Chapter 168: Hyogo Prefecture (End of this Volume)

"All assemble!"

At the end of the training, all the players gathered together.

Standing in the first row are 20 players from the first string.

The players of the second string and the third string stand behind the players of the first string in three rows.

Everyone lined up neatly, waiting for Kataoka to announce the final result.

The expressions on the faces of all the players are extremely heavy.

The joy of winning the final has not completely dissipated.

Which made such a choice now more painful.

Head Coach Kataoka, Coach Ochiai, President Ota, Deputy President Takashima.

The current management Seidou baseball club, walked side by side with the opposite side of the team.

Coach Kataoka took the lead and took two steps forward.

"The next thing I'm going to announce may disappoint some players. However, we don't make the rules, we can only follow these rules. The number of entries in Koshien is 18, so from the original 20 two players will be dropped."

When it came to this, even a man like Kataoka couldn't help but hesitate.

It is a very painful choice for any coach to cut off his student's dream with his own hands.

"Higasa, Tanaka!"

After hesitating for about a second, Kataoka finally called out the two names.

Higasa Shoji, second-grade, third baseman.

Tanaka Shin, third grade, outfielder.

Such a choice greatly exceeded the expectations of all players.

Keisuke Miyauchi and Haruichi Kominato, who were originally considered to be dropped, both stayed.

Tanaka closed his eyes in pain.

Despite this result, he had already expected it. Nevertheless, when this fate really befell him, he couldn't help it, and his heart trembled.

'Three years, finally, it's over!'

"Shuu!"

Higasa was even more confused.

Among all the people who could be eliminated before, he was not there.

If you say, Tanaka, it's fair enough. Then he is a complete disaster.

"You two stay, and the others will all disband."

Coach Kataoka called the two to his office.

The other players, of course, did not disband immediately, everyone looked at each other, wondering what changed.

There are already two catchers, Miyuki and Chris, in the first string of Seidou.

The role of Keisuke Miyauchi is really not big!

Originally, everyone thought that the possibility of Miyauchi being dropped was more likely.

On the contrary, it was Kominato Haruichi. His success rate in the previous at-bat was 100%.

Even compared with the two super monsters, Furuya Satoru and Sawamura Eijun, his performance is very eye-catching.

But it can't be denied that his performance is only because the first string is strong.

Unexpectedly, the two most likely to be dropped, none of them were eliminated in the end.

"The Coach is really cold." Miyuki also muttered.

He somewhat understood what Coach Kataoka was doing.

The reason why Miyauchi Keisuke stayed was just because he was worried about Chris-senpai.

After all, the recovery period for Chris-senpai is still too short. If something goes wrong, Seidou will only be left with one catcher, Miyuki.

To be on the safe side, Seidou will bring another catcher no matter what.

As for the Kominato Haruichi.

Probably because of his 100% terrifying hitting performance, but also to groom newcomers.

It is indeed a good thing that Seidou can enter Koshien.

But at the same time, there is bad news.

That is, in the Fall Tournament, the new team of Seidou will be formed a whole month later than other teams!

Teams that go further in the summer tournament are more likely to be hit hard during the Tokyo Autumn Regional Tournament.

This is not without reason.

If the Kominato Haruichi is cultivated right now, more new troops will be left in the original team of Seidou High School.

At least there are the catcher Miyuki Kazuya, the pitcher Sawamura, the backup pitcher and outfielder Furuya, the shortstop Kuramochi, the second baseman Kominato Haruichi, and the outfielder Shiratsu.

That is most of the team!

***

The opening ceremony of Koshien is on August 7th.

Tomorrow, all the players of Seidou High School will get on the bus and head to Hyogo Prefecture.

There, players of Seidou will adjust for four days.

This adaptive training is very necessary. Although Hyogo Prefecture is not far from Tokyo, However, the topography and landforms are very different, and the corresponding climates are also quite different.

The most intuitive point is that the temperature in Hyogo Prefecture is significantly higher than that in Tokyo.

In the Tokyo area, the highest temperature in summer is in the early 30s °C (86 °F). The temperature in Hyogo Prefecture is obviously two or three degrees higher than that in Tokyo. (Which means 90~95 °F.)

This little difference, if it is an ordinary school, they will not think much about it at all.

But who made Seidou High School a tyrant?

The most important thing is Koshien, a goal that Seidou High School chased for six years.

The school will not tolerate the slightest error.

The chubby principal directly ordered that even if they had to rent a baseball field, the players had to get used to it in advance.

Of course, they didn't have to go that far. As one of the top giants in the country, Seidou High School has good friend schools in various regions.

Hyogo Prefecture, of course, is the same.

Kawada West High School, after the summer vacation came, the players also went on vacation.

As one of Seidou High School's friend schools, the principal of Kawada West very generously lent the baseball field and dormitory to Seidou High School temporarily.

The players of Seidou High School will be there for four days of special training.

The day before departure, the training at Seidou High School ended early.

The players went back to their dormitories to prepare their luggage.

Packing up, for boys, is really a simple matter.

The rest of the team will set off on the afternoon of the 6th.

The only players who are heading to Hyogo Prefecture now are the players from the First String of Seidou High School.

Night falls.

After dinner, the players of the Seidou High School baseball club went back to their dormitories early and fell asleep.

A few days before the start of Koshien, in addition to the daily training at Seidou High School, the usual extra training was canceled.

This is based on the suggestion of Coach Ochiai.

"The opening of Koshien is on August 7, and the final is on August 21st. It only takes two weeks in total. If you advance all the way to the end, we will have to go through six rounds of competition. And unlike the regional competition, the opponent is also The top tyrannical team in the country. In such an intense game, coupled with a temperature of more than 30 degrees, these are enough to exhaust players. Excessive training right now is harmful and useless."

Originally, the baseball club of Seidou High School had such an experience. Nevertheless, people also forgot a lot of this experience because they did not reach Koshien for six consecutive years.

After being reminded by Coach Ochiai, everyone started acting.

That's right!

In such an intensive game, coupled with the hot summer temperature, Even if you don't do anything, just standing in the sun will make you sweat.

Not to mention a fierce confrontation with the national-level tyrants?

Physical strength is a big problem!

The coaching staff of the Seidou High School baseball club immediately realized this problem.

After realizing this problem, of course, it is to do various physical adjustments.

After hearing the news, the principal of Seidou High School prepared a variety of health supplements and nutritional supplements.

On the second day, the 18 players from the First String of Seidou High School, after their morning training, took the school bus to Hyogo Prefecture after having a meal.

Along with them were President Ota, the president of the baseball club of Seidou High School, and Takashima Rei the vice president.

As well as Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai.

In the afternoon, the bus arrived at Hyogo Prefecture, Kawada West High School.

After the players from Seidou High School got off the bus, they saw a banner welcoming them.

"Welcome to Hyogo, Demon-King!"

After seeing the banner, Kuramochi looked at Sawamura in bewilderment.

"Why are there your fans here?"

Sawamura spread his hands helplessly.

"How could I know?"

…

End of this volume.

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