Chapter 141: Champion (End Of This Volume)

Sawamura and Coach Kataoka's exchange left Miyuki, who had just hit the home run, feeling a little left out.

Miyuki walked over to Sawamura and asked.

"Was that on purpose?"

This question came out of nowhere, but Sawamura knew exactly what Miyuki meant.

He was probably asking if Sawamura deliberately didn't hit a home run earlier.

"It was just a coincidence."

Sawamura didn't answer directly.

Miyuki gave Sawamura a deep look.

Coincidence? He didn't believe in such coincidences.

"Be careful..."

After the two-run home run, Hongou Masamune quickly made a comeback.

This guy didn't fall apart, and in the subsequent battles against Seidou's hitters, he grew stronger.

He quickly got three Outs.

3:0!

The three-run difference felt like three huge holes blocking their way.

Komadai Fujimaki, if they wanted to make a comeback, they had to first deal with those three runs.

But considering their strength and position, the probability of a comeback for the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team was practically nonexistent.

It just didn't exist.

The reason most people felt this way was because the man on the pitcher's mound was Sawamura.

By the 8th inning, it was Komadai Fujimaki's middle-line batters' turn.

The first to step into the Batter's Box was their catcher, Renji.

Although he was batting 5th, he was the only one who had managed to hit a single off Sawamura's pitch.

The 3:0 score, though everyone in the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team knew they had no chance of catching up, they still hoped to get a few hits, maybe even score a run or two.

For the Komadai Fujimaki players, this result wasn't entirely unacceptable.

With no hope of victory, their standard naturally lowered.

Given their current situation, their primary goal was to preserve their dignity and finish the game.

No psychological burdens, just go all out and give it everything.

Renji was up to bat with such thoughts in mind.

At this moment, he wasn't thinking about anything else, just trying to hit the incoming ball.

Renji still had confidence in this.

During the earlier exchanges, the Seidou High School players, unable to deal with Hongou, had resorted to delaying tactics.

They used all kinds of methods to exhaust the pitcher's stamina.

Honestly, it was very effective.

Although Hongou's stamina wasn't a weakness, the Seidou players had worn him out.

There was nothing that could be done; everyone has limits to their stamina.

Once that limit is surpassed, performance drops significantly.

Among all the people Renji knew, Hongou Masamune was undoubtedly the most monstrous.

Even when exhausted, Hongou's pitches were still incredibly sharp.

Just like now, the man standing on Seidou's pitcher's mound was equally unpredictable with his pitches.

But earlier, the Komadai Fujimaki players had also tried to wear down Sawamura's stamina, and they had forced him to throw many pitches. At this point, Sawamura had already passed his first peak of stamina. It was clear that his pitches should now be slower and less effective.

Looking at it this way, the two teams were quite similar, both in terms of methods and techniques.

Renji firmly believed that Sawamura was already running on fumes.

Renji trusted his teammates a lot.

He believed that even though they hadn't managed to hit a home run off Sawamura, they must have pressured him during the at-bats.

At that moment, Sawamura must have been feeling the pressure.

At the same time, his stamina was also a concern.

Renji had thought everything through.

Sawamura, however, had no idea that Renji was thinking this way.

At this moment, Sawamura silently threw the ball.

ROAAARR!!!

For some reason, Renji felt that this pitch from Sawamura was sharper than any of the previous ones.

But how could that be?

At this point, Sawamura's stamina should have been near its limit.

The Komadai Fujimaki players, including Renji, had all thought things through.

Renji thought this pitch would be a success.

But when he was ready to hit, he was shocked to find that the ball coming at him was much faster than he had imagined!

How could it be this fast?

He knew it wasn't his imagination, the velocity on the Koshien board was 150 km/h!!

Renji's eyes were wide with disbelief. No matter how he tried, he couldn't accept this.

Sawamura had already thrown over 70 pitches!

Even if his pitching power and speed hadn't decreased, it was already hard to believe.

Let alone the fact that his pitching power and speed seemed to have increased.

Crazy, absolutely crazy.

Because of his earlier judgment error, Renji failed to hit Sawamura's pitch.

He followed that with three consecutive strikes, striking out.

Next up was Hongou, but even he couldn't get an advantage over Sawamura.

He was quickly dealt with, hitting a high fly ball to the infield.

The Komadai Fujimaki team's final offensive push ended right there.

