Chapter 23: Your Name On It

Sawamura Eijun's use of the 'fishing pitch' to achieve a double play didn't cause much of a stir at the scene.

On the baseball field, such a situation is actually not uncommon, as there is a significant element of luck involved. When a batter hits the ball, no one can say for certain that it will be a good hit. When it's not a good hit, various amusing and ironic situations may occur, such as the ball landing right in the mitt of a fielder or falling into an unguarded area.

These possibilities exist.

Therefore, most people merely think that Sawamura was lucky and that the Tokyo team's defense was solid. Although their coordination seemed a bit stiff and immature, everyone did their part and played their roles well.

They formed an effective team collaboration and built a decent defense.

As for other matters, most people simply felt sorry for Fumei and the Tokyo University team.

Originally, they had already gotten a hit and gained some advantage in their confrontation with Sawamura.

But unexpectedly, because of such a coincidence, that advantage was wiped out…

In this scenario, very few people noticed that Sawamura had intentionally guided the batter, using the fishing pitch to entice professional players to swing.

This isn't to say the players at the scene had poor vision, but rather they didn't dare think in that direction.

Facing the rookie king of professional baseball, daring to use a fishing pitch that could easily result in a super long hit—wasn't that crazy? This kind of boldness was not something one would typically see.

For this reason, the vast majority of people believed it was simply a coincidence. They figured, that even if Sawamura was arrogant, he wouldn't be foolish enough to disregard the rookie king of professional baseball.

Of course, among the many elites present, there were some who saw the truth.

For instance, the Coach of the Inashiro Industrial baseball team, Kunitomo, realized that Sawamura had done it intentionally.

Others, like Sawamura's teammates, Miyuki and Tetsuya, also guessed the truth.

However, the most important ones were still Sawamura's opponents.

That is, they recently dealt with Fumei.

Fumei kept glancing back at Sawamura with his peripheral vision as he walked off the field.

"When facing me, this kid didn't show any nervousness."

This discovery made Fumei feel completely astonished. If it were the first time, it could have been that Sawamura was caught up in the confrontation with him and couldn't extricate himself.

But by the time they faced off a second time, Sawamura should have returned to his normal state.

Once players adjust back to their normal state, their mentality is never as simple as it was before.

At this point, Fumei was clear that the halo he carried with him should have had an effect.

Fumei was a professional baseball player and had already achieved some success on the professional field.

With such a record, all opponents would inevitably be influenced by him to some extent.

Even if they were prepared enough to act naturally at first, over time, this mentality would be hard to maintain.

After two Outs, it was time for the fifth batter, Harada Masatoshi, to step up.

The impact Harada felt was far greater than most of the players present.

Although Sawamura's name was quite famous and most people had heard of him, not many truly understood him.

Harada, on the other hand, was very familiar with Sawamura.

Originally, Miyuki, who had teamed up with Sawamura, was now playing first base.

Sawamura, along with the current catcher, Inui, was just a temporary pairing.

This would greatly reduce Sawamura's pitching power.

Harada felt that if Sawamura could perform at eighty percent of his usual ability, that would already be quite good.

Yet with such strength, Sawamura had easily dealt with Fumei.

And then, he pulled a trick on the opponent and secured a double play.

It was simply unbelievable…

'How much courage must one have to be as reckless as Sawamura?'

Harada didn't understand and couldn't explain it.

He just deeply realized how exceptional his opponent was.

It was as though Sawamura's strength had reached a level even more unpredictable than before since Harada entered the professional baseball world.

Harada had been confident that he could hit Sawamura's ball.

After all, the current batter wasn't that annoying Miyuki, but someone else.

Sawamura's power would definitely be weakened, and Harada felt it was a good opportunity to take advantage.

Not to mention, before joining the professional team, Harada was the main catcher for Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team.

As a major competitor, he had thoroughly studied Sawamura's pitching style, learning all about it in great detail.

Even in a head-to-head confrontation, where both players gave their all, Harada was confident he could hit Sawamura's pitch.

And now, with Sawamura's strength weakened, Harada felt even more confident.

'The tricky breaking balls couldn't be used, and all Sawamura had were fastballs and Moving balls.'

Harada had experience with these two types of pitches, and he was sure he could hit them if they were thrown.

Harada had always thought that way, and he didn't think his judgment was wrong.

But when Fumei was dealt with so cleanly, Harada began to question his previous assumptions.

'Could I really deal with Sawamura?'

As Harada's doubt grew, Sawamura didn't hesitate and took action.

He set up his stance and threw the ball smoothly.

His motion flowed like a stream of water, and during the process, Harada couldn't even see where the ball was being released.

This was a very eerie experience for any batter.

Even if they understood the mechanics, it would still feel awkward to watch.

Harada felt this exact way.

Sawamura's motion seemed very uncoordinated, but he knew Sawamura's characteristics.

He wasn't too affected by this rhythm, focusing on waiting for the baseball to fly toward him.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

On the first pitch, Harada didn't swing.

He wasn't the type to swing at every pitch that came toward him.

Especially when facing Sawamura, he preferred to see the pitch clearly before taking action.

'In just a short time, Sawamura had made frightening progress.'

Not to mention, his pitching velocity had increased by a lot.

That was essentially one whole level higher.

Harada couldn't help but be a little startled.

Even knowing that Sawamura couldn't unleash all of his strength, the subtle details were still apparent.

Just from that one pitch, it was clear that Sawamura's skill had reached a very advanced and unpredictable level.

If he wasn't careful, even though Sawamura couldn't use an overly sharp breaking ball, Harada still risked being dealt with.

WHRROOSH!

Harada didn't have to wait long. After receiving the return throw, Sawamura almost immediately threw his second pitch.

