Chapter 19: the Fourth Batter

"Fourth batter, second baseman, Sawamura!"

In the bottom of the second inning, when it was time for the All-Tokyo team to bat, the first player to step up to the plate was their fourth batter, Sawamura Eijun.

In the All-Tokyo team, there were top-tier fourth batters from all kinds of teams. Each and every one of them was a monster at the plate.

Sawamura, as one of the main pitchers for the team, should be avoided to be on the fourth batter spot.

In the beginning, Coach Kunitomo did not plan for Sawamura to bat fourth in the lineup.

After all, his original plan was to focus on using Sawamura and Narumiya as the main pitchers.

If they were also assigned to the fourth batter position, the burden on these players would be too heavy.

If the team's strength was extremely weak, this might be unavoidable, as no one else could take the role.

But the situation was different for this team. Now, they had plenty of skilled players, in fact, this is why they are here.

They were not lacking in talented players, especially in the batter positions, where they were in abundance.

Strong batters were the specialty of every top-tier team.

It may be hard to find an excellent pitcher, but a good batter can be trained.

In comparison to batters, pitchers rely more on innate talent.

Now, having Sawamura take the fourth batter position was the same. Coach Kunitomo had no choice.

Even though he didn't want to do it, he was in a situation where he had no other option.

In batting tests, the person who ranked first was not someone he had expected at all.

It was the pitcher, Sawamura. He not only came in first, but he was the undisputed first, ahead of the second place by a full two points.

Thus, Sawamura became the fourth batter, and now he is standing in the Batter's Box.

He looked at the pitcher's mound from afar.

The Yomiuri Giants' Pitcher, Fumei Tsuyoi!

If things went as expected with Nakagawa's offer, Sawamura might join that team too.

So In the future, the two of them might become teammates.

Fumei was already the Ace pitcher for the Yomiuri.

At that time, they would fight side by side as teammates.

Of course, their relationship likely wouldn't be very good. After all, besides being teammates, they were probably each other's greatest competitors.

"I won't hold back, Senpai!"

In the previous inning, Fumei had looked incredibly powerful.

The top three batters of the Tokyo team were all monsters, and each one had their unique characteristics.

But all of them had been easily dealt with by the guy standing in front of them now.

Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, knew there was no room for carelessness.

His eyes locked onto the target, waiting for Fumei to throw the ball.

Although Sawamura had observed Fumei's pitching during the break, and some players who had faced him gave introductions, there was still a gap before he could fully understand his pitching.

Some things could only be observed by Sawamura himself when he stood in the Batter's Box.

'Come on, let me see what the Rookie of the Year level pitching looks like?'

Sawamura was full of ambition.

Fumei, on the other hand, was equally determined not to lose.

He looked at Sawamura with a cold, unfriendly gaze. It was completely different from how he had dealt with the other players.

When Fumei faced others, no matter what he was thinking, he could always maintain a calm expression. He appeared relaxed as if he wasn't taking the opponent seriously.

But now, facing Sawamura, his expression was totally different.

It was pure hostility!

"Could it be that Eijun has a grudge against that guy?"

In the dugout, Narumiya muttered, sensing something sharp.

Miyuki shook his head.

He couldn't answer Narumiya's question.

Sawamura had told him the outline of the admiringly strange offer he got from their Seidou alumni Nakagawa Wataru, and he couldn't just run his mouth with it.

However, that didn't mean that Fumei—the Yomiuri Giants' Ace— had no knowledge about it.

'So this pitcher should have an idea about it too, and he wants to test Sawamura now.'

As Miyuki pondered all of this, the match on the field was already ongoing.

Whrroosh!

Fumei's first pitch, Sawamura let it go without swinging.

His calmness was remarkable.

Fumei's expression on the mound turned slightly serious.

"Waiting to observe my pitching?"

Fat chance!

A professional pitcher wouldn't let someone easily figure out his pitching.

Whrroosh!

Without hesitation, he threw his second pitch.

But Sawamura wasn't just letting go of the first ball to observe his Fumei's pitching.

He was also turning on the switch to enter the Zone.

And that's what happened!

In Sawamura's vision, Fumei's movements weren't as fast as in the real world.

