak spot.
And now, Kawakami was the card he had his eye on.
In the top of the fourth inning, Inashiro was on offense.
The first to step into the batter's box was their fifth batter, Narumiya Mei, who had already caused a lot of trouble for Seido.
Before stepping onto the field, this guy had no idea what modesty was. He had been greeting his teammates around him with characteristic enthusiasm.
"Watch closely how I hit. After three innings, we've only gotten four decent effective hits. Is this reasonable?"
The Inashiro players all had suppressed anger on their faces. If the law didn't intervene, they would all want to gang up on him. They had seen arrogant people before, but never anyone quite like this. At least they were teammates. Couldn't he be a little more considerate?
Apparently, Narumiya Mei was not that kind of person. He stepped smugly into the batter's box.
"Such a scrawny pitcher. Be careful he doesn't get crushed by our hitting. He won't cry, will he?"
He talked nonsense at Miyuki without a care.
Miyuki couldn't be bothered, but he couldn't let it go entirely either.
"You don't seem to be that big either."
Narumiya Mei was instantly struck silent.
He looked at Miyuki furiously, his eyes practically eating him alive.
Miyuki flashed a brilliant smile.
"Let's begin. No more provoking each other. Otherwise, I'll send you both off the field."
The Referee had had enough. This was a high school game, not an elementary school fight. How could the key players of the top two teams act like children?
What this Referee didn't know was that when these two met and exchanged words like this, it was already considered polite. And their goal wasn't to actually argue. It was to disrupt the opponent's state of mind.
Miyuki was not affected at all. Narumiya Mei, on the other hand, gripped his bat even harder.
Perfect. The opponent's personality was so straightforward that it barely took any effort.
Next, he would definitely swing hard. A breaking ball would get him out.
Seeing Miyuki's signal, Kawakami nodded slightly and threw the ball smoothly.
Kawakami's condition at this moment was excellent. His control was precise, and although his pitching speed wasn't fast, the ball had power.
Narumiya Mei gritted his teeth and swung with the clear intention of blasting the ball out of the stadium.
He didn't come close. The small white ball found a new angle as it approached the strike zone, sliding inward. The bat and the baseball missed each other cleanly.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Low laughter could be heard in Inashiro's dugout. Nobody was openly mocking Narumiya Mei or making sarcastic remarks. But that didn't stop them from enjoying the show. He had boasted so much, and now he hadn't even touched the ball.
Narumiya Mei felt it too. He subconsciously shortened his grip on the bat, but Miyuki's words lingered in his ears like a curse. That comment was clearly calling him short. That was beyond endurance. If he let that go, how could he ever show his face again?
He tightened his grip with both hands, clearly intent on getting a long hit. A home run, even.
Miyuki watched every bit of it.
He nodded inwardly and signaled for another breaking ball.
Narumiya Mei swung and missed twice more, struck out cleanly.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Back in the dugout, the Inashiro players didn't outright mock him, but the glances of barely concealed amusement were impossible to miss.
Narumiya Mei sat vexed on the bench, a towel pulled over his head. His hands were trembling slightly.
In the upcoming innings, he would use his actions to retaliate against the humiliation Seido had brought upon him. Especially Miyuki. He would make Miyuki see clearly that he was not small at all.
Narumiya Mei was quietly competing with himself on the bench, but his earlier words to the team had still left some effect.
Yamaoka Riku, the sixth batter, didn't hit the center of the ball but stubbornly swept it out anyway. Immediately after, Hirai, the seventh batter, got a clean hit.
The situation became one out, with runners on First Base and Third Base.
In the stands, the media reporters clicked their tongues.
They had originally expected an evenly matched confrontation. That now seemed very difficult to achieve. The gap between the two teams was greater than they had imagined. Inashiro's toughness was simply unexpected. Even their lower-order batters were continuously getting hits.
Among Inashiro's nine hitters, there was not a single easy out.
From a pitcher's standpoint, facing such a lineup was undoubtedly very troublesome. Every moment required full effort. A little carelessness, and a hit would follow. Maybe even a run.
In that situation, the pressure on the pitcher was immense. Mental pressure, pitching pressure, physical pressure. All of it combined, the pitcher's stamina would drain like a bottle of water poured upside down.
Could he hold on? Even if he could, even if he performed well with no pitching mistakes, the ball would still be hit. Hits that shouldn't be given up would still be given up.
Would the pitcher feel powerless?
When all these things came together, it was hard to see what hope Seido still had.
"In this situation, the possibility of Seido turning the tide is not high."
Even Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, made that judgment.
From that alone, the urgency of Seido's situation was plain to see.
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