Chapter 70: On the Field

Previously before pitching, Sawamura had given him a hint.

Maezono received the hint and had prepared himself mentally. He knew that baseball would eventually come his way.

In order to avoid giving any clues to the opponent, Maezono didn't make any special movements while preparing.

He simply prepared himself mentally, waiting for the ball to come, so he could rush to catch it.

But before he could react, the baseball flew past him like a bullet.

'Too Fast!'

Maezono only had time to turn his head and watch the baseball pass by. He couldn't make any defensive moves in time.

In the Dream Team's dugout, the Coach, Walter, had a sharp look in his eyes.

This was the biggest issue he had discovered with Seidou High School's baseball team.

Sawamura's pitching style was very mature and comprehensive. He wasn't a pitcher who relied purely on strikeouts.

In other words, the pitches thrown by Sawamura weren't the kind that were impossible to hit.

So, if the players from the Dream Team really wanted to make contact with the ball, they could do it.

'Once they made contact with the ball, the next question was where to hit it?'

Theoretically, if they could place the ball in a gap in the defense, getting a hit would be the logical outcome.

But the problem was, Sawamura's pitching style was so distinct that even the talented hitters of the Dream Team couldn't easily use techniques like pulling hits.

'Velocity, power, control, break...'

Sawamura's pitching had formed a very complete system. It was a combination of his past experiences and his hard work in the present.

Most importantly, he also had a bit of natural talent.

As a result, the outcome was that Sawamura's pitches had their own unique characteristics.

It was very difficult for the opponent to hit his pitch exactly where they wanted to.

What was most impressive about Coach Walter was that he didn't dwell too much on this issue.

He realized how scary Sawamura's pitching style was. If he obsessed over trying to hit the ball somewhere else, it would be like a direct confrontation with Sawamura.

Despite the excellence of the Dream Team's players, Coach Walter had to admit that in a direct confrontation with Sawamura, they probably wouldn't have much of an advantage!

On the contrary, they could very likely fall into Seidou High School's rhythm.

In this situation, Coach Walter made a quick decision and abandoned the unrealistic idea.

He instructed the players to increase their swing speed and hit the ball accurately, using brute force to solve all the problems.

As long as the ball was hit with enough speed, the Seidou defense would eventually be torn open.

It had to be said that Coach Walter's thinking was very clear.

They actually achieved that!

After Bill changed his hitting approach, he successfully swept the ball away.

The ball was moving so fast that, even though the contact point wasn't ideal, it still pierced through the defense.

It landed behind Maezono, resulting in a long hit.

Bill ran to second base in one go.

The game situation had changed to no Outs, with a runner on second!

The Dream Team's runner had entered the scoring position.

They didn't need much—just one more hit and the Dream Team would score.

"Sorry!"

Maezono looked ashamed.

'My reaction was too slow!!!'

If it had been Tetsu-san, even if the ball came at such high speed, he would have been able to stop it.

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura noticed Maezono's apology and felt a bit awkward.

It was only after Bill reached base that Sawamura and Miyuki realized what the Dream Team was planning.

But by the time they figured it out, it was already too late.

'What should we do?'

The two of them exchanged a glance.

At this moment, what strategy might the Dream Team adopt next?

The two of them already had a pretty good guess.

But the more they guessed, the more uneasy they became.

Looking at the current situation, their chances of stopping the opponent didn't look high.

They turned their attention to the dugout.

Coach Kataoka firmly nodded.

Actually, Coach Kataoka knew what Sawamura and Miyuki were planning, and he still supported them.

'No matter what, as long as you have made up your minds, don't hesitate and just go for it!'

With such strong support from Coach Kataoka, Sawamura and Miyuki felt more confident.

At this moment, the Dream Team's fifth batter, Mike O'Connor, stepped up to the plate.

He was one of the three musketeers of the Dream Team, with top-tier dynamic vision.

He was a very tough opponent.

However, Sawamura had already made his decision. After exchanging a look with Miyuki, he decisively pitched.

WHRROOSH!!

Just as Sawamura was about to throw the pitch, Bill, who was at second base, suddenly moved.

'Was he stealing a base?'

Miyuki, the catcher, wasn't idle. He had been watching Bill's every move and saw him making a move to steal the base.

There was a sharp gleam in his eyes.

'There was no need to specifically avoid the strike zone!'

Even though the opponent's speed wasn't slow, as long as he could catch the ball, stopping him would be a given.

Miyuki stayed in place, patiently waiting for the ball.

The Dream Team wanted to imitate Sawamura's stolen base move.

'But they had to have the same skill as the opponent to do it!'

If you don't have the right tools, don't take on a difficult task.

Otherwise, you'll end up losing without gaining anything.

In the blink of an eye, Miyuki had already thought through everything.

Suddenly, he saw Mike in the Batter's Box make a move.

Miyuki felt a shiver in his heart.

A bad premonition appeared in his mind.

Mike didn't swing normally but used a bunt.

'How could this be?'

Paak!

Miyuki's astonishment could almost be described as fear.

The small baseball was knocked and rolled toward third base.

It's over!

At third base, Kanemaru quickly ran forward!

His reaction was quick—almost as soon as he saw the ball being hit, he was already in action.

He had already anticipated that the opponent would use a bunt.

At the same time, Bill, who had started stealing the base early, was now halfway to third base.

However, he had a shadow!

'No Sucker, You Won't!'

