Chapter 17: More Students

The players from Nanakyo High School, when faced with a huge crisis, did not surrender or give up resistance.

When they realized that winning the game was no longer possible, the Nanakyo High School players decided to go all out and give it their best shot.

They sent the backup pitcher they had been hiding onto the field.

He was a first-year player, appearing small and fragile among the senior players in the third year.

It was hard to imagine that he was the hidden Ace of Nanakyo High School.

"It looks like his momentum is not strong at all!"

In the rest area.

The members of the Seidou High School baseball team were whispering among themselves.

Based on the information they had gathered earlier, this small, skinny guy was supposed to be quite capable.

Due to time constraints, they hadn't been able to analyze detailed match footage, so they were completely unaware of the specific characteristics of the opponent.

However, the fact that he had shown impressive strength during his games against top teams was enough to raise the alert for the Seidou players.

"What kind of guy is he?"

"What kind of pitches will he throw?"

Before the match, the members of the Seidou High School baseball team had been discussing for a long time.

After their discussions, they concluded that he must be a very unique player.

Perhaps his pitch speed wasn't fast, but he likely had an extraordinary pitching style.

As for why they guessed his pitch speed wasn't fast, there were a couple of reasons.

Firstly, even if the opponent's pitch speed was fast, it was still far behind compared to their own pitchers.

Seidou High School had the high school's fastest pitcher, Furuya Satoru.

If Nanakyo High School had someone capable of matching or even surpassing Furuya's speed, it would have been all over the media by now.

There would be no way they'd be so unknown up until now.

Secondly, based on his physique, it was easy to guess that he probably wasn't specialized in speed.

Such deductions from the team members were understandable.

However, Miyuki had a different perspective.

He noticed something different from what the others were focused on; what he paid attention to was the number of innings the pitcher had pitched.

It was said that this backup pitcher was exceptionally effective and had overshadowed Nanakyo's Ace by a wide margin.

Such a player, even if the team wanted to balance the emotions of the other players, should still be given more opportunities to pitch.

However, according to the information they had received earlier, this player had pitched very little, with the total number of innings throughout the Summer Tournament qualifiers not exceeding 15.

That meant, on average, he pitched less than three innings per game.

Especially in the two most important games, the ones against the top teams in the Kyoto region, the total number of innings he pitched was only 7.5 innings.

The process of those games was quite intense, and the scorelines were extremely tight.

In such a tense situation, why had the opponent's pitcher pitched so few innings?

The only reasonable explanation Miyuki could come up with was that his pitching style consumed a lot of physical energy.

Since this was the case, there must be a reason for it.

Either he used up a lot of pitches to get through each batter, or his pitching style required tremendous physical energy for each throw.

In other words, he must be the high-explosion type.

Pitchers like this were generally unable to last long.

It was like Furuya from their team, such a monster pitcher was rare, and meeting one was considered extremely lucky.

When he first joined the team, he had serious stamina issues.

He often couldn't continue playing because of exhaustion.

Realistically speaking, when he first joined Seidou's baseball team, he didn't contribute much.

Pitching was still mainly handled by ace Sawamura Eijun and third-year senior Tanba.

It wasn't until his second year that his condition improved enough to support a full game.

Last year, he couldn't even pitch a full nine innings.

Although Nanakyo's newly introduced backup pitcher didn't look very powerful, Yūki still believed he was likely a "wolf in sheep's clothing."

When the fifth batter, Shiratsu, came up to bat, Watanabe even took the time to explain to him that the opponent's pitch speed might be much faster than expected.

Upon hearing this, Shiratsu looked surprised.

To be honest, he had never considered this possibility before.

High-speed pitches generally required a strong physical build to support them.

Just like Sawamura or Furuya.

Although they didn't look particularly muscular on the surface, their bodies were full of muscle when they took off their shirts.

As for the pitcher walking onto the mound now, he was around 165 cm tall and didn't stand out much among the other athletes.

Also, judging from his body type, he probably didn't weigh more than 60 kilograms.

'Could such a player really throw with the speed Nabe was talking about?'