It was as if he was moving through water, with tremendous resistance throughout the process, slowing his movements down immensely.

So much so that Sawamura could clearly see every detail of his pitch.

The ball's course!

The velocity!

The break…

In Sawamura's mind, he could clearly see every change in Fumei's pitch.

'NOW!!!'

Shuuuuuuuu!!!!!

He calculated the timing, and with a mighty swing, he hit the approaching ball hard.

PAAAAKKK!!!

The baseball flew high into the air.

The outfielder from Tokyo University ran back desperately, trying to catch the ball.

But he kept retreating until his back hit the fence, and the ball didn't stop like him.

Crash!

The ball soared over the fence,

A Home Run!!!!

Without any warning, the home run appeared just like that.

Not just the players from Tokyo University, but even the players selected from the All-Tokyo team were left dumbfounded.

Although they knew in advance that Sawamura's strength was formidable, and his results during the batting tests had been the best, they still couldn't fully gauge his true abilities from those tests.

Each player has different characteristics, and simply looking at those tests couldn't completely reveal a player's potential.

Among the monstrous players on the field, many believed their own abilities were at least on par with Sawamura's. They thought he might just bully younger, less experienced players, but when he encountered real professionals, who could say who would truly shine?

In their eyes, the game against Tokyo University was a great opportunity to prove who had the upper hand.

It was the perfect moment to demonstrate whose strength was truly superior.

Previously, Coach Kunitomo had assigned the batting order based on the test results.

They had nothing to say about it.

If you performed poorly in a test, no matter how many reasons you had, you couldn't use them as excuses. It would only make you look petty and serve no purpose.

Players with pride had long been waiting for the opportunity to show their strength during actual practice matches or exchange games, proving themselves with the bats in their hands.

This included Carlos and Shirakawa as well.

To their shock, however, all of their plans were flipped upside down as soon as the game began.

Sawamura Eijun had hit a home run in his very first at-bat!

Had someone else hit the home run, they would have questioned their own eyes, doubting they had seen it correctly.

But the person who hit the home run was Sawamura Eijun.

And the pitcher wasn't some mediocre player, but the Rookie of the Year from professional baseball last year.

Just in terms of baseball strength, he had already reached the peak in the entire country.

And yet, Eijun had hit a home run off a pitcher of this caliber? What was even more astonishing was that it happened in their first duel.

Even though they didn't like Eijun's laid-back expression, they couldn't help but be happy for him.

After all, they were teammates now.

When a teammate had such a performance, what could they do?

It was simple: just celebrate with him.

Thus, the All-Tokyo team began celebrating wildly.

Eijun casually let go of his bat and started running around the field.

His attitude was so relaxed, as though he had just done something insignificant.

The celebration around him didn't seem to affect him much.

In the All-Tokyo team's rest area, Coach Kunitomo shook his head in amazement.

To be honest, even he was surprised by Sawamura's performance.

He never expected that their first point in the game would be scored by Sawamura.

Eijun didn't let down his reputation as the cleanup hitter.

'What a shame that this player isn't on our team,' Coach Kunitomo remarked with genuine admiration.

Beside him, the head of the Inashiro's Baseball Team seemed to be more at ease.

"Having the chance to guide such a player is already an immense stroke of luck for us. Others don't even know how to envy us."

Indeed, having a player like Sawamura Eijun as a student—Even temporarily—was an incredible blessing.

Even if they only had a few days to guide him, it was still a remarkable experience for a baseball coach.

But just as Coach Kunitomo's smile was about to fully unfold, it faded again.

Having such a disciple was a blessing, but facing such an opponent in a regional competition felt entirely different.

Unfortunately, that's exactly the situation Inashiro Industrial High School was in with Sawamura Eijun.

After tomorrow, they would go separate ways, standing on different sides.

They would fight their own battles.

To be honest, Coach Kunitomo didn't want things to be this way.

But no matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't change the fact.

He had to face it.

'Rowing against the current, if you don't advance, you fall behind...'

No matter how difficult it was, Coach Kunitomo would not give up hope for progress.

Because he wasn't alone—behind him, a group of excellent players had gathered.

But now is not the time for that, as he has a task he needs to finish right now.

…

T/N: Your boy didn't disappoint!