Chapter 68: Fatal Flaw!

In the dugout, Coach Walter's face had a grim look, and his eyes were gleaming coldly.

He had been dragged into this game by his former students, under the pretense of a casual gathering.

Initially, he thought he would just sit back in the Coach's chair, chat with his former players, and watch them crush the opponents.

They would catch up afterward, have a few drinks, and reminisce.

After all, the kids had grown up and were old enough to drink.

He never expected this game to have so many twists and turns.

Especially Sawamura's appearance, which made Walter feel something different.

This game, which was supposed to be a sure win, had suddenly become uncertain.

'No, this couldn't continue.'

They had finally reunited, and now they couldn't lose.

It was very likely that this would be the last game for the Dream Team.

After all, the team had already been disbanded...

Getting the team back together again wouldn't be easy.

People like Robert, the "big spender," didn't come around often.

"The last game for the Dream Team cannot end in defeat!"

Coach Walter declared this slogan in the dugout.

This slogan was unanimously supported by all the players of the Dream Team.

They all agreed that the last game for the Dream Team had to be won.

So even though Sawamura had successfully reached base, they would absolutely not allow Seidou High to score.

After Sawamura's hit, the players of the Dream Team all changed their expressions.

Although Seidou High's players had also performed well before, the two teams had been evenly matched in the game.

But the players of the Dream Team had been relaxed until now.

They were absolutely confident that victory would belong to them in the end.

However, after Sawamura reached base, their attitude changed significantly.

They now took their opponents seriously, and they knew that victory wouldn't come so easily.

If they didn't take down Seidou High now, things could get much harder later.

In some ways, the Seidou High School baseball team has already earned the respect of their opponents.

This is true for everything.

Money speaks for the merchant, and skill speaks for the craftsmen!

Only when you have the ability, will others truly respect you.

At this moment, the Seidou High School baseball team has this kind of respect.

Both teams are now on high alert.

Not only the players involved, but even the audience in the stands can sense it.

What happens next could completely change the outcome of the game.

This isn't a joke, it's a fact.

If Seidou High School can score here and Sawamura is on the mound, their chances of winning will increase dramatically.

However, if Seidou fails to score, the consequences will be severe.

The Seidou players might never get such an opportunity again.

At this critical moment, it's do or die!

The atmosphere at Seidou High is already tense, like the draw of a sword.

On the other hand, the New York team, though they've started to take the game seriously, doesn't believe that Sawamura can score.

They are certain no one can hit Allen's pitch once he gets serious.

Even if that monster named Sawamura has such abilities, they are sure the others do not.

Not just them, but even Sawamura thinks the same.

Especially after seeing Allen's deadly pitching, Sawamura doesn't believe Miyuki can get a hit either.

At this moment, putting all the responsibility on Miyuki would be unfair!

There are some things that simply cannot be done, no matter how much you force it.

It's not the same as gambling.

Could Seidou High School afford to gamble at this point?

Of course not.

In this game, Seidou's chances are few and far between, and they cannot afford to waste them in a gamble.

So they must think of a more reliable plan, one that fits Seidou's style.

Even if this plan is still quite risky, it's something they must try!

It's far better than blindly flailing around like a headless chicken and waiting for failure.

Sawamura raised his face and gave Miyuki a subtle signal.

Miyuki, in the Batter's Box, immediately understood.

If there was no other choice, he didn't mind facing the opponent head-on.

But now, Sawamura had offered him another way, a way that was far easier than a direct confrontation.

'And the chances of success were much higher!'

Miyuki was, of course, willing to follow Sawamura's plan.

As for the dignity of the cleanup hitter, other teams' cleanup hitters might care about this, but Miyuki absolutely didn't have this problem.

This guy's face was thicker than a city wall!

As long as it helped Seidou High School win the game, he wouldn't mind even crawling to first base.

So, upon seeing the signal, he immediately adopted a bunt stance.

Seeing Miyuki do this, both Seidou's teammates and the New York team's fans were utterly confused.

They couldn't understand what Miyuki was doing.

Could it be that Miyuki was trying to walk Sawamura to third base?

But even if Sawamura made it to third base, what difference would it make?

If the Dream Team had already made two Outs, and just needed one more, they wouldn't even need to worry about Sawamura on base. They could just focus on getting the last batter out!

The fifth hitter, Shiratsu, though no slouch, was far inferior to Miyuki in the eyes of the New York team players.

They wouldn't even bother with him.

In their view, Seidou's decision to adopt such a strategy was akin to digging their own grave.

William, the catcher, didn't think it was a big deal either.

Their strength was so overwhelming that they didn't need to worry about Seidou's tricks.

They could throw the ball with confidence. If Seidou used a bunt, they were just asking for trouble.

No need to pay attention to it at all!

This mindset was passed on to Allen on the mound.

Allen nodded slightly and even used his gaze to keep an eye on Sawamura at second base.

If it had been any other opponent, Allen wouldn't have bothered with such caution.

But today, Sawamura had already surprised him several times.

He was genuinely afraid that Sawamura might pull off something unexpected again.

Luckily, Sawamura was behaving.

He stayed put at second base and, when Allen turned his head, he even flashed a big grin, showing his white teeth.

That reassured Allen.

No matter what trick the opponent was playing, his only goal was to not let them get a hit!