Shiratsu was skeptical.

If someone else had made this judgment, Shiratsu wouldn't have paid it any attention.

Only a fool would believe such unfounded speculation.

But since it was Watanabe who said it, Shiratsu had no choice but to take it seriously.

Their team scout's skills were so exceptional that it was almost like he could predict the future.

'There were three opportunities, and there was no need to swing rashly. It would be better to wait until the opponent pitched before deciding.'

Shiratsu thought to himself.

He quietly observed the pitcher on the mound, waiting for his first pitch.

Whether Watanabe's prediction was accurate or not would be clear once the first pitch came.

The small pitcher on the mound seemed very nervous.

He waited for quite a while and still hadn't thrown the ball in his hand.

This, in fact, didn't surprise the spectators at the scene.

After all, he was just a first-year rookie, making his first appearance at Koshien, facing such a large audience.

The opponent was the national top team, Seidou High School's baseball team.

It was only natural that the player would feel nervous in such a situation.

At that moment, the first baseman, Hanagata, suddenly shouted loudly.

"Don't mind the batter in the Batter's Box. Just focus on showcasing your pitching. Believe in yourself, and no one will be able to hit your ball."

Hearing this from the rest area, Sawamura almost spits out his drink.

Why did this sound like one of those ancient cult rituals?

Drink my talisman water, and you'll be invincible to knives, guns, fire, and water.

Believe in yourself, and no one will be able to hit your ball?

He was curious about what kind of abilities this small, unassuming guy had. What kind of ball could he throw?

Fujita Saika!

That surname was quite common in Japan, and Sawamura knew several professional players with that name.

Was he one of them?

Or was he a dark horse who suddenly appeared, stirred up by his own butterfly effect?

Sawamura wasn't sure.

He spent most of his time in the Major Leagues, and outside of a few extremely famous players, he didn't know much about others in Japan's league.

As such, he couldn't be sure if this kid named Fujita was one of the players he had heard of before.

Roaar!

When Fujita stood on the mound and seriously threw his first pitch, the entire stadium immediately fell into complete silence.

The baseball flew out like a laser, and before anyone could react, it had already crossed a distance of several meters.

It appeared right in front of the batter.

Because of Miyuki's earlier reminder, Shiratsu had considered the possibility of such a situation.

So, he was cautious and mentally prepared.

However, when he saw that pitch, his expression still showed signs of surprise.

'How could this be?'

That guy, only 165 cm tall and weighing barely 60 kg...

How could he throw a pitch so fast?

Before Shiratsu could even react, the baseball had already passed him by.

SNAP!

The baseball went straight into the catcher's mitt.

The spectators couldn't even hear the umpire's declaration clearly before they nervously looked up at the big screen in the stadium.

The speed of the ball displayed on the screen was…

"Huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is this thing broken?"

"No, I got the same reading too."

141 km/h.

When the audience saw this number, they were quite shocked.

It wasn't because the pitch speed was too fast and beyond their expectations.

In fact, it was the opposite.

What they hadn't expected was that the real speed of the pitch was so slow.

Based on their earlier perception, the pitch should have been at least around 145 km/h, if not faster—147 to 149 km/h.

Why did the speed display only show 141 km/h?

Was the speed gun malfunctioning?

This situation was something no one had anticipated.

They couldn't imagine that such tremendous power was hidden inside such a small body.

The audience was stunned.

They were truly amazed.

They even looked at Fujita with eyes full of confusion and disbelief.

It was like seeing something that couldn't be explained by science.

It was incredible, but they couldn't voice their opinions.

Seeing their pitcher start to showcase his abilities, the players of Nanakyo High School were excited.

Their eyes were filled with joy as if they were about to take flight.

Wonderful!

Although they had anticipated such a scenario, when it actually happened, the Nanakyo High players were still incredibly excited.

After all, their opponent was the king, Seidou High School.

Their ace, wearing the number 1 jersey, wasn't exactly a Star player, but he was certainly an excellent pitcher.

He had undergone strict testing in the Kyoto region.

He had fought his way to this point.

