Chapter 136: Final Showdown

"I didn't expect the final outcome to be like this!"

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Sawamura Eijun unleashed all his power, displaying unparalleled pitching skills.

In front of his unpredictable breaking balls, the players of Komadai Fujimaki High School's baseball team looked utterly stunned.

They were powerless, unable to do anything.

The fans in the stands who supported the Seidou High School baseball team, along with the two fan clubs of Sawamura, had already begun celebrating the victory in advance.

It wasn't that they were arrogant, but the current situation was one they couldn't even imagine.

What chance did Komadai still have to turn the game around?

None. Absolutely none.

This wasn't exaggeration, but a matter of being realistic.

Looking at the scene, the probability of Komadai Fujimaki making a comeback was basically zero.

Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, had a similar sentiment when the 6th inning ended.

The Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team was a very balanced team overall. Although their core batters were strong, the gap between them and the lower batters wasn't as big as the one Seidou High School had.

At least, it wasn't as large as Seidou's.

This created a harsh reality.

When the lower batters of Komadai couldn't even make contact with Sawamura's pitches, it was extremely difficult for the middle-order batters to hit the ball as well.

At least from Fujio's perspective as an observer, he didn't see any hope for Komadai.

In the remaining three innings, they had nine more opportunities to bat.

However, Fujio didn't believe the Komadai players could continue to hit consecutive hits off Sawamura and score.

He didn't see that possibility at all.

To put it plainly, the gap in strength between the two teams was just too large. Given the current situation, even if Seidou only maintained its one-run lead, Komadai would still lose.

Not to mention, the Seidou players almost certainly wouldn't settle for just that one run.

The next inning was the 7th.

As the reigning champions, the Seidou players would use this opportunity to unleash their full strength.

They would continue to push and score more runs.

They would crush their opponents in one go.

This scenario was easy to imagine since Seidou's lineup for the 7th inning started with Kominato Haruichi.

"It's the upper order's turn!"

"Isn't this the third time they've met?"

"Seidou's third-round offense is really strong."

"Hongou has already pitched quite a few balls; his stamina must be dropping."

"This is a great opportunity!"

The fans in the stands were even more excited than the players who were about to bat.

Although they had watched the two pitchers duel with pitches, it was becoming a little monotonous after a while.

In this situation, of course, they couldn't wait for someone to break the deadlock.

As die-hard supporters of Seidou High School's baseball team, or fans of Sawamura Eijun, they made up over 90% of the crowd.

From their perspective, they obviously didn't want Komadai's lineup to suddenly explode and hit Sawamura's pitches.

That would be too lacking in principle.

Now, they were hoping someone could change the deadlock, and of course, they placed their hopes on the Seidou team.

They hoped the Seidou batters would hit hard and score more runs.

The score was 1-0.

Although the fans were confident Seidou would win, honestly, it was the finals.

Wasn't it just one run a bit too little?

From their perspective, they, of course, hoped for more runs.

One run felt almost like Seidou had won the championship by luck.

This left them feeling uneasy…

This desire from the fans was clearly transmitted to the Seidou players.

It made them feel the pressure.

The expectations of the fans could sometimes motivate players to perform better.

But sometimes, it could also be a source of stress.

Kominato Haruichi, now standing in the Batter's Box, felt this pressure.

It made him quite uncomfortable.

Originally, he was a simple boy who didn't think about anything else when standing in the Batter's Box, only focusing on hitting the ball.

Because of his pure heart and clarity of mind, his batting skills were honed to an extraordinary level, even surpassing the experienced Sawamura.

But now, the expectations of the audience, the immense pressure of the final moment, weighed heavily on his young shoulders.

Kominato Haruichi knew this wasn't good, and he tried hard to cast these distractions aside.

But it wasn't that easy.

Once such thoughts emerged, they naturally took root and grew strong.

It wasn't as simple as just not thinking about it.

Roaar!

On the mound, Hongou Masamune's performance in the final moments had a transcendent quality to it.

It was clear he had let go of any internal conflicts and was now giving it his all, swinging his arm vigorously.

When the baseball left his hand, it was particularly smooth.

The pitch speed, which had already been slowing down, now had many pitches coming in at less than 150 km/h.

Yet, this pitch was a rare one—Hongou Masamune threw an unprecedented 155 km/h.

Although this speed still couldn't compare to the national speed king, Furuya, who had thrown at an astonishing 160 km/h, it was still extremely fast.

Furuya was a true monster!

In fact, even globally, pitchers who could reach such speeds were extremely rare. If you counted on your fingers, they would be few and far between.

That's what made Furuya the true national speed king.

This is why, even though Furuya wasn't the absolute ace of the Seidou team, he was still one of the top pitchers in the country.

When his pitching speed reached such levels, even with other weaknesses, he would still be a pitcher everyone feared.

But back to the matchup.

Hongou Masamune's pitching was becoming increasingly smooth.

Having already thrown over 70 pitches, he didn't seem fatigued at all. On the contrary, he appeared even more focused and powerful.

On the other hand, Kominato Haruichi, feeling the intense pressure from the crowd, had become noticeably stiff in his swing.

Perhaps ordinary people wouldn't notice, but to Seidou's teammates, the stiffness was quite obvious.

The pressure was overwhelming!

Although Kominato had always had a heart of steel, if it were a smaller game or an exam, he would have been able to ignore it.

But this was the final of Koshien.

In such a setting, winning the game would not only make them the national champions but would also immortalize Seidou's baseball team in legend.

Such a terrifying mental stimulus was bound to make Kominato's head spin.

Because his body was stiff, even though he successfully hit the ball, it ended up being too straightforward.

It flew directly to the spot where the outfielder was positioned.

The outfielder from Komadai Fujimaki High School caught the ball effortlessly and secured the out.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

One Out, no runners on base.

At this moment, stepping up to the plate was Seidou High School's Ace, Sawamura Eijun.

...

T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

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