Chapter 86: Tears of The Ace

The score on the field has become 2:0! 

Inajitsu High School has extended its lead to two points.

At this moment, almost no one believes that Seihou High School has any hope of a comeback.

It's hard to imagine that, in the next few innings, they could score at least two points off Narumiya Mei.

His performance is so dominant that it sends shivers down one's spine.

Of course, this is just the perspective of onlookers and players from Inajitsu High School.

The players at Seihou High School clearly do not share this sentiment.

In their dugout, the Coach of Seihou was smiling like he got everything under control.

It must be said that their earlier strategy was quite bold.

By employing a non-swing approach and careful ball selection, they have entangled Narumiya Mei, forcing him to throw 86 pitches so far.

It's worth noting that Narumiya has previously overexerted himself in earlier games, so his stamina should be running low.

Reaching 86 pitches is a very dangerous tipping point.

With three innings still remaining, if everyone entangles Narumiya for 4 to 5 more pitches each, the total pitch count could exceed 120.

'There is no way you're a superhuman.'

'An opportunity is sure to come.'

The Coach of Seihou High School firmly believed this. After all, he has seen all kinds of pitchers in his long and successful career. And he knows how to handle those.

Although losing the second run was unexpected, they knew that if they could eventually defeat Narumiya Mei, those two points could be regained in no time.

"Okay guys, it is time to work."

Despite trailing, the Coach of Seihou High School wore a smile.

At that moment, even his nose appeared redder than before.

After Carlos hit a home run, Akashi managed to hold the line, preventing any further points from being scored.

The score remained 2:0 as they entered the seventh inning.

While they could wait until Narumiya, they decided to start attacking early.

Even if Narumiya's stamina collapses at the last moment, a significant score gap could put Seihou High School in danger.

After all, the backup pitcher for Inajitsu High School is no ordinary player.

Nishidera wasn't entirely confident that his players could handle him smoothly.

In this situation, to ensure victory, they needed to take down Narumiya as soon as possible.

At this moment, the players of Seihou High School changed their tactics.

Their batters began with a bunt stance.

Initially, when Seihou High School employed this strategy, no one thought much of it.

Perhaps they had been shut down too many times before and realized they couldn't afford easy Outs anymore.

So, they devised this strategy.

Facing a batter who bunted, Narumiya had to rush forward after delivering the pitch.

Otherwise, if he remained on the mound, the opponent could easily hit the ball directly at him.

This would make it easier to get on base.

As a result, Narumiya sprinted forward, and the opposing batter pulled back his bat.

It felt like a game of monkey see, monkey do, as Seihou High School's players continued to drain Narumiya's energy.

At first, during the first couple of attempts, it didn't feel like much, but as time passed, everyone began to realize something was off.

For Narumiya, the continuous sprinting reached a tipping point by the third time.

His breathing was no longer normal.

His exhaustion from back-to-back games had not completely dissipated. Just relying on a day and a night of rest was not enough for Narumiya to return to peak condition.

Even though he was known for his stamina, it was clear he couldn't keep up at this moment.

Gasping breaths and extreme physical exertion were taking a toll on him.

After dispatching the first batter, by the time he faced the second, Narumiya chose not to rush forward anymore.

The opponent was clearly trying to toy with him; why should he expend his energy here?

Just when Narumiya decided not to play into their hands anymore, the real challenge arrived.

Ping!

A sharp bunt sent the ball straight toward the pitcher's mound.

Seeing the ball come off the bat, Narumiya rushed forward.

Perhaps due to excessive fatigue, Narumiya looked utterly worn out at this point.

He stumbled and fell.

Watching helplessly as the white ball rolled past him.

The batter reached first base.

Though Narumiya quickly got back up to grab the ball, he still couldn't stop the batter from reaching base.

The next batter had no intention of being compliant either.

He continuously tested Narumiya's limits, annoying him again and again.

Faced with a potential base-stealer, Narumiya had no choice but to throw pick-off pitches!

Thus, while facing pressure from both the runners and the batters, Narumiya's stamina drained like a floodgates that broke.

Finally, with the last Out looming, Narumiya collapsed.

Exhausted, he fell heavily to the ground before delivering a solid pitch.

The scene descended into chaos.

In this Koshien tournament, Narumiya had almost single-handedly carried Inajitsu High School's defense.

Their luck had indeed been lacking; in the previous four games, none had been worry-free. They had always been entangled until the end to secure victory.

Narumiya's stamina was said to be the best among all high school ace pitchers.

But even with such stamina, he could not withstand this level of exertion.

Ultimately, he fell to the ground.

This moment hit Inajitsu High School hard.

Substituting for Narumiya was Hirano Keiji.

Perhaps due to nerves, he couldn't find his rhythm at all.

He was met with a powerful hit from Ichinose Raimu, tying the score.

Just two minutes after Narumiya left the field, Seihou High School leveled the score.

The score is now 2:2.

It felt as if the towering structure of Inashiro Industrial High School collapsed the moment Narumiya left the field.

The ball soared high and flew into the outfield.

It looked like another long hit.

Carlos, who seemed to be running needlessly, sprinted to the ball's landing spot, covering a large distance.

SNAP!

He caught it firmly in his mitt.

"OUT!!"

After a tough struggle, they managed to hold on to that point.

There were still two innings left in the game.

Once the defense was over, the players returned to the dugout, exhausted.

The doctor had just come over to assess Narumiya.

The cause is exhaustion!

He had fainted on the field, but it wasn't due to injury; he had simply reached his physical limit.

"but he was pitching just fine?" Shirakawa asked, frowning.

How could he have suddenly run out of stamina? There was no apparent issue with Narumiya's earlier pitching!

Shouldn't the quality of his pitches have declined first?

The substitute relaying the information looked on with admiration.

"The doctor said that Narumiya's stamina was already exhausted. The continuous competition has drained him completely. He was relying entirely on willpower to maintain his pitch quality, but that's also why he fainted."

Even when physically depleted, he had pushed himself to the limit.

It wasn't surprising that Narumiya would faint on the field.

Lying on the bench, Narumiya still had clarity in his mind.

'Damn!'

'Damn!!!'

Frustration filled his heart.

At that moment, he loathed his lack of strength.

If only his stamina were better. If his pitching was more adaptive.

He might not have collapsed on the mound, preventing his teammates from making it to the finals.

Over the past decade, under Kunitomo's guidance, Inajitsu Industrial High School had reached Koshien more than a dozen times.

Yet they had never won a national championship.

Even when they made it to the finals, their appearances were very rare.

It seemed they had only reached that stage once before.

Given this context, Narumiya and the players were desperate to reach the finals again, hoping to defeat Seidou to fight Eijun in the greatest stage.

It was this hope that had kept Narumiya going until now.

But that hope ended here; he was far too exhausted to pitch.

If he forced himself to go back on the mound, he'd only create more trouble for everyone.

Frustrated, Narumiya covered his eyes with his arm.

The game wasn't over; his teammates were still battling their opponents.

He couldn't cry now; he mustn't let them see his weakness.

But tears flowed uncontrollably, dripping down his arms.

T/N: Well, That's it for now.

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +130 Chapters there.