Chapter 102: Opportunity For The Prepared

Lee-Hyun's performance shocked everyone.

They were witnessing, for the first time, someone whose progress was so fast!

Just three months ago, when Lee-Hyun first joined the team, he made an impressive debut during the freshman trials, immediately making his name known to everyone in the Seidou High School baseball team.

Unmatched speed in the world!

The originally fastest Cheetah Kuramochi, compared to Lee-Hyun, could only bow in defeat gracefully.

With such a unique trait, it was hard not to be remembered.

Perhaps because his impression was so deep, everyone still clearly remembered how Lee-Hyun performed when he first joined the team.

Besides his speed, he was almost completely useless.

He was just a pure baseball rookie.

At that time, everyone thought that Lee-Hyun was indeed full of potential and would definitely become a key weapon for Seidou High School in the future.

But that would be something to look forward to a year or two from now.

For now, especially in the upcoming Summer Tournament,

Lee-Hyun was not eligible to strive for a spot.

If it was't because of the Coach's plan, being on the second string would have been his biggest goal.

So back then, hardly anyone considered Lee-Hyun a real completion for a spot. Even when Coach Kataoka later promoted him, everyone just thought the coaching staff was trying to develop him.

No one believed Lee-Hyun could be a main contender for the summer tournament roster.

For the teammates of Seidou High School's baseball team, Lee-Hyun completely shattered their perceptions.

Even for Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai, were equally shocked.

They had never witnessed such rapid progress before.

In his six at bat, he got three hits, 1 successful steal.

An on-base rate of a 50%!

On the defense he made one error!

The complete baseball rookie from 3 months ago was now playing the game like a player trained for years.

It was simply astonishing!

The Seidou High School baseball team's players were left stunned.

Meanwhile, the players of Kashiwagi High School couldn't begin to understand the thoughts of Seidou High's baseball team, as they walked away, completely defeated.

Before the match, they never thought they could defeat Seidou High's baseball team. But after arriving, facing a group of first-year newcomers, they had momentarily regained their confidence.

They believed that even if they couldn't defeat the newcomers, they wouldn't lose too badly.

But what they didn't expect was,

They were awakened to reality!

Strong, simply too strong.

Even though monsters like Sawamura, Miyuki, Furuya, and Kuramochi didn't appear on the field.

Even though the players who took the field were mostly first-year students.

Seidou High School baseball team was still Seidou.

Even though Seidou sent a team of first-year newcomers, they were not opponents that Kashiwagi High School could resist.

It's like sending a bunch of cubs from a lion pride, but they are still lions!

Since they are lions, they could never be beaten by a flock of sheep.

"If we want to defeat this opponent, we must first become wolves!"

Coach of Kashiwagi High School, with a heavy heart, spoke to his players on the way back.

Against a strong opponent like Seidou High School's baseball team, a group of wolves might still have a chance. But a group of lambs, no matter how strong they look, will never defeat Seidou!

The Kashiwagi High School team left, their faces full of shame.

As they were leaving, Coach Kataoka didn't say much. He hadn't expected these first-year kids to perform so impressively.

In this case, no matter what he said, it would seem like boasting.

So after the obligatory goodbyes, he let them leave as gracefully as possible.

Today, Seidou High School's baseball team had arranged two practice matches.

The morning match against Kashiwagi High School was just a test of the newcomers' skills and growth, and the effect was pretty good.

At this moment, both Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai had more or less figured out which new players would make it into the main 20-man roster.

Who would make it?

This was a crucial task for Seidou High, though not the most important one.

The most important thing was still deciding who would become a main player.

The next match, against Kanagawa Kyujou High School, would undoubtedly be a good test for them.

Kyujou High was also one of the top four teams in their region, but compared to Kashiwagi High, they were on a completely different level.

Kanagawa is a battleground region, and an extremely fierce one at that.

Its level of competition is second only to Tokyo.

If you think about the caliber of the top four teams in Tokyo, you can gauge Kyujou High's strength.

It is a top-tier national team, whose strength is definitely on par with the elite teams in Tokyo.

Of course, even though their opponent was one of the top teams in the country, Seidou High's baseball team, with its current strength and confidence, was not afraid of the opponent.

In fact, before Seidou High School's baseball team went to America for exchange matches, their players already had a very clear understanding of their own standing.

Although the current Seidou High School baseball team wasn't flawless, these flaws didn't fundamentally weaken their strength.

Right now, Seidou High was absolutely capable of achieving back-to-back championships.

Even in the whole country, only a few teams could pose a threat to Seidou High's baseball team.

The players could easily count them on their fingers.

And even when playing against these teams, Seidou's players firmly believed that in the end, they would come out victorious.

Among those teams that Seidou could count on their fingers, Kyujou wasn't included!

This wasn't arrogance from the players, but rather their full confidence.

They believed that, no matter who the opponent was, in the end, they would win.

Especially after their exchange matches in America, where they tied with the legendary Dream Team.

In that match, the players felt uneasy.

It seemed as though the whole team was relying on Sawamura Eijun.

With their ambitions, they didn't want this situation to continue.

So, they began special training.

Even though they recognized their own shortcomings, Seidou's players never underestimated themselves.

They never underestimated Sawamura or Seidou High either.

In the end, no matter how powerful Sawamura was, the teammates knew they were all on the same team.

No matter how strong he was, wasn't he still a member of the Seidou High School baseball team?

From this perspective, they were always on the same side.

Sawamura's power only helped them; it wouldn't become an obstacle.

In fact, having such a big player in the team gave them the confidence to challenge any team in the world.

They tied the Dream Team in America.

That was a legendary team, undefeated on the international stage.

That team was tied by Seidou. If they could tie a team like that, what team in this country could they be afraid of?

As long as there were no unexpected events, and as long as their luck in the draws wasn't too bad, the Seidou High School baseball team had full confidence in defending their championship title.

Kyujou was nothing.

Even if the Ace Sawamura didn't take the field, the other players were confident they could fight and defeat their opponents.

Of course, this was under normal conditions.

Now, in their current state, things were a different story.

Six consecutive days of physical training.

No! They couldn't even call it physical training; the term was too light and didn't show the cruelty of it.

It should be called six consecutive days of hellish special training!

The Seidou High School baseball team's players had already been drained.

Now, even lifting a finger felt exhausting.

The newcomers had an advantage over Kashiwagi High, as Kashiwagi's players weren't particularly strong.

Even the first-year students from Seidou High had a significant edge when facing them.

So, the final score disparity wasn't entirely unexpected.

It could only be said that the newcomers really performed well.

But Kyujou was different.

Facing a top-tier national aristocratic team like this, any weakness would be ruthlessly exploited.

Defeating them would be extremely difficult. At least in the current state of the players, defeating them was going to be a real challenge.

"Sawamura, Miyuki, Maezono, Kijima, Higasa, Kuramochi, Asou, Furuya, Shiratsu, get ready. In the afternoon, you'll play against Kyujou."

Coach Kataoka gave the order.

Though usually very open-minded, when it came to selecting the main players, he usually took care to consider everyone.

But this time, he seemed a little hesitant.

Fewer second-year players were chosen, and most of the players were third-year students.

Facing the top level Kyujou High School, Seidou had to give it their all.

This meant that anyone who could make it onto the field in this full-effort match, could be one step closer to securing a main player spot.

At this crucial moment, Coach Kataoka was slightly biased towards third-year players.

This wasn't hard to understand; it was quite natural.

This was the third-year students' last summer, and if they made it to the main roster, it would be incredibly meaningful for them.

'For the stability of the team, and for the personal development of the players…'

'This was the most reasonable thing to do.'

But this was different from Seidou High's usual values.

There was a time when Seidou High's baseball team couldn't make it to the Koshien for several years. Without a doubt, at that time, Seidou was in dire straits.

If they didn't make it to Koshien last summer, Coach Kataoka might have even had to resign.

In such a situation, Seidou High School's baseball team had no choice but to adopt a strategy of "whoever can play will play."

The rule was simple: talent and ability came first.

Anyone who could bring victories would get promoted.

Regardless of which year they were from, this rule applied to everyone.

And because of this rule, Seidou High had seen a lot of rising stars. No matter the year, there were excellent first-year students joining the team.

This tradition had continued, and had become part of Seidou High's baseball culture.

But this didn't mean all teams in the country were like this.

The vast majority of teams, including Seidou High's team before, have never had such a policy.

None of them would consider promoting first-year players.

First-year players will absolutely not be promoted.

The earliest they could hope for a promotion is after the summer ends and when the team is restructured in the fall.

Unless there is an exceptionally talented individual, it is difficult to change this rule.

Although Seidou High School now has an ironclad rule, people cannot be without emotions.

The third-year players have trained with Coach Kataoka for a very long time.

Their bond with Coach Kataoka is stronger than that of the first-year players.

If the strength is similar, Coach Kataoka would still prefer to favor the older students a bit.

Just like this time, he gave the older students the opportunity to integrate with the main team.

Of course, this doesn't mean the older students have become the main team members. What Coach Kataoka provided them was just an opportunity.

As for whether the players can seize the opportunity?

That depends on themselves...

Opportunities do not fall from the sky, and even if one day an opportunity really comes down, it will inevitably be in the hands those who are prepared for it.

In the Seidou High School baseball team, even if there is favoritism from the Coach and staff,

If the player's ability does not meet the required standard, they will not have the qualification to stand on the main team.

At the end of the day, it's still all about strength.

If you have the strength, everything is negotiable. If you don't have the strength, you'll just be sidelined.

The third-year players who were called up are well aware of this principle.

Their eyes were sharp, with a fierce gleam in them.

Especially Kijima and Higasa.

Each of them has strong competitors in their positions. If they have ambitions to seize the main team spot, they must show an outstanding performance in the match against Kyujou.

…