Chapter 105: The Will to Win

The game of Sakurazawa against Inashiro.

Before the game started, the cheering for Inashiro and Narumiya was a lot.

The other side of the field, Sakurazawa's rest area is like an abandoned corner of the world.

Everyone's eyes were on the opposite side, and no one cared about them.

Not to mention their opponents, even they themselves are very clear about their place.

"What a horrible atmosphere!"

"Everyone present don't think we would win."

"To be honest, it would be great to play against them ten times and win once!"

"Idiot, don't say such unlucky words before the game."

Even Sakurazawa's players themselves seemed to have little confidence.

Sakurazawa's Coach looked back at his players lightly and said calmly.

"Aren't we working hard until now just to win that one time?"

Looking at the confident expression of their Coach, all the players stopped talking.

This person is called Kikukawa Sanae.

It is not accurate to say that he is the coach of the team. His real accurate position should be the leading teacher of the Sakurazawa High School baseball team.

"Now, it's time to change history!"

Although he was old, Kikukawa's spirit was not weak at all.

"The second game of the semi-finals of the West Tokyo Qualifiers, the match between Inashiro Industrial High School and Sakurazawa High School has officially begun!"

The players from both sides, after forming the team, rushed to the field, ready to compete!

In the stands.

"Why have I never heard of Sakurazawa's team?"

Isashiki pouted in dissatisfaction.

He was telling the truth, there was absolutely no such name in the strong schools in West Tokyo before.

"I haven't heard of them either."

"Of course, you haven't heard of them. Because every year, they are eliminated in the first round."

"But what if they are in the third round, doesn't that mean they beat a seeded team?"

"It's weird!"

Not all the players of Seidou High School are muscular men who are dedicated to swinging their bats.

Some of them, more or less, have heard some news about Sakurazawa.

However, in large-scale events, they were defeated in the first round, which is ordinary for such teams.

In theory, every summer tournament, half of the teams in the country stop there.

Nevertheless, for 20 consecutive years, being defeated in the first round every year is not so simple.

Sakurazawa is famous for this.

As if the purpose of their participation in the summer tournament is to be defeated in the first round.

Perhaps this is not a shameful thing for them, after all, Sakurazawa is not a strong sports school.

Sakurazawa is a well-known high school for further studies, it is the kind of high school that specializes in preparing students for university and college entrance exams.

If it is comparing the rate of college admission, Sakurazawa is definitely much better than Inashiro, and it can even be said that it can beat Inashiro totally in this.

But when it comes to baseball.

Inashiro Industrial and Sakurazawa are not at the same level at all.

The level of the two is too different, just like the ordinary High School basketball team and an NBA team.

It is not at the same level at all, and there is no comparability.

"It's probably a miracle that Sakurazawa can reach the semi-finals of West Tokyo."

The Seidou players who knew the name of Sakurazawa said so.

Sawamura himself disagreed with this statement.

"This is not a beginner area, but one of the top fierce battle zones in the country, West Tokyo! There is absolutely no weak team that can reach the top four in this competition."

They are all strong.

And have their own means and tactics.

Just like Sensen before, if the opponent is not Seidou High School, a normal team will have a really difficult time dealing with them.

Not to mention Sakurazawa, who can reach the semi-finals as a dark horse, how can anyone underestimate Sakurazawa?

Although Sakurazawa is an almost unknown school in terms of sports, it is one of the top high schools in Tokyo.

Such a reality is doomed. Those who can come to Sakurazawa to study in high school are not too interested in baseball or other sports.

When Kikukawa was appointed as the advisor of the team, he was very motivated. (Every club in High School has a teacher as an advisor.)

He changed into his uniform on the first day and was ready to go to the training ground to watch the players practice.

Unexpectedly, he and the players who finished training happened to be on the opposite side.

"Is training over? I just finished changing my clothes…"

Seeing Kikukawa earnestly, the players of Sakurazawa High School were surprised.

Obviously, they did not expect that their supervising teacher would be so serious and responsible.

"Well, everyone has to study today…"

"Sensei, did you become a club advisor because you were pushed onto it by other teachers? You don't need to force yourself to watch our practice. We just want to use our spare time to exercise our body."

"We will go back first~"

For 20 consecutive years, they were eliminated in the first round of the competition.

In Sakurazawa High School, no one was ashamed of this record, and even regarded participating in the competition as a service.

Until they showed up!

After school, there are still training figures on the field.

This incident deeply affected Kikukawa.

It turns out that not everyone doesn't care.

At that time, he felt that his dead heart had come back to life again.

The three people who brought him change were pitcher Akira Nagao, catcher Hidokoro Yoshimi, and Batter Masaaki Inamoto.

As far as the talent of the three of them is concerned, they are definitely not that kind of talented players, and when they are young players, they are just those kinds of substitutes.

The three of them did not play at all the entire middle school.

Inamoto is better, he is a half regular and half substitute and can play occasionally.

When we met on the first day, the three were practicing baseball and bickering constantly.

"It's so late, why don't you go back?"

Kikukawa Sanae, looking at them strangely, asked.

He didn't even pay attention to how nervous his tone was at the time.

"When I think about being able to play, I feel so excited."

Akira Nagao, who can only serve as a substitute throughout middle school, has a crazy obsession with being able to play.

"The number of our team is just right, so we, as the first year, can play immediately!"

The Catcher, Hidokoro Yoshimi, said what he thought.

"They have always been substitute players in their junior high school days. They will be excited when they finally get the chance to play."

Inamoto unceremoniously exposes his friend's bottom line.

"Shut up, you're barely a regular."

Not only the enthusiasm for training but also the kind of friendship between friends is also very touching.

At that time, Akira Nagao proposed that he had a kind of ball and wanted to try it.

"Head coach, if…"

"Although the probability is considered to be almost 0%, if we can get into Koshien, wouldn't it be an amazing thing? Don't you think it can change our school's reputation?"

These words are forever imprinted in Kikukawa's heart.

"Koshien, you have such a dream, I already know it. But if it is like this, it is just a dream. If you want to get more, you must put in more effort."

Since then, the entire Sakurazawa High School has changed.

This team, after a year, won their first game!

Although winning that practice game was not very flashy, this victory changed the team's mind.

Winning is always a joy.

Also from that time, Kikukawa became motivated.

He knows very well that the whole team is centered on long-lasting defense.

To win, they have to hone their team on that foundation.

First of all, of course, the first point is to strengthen the defense, and then the attack.

He took the problems that each player had to overcome in a notebook and handed it over to everyone. Whenever there is something that matters to you, even when you are practicing, you will write it down in your notebook.

Nerds have nerd ways.

From a game to daily questions, and balls. As the number of notebooks increased, so did the number of victories in practice matches.

This year, Sakurazawa High School's efforts have finally come to fruition.

They made it all the way here to compete with the king of West Tokyo, Inashiro Industrial.

…