Chapter 105: PhD In Ruining Plans

From the start, Kyujou High School shows Seidou why they are a powerhouse.

Their skill wasn't breathtaking, but it was definitely impressive.

Beating an opponent like this was no easy task.

However, when Seidou's players took the field, they didn't seem too worried.

Despite Kyujou's impressive performance, Seidou's players firmly believed that they were the strongest.

"BALLS WILL COME FLYING!! EVERYONE IN THE BACK PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!!!"

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura raised his hands and said his catchphrase.

It seemed like he planned to let the batters hit the ball and rely on defense to get the Outs.

The Kyujou High School Coach with a beard noticed this.

"As expected!"

Seidou's players had just gone through intense training, and their mental and physical stamina was drained.

"Given this situation, even the Demon King, Sawamura, couldn't maintain the fast-paced pitching style he had before."

All the pieces were falling into place and it made sense.

The bearded Coach nodded and signaled his players on the field.

For him, Seidou High School had left themselves wide open.

In this situation, if they didn't act, it would be unthinkable.

'Attack!'

'Don't care what pitch Sawamura throws—swing with everything you've got!'

As long as they can get the ball into the field, it's a victory.

Seidou's defense was strong, but it wasn't without weaknesses.

If they found the right opportunity, they had a good chance of scoring.

The bearded Coach had everything planned, but the developments that followed were completely different from what he expected.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

Without any hesitation, Sawamura used nine pitches to strike out Kyujou's first three batters.

He showed them, through his actions, that no matter how much he was drained, the Demon King would always be the Demon King!

"What?"

In the rest area of Kyujou High School, the Beard Coach trembled all over.

He looked at Seidou High School's Ace in utter disbelief, his eyes filled with incredulity.

Judging by the reactions of the players on the Seidou High School baseball team, they were clearly extremely fatigued.

The game had barely started, yet the sweat on their faces would not stop flowing. Each of them looked dazed as if they might collapse at any moment.

This clearly indicated that the players of the Seidou High School baseball team had been utterly drained in previous bouts.

One would expect that, under such circumstances, their abilities should have been severely affected.

However, nothing in the actions of these Seidou players revealed any such deterioration.

They all performed with remarkable energy, and their defensive movements were swift and unhesitating.

Especially the pitcher, Sawamura.

Watching him pitch earlier, there had been no hint whatsoever that he was short on stamina.

Now, he gave the impression as if he were about to devour his opponents whole.

"It can't be, it just can't be!"

The bearded Coach muttered.

He had studied Sawamura Eijun and the Seidou High School baseball team in detail before—especially the "Great Demon King" Sawamura.

There is probably no Coach in the entire country who is unfamiliar with Sawamura.

Even in ordinary games, Sawamura would never maintain such a ferocious state all the time.

Otherwise, his Moving balls won't be this famous.

'He simply cannot go on forever!'

As long as they stick to this strategy, an opportunity is bound to come.

Victory will eventually favor them.

Shaking his head, the bearded Coach pushed all these thoughts aside.

Meanwhile, he directed his players on defense.

They might not be able to count on scoring, at least for now, but they must perform the defensive tasks well.

If the defense falters even slightly and a few runs are conceded, there would be no way to continue this game.

Kyujou High School truly lived up to its reputation as a prestigious powerhouse.

In the remainder of the game, they flawlessly displayed the caliber expected of a top-tier school, leaving the Seidou High School baseball team with no opportunities.

On the other side, Seidou High was not about to be outdone. Under Sawamura's lead, the other players could be said to have played merely a supporting role, while Sawamura racked up Outs solely through strikeouts.

Among the batters he struck out was Kyujou High School's fourth hitter.

Kyujou High also had its spiritual pillar—the player with the biggest reputation, so to speak.

Their strongest player was their fourth hitter!

Previously, almost all of Kyujou's runs had some trace of his involvement; in fact, more than one-third of the runs were scored by him alone.

Whether Kyujou High ultimately secures one of the two allotted appearances in Kanagawa Prefecture also depends on this guy's form.

The bearded Coach had traveled all the way, along with his students, to the territory of the Seidou High School baseball team.

This was done to better assess the potential and shortcomings of his own players.

It was also meant to bolster their confidence…

Thus, the game, neither too heated nor too cold, reached the fourth inning.

Up to this point, aside from Sawamura's Walk that put him on first base, the Seidou High School baseball team had not managed to secure a single legitimate hit.

The Kyujou High School pitcher was not exceptionally strong, and the defense was not at its absolute peak either.

But when these two factors are combined, it really is not an easy task to score against Kyujou High.

Of course, the players' own stamina was in short supply, and their condition was far from their usual state.

That was one important reason as well.

Top of the Fourth Inning – Seidou High's Offense!

Kijima, who stepped up to the plate first, was quickly taken Out.

At this point, the players from Kyujou High had gradually started to find their rhythm.

Admittedly, it was still rather challenging for them to secure hits and score runs off Sawamura Eijun.

However, they were capable of maintaining the current situation—preventing these exhausted Seidou players from scoring.

Meanwhile, on the Seidou side, it was as if they had run smack into a piece of stubborn chewing gum.

It wasn't that the opposition was overwhelmingly strong—

But they were just so infuriating!

A top-tier powerhouse, unleashing all their defensive prowess, had come solely to the field.

For a while, the players of the Seidou High School baseball team truly had no answer.

Every Out meant no one reaching base.

At that moment, the at-bat fell to Sawamura.

Logically, since Kyujou High was having a smooth game, and their battery was working in perfect unison, even a head-to-head confrontation with Sawamura wouldn't pose much of a problem.

Yet, the Kyujou players did not proceed that way.

Instead, they repeated an old trick and directly issued a base on Balls to Sawamura.

To completely avoid a direct confrontation with Sawamura was a very devious move.

On the one hand, by doing so, Kyujou High was clearly showing their cards—they were well aware of their strengths and would never engage in a direct duel with Sawamura.

On the other hand, it also signaled that they did not hold the other Seidou players in high regard.

As a result, the Seidou players naturally grew impatient.

They were desperate to score, while the Kyujou battery was least afraid of such an aggressive offense.

Their very defense strategy relied on someone hitting the ball out so that they could then record Outs.

To have the opponent have their way was simply not in Sawamura's nature.

To counter Kyujou High's plan, the solution was simply to score some runs first.

With Sawamura anchoring the defense and some runs on the board, his teammates wouldn't be so anxious.

One Out, a runner on first!

At that moment, Miyuki Kazuya stepped up to the plate.

If it was about ruining the opponent's plan, Miyuki-san already got his PhD.

Sawamura could notice something, how could he not?

He knew that scoring was now imperative.

"I have to hit it out!"

Determined to make contact, Miyuki resolved to send the ball flying.

The Kyujou battery naturally sensed this.

'Do not underestimate him—this guy is no pushover.'

Their plan had already succeeded; they had effectively backed the Seidou High players into a dead end.

The more anxious the opposition became, the more likely their plan would succeed.

'Come on!'

The two of them devoted their full efforts to handling Miyuki.

But then, unexpectedly, on first base someone could not stand idleness any longer and sprang into action.

That person was Sawamura!

When he realized that the pitcher's full attention was on Miyuki and that no one was watching him,

'Did they think that, because I'm drained, I can't steal a base?'

'They didn't even spare me a glance to distract!'

Sawamura was speechless inside, yet he acted without the slightest hesitation.

Before Kyujou High's ace pitcher had even taken his stance to throw, Sawamura had already made his move.

He charged forward without hesitation.

'Stealing!'

Watching Sawamura sprint crazily toward second base, the catcher looked on in sheer disbelief.