The shortstop, Kuramochi, was trailing him like a hunting cheetah!

Seeing Bill's move, he also ran to third base to cover.

The two were running parallel to each other in a race of speed!

Bill was fast, but Kuramochi had better explosive power and was closer to third base.

Therefore, Kuramochi arrived at third base first!

On the other side, Kanemaru quickly scooped up the ball that had rolled toward him.

"THIRD BASE!!!!"

As soon as Kanemaru picked up the ball, he heard someone shout a warning.

Kanemaru wasn't a clueless rookie—just one simple reminder, and he understood the situation immediately.

He quickly turned his head to look at third base.

Although Bill was slower than Kuramochi, it didn't mean he was slow.

From the moment Sawamura began his pitch, Bill started running! Now, he was only about four or five meters away from third base.

Kanemaru knew very well that with this distance, there was no way to catch Bill.

He got into position, but before he could even throw the ball to third base, Bill had already reached it!

"Damn!"

Although he felt frustrated, Kanemaru had no choice but to abandon the idea of throwing to third base.

He turned to look at first base, ready to throw to the runner at first.

In the instant Kanemaru turned, Bill, who was about to reach third base, suddenly accelerated!

If Bill's speed before was like a small bicycle, after accelerating, he was like a motorcycle.

Before Kanemaru could even throw, Bill had already stepped onto the base.

After stepping on the base, Bill showed no sign of slowing down and instead dashed straight for home plate.

At that moment, Kanemaru had already gotten into position, ready to throw.

"STOP!!"

From behind the plate, Miyuki shouted loudly.

Though Kanemaru didn't understand why Miyuki had suddenly given that order, he trusted his Captain and stopped.

"Tsk!"

Bill, who had already run several meters, immediately came to a screeching halt.

He awkwardly ran back to third base.

Fortunately, he had only just passed third base, and despite the inertia carrying him several meters further, he managed to return to third base in time.

"SAFE!"

"SAFE!!!"

Abandoning the throw to first base, the outcome was clear.

Mike successfully reached first base.

The situation turned to one Out, with runners on first and third!

The Seidou High School baseball team was facing a major crisis.

"MIKE!!!"

"BILL!!!!"

In the stands, American fans continued to cheer and shout.

Though this "Dream Team" looked quite different from the one they had imagined before, they couldn't deny that this team was performing even more flawlessly.

They had given up on brute-force power, which meant fewer thrilling long hits and home runs.

But this smooth offense and defense was even more captivating.

"AMAZING!!"

"SO EXCITING!"

"REALLY THRILLING!!"

They couldn't even find the right words to describe what they were feeling.

In any case, this was undoubtedly an exhilarating moment.

After taking the initiative, the Dream Team players' performance was also noteworthy.

They weren't overconfident or impatient, showing a calm demeanor.

So calm, it was almost scary!

The Seidou team, on the other hand, appeared very quiet.

Sweat was visible on their faces and foreheads, almost like a reflex.

While the team had faced tough battles before, this high-level challenge was a first.

Playing against the Dream Team felt like going up against top-tier opponents.

The slightest slip-up could lead to disaster.

Just like earlier.

If Kanemaru had insisted on throwing the ball to first base, Bill would have stolen home without hesitation.

Throwing to first base, and then to home plate.

In those three or four seconds, in the blink of an eye, Bill would have made it from third base to home plate in just over three seconds.

In terms of time, Seidou High was at a disadvantage.

The chance of stopping Bill was slim!

And abandoning the throw to first base was a risky choice.

The result:

Seidou High found themselves in the awkward position of having runners on first and third,

With No Outs!!

Their crisis hadn't passed—it had only intensified!

Unless they quickly came up with a solution, the crisis would soon return.

Miyuki, who made the decision, had a very solemn expression.

No one knew how much pressure he was bearing at this point.

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura raised his hand and made a calming gesture toward Miyuki.

Miyuki immediately understood.

With the situation as it was, they had no choice.

They could only do everything they could to fight it out with the opponent.

In this situation, winning meant everything would be fine.

Losing, however, would lead to complete disaster!!

"Sixth batter, pitcher, A. Ward!"

Now, the Dream Team's batter was their pitcher, Allen.

This was the only good news for Seidou at the moment.

Though two players were on base, they had successfully made it through the biggest hurdle of the batting lineup.

If they could just get rid of Allen, they had a solid chance to strike out the other two batters, who, while strong, could still be struck out by Sawamura.

Here we go!

At this point, Sawamura and Miyuki had fully committed. They would know the result once they faced the opponent.

With a plan, they now had their resolve.

The two exchanged a glance, and Sawamura set up and pitched.

Whrroosh!

The clean, swift pitch surprised the Dream Team's players and fans.

They hadn't expected Seidou to act so decisively, ignoring the runners on base and just going for it.

SNAP!

The baseball shot through the air like a laser, covering the distance in an instant and landing in the catcher's Mitt.

"STRIKE!"

In the New York team's dugout,

Coach Walter furrowed his brow, sensing that things were beginning to take an uncontrollable turn.

'This couldn't continue.'

Walter's intuition was correct. With runners on first and third, they had already put pressure on the opponent.

But from the looks of Sawamura and Miyuki, they didn't appear to be under pressure at all.

On the contrary, they looked resolute.

When things seem too strange, something is definitely up!

…

T/N: Things are getting serious.

Thank you all for reading!

Have a good day!

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