Chapter 15: Only The Most Talented

Still, one more point to go!

The Seidou High School baseball team's offense hasn't ended yet.

The next batters are the reliable Shiratsu and Toujou.

There's hope, a lot of hope.

At this moment, the members of Seidou High School's baseball team are desperately hoping to end the game as soon as possible.

Even though they lead their opponents by nine points, the feeling they get from Minori Shigeru High School is just too strange.

This feeling makes them very uncomfortable, and they are eager to wrap up the game.

Third-year player Shiratsu did not disappoint his teammates.

With his simple and unpretentious swing, he hit the ball.

PING!!

When the ball was hit, it felt like it was bound to happen.

It was as if that ball was meant to be hit like that.

"SAFE!"

One Out and a player is on first base!

This was probably one of Seidou High School's many hits; their offense had been relentless, like a storm, never stopping.

On the stands, veteran reporter Fujio, from Baseball Kingdom magazine, gave this assessment.

"The game has reached a critical point!"

The outcome of the upcoming confrontation will directly determine the course of this game.

From the score on the field, there's no doubt that this is a game with a significant disparity in strength.

Although the players from Minori Shigeru High School are not weak, the difference compared to the reigning champions Seidou High School is still considerable.

But strangely, despite the gap in strength, the game feels like a fair match.

The players of Minori Shigeru High School have not given up due to the huge score difference.

On the contrary, their players have shown an extremely high fighting spirit.

It feels like they truly believe they can turn the game around.

'It's incredible!'

'However, everything has its limits.'

At this critical point, if Minori Shigeru loses more than ten points, the outcome would be catastrophic for them.

With just one inning left, they would have no chance of making a comeback!

On the other hand, if they can withstand this crisis and prevent Seidou High School's players from scoring…

Then Minori Shigeru still has a chance!

Although catching up to the score and even taking the lead seems a bit far-fetched…

Dragging the game out is still possible.

As long as they can stretch the game out, the situation will gradually shift in favor of Minori Shigeru.

Not many people at the scene have the strategic foresight like Fujio has.

But unfortunately, among them are a few players from Seidou High School's baseball team.

For example, Toujou, who was once the Ace of the Matsukata Senior Club in middle school.

His strategic insight is very sharp.

He immediately recognized the importance of this attack.

Scoring is the best outcome, of course. But even if they don't score, extending the lineup will also be beneficial.

In the fifth inning, Seidou High School still has a chance to attack!

'Steady and careful!'

That's what Toujou is focusing on right now.

On the other hand, pitcher Hanayama, cornered in a tight spot, reflected on the teachings he received from Coach Miwara this year.

"The pitcher is the one holding the ball the longest and also the metronome of the game. The game begins the moment the pitcher throws the ball. As the ace of the team, you must predict all the possible outcomes the moment you release the ball."

Baseball is not just a sport of raw strength.

It also requires brains!

Its analysis is similar to playing chess.

In this aspect, baseball differs fundamentally from sports like soccer and basketball.

As long as you can think through everything on the field…

Then solving the opponent is no problem.

On first base, Shiratsu is eagerly ready to run.

At the Batter's Box, Toujou is eyeing the pitch.

Among the star players of Seidou High School's baseball team, these two are not particularly famous.

In fact, some Seidou High School fans might not even know their names.

But despite this, both of them are incredibly strong!

They remain calm, putting pressure on their opponents from both the batting and pitching perspectives.

From the pitcher's viewpoint, Hanayama can clearly feel the immense pressure these two are putting on him.

It's the kind of pressure that can send a chill down your spine.

His body is covered in goosebumps, his nerves on edge.

Despite the intense scene, Hanayama's emotions remain very calm.

He feels like he's elevated.

Not in the sense of not caring about winning or losing, but rather seeing everything very clearly.

For example, what should he do right now?

Whoosh!

He set his stance and threw the ball.

Before throwing, he didn't forget to subtly intimidate Shiratsu with his peripheral vision.

'As expected, the guy was just bluffing and didn't move.'

Snap!

As the ball came close to hitting him, Toujou stepped back to dodge it.

Unconsciously, the momentum he had built up was greatly diminished.

"BALL!"

'This guy!'

Toujou's gaze turned cold, returning to his original position.

Another ball, another Ball outside the strike zone!

Toujou had to step back again!

And then came the third Ball outside the strike zone!

At this point, the umpire began to issue a warning.

Toujou, usually so calm, couldn't help but wonder if the opponent was losing their composure.

Could he really be walked on Four Balls?

Just as he wondered, another pitch came toward him.

This one entered the strike zone.

