The most familiar stranger
"This unscientific!"
Akagi won without a fight in the first round, and Masayoshi Renya, who had done data analysis and was ready to hit the first opponent head-on, was somewhat unacceptable.
Akagi West, why did you retire?
"I heard Kouki say it."
Kouki was also a little friend who graduated from primary school in Sawamura, but instead of coming to Akagi with everyone, he studied in Akagi West, which is closer to his own home.
Nobu Nakagawa said: "Akagi West seems to be drinking with the main pitcher and the catcher, and he also asked to fight with the players of the club. The trouble was very bad, and he was disqualified by the organizing committee. Unexpectedly, our opponent in the first round was disqualified. It was them."
Sawamura was stunned for a moment, only to smile bitterly.
There are hundreds of people, all kinds of people.
In the Baseball League, let alone people, there are 8,000 teams alone. There is a natural mix of fish and dragons here, and there are all kinds of things. Every year, there are no one hundred or eighty people who are disqualified from the competition for various reasons.
Among them, the lack of players, drinking, and fighting are the three most common reasons.
Sawamura has been in the baseball circle for so many years, what haven't you heard of? Naturally, I know a lot about this kind of thing, not to mention this kind of regional competition, even if it is a school that has already qualified for Koshien, it is not uncommon for them to be disqualified because of these messes.
Well, he just heard about it before, but never saw it.
This time, it was good. Not only did I see it, but I also became a disguised beneficiary.
"So we are the top thirty-two in Nagano, right?"
Sano-sensei said with a rosy face.
His new girlfriend is on good terms with him, and has been very happy recently. Not only has his love gained, but his career is also good. According to reliable inside information, he has been nominated to be promoted to director. Now even his baseball club has broken through the first round of the competition...
Sano feels that if life can be like this, he has nothing to be dissatisfied with. Of course, if the hair on the top of his head stopped falling out and could grow back, life would be more perfect.
Sawamura glanced at Sano and resisted not telling him the truth.
Sawamura knows all these things that Sano has been concerned about recently. Although he thought he had a good girlfriend, he didn't know that the girl was more than his boyfriend. The director Sano was promoted, but two years later, when the school was merged, his director was worthless.
In the end, the hairline he was most worried about didn't stop falling off. By the time Sawamura graduated, that hairline was about to break through the sky.
Akagi won the first battle without fighting, and naturally became the top 32 in Nagano Prefecture, and their opponent in the next battle also appeared.
For Nagano, this opponent can be regarded as the most familiar stranger.
Nagano Prefecture, Shirun Middle School.
It was Akagi's opponent in the first practice match. It's just that the second string they had just established was competing with Akagi's friends at the time, and now it is Shirun's first string who is going to compete with them.
This opponent made Sawamura very embarrassed.
Shirun's strength is good, but he's not the type that Akagi can't deal with at all. Although the probability of winning is not very high, there is always some hope.
Aoi Ren turned to look at Sawamura.
Sawamura understood what he meant. His opponent was Shirun. If he could unlock the change-up, there was hope for them to be sealed.
If Sawamura can completely seal Shirun's batter, as long as they can play the line and get a point, they should be able to win this victory easily.
Nagano Prefecture Top 16!
It seems to be within reach.
Sawamura hesitated for a moment, then shook his head decisively.
Not to mention that he does not intend to unlock the change ball before the straight ball is fully practiced. Even if he unlocked it, he would only win one or two games, which was completely meaningless to Sawamura.
Originally, he wanted to run in with everyone for two years, and in the last year he would act as a super dark horse, but now that Fengxiang Ouichi and Oda Bensheng have joined, Sawamura's plan has to be adjusted.
The chance for them to show their strength should be the 'Fumiomi Cup' next spring and the national competition in summer, not now.
Now his straight ball still needs to be sharpened, and the changeup has not been practiced and will not have practical value.
"Now my weapon is only the straight ball."
"The ultimate weapon can only be unlocked when it is most needed."
Sawamura smiled lightly.
Ren saw the inscrutable from his tender and cheerful face.
"Then we might have played this game."
Time passed, and soon it was time to start the competition.
In several counties in the Kanto region, because of the Kanto competition, the schedule is much denser than Tokyo.
Tokyo plays six or seven rounds a month, while other places in Kanto start a little earlier. But it won't last more than a month and a half at most. In this month and a half, their schedule will be divided into two parts.
The first stage of the Nagano prefecture competition, the second stage of the Kanto region competition. It takes a full ten rounds of competition to finally determine the number of entries in the national competition.
With such a dense schedule, all Nagano teams, as long as they advance, usually play double matches a week. That is, there will be one game each on Saturday and Sunday. In case of abnormal weather or the schedule cannot be opened, it may even be added to the weekends, that is, Monday to Friday.
So even though Akagi won without a fight, he broke through the first round and advanced to the top 32 in Nagano. But they still had to compete directly the next day to compete with Shirun to qualify for the next round.
June 23, Sunday, the sky was clear.
The Akagi baseball team, which was established less than three months ago, ushered in their first official game.
There were only a few hundred spectators at the scene, and most of them were supporters of Shirun. As for the Nagano side, no one came at all.
Most of Akagi's little friends have little experience, and they don't know that they can notify their family members to cheer for this kind of thing. As for Sawamura and Aoi Ren, they didn't take this game too seriously.
For them, winning is disgraceful, and losing is even more disgraceful.
In this case, they naturally wouldn't inform their family members.
So, none of them came to cheer on Akagi Middle School today.
A team like them, in addition to being a blockbuster in the comic world, is much more likely to be tortured in the real world. At least among the hundreds of spectators at the scene, no one was optimistic that Akagi could defeat Shirun.
"Shirun's luck this year is too good. Originally, Akagi West could pose some threats to them, but now..."
"Akagi West is self-inflicted and can't live. He drinks in bars and fights. No one will sue them."
"…"
On the eve of the game, Akagi's friends were extremely nervous. Yamaguchi has gone to the toilet three times in half an hour. The Yamazaki Brothers have been hiding aside and whispering.
Sawamura almost stopped laughing when he heard it close.
Yamazaki Kou: "Brother, you can do it."
Yamazaki Ryuji: "Brother, you're fine."
"elder brother!"
"younger brother!!"