This outcome was something no one had expected. Even if some people had thought of it, they hadn't imagined it so clearly.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team's offense had no effect.

In the top of the 9th inning, Seidou's top-order hitters were up.

In a normal game, with a 3:0 lead, Seidou might show some mercy and give the opponent a little face.

But not today. Today was the day of the bet.

In the Seidou resting area, their strategy was already set.

In the top of the 9th inning, Seidou launched a fierce attack.

Despite this crisis, Komadai Fujimaki demonstrated their top-tier defense.

They tightly held onto the score, refusing to give an inch.

Kominato Haruichi and Kuramochi were both dealt with in succession.

With two outs, it was Sawamura's turn to bat.

Standing in the Batter's Box, Sawamura was filled with frustration.

'This guy was truly impressive.'

Up to now, Hongou's pitching remained sharp.

It wasn't easy for Seidou's players to hit his pitches.

This guy was like iron, both solid and unyielding…

After the first two batters were dealt with, Sawamura stood at the Batter's Box, deeply impressed by how far they had come.

Up to now, Seidou had only managed three effective hits.

There were three runs, pure luck, and their teammates' relentless effort.

Such results were hard to come by!

Hongou was truly skilled!

Sawamura couldn't help but admire him.

He returned to the Batter's Box, ready to push forward and get a hit.

The fans in the stands were incredibly excited, passionately cheering for Sawamura, hoping he could hit another ball out of the park.

In an ideal world, they hoped he would hit it, but reality was often much harder.

During the exchange, Sawamura missed, hitting a ground ball.

Although the ball rolled in a good direction, if it had been Kuramochi or Lee-Hyun, it would've definitely been a hit to first base.

But Sawamura wasn't quick enough, and by the time he almost reached first base, the ball was already there.

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

In the stands, some people were whispering, clearly noticing the same issue with Sawamura's play.

The total score was 3:0.

It didn't seem like a huge difference, but it wasn't small either.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, it was Komadai Fujimaki's turn to bat.

They started their attack in the 9th.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMEEEE SSEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!"

In front of an astonished audience, Sawamura struck out the Komadai Fujimaki batters cleanly.

His performance was so dominant that he didn't need any help from his teammates.

It was all on his own?

The final pitching sequence felt like a show.

"THE SUMMER KOSHIEN FINAL! THE MATCH BETWEEN HOKKAIDO KOMADAI FUJIMAKI HIGH SCHOOL AND WEST TOKYO SEIDOU HIGH SCHOOL!! AFTER AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES OF INTENSE COMPETITION, THE WINNER HAS BEEN DECIDED!!"

"STANDING AT THE PINNACLE OF 4000 HIGH SCHOOLS, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JAPAN'S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL HISTORY! THE ONE WHO WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW! IS STILL SEIDOU HIGH SCHOOL FROM WEST TOKYO!!!!"

When the announcer yelled this out, everyone who heard it was momentarily stunned.

Seidou High School had won the championship!

In the stands, the die-hard fans of Seidou High School were crying and shouting.

They cheered for their players' names, just like fans calling out to their stars.

As public figures, the Seidou High School stars still performed well, keeping up appearances.

Sawamura's fan clubs were just as festive.

They continuously shouted Sawamura's name.

Over and over, like it would never stop.

It was an emotional scene.

A heart-stirring moment.

In the Komadai Fujimaki resting area, all the players were in tears.

But their overall feeling wasn't one of deep sorrow.

The reason they were crying wasn't because they lost the match.

It was because the third-year players were leaving.

Despite the low final score of 3:0, during the entire match, the Komadai Fujimaki team never had a real chance.

This was obvious to both the audience and the players of Komadai Fujimaki.

They knew they had no hope of winning.

Throughout the match, because of Sawamura's presence, Seidou had controlled the entire game.

There had been no chance for a comeback.

With this, Seidou's players could stay calm and collected, knowing they would win in the end and carve their name in history.

…

(End Of This Volume)

…

T/N: Now this volume has ended, and Seidou made their long-awaited legend.

As for Sawamura and This Story, we can say that there shouldn't be many major things to happen in high school baseball for Eijun.

Thus, I happily and reluctantly announce that the next Volume will be the last in the high school era!

Mainly, it would be about the U-18 World Baseball Cup!

Thank you all for reading and supporting until now, it was really hard to imagine reaching this point without you!

See you tomorrow, and have a good day!

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