Chapter 28: Mind Games

Sawamura's intuition is very keen.

The pitcher who looks like a primary school student just came on the field, and he was indeed unusual.

Ping!

Masuko swung the bat fiercely, hit the ball a slow fly high, and was caught by the second baseman of Yoshiyama High School.

"Seventh Batter, catcher, Takigawa-kun."

This time it was Chris.

Although he didn't rank among the top players, his attacking strength was also very good. In terms of batting average, it can also be ranked in the top five of Seidou High School. (The first place is Kominato Haruichi, with 100%.)

His swing can be a good test of the strength of Yoshiyama High School's relief pitcher.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

Facing the first pitch of the substitute pitcher of Yoshiyama High School, Chris chose to let it go and did not swing the bat.

From his line of sight, this pitcher's pitching is very average.

The speed of the ball is about 120 km/h, and it is still a standard Straight ball.

The only advantage is that the ball control is not bad. Although it is not up to the level of Isashiki, it should be similar to Sawamura and can throw the ball to the corners well.

This level of ball control is already very good.

'It's somewhat okay, but it's not enough to solve Masuko.' Chris made such a judgment.

But this judgment is a refutation. It is very difficult for the opponent to solve Masuko, but to let Masuko hit a high fly?

This is not reasonable!

'There must be something else in the pitch that I didn't notice?' Chris thought.

He changed his grip when he was acutely aware of the oddity of the pitcher on the mound.

With two Outs, the score gap is six points.

Right now, Chris gave up continuing to expand the score but concentrated on studying the opponent's pitching.

If they want to conquer the pitcher on the field as soon as possible, they must study and crack his hidden Winning Shot as soon as possible.

If he just wanted to get a hit, Chris would choose to hit the Straight ball.

'Judging from the opponent's pitch just now, the opponent will throw some Straight balls…'

As long as the opponent can throw some Straight balls, of course, Chris can aim for those Straight balls to get a hit.

But now, Chris gave up swinging at Straight balls, and he patiently waited for the opponent's fishing ball.

SNAP!

"BALL!"

The second ball, as expected, the catcher of Yoshiyama High School asked the pitcher for a Ball. This is exactly what Chris expected. So Chris also did not swing at this ball.

When the batter is still confused, it is best to throw a Strike on the first ball to get the number of Strikes. For the second Pitch, it is best to use the impression of the first Strike to lure the batter to swing.

The catcher of Yoshiyama High School, although not very noticeable, has a very clear mind with the game calling.

Generally speaking, if he wanted to see the winning shot of this pitcher as soon as possible, Chris should have followed the plan of the opponent's catcher and hit the ball out of bounds.

'But in this case, the opponent will definitely be suspicious.'

Chris is watching Yoshiyama's catcher, and Yoshiyama's catcher is also watching Chris.

He should also have a judgment on the level of Chris.

If Chris recklessly swung the bat right now, this might make the opponent feel unnecessary vigilance.

Next, Chris waited for a few more balls,

'The next ball will be a Straight ball to the corner.'

Chris predicted the next ball and then swung his bat.

Ping!

"FOUL!"

He didn't need to swing at the ball but if he doesn't swing right now.

'But the catcher will think that I am aiming at the winning shot, and will choose to solve me with a Straight ball.'

The most obvious strategy in game calling is to avoid throwing the course that the opponent is aiming at and solve him with the other balls.

'And because I swung at the third ball and did not swing at the first and second, in addition to being chased by the count, the next ball will likely be a Ball.'

Whoosh!

"BALL!"

'Usually when the batter is chased by the count, they tend to be more active swingers.'

'So this catcher asked for a Ball to make me swing and miss, but because I didn't swing right now, and I didn't swing at the Ball before, the catcher will think that I can differentiate between Ball and Strikