Chapter 73: Boosting

Top of the sixth inning, the New York team is attacking.

"OUT!"

"OUT!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Faced with the relentless pressure of Allen, Sawamura didn't back down and responded firmly.

With an aura equal to Allen's, he cleanly got three Outs.

This included two of America's top batters.

Especially their second batter Jack Ramirez.

As one of the "Three Musketeers" of the Dream Team, the second batter of America's Dream Team has a top-tier dynamic vision.

In theory, he should never be fooled by any pitch.

Even if he was at a disadvantage in his duel with Sawamura, he should not have been in such a mess that he would swing and miss.

But the reality was different; on the last pitch, he swung and missed.

When he returned to the dugout, all the players gathered around him.

They couldn't believe that someone could do such a thing.

"What happened?"

Even Walter, the Coach of the Dream Team, couldn't stay calm.

He wracked his brain and couldn't figure out how Sawamura managed to do that.

The batter was just as confused.

He kept replaying that pitch in his mind.

From his perspective, he should have hit the ball 100%.

'So why did the ball disappear at the last moment?'

A terrifying pitch that can deceive dynamic vision.

Just thinking about it made the batter shiver.

How terrifying must the pitcher be to throw such a pitch?

The more he thought about it, the colder he felt.

When he looked at Sawamura, it felt as though the latter was shining.

"Impressive!"

Walter, the Coach of the Dream Team, also focused on Sawamura.

When the game started, Sawamura had drawn his attention, but he never imagined that the threat he posed would become so great.

Back in the dugout, Sawamura looked in a good mood.

He greeted his teammates with a smile, cheering and joking around.

It was clear that he had good camaraderie with his teammates.

With a player like him, the team would surely have stability and unity.

The reverse is also true.

If such an Ace were to make a mistake, it would be a devastating blow to the team.

If they wanted to defeat the Seidou baseball team, going after the other players wouldn't have much effect.

At this point, Walter finally understood that his previous thinking was entirely wrong.

If he really wanted to defeat the Seidou baseball team, he had to first remove the biggest obstacle in front of them.

From Sawamura's performance so far, such an opportunity almost doesn't exist.

He has been flawless in every aspect, leaving no chances for the Dream Team.

Moreover, it's said that this guy still has plenty of stamina. During his time in Japan, he pitched for over ten innings at most.

With his ability, throwing a complete game wouldn't be difficult at all.

'But…is that really the case?'

Walter noticed a detail that everyone else missed.

Sawamura, while talking and laughing, had subconsciously wiped his sweat twice.

Was he that hot?

It wasn't even fully summer yet, and it was quite cool on the pitcher's mound.

Why would he sweat so much?

At that moment, Walter seemed to have figured something out.

He smiled faintly.

"His side is not invincible after all!"

Bottom of the sixth inning, Seidou High School attacks…

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

Without any suspense, the first Out came just like that.

On the pitcher's mound, Allen remained expressionless after getting the Strikeout.

It seemed like a matter of course.

One Out, no one on base.

Now, it was Seidou High School's third round of batting.

In this game, Allen had shown incomparable strength.

This made the Seidou High School players deeply realize one thing.

This round of batting could very well be their last opportunity to score.

If they performed well, maybe they'd get a fourth round of batting.

If they didn't do well…

Their final chance to score might be completely cut off.

Once it was cut off, scoring again would be nearly impossible.

Perhaps it's not just "hard," but completely impossible.

"Even if we can't score, we must at least get on base."

In the Batter's Box, Kuramochi understood this very well.

Who was their opponent?

The world's top young player, Allen Ward the Son of Baseball.

How difficult would it be to get a hit off him?

Kuramochi knew this all too well.

Given the huge difference in strength, Kuramochi should have had no grand thoughts.

But he didn't think that way.

The more he faced such a top-level expert, the more excited he became.

There are people like this, born to be fighters.

Even if they are not as strong as their opponents, they absolutely do not give up easily. They will fight to the last drop of blood, going as far as biting off a piece of flesh from their opponent if necessary.

Kuramochi is just such a person, deep in his bones.

It's not that he doesn't understand his limitations; on the contrary, he is very accurate when it comes to assessing situations.

He knows very well that when facing Allen, the chances of hitting a single are almost zero.

But does that mean he should give up?

Of course not!

Even if he can't hit, he'll still make things difficult. Even if he can't hold on long, he'll at least make Allen throw three pitches...

He refuses to believe he can't wear down this pretty boy!

From this perspective, Kuramochi is truly a tough opponent.

Even Allen, from the Dream Team, had to admit this.

He really disliked Kuramochi's gaze, a look that reminded him of a cornered beast.

Ready to pounce and bite at any moment!

"This guy!"

Allen's expression was slightly weirded out.

He had a feeling that if Kuramochi made it to base, the Dream Team might lose a point.

'This fire must be extinguished before it grows.'

Otherwise, if this fire really gets going, it would cause them a lot of trouble.

With that thought, Allen became even more aggressive.

VRROOOOOOO!!

The small baseball shot across like an aircraft, roaring through the air.

The maximum speed was 101 mph (160 km/h), at such a high speed, the pitch itself was already an incredibly powerful weapon.

Not to mention Allen had maxed out the power of this weapon.

The small baseball cut through the air, heading straight for Kuramochi in the Batter's Box.

Kuramochi gritted his teeth, refusing to relax for even a moment.

No matter how many times he watched Allen's pitches, he was still in awe.

If someone had simply told Kuramochi that there was a player his age who was this good...

He would never have believed it.

Whether it was against Hongou or Narumiya, when facing them, Kuramochi might not have had the perfect solution, but he was never completely clueless.

After thinking for a bit, he could come up with a few ideas.

But facing Allen was different.

This time, Kuramochi was truly at a loss, unable to come up with anything.

'This Monster!!!'

Kuramochi couldn't help but marvel at the opponent's power, which had reached an extraordinary level.

His heart was pounding.

Though he hadn't figured out how to solve the problem yet, the excitement of challenging a strong opponent still thrilled him.

Even if he lost miserably, the thrill would still be worth it.

Let the storm come even fiercer!

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

Kuramochi didn't swing his bat at the next two pitches.

Having gained control of the tempo, Allen threw a Ball outside the strike zone.

Trying to trick Kuramochi into swinging.

But clearly, it didn't work.

Kuramochi stood motionless in the Batter's Box, calm and composed.

KABOOM!

"BALL!"

The count was 2-1.

"Whew!"

Kuramochi let out a breath of relief.

Thankfully, he made it through.

If he had swung at the previous pitch and missed, the result would have been a strikeout.

From the catcher's position, William carefully studied Kuramochi several times.

Kuramochi's difficulty was something he hadn't anticipated.

'Careful observation of the pitch, trying to bait him with a Ball... That's unlikely to work! In that case, we'll have to face him head-on.'

When William shared his observations with Allen, Allen nodded without hesitation.

At this point, Allen also understood that although the players from Seidou High School were not on the same level as Sawamura and Miyuki, they each had their unique traits.

For a team to dominate at Koshien continuously, it wasn't something that could happen without skill.

Now, Allen was re-evaluating the Seidou baseball team.

Although their overall strength was a level below the Dream Team, their ability was still impressive.

'This was a good team!'

'Especially under the leadership of their Captain and Ace, this team could even play beyond their actual ability.'

What was happening now proved everything.

If one were to compare Seidou's team to the Dream Team, they would only score around 80 points.

The Dream Team would score at least 95!

This included players like Miyuki and Sawamura.

That's the difference in overall strength between the two teams.

This gap was simply despairing...

But under Sawamura and Miyuki's lead, Seidou High School was managing to compete with a team of 95-strength players with only 80 points worth of ability.

And they weren't at a disadvantage.

Could this be achieved by just Miyuki and Sawamura alone?

Of course not.

But under their lead, Seidou's explosive potential had increased significantly.

One was a natural Ace and the other was a genius catcher, just by being there, the standard for Seidou's players was set.

The players' abilities would follow suit.

"What kind of monster could lead such a team?"

After looking at his opponent in the Batter's Box, Allen glanced over at Seidou's dugout, where Sawamura sat.

Allen realized that among players his age, one had risen to challenge him head-on.

'Are you the opponent that God has sent me?'

Allen silently made the sign of the cross, knowing in his heart what he had to do.

Whether or not Sawamura was sent by the heavens, he wouldn't give up on defeating his opponent.

In every competition Allen had ever participated in, there was only victory!

Everything else was insignificant.

KABOOM!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

...

T/N: That's it for Today.

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