'Here it comes!'

'The pace was as fast as ever.'

Harada knew he couldn't let this one pass.

If he did, it would be like giving Sawamura two easy Strikes, and Sawamura would have free rein to deal with him.

Harada didn't want to make things uncomfortable for himself, so he swung at the ball without hesitation.

Paak!

When the bat made contact with the baseball, Harada's eyes showed a flash of surprise.

Clearly, he hadn't expected this kind of change.

The ball, after being hit, spun and flew past the first base line.

Miyuki tried to stop it.

But he was slower than a true first baseman.

By the time he reacted, the ball had already hit the ground.

Tap!

The ball bounced and flew away.

"FOUL!"

One Strike, one foul ball.

Though the process was a bit more complicated, Sawamura still smoothly earned two Strikes.

He began to press Harada.

The clash between them, which happened in the blink of an eye, was extremely thrilling for the players watching the game.

Their eyes were wide open, not blinking, staring at the changes on the field.

It was as if they were afraid of missing any exciting details.

In the Tokyo representative team's dugout, Narumiya was substituted and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

'Masa-san is great in many ways, but when it came to crucial moments, he was a bit indecisive.'

He had hoped that once he entered professional baseball, he would change a little.

But to his disappointment, that weakness was still with him, and there hadn't been much improvement.

'Such a pity!'

Narumiya's thoughts were something Harada couldn't afford to care about right now.

He was fully focused on Sawamura, waiting for the final pitch to come.

Though being pressured wasn't something he wanted, he had considered what Sawamura would do in this situation.

'What kind of action would Sawamura take now?'

Harada saw Sawamura raise his leg high, and then, as if splitting a mountain with a giant axe, he brought his leg down heavily, like an axe.

Harada had a premonition in his heart.

The baseball was coming!

And it was coming at an extremely fast speed.

His feeling wasn't wrong. On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura seemed to have used all his strength to throw the ball with everything he had.

Here it comes!

Whrroosh!

The baseball whizzed through the air as though it was going to zoom straight into the strike zone.

Harada's cheeks were puffed up, waiting for the ball to come his way.

At that moment, he had an overwhelming urge to swing his bat immediately.

But he held back.

Because he clearly observed that this wasn't a fastball or a Moving ball.

'It is a Change-up!'

During his high school days, Harada wasn't capable of this. It was a skill he only started mastering after joining professional baseball.

He couldn't let himself be carried away by the opponent's rhythm.

He had to learn to observe and understand the situation on the field.

Just like now, Sawamura was executing his pitch with strong momentum.

The final pitch was definitely going to be something different from the previous rhythm.

'That's how he could successfully deceive the batter.'

Harada was betting on it.

He was betting that Sawamura would use a Change-up for the final pitch with a completely different rhythm.

Fortunately, he was right.

The final pitch, just as expected, was a Change-up.

'Perfect!'

A smile appeared on Harada's face.

In the Tokyo representative team's dugout, Narumiya's eyes were filled with surprise.

The situation had taken an entirely different turn than he had imagined.

'Masa-san really had matured. He had successfully countered Eijun at the last moment.'

Once a Change-up is targeted, the probability of it being hit is quite high.

Not to mention, someone like Harada, who was a powerful hitter.

Even if he didn't hit the sweet spot, his immense strength would still allow him to send the ball far.

Things seemed to take a turn.

Everyone's gaze was filled with complexity.

Sawamura, who had just dealt with Fumei, was expected to easily take care of Harada next.

After all, they had been rivals before. Harada knew Sawamura well, but the reverse was also true—Sawamura knew Harada just as well.

At this point, their strengths seemed to cancel each other out, and Sawamura had a high chance of winning.

But no one expected such a change in the situation.

He was aiming for the Change-up.

'This…'

It felt as though time had paused at that moment.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the field, waiting to see the outcome.

Even though they had expected this result, there was still a sense of unwillingness if they didn't see it through to the end.

The bat was about to hit the ball.

However,

At that moment, on the pitcher's mound,

Sawamura Eijun-kun suddenly grinned mischievously,

his mouth curving into a playful smile.

The baseball, which was about to be hit by the bat, suddenly dropped just before it reached the bat.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

They even doubted if they were seeing things.

Especially Narumiya, whose eyes were as wide as two large bells.

If not for his eyelids, his eyeballs might have popped out.

How is this possible?

It felt like something truly unbelievable had happened, as he stared at the ball thrown by Sawamura.

The descending baseball successfully avoided the bat and landed precisely in Mitt of the also smiling Inui.

Snap!

At that moment, the entire stadium fell silent.

Then, a chorus of excited chatter erupted.

The people around them were in disbelief, whispering to each other.

They had lost interest in the outcome of the game and were instead discussing the unbelievable scene before them.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"

Three Outs, the sides switched.

The game didn't stop due to any unexpected changes, and Sawamura successfully got the batters out.

Although there was a slight twist in the process, Tetsuya managed to hit a single, the result was still flawless.

Facing professional baseball's excellent hitters, Sawamura was not the least bit intimidated.

In fact, he was outstanding.

The sides switched, and everyone returned to their dugouts.

Carlos stared at Sawamura in disbelief before turning to Narumiya.

"That last pitch, what was that?"

Even though he had seen it clearly, he still couldn't believe it.

Hearing Carlos's question, almost everyone turned their attention to Narumiya.

Narumiya's expression changed several times, and in the end, he glared at Sawamura with intense eyes and a flaring aura and lunged at him.

"You brat, why did you use my Screw Change-up!"

Sawamura had anticipated this and quickly backed off.

"Yours? Mei-san, it doesn't have your name on it. So why can't I use it?"

...

T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +160 Chapters there.

And I hope you all have a nice day!