Initially, the players thought their ace would continue on, pushing through, but after just a few innings, he was swiftly overpowered by Seidou High School's players.

They had no choice but to send Fujita onto the mound earlier than expected.

But could Fujita really solve the problem?

Truthfully, the players of Nanakyo High had no real confidence. Right now, they were just hoping for the best.

What if it worked?

Moreover, Fujita had shown enough potential in previous games to give the team hope.

In the Kyoto competition, he had stepped up to save the team multiple times.

In regular practice, Fujita had even faced off against the team's top player, Hanagata.

They had won and lost evenly.

Even a powerhouse like Hanagata could only manage to hit the ball out half the time when facing Fujita.

Fujita's magical performances in the past had given them some confidence.

Now, they were cautiously hopeful that Fujita might be able to handle Seidou High's batters.

Although the 4-point gap seemed like an insurmountable chasm, they still held on to a small hope.

As long as they could stop the other side from scoring, they would have 8 more innings to attack.

Even if the chance was slim, it wasn't entirely impossible.

As long as they could hold on.

Hanagata, who played first base, was also nervous.

Most of Nanakyo's players hadn't faced off with Fujita, so they weren't certain about his true abilities.

Or rather, they had no clear idea.

The only player who had battled Fujita was Hanagata.

No one understood Fujita's abilities better than Hanagata.

If he were to speak honestly, Fujita's abilities weren't nearly as powerful as the Nanakyo players had imagined.

In Hanagata's opinion, Fujita had some strong pitching features, but they hadn't been honed or formed into a complete system.

It was uncertain whether he could achieve that in his three years of high school.

After all, Nanakyo High was not a true powerhouse, and their coaches were amateurs, even though they had knowledge of baseball. They were no match for professional trainers.

The internal competition at Nanakyo High also limited the development of their players.

Various factors restricted Fujita's future growth...

How far could Fujita go?

Hanagata wasn't sure either.

However, one thing he was clear about was that Fujita's special traits wouldn't disappear.

His powerful features would definitely allow him to make a name for himself.

But how much could these traits help against Seidou High School?

That was still unknown.

For them, the only advantage now was that since they were unknown underdogs, by the time Seidou High School found out who they were, it would be too late to gather any information.

They might be able to catch them off guard.

This was one reason why the players of Nanakyo High had confidence in the match.

They thought Seidou High School would underestimate them.

But it turned out that wasn't the case at all.

Seidou High School's team showed no signs of underestimating them. On the contrary, they exhibited high spirits and ambition.

In fact, it was Nanakyo's players who were caught off guard at the beginning.

But now that was behind them.

Next, it all came down to how long Nanakyo's pitchers could hold out against Seidou High's lineup.

Roaar!

"BALL!"

"BALL!!"

Fujita's pitch speed was fast enough that even the Seidou High players were slightly caught off guard.

For some reason, when standing in the Batter's Box or even observing from the side, the pitch seemed to come faster than expected.

It was truly baffling!

Luckily, his nervousness didn't completely dissipate, and he threw two Balls outside the strike zone.

Shiratsu, having recovered from his initial surprise, was starting to calm down.

Although he didn't know why the ball seemed to come so fast, the speed gun above the field wouldn't be wrong repeatedly.

This meant the actual pitch speed wasn't as fast as they thought.

'Perhaps there was some limitation.'

The real pitch speed was between 138 km/h to 142 km/h.

Occasionally, it even dipped below 135 km/h.

This wasn't very fast, and Shiratsu could wait until the ball came to him before swinging.

Deciding on his course of action, Shiratsu patiently waited for the pitch to come.

The baseball whizzed toward him.

Fujita, a first-year student, was clearly fearless, quickly adjusting after his initial panic.

The 50,000 spectators gradually became accustomed to the speed.

Once Fujita stabilized, the power of his pitches began to show.

'In the strike zone!'

Seeing this pitch, Shiratsu didn't hesitate to swing his bat.

While he could keep watching, Fujita's condition had clearly started to recover.

To prevent them from completely regaining their form, the best move now was to break his momentum.

PANG!!!

...