Chapter 52: Crushing Power

Paak!

After the small baseball was struck, it flew far into the distance!

The speed of the baseball was fast, and its curve was also quite good. It seemed that if the ball landed in the field, there was a high chance it could result in a hit.

The teamwork between Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya, the two of them as partners, had put Tokyo's fans and the Tokyo team players at ease. They believed that the American players should not be able to cause much trouble.

However, looking at the current situation, it seemed that things were quite different from what they had initially expected!

But that's how baseball works—nobody can predict anything before the game. During the game, anything can happen, and even the great Sawamura Eijun can become unstable at the start. This was something that Head Coach Kunitomo and Fujio from Baseball Kingdom magazine in the stands understood very well.

The performance of Tokyo's first two pitchers had been so excellent that even Sawamura, now standing on the pitcher's mound, must be feeling considerable pressure.

As a nationally renowned Ace, often hailed as the number one pitcher in high school, the pressure Sawamura carried was many times greater than that of ordinary players. For someone in his position, it was quite possible for an opponent to exploit a weakness.

"Could it be that today's game will have some unexpected turns?" Fujio frowned, observing the changes on the field.

The more he observed, the stronger this feeling became.

On the surface, the score was 6-0, a huge gap.

But is it really that big?

This was a question not only for Fujio but also for anyone in the stadium—no one could be sure.

In the beginning, the American team had clearly not played with full strength. Coupled with a few lucky breaks, this had led to the current situation.

But could it be that the gap in strength between the two teams was really that wide? It didn't seem so.

If the American players could pull themselves together and fight back, the game might still turn around.

Of course, all of this depended on the condition of Sawamura and Miyuki.

From an outsider's perspective, this was an incredibly intense moment, a fierce battle between pitcher and batter.

But for the players on the field, especially the battery duo, it was just a small scene. It wasn't something they were concerned about at all.

Even if the ball was hit well and seemed like they were being suppressed, Sawamura and Miyuki weren't the least bit anxious.

That last pitch, in their eyes, was just the natural outcome.

"FOUL!"

The baseball landed outside the field just as they had expected.

'With this, we are ahead by one Strike.' Miyuki thought.

Miyuki crouched down and opened his Mitt.

Everything that had happened was exactly as they had predicted, so there was no need to rush.

'We just need to patiently lure the batter into the already set trap.'

'Now aim here!'

Seeing Miyuki's signal, Sawamura nodded slightly and then lifted his right leg high, bringing it down like a battle axe.

As his body weight shifted, his left hand swung like a whip.

Hidden behind his mitt and body, the baseball suddenly appeared.

Harris, who had been able to clearly follow Sawamura's pitching path, was completely stunned at this moment.

'Eh?'

'Wait, how can you pitch like that?'

By the time he snapped out of it, he realized he couldn't even see where Sawamura's release point was.

But by then, it was too late. Sawamura's baseball had already flown.

Whrroosh!

The ball flew like a sharp white light, crossing the 18 meters and landing in Miyuki's Mitt.

SNAP!

The crisp sound of the catch echoed across the entire field.

Everyone in the stands fell silent.

No matter whether they were Tokyo players or Tokyo fans cheering for them, they weren't seeing Sawamura's pitching for the first time, yet they were still shocked when they witnessed this moment.

"Even the American cleanup hitters were helpless against Sawamura's pitch."

"As expected of the great Ace!"

Not only the spectators but even the American players were greatly shaken.

Their Coach muttered to himself:

"Harris didn't even have time to swing!"

Harris' batting was on par with that of Carlisle.

Such a player could be used as a secret weapon or an unconventional asset.

He was one of the key players for the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team.

Yet this player, couldn't even swing his bat.

'Where did these Tokyo players come from?'

Having one strong pitcher is one thing, but to have so many of them, each one stronger than the last was unbelievable.

'What on earth had they been fed growing up?'

This wasn't just a question in the mind of the Coach. Many of the American players were probably wondering the same thing.

They were already feeling deep despair.

At this point, it seemed that no matter what happened, they could never win this game.

And everything that followed seemed to confirm this.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE!"

"FOUL!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Sawamura perfectly took on Narumiya's responsibility, striking Out two batters and helping the Tokyo team defend the inning.

"Nice Pitching!"

"You are in a great form today!"

"Sawamura!"

"You're becoming more and more terrifying, kid!"

When Sawamura returned to the dugout, he was met with enthusiastic embraces from all the Tokyo team players.

Although Narumiya was still quite upset inside, he still gave Sawamura an encouraging pat on the back.

