<88> Everything Is Just Beginning

Chapter 88: Everything Is Just Beginning

"Talented players from youth leagues are brought into Tokugawa Middle School through scholarships or direct invitations to play for both school and club teams," Sano explained. "This is how Tokugawa has maintained its strength over the years."

Hearing this, the team fell silent.

Akagi Junior High School was no longer the group of complete rookies they once were.

They had seen elite youth league training, such as that of the Wildcats. Little League or youth baseball (for elementary students) and junior youth baseball (the middle school equivalent) included players who had undergone professional training, with most starters selected through rigorous processes.

Many teams were even led by retired professional players, creating powerhouses like Chris's team, Marugame Senior League.

On the other hand, Miyuki's Edogawa team was more average.

While their coaches had some experience, their level was semi-professional at best.

Even so, they far outclassed the casual softball baseball teams Akagi players were used to.

In youth and junior youth baseball, players often skipped school clubs entirely, heading straight to team practice after classes.

Even Tokugawa's recruited players often lacked coordination with their teammates, leading to outfield assignments, pitcher-catcher pairings, or complete infield overhauls to compensate.

The difference in skill between professionals and amateurs was simply too vast.

"I remember Sen-chan once said that even the most basic middle school teams, due to their physical development, wouldn't be much weaker than youth league teams. Nagano doesn't have strong teams, but…" Aoki started to say, breaking the silence.

"Don't say something so foolish," Sendo interrupted.

"But—"

"I was talking about complete teams. Even if Tokugawa recruits a few players, they can't possibly replace half their starters, right?" Sendo continued.

"Sendo's right," Sano added. "While it's hard to say for this year, in past years, even if they recruited players, it was rare. Over the last decade, there have been only a few instances. And in recent years, there haven't been any notable recruits. Recruiting is usually done when their team isn't strong, and they try to poach students from nearby schools. You can imagine how successful that strategy is."

"But one thing to keep in mind is that Tokugawa invests heavily in scouting youth league players every year, so their player quality is very high. Many of their players have received professional coaching since elementary school." Sano concluded.

"See? It's just youth league players!"

"Sano -sensei, you're just scaring us for no reason."

"How am I scaring you? Do you think players from youth leagues are easy to handle?"

"No, but—"

"You all know very well that you're far from the level of youth league players or senior league players. Whether it's defensive range, handling, or batting fundamentals, you still have a long way to go. Let alone their advanced skills—they're from professional teams. Any player worth poaching isn't going to be an ordinary one," Sano emphasized.

"Sorry, Sen-chan," someone muttered.

"Anyway, our luck is really bad. But as I've said before, all we need to do is play our brand of baseball. Winning or losing doesn't matter. We're much weaker than them, and that's a fact. But don't do anything you'll regret, and learn as much as you can from the game."

"Tokugawa is strong, but they're not as unbeatable as the Wildcats once seemed to us. That's enough for now."

"Understood!"

Hearing this, everyone nodded firmly. No one looked at the tournament bracket anymore. Instead, they silently picked up their gloves and bats and began training.

"Tokugawa Middle School!" Sawamura clenched his fists.

"Just because we can't beat them now doesn't mean we can't in the future. Don't rush it. Let's go," Sendo said, patting Sawamura on the shoulder.

Sawamura followed the group outside.

"Sano -sensei, thank you for everything!"

"Good luck out there!" Sano waved as they left.

...

That day, everyone trained with exceptional intensity. Sendo had to step in to end the session early, reminding them they had a practice game against Tokumei the next day.

For Akagi, reaching the top 16 in the tournament was already a significant challenge.

Tokugawa Middle School and Tokumei Academy—the names shared a single kanji but represented vastly different levels of strength.

Tokugawa was the ultimate roadblock for Akagi's journey to Nationals.

A team so dominant it might take three years to overcome.

But for now, Akagi was still a budding team.

Their immediate opponent wasn't the towering Tokugawa but rather a respectable, consistent top-16 team like Tokumei.

Compared to Tokugawa, Tokumei was merely a newcomer.

...

The next day:

"All right! Is everyone here? Let's head out and secure a win!"

"Yes!!!"

Before boarding the bus, a cheer rang out, as if it were a war cry. Everyone knew that today marked the beginning of Akagi Junior High School's journey toward their goal of reaching Nationals.

...

"Coach Yashiro, thank you for waiting!" Sano greeted the opposing coach warmly after getting off the bus, leading his team as usual.

"The pleasure is mine. You all must've worked hard to get here! I saw your tournament draw—it's really unlucky for you."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it," Sano replied with a shrug.

"True. Let's have a good game today!"

"Of course!"

The coin toss ended in Tokumei Middle School's favor, and they chose to defend first, leaving Akagi Junior High School to bat.

Right from the start, Coach Yashiro noticed that Sawamura's pitches were noticeably slower than a week ago.

He quickly deduced that Sawamura was holding back because the catcher couldn't handle his full-powered throws.

Additionally, the famed moving ball mentioned by Coach Mitani wasn't as pronounced as described—though, to be fair, Yashiro hadn't seen it in action before.

Even so, Tokumei's lineup struggled against the precise placement of pitches on the inside and outside corners, combined with slight movement.

In their first trip through the lineup, they couldn't score.

Similarly, Akagi's batters couldn't capitalize on their chances against Tokumei's pitcher, and the game began as a short-lived pitchers' duel.

In the second round of the lineup, Tokumei Middle School struck first. Exploiting Akagi's limited defensive range and Sawamura's lack of pickoff moves, they employed small-ball tactics to squeeze out a run.

This lead held until the fifth inning when Akagi's Ohno got on base by targeting a fastball.

During Aoki's at-bat, a defensive error by Tokumei allowed Ohno to advance further.

Akagi capitalized with a double from Kondou, their third batter, followed by a successful bunt from Sawamura, driving in two runs.

Coach Yashiro couldn't help but marvel at Sawamura's precision with the bunt. "This pitcher is even good at bunting!" he remarked in amazement.

However, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Tokumei managed to create another scoring opportunity.

This made Sendo realize something crucial: the "perfect defense" they had displayed against Seiwa and Sakura Girls's University was more a result of luck and the opponents' lack of familiarity with their team.

The game against Seiwa had been bolstered by his teammates' exceptional, above-average performances, while the Sakura Girls match was heavily influenced by the standout efforts of himself and Sawamura.

This had led Sendo to overestimate the team's defensive capabilities.

"The road ahead is long. This is just the beginning," Sendo muttered to himself.

In the end, the game concluded in a 2-2 draw, with both teams shaking hands in mutual respect.

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