Toujou couldn't let such a good pitch go, so he swung his bat.

Shiratsu, who had been in sync with him, was thrown off rhythm due to the three consecutive Balls outside the zone.

He was a beat too slow.

Ping!

The moment Toujou hit the ball, Shiratsu couldn't act in time.

He could only watch the ball fall and bounce into the pitcher's mitt.

Hanayama caught the ball and calmly threw it to second base.

The second baseman received it and then threw it to first.

Snap!

"OUT!"

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

An enormous crisis was effortlessly eliminated.

At a critical moment in the fourth inning, Minori Shigeru unexpectedly completed a double play.

In the Seidou High School dugout.

Sawamura stood up in disbelief.

Hanayama's performance made him wary.

Although Hanayama had been holding back his strength earlier, it was only a breaking ball.

That breaking ball was powerful, but it drained a lot of energy and couldn't be used as a regular weapon.

So, overall, Hanayama didn't pose much of a threat to Seidou High School's baseball team.

It might have been a bit troublesome for them, but it wouldn't actually change much.

Sawamura understood this very well.

'That guy had somehow evolved during this short game!'

A leap in strength amid the game!!!

This is very rare for pitchers! And even among those rare moments, only the most talented ones can have something like that!

He had been away from the field for two years, quietly training without any official games.

As a result, his progress had been slow.

But that didn't mean his foundation hadn't improved.

This evolution now was the result of that solid foundation.

This game could still experience twists and turns.

It wasn't just Sawamura who noticed; many of Seidou High School's players saw it too. They started looking at Hanayama with deep gazes.

And so, the game entered the fifth inning.

Kawakami took the mound.

Hanayama had evolved, but that didn't mean all the players from Minori Shigeru had.

The vast majority of their players were still at their previous level.

With Kawakami's ability, taking care of Minori Shigeru's lower-order batters was no challenge!

"OUT!"

"OUT!!"

"OUT!!!"

It wasn't long before he recorded three Outs!

Even when the leadoff batter came up, it didn't change the outcome.

The game reached the bottom of the fifth inning, with the score still 11-2.

A nine-point difference.

Seidou High School's offense began with the lower-order batters.

As long as they scored one more run, they could end the game early.

But facing the now-evolved Hanayama, it wasn't realistic to expect the lower-order batters to solve him.

The first batter, Asou, was quickly Out.

One Out, no runners on base.

The batter now was the ninth batter, Kanemaru.

At this moment, Hanayama on the mound looked especially tall.

Like an imposing mountain, unassailable.

In front of him, Kanemaru seemed tiny.

'This is strange... how did this guy become so strong?'

They had crossed paths before, and although Kanemaru didn't have much advantage, Hanayama didn't seem to have any flaws.

If Kanemaru tried hard enough, there was still a chance he could hit one of Hanayama's pitches.

But now, it felt completely different.

The opponent gave off the impression of being unbeatable.

Ping!

After a few struggles, Kanemaru barely managed to hit the ball.

But it wasn't a good hit!

The ball was weak and slow, falling down before it even had a chance to travel far.

The third baseman picked up the ball and threw it to first base.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

Two Outs, no runners on base.

With just one more point needed, Seidou High School's players could finish the game.

But that one point still seemed impossible to get.

No matter how hard Seidou High School's players tried, the result didn't change.

After the second Out, Kuramochi stepped back up to the plate.

This was already Kuramochi's fourth time batting in this game, which was rare for him.

Previously, this would've been about the number of times he'd get to bat in a full game.

But even now, he didn't have confidence that he could hit Hanayama's pitches.

Especially the breaking ball, which he hadn't faced yet.

"What kind of pitch will it be?"

Kuramochi wondered.

But he couldn't afford to wait. If he waited too long, they might lose the chance to end the game early.

He had to act fast.

"BALL!"

Ping!

"FOUL!"

"BALL!"

"STRIKE!"

The two of them battled for several pitches, neither willing to give up easily.

In the end, Hanayama got two Strikes first.

He forced Kuramochi to swing!

On the final pitch, Hanayama indeed threw his Winning Shot.

Kuramochi had no choice but to swing.

At that point, there was no turning back.

He had to swing!

But as the ball neared his bat, it suddenly dropped.

'A Vertical Slider!'

Kuramochi recognized the pitch's trajectory, but it was already too late.

Snap!

The bat missed the ball.

Minori Shigeru took the final Out.

The fifth inning ended with the score still at 11-2.

Seidou High School led by a large margin, but their teammates' faces showed little joy.

This game started to feel muddy…

…

T/N: Troubles are starting.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

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