With Sawamura's speed, which was barely faster than that of a crawling turtle, how could he possibly dare?

Snap!

After catching the ball, the catcher immediately hurled it toward second base without pause.

Snap!

The shortstop, who was covering second, caught the ball and moved in to tag Sawamura.

But Sawamura was nowhere to be seen.

As he neared second base, Sawamura dove full throttle, stretching out his hand and firmly touching the base.

"SAFE!!"

The result was utterly unexpected—Sawamura had actually managed to steal the base.

In the Kyujou High School rest area,

The bearded Coach's brows furrowed tightly.

He kept replaying Sawamura's steal in his mind.

Sawamura's speed was not particularly fast; under normal circumstances, stealing a base would be extremely difficult.

What made him remarkable was his impeccable timing!

In the Seidou High School rest area,

Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai exchanged glances.

In each other's eyes, they saw delight and satisfaction.

Sawamura was not an easy catch.

Even if he was Walked, that wouldn't guarantee peace of mind.

Moreover, given the current situation, a runner on first and a runner on second are completely different dynamics.

Especially in the eyes of Miyuki Kazuya; when he sees the glimmer of a run-scoring, his focus shifts entirely.

Under such circumstances, Miyuki's hitting prowess may even surpass that of Sawamura.

'Excellent!'

At the plate, Miyuki steps up with high spirits.

Based on his previous observations, he was already about 60–70% sure he could make contact and send the ball flying.

Of course, the opponents are no pushovers either, so nothing can be 100% guaranteed.

But with Sawamura now on second base, the situation is different.

'In that case, the range of pitches available for the opponent suddenly narrows considerably.'

Miyuki's confidence thus gets a boost of twenty or thirty percent.

'The first pitch—a low, inside-breaking ball!'

Whoosh!

The small baseball was coming so fast it almost hit Miyuki Kazuya.

He cooperated perfectly, hastily taking a step away.

This move would naturally lead the opponents to believe that he was rattled by the pitch.

That, to some degree, would affect them.

'The next pitch, they should aim for the outer part of the strike zone, hard and decisive.'

The Kyujou High School pitcher-catcher duo seemed to have already preset the trajectory of every pitch according to Miyuki's actions.

Just as Miyuki had anticipated, the ball was thrown to the outer corner.

'Excellent!'

Facing the oncoming baseball, he swung his bat powerfully.

Paak!

After being struck, the small baseball soared far away.

"It's Going Through!"

"A long hit!!!"

The baseball pierced through the defense, flying toward the rear of the field.

"Splendid!"

Sawamura had long expected this; without a moment's hesitation, he sprang into action.

He dashed past third base, barreling for home.

Before the ball could be relayed back, his foot was already firmly on the home plate bag.

"SAFE!!!"

The score: 1–0. Seidou High School took the first run.

That single run felt like the weight of Mount Fuji pressing down heavily on the hearts of the Kyujou High School players.

In a situation that had been evenly matched, the score was tied.

For the weaker side, a tie is an acceptable outcome.

Thus, the players of the Seidou High School baseball team naturally grew more anxious than their Kyujou counterparts.

But being behind is an entirely different matter!

After all, if you're going to lose, it hardly matters by how much.

For the team that is trailing, however, the urgency is much greater.

Because only by scoring can they hope to stage a comeback.

In this situation, the Kyujou High School players could no longer sit still.

Their pitcher immediately unveiled his trump card—a new type of breaking ball.

That splendid change led to two consecutive Outs, preserving their inning.

Next, it was their turn to bat.

Sawamura promptly altered his pitching rhythm.

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

The small baseball was struck time and again, yet every hit was caught by the ironclad defense of Seidou High School.

Especially the third batter's hit—a ball of particularly high quality.

It looked as if a hit was imminent!

But then, suddenly, a figure appeared in front and intercepted the ball, forcing the play and throwing to first base.

"OUT!!!"

That was the third Out, and the sides switched.

…