Chapter 83: Strikeouts!

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange!

Sawamura successfully secured his 19th strikeout and completed the defensive work for the 8th inning of the Seidou High School baseball team.

After the catcher was changed, it seemed that Sawamura had been slightly affected, but this impact wasn't significant enough to prevent the Great Demon King from showcasing his magical prowess.

The supporters of Seidou High School were naturally thrilled with this, all of them excited beyond measure, constantly shouting Seidou's and Sawamura's names.

People liked to compare Sawamura with Narumiya.

Since Sawamura had greater accomplishments and fame, it seemed like he was more powerful than Narumiya.

But some self-proclaimed baseball experts scoffed at such comparisons.

Although they recognized Sawamura's talent and ability, claiming that Sawamura was the best in the country was something they disagreed with.

Take Narumiya and Hongou for example.

While they didn't have the same achievements as Sawamura, their abilities were top-tier. Standing on the pitcher's mound, they didn't seem inferior to Sawamura. In some games, they even performed more impressively than Sawamura.

Even Coach Kunitomo originally thought that way.

Perhaps Sawamura was more well-rounded, and more stable on the mound than Narumiya and Hongou.

But when it came to the level of talent, Coach Kunitomo had once believed that Narumiya and the others were no worse than Sawamura.

Comparing them, Narumiya definitely wouldn't fall behind!

Even though the Inajitsu High School baseball team had played two games against Seidou High School's baseball team,

Coach Kunitomo's thoughts had not changed.

But now, he couldn't help but start questioning his previous judgment.

A small observation can reveal much.

If he were to put Narumiya in Sawamura's current position, could he have made such a calm judgment just now?

'Probably not!'

Faced with such an immense temptation of breaking records, even Narumiya would probably lose composure.

Only Sawamura seemed unaffected, choosing the most advantageous way to fight for himself.

"Only by giving up greed can one gain something!"

A player who could remain undistracted by the current situation and accurately read the changing dynamics of the game could never be an ordinary person.

In this regard, Sawamura would undoubtedly surpass Narumiya by far.

Perhaps right now, in terms of ability, they didn't differ too much.

But Coach Kunitomo knew very well in his mind.

The difference in vision between them would directly determine their future achievements.

During their youth, perhaps the differences wouldn't be as obvious. But once they grew older, this gap would no longer be concealable.

Bottom of the 8th Inning.

Narumiya on the pitcher's mound had completely lost control.

In the final stages of the game, Seidou High School's baseball team had caught up in the score. Their current situation was obvious.

Narumiya felt his strength rapidly fading!

This indicated that he had reached the limit of his endurance. Having thrown over 120 pitches, he was now at his breaking point.

Roaar!

The more his energy was depleted, the harder Narumiya threw.

At this point, he couldn't afford to show the slightest fatigue.

Once his exhaustion showed, Seidou's players would immediately attack, like sharks sensing blood.

Despite the fact that Narumiya had been dominating the game, once he showed signs of slackening,

Seidou's players would certainly strike with everything they had!

'The speed of the pitch hasn't dropped at all?'

Toujou, who was batting, was frowning.

Before his turn, they had already heard from Coach Kataoka about Narumiya's pitch count.

He had thrown over 120 pitches!

Normally, the peak pitch count for a pitcher was around 70, and maintaining form, they could throw anywhere from 90 to 120 pitches!

Since every pitcher has different endurance, their limits also vary.

But it's rare for someone to throw over 120 pitches and still maintain the same speed.

It's like long-distance running; you don't hear of someone running 5000 meters and then maintaining the same pace for the remaining 5000 meters.

Even if they maintain their pace, it's just a brief burst.

It's like how long-distance runners accelerate during the final 50 or 100 meters.

Narumiya was now in a similar state.

Technically, he had reached the latter half of the game but not yet the sprinting phase.

His pitch speed should have dropped!

But miraculously, Narumiya's pitch speed didn't decrease at all.

In fact, it seemed even sharper!

After falling behind by a strike, Toujou gritted his teeth and swung at the second pitch.

He aimed for a fastball, which was the pitch Narumiya had thrown most frequently.

Unexpectedly, Narumiya threw a Slider.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!!"

Missing the pitch, Toujou fell behind by two Strikes.

His face turned serious as he felt something ominous.

It's safe to say that Toujou's intuition was correct. Narumiya followed up with a Change-up.

Completely unprepared, Toujou swung prematurely.

Once again, he missed the pitch.

Snap!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

Narumiya continued, securing two more strikeouts.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

As Narumiya powered through, both Asou and Kanemaru were unable to make contact with the ball.

Without any chance to make adjustments, both were struck out.

Narumiya achieved an incredible 15 strikeouts in this game.

Had it not been for Sawamura's earlier record-breaking performance, Narumiya would have made headlines for his own strikeouts record.

But unfortunately, Sawamura had already set the record, so even though Narumiya was close to it, people only expressed slight surprise.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

The game entered its final inning, the 9th.

Top of the 9th inning, Inajitsu High School's baseball team went to bat first.

On the mound, Sawamura nodded at Ono after confirming the signals, then threw his pitch.

Magic-ball!

Change-up!

Moving ball!

Splitter!

Cutter!

Moving-up fastball!

In the next six pitches, Sawamura only used level two breaking balls, none of which were repeated.

Inajitsu's lower two batters, facing such a variety of pitches with no discernible pattern, were left speechless!

It wasn't that they didn't want to hit the ball—they tried various methods to connect with Sawamura's pitches.

Unfortunately, with their skill level, it was clearly unrealistic.

Even though Inajitsu's players had thoroughly studied Sawamura, facing him in a real game was another matter entirely.

Knowing how to deal with Sawamura was one thing, but being able to actually do it was another.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

Without hesitation, Sawamura struck out two batters in a row with six different breaking balls.

His strikeout count now reached an astonishing 21.

In this 9-inning game, out of 27 outs, 21 were Strikeouts.

Among all high school players across the country, only the great demon king, Sawamura, could achieve such a feat.

Before the game ended, he set an unprecedented and likely unrepeatable record.

...