Allen had full confidence in this.

So when he pitched, he did so without hesitation, releasing the ball from his hand.

VROOOOOOOO!

However, at the exact moment, Allen turned his head back,

Sawamura silently took action!

He ran to the third base in an instant!

But Sawamura's starting speed was much slower.

If there had been another way, Sawamura wouldn't have done this.

It was practically suicidal!

But now, he had no choice.

Given the current situation, this was Seidou's best chance to score.

So no matter how difficult it was, Sawamura and Miyuki would never give up.

Miyuki took the bunt stance for a reason.

The sole purpose was to distract William, the catcher.

Without William's focus, Sawamura would have a chance to make a move.

By feinting, they could shift William's attention to Miyuki.

And that's exactly what happened.

At the moment when Allen wasn't expecting it,

Sawamura took off, starting his steal attempt.

Had he waited for Allen's pitch to reach the plate, Sawamura wouldn't even have a 30% chance.

So he had to act early!

During this, neither Allen nor William noticed Sawamura's movement.

Thanks to Miyuki's distraction, no one realized what Sawamura was doing.

Sawamura smoothly leaped from second base and made his way to third.

At almost the same time, Allen threw the ball.

"Third base!!"

A panicked shout came from the Dream Team's dugout.

Walter hadn't expected Sawamura to be so daring.

After all, Allen's fastball was 100 mph!

From release to the catcher's Mitt, it took only 0.3 seconds.

Anyone facing such a pitcher would be trembling, even without a direct confrontation.

How dare Sawamura do this?

He was incredibly bold!!!

By the time Allen realized it, it was already too late.

He didn't have time to warn Allen and could only shout to William at the catcher's position.

Walter had thought of this, and Sawamura was equally aware.

Allen appeared flawless, but in reality, he wasn't.

He has a flaw, but most of his opponents can't capitalize on it.

It was something pointed out by Watanabe during his observations.

Allen's greatest strength was also his greatest weakness.

Though his fastball was certainly fast, the entire pitching process took longer than others.

And the force behind such powerful pitches created immense pressure.

When William, the catcher, received the ball, there was no way for him to immediately throw it to third base.

If Sawamura didn't have this much confidence, he wouldn't have dared to attempt stealing a base at this moment.

That would truly have been like seeking his own demise!

Of course, even with all that, Sawamura's chances of success weren't very high.

But with no better options, he had no choice but to gamble this time!

KABOOM!!

William, the catcher, caught the EXPLOSION!!!-like a ball.

He heard Walter's urgent call and, in disbelief, looked toward third base.

By this point, Sawamura had almost completed the run and was less than ten meters from third base.

William's heart skipped a beat.

This was dangerous!

He nearly let this kid succeed.

However, once Sawamura's action had been noticed, there was no turning back.

William immediately took his stance and threw the baseball from his hand.

"Not so fast!"

At this moment, William's expression was twisted into a snarl.

Snap!

The third baseman caught the ball and immediately turned to tag Sawamura.

"Off you go!"

At this moment, Sawamura had not yet reached third base.

In the third baseman's eyes, taking down Sawamura seemed like a given.

However, to his surprise, as Sawamura neared third base, he suddenly slid to the side.

At the same time, his hand silently reached out, firmly touching the third base bag.

"SAFE!!!"

"WOW!"

"DID YOU SEE THAT?!"

"HOW DANGEROUS!"

"THAT KID GOT THE BALLS!"

"SO COOL!!!"

Such a spectacular steal attempt earned cheers from the crowd.

Even the American fans, seeing such an impressive play, couldn't help but applaud.

The process was tense, but the result was quite satisfactory.

Sawamura successfully reached third base.

"HE MADE IT!"

"THAT WAS CLOSE!"

"NICE RUN YOU BRAT!"

"SAWAMURA!!!"

At this moment, Seidou High School's players felt a surge of joy.

They realized that this Run was almost certainly theirs.

As expected, in the following innings, Seidou High School's baseball team indeed scored that point.

After Sawamura successfully reached third base, the Dream Team's response was somewhat hurried.

Allen was fully focused on striking out Miyuki.

In his mind, as long as he struck out Miyuki, it wouldn't matter how much commotion Sawamura made on the base path. It would all be useless.

However, as Allen threw that pitch with full force,

Sawamura didn't hesitate and took off from third base!

He was able to do this because he had complete confidence in his teammate.

He believed Miyuki would definitely make contact with the ball!

Paak!

Just as Sawamura had anticipated, Miyuki successfully made contact and hit the ball.

At the exact moment the ball landed, the result was already clear!

No, it should be said that when Sawamura successfully reached third base, the outcome was already evident.

Sawamura smoothly slid into home plate.

"SAFE!!!!"

"YEAAHH!!!!"

"OOOOOHHHH!!!!"

"SEIDOU!!!"

"SAWAMURA!!!!!"

This marked the end of the nearly four innings of deadlock.

Seidou High School's baseball team had scored the first run of the game.

Seidou High School led 1:0!

At that moment, Seidou's players were filled with confidence.

They were absolutely certain that they would win the game today.

From the moment they scored that point, the result was sealed!

Of course, the players of the Dream Team would never accept this.

...

T/N: Feel free to leave a Comment guys!

And Powerstones are much much welcomed!