No matter their stances, at least now they were comrades in the same trench.

Sawamura's powerful performance seemed to give all the players a sense of reassurance. Now, when they faced American players, their confidence was at an all-time high.

They had won!

Everyone in the team held this thought, and it was incredibly firm.

Even though the game was only halfway through, as long as Sawamura was on the mound, their confidence remained unshaken.

On the other side, in the American team's dugout, almost all the players looked puzzled, as if they had an existential crisis.

They sensed that the situation was turning against them, and if the game continued in this direction, they wouldn't just be unable to make a comeback—they'd be lucky to even score a single run.

Not just a few runs, even one run seemed incredibly difficult.

"We can't stay down like this. There are also a group of professional scouts in the stands, including scouts from our major leagues," the American Coach said fully aware of his players' current mindset.

So, he decided to take a practical approach to motivate them.

As expected, the moment these words were said, the players' attitudes changed immediately.

Wind Youth Academy was established by the MLB to promote baseball in urban areas, offering free training programs to players who would otherwise be unable to pursue baseball as a result of financial or other circumstances.

So, every one of his players was carrying the hopes and dreams of his future and maybe his family's future on their shoulders aiming for the higher league.

Even though they were trailing 6-0, they still wanted to show off their skills.

They didn't want the Major League scouts to see them in a poor light.

"To make a comeback, we first need to stabilize our defense. I'll leave it to you now!" The Coach said earnestly to Conrad.

The game had been much harder than expected, and by this point, the American Coach had no more solutions. He could only rely on the players to adjust themselves on the field.

In this respect, Conrad was the most important player on the American team at this moment.

Only if he could stabilize the situation would the American players have a slim chance of fighting back.

"Leave it to me!"

The long-haired pitcher still had a sharp look, when it came to handling things, he was unsurprisingly reliable.

His solemn promise was very effective.

Once he took the mound, he quickly delivered results.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, his first opponent was the leadoff batter, Carlos.

The Tokyo team's lineup had already been through two rounds.

The large score gap was partly due to the offensive progression.

Standing in the Batter's Box, Carlos looked like a sports car ready to take off.

His earlier performance in the game had not been very noticeable. As a nationally renowned star, Carlos could not accept that.

At this moment, he truly wanted to show what he could do.

But when Conrad threw the ball, Carlos was dumbfounded.

He had never seen a pitch like this before.

The baseball seemed to fly out from behind his ear, catching him completely off guard.

By the time he reacted and tried to swing his bat, he realized there was no time.

So, he could only watch as the baseball flew into the catcher's Mitt.

BOOM!!

"STRIKE!"

The field fell silent, and the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

In the stands at Hachioji Stadium, under the attention of thousands of fans, this situation unfolded.

This showed just how tough the American players were.

The scene was extremely awkward.

The next two pitches were nearly identical in strategy. Although Carlos managed to hit the ball on the last pitch, it didn't matter anymore.

The hit was so weak that the ball had no force at all.

It was easily caught by the pitcher's mitt.

Snap!

"OUT!"

Without any suspense, the nationally famous star Carlos was swiftly dealt with.

Up next was Shirakawa, but he fared no better.

Although he also hit the ball, it was clear he didn't hit it well.

The baseball was caught by the third baseman and thrown to first base.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

Thus, the American Los Angeles team had been dealt two Outs.

The situation became two Outs, with no runners on base.

Now, it was the pitcher's turn to face off against Miyuki.

After Miyuki stepped into the Batter's Box, he immediately started observing his opponent.

This was his specialty, as he was particularly skilled at gathering information.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!"

After watching two pitches, even Miyuki was stunned.

'Well...This is something…'

During his imagination practice in Seidou, he had done plenty of visualization exercises.

But even in his wildest imagination, he had never envisioned this kind of pitching.

The pitching trajectory was completely unlike any other pitcher.

His previous experience was of no use, and he would have to adopt brand-new techniques to have any chance of hitting the ball.

ROAAR!!

Miyuki forced himself to adjust his hitting stance, but unfortunately, due to a lack of accuracy in his form, he failed to make contact with the ball.

'Damn!'

He could only helplessly watch the baseball fly away.

BOOM!!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Miyuki was struck out.

In less than five minutes, the top three batters of the Tokyo team had been easily solved.

The entire field was silent, the atmosphere heavy as if it were a rainy day.

Even though the Tokyo team still held an absolute advantage in the game, facing this pitcher, they still felt deeply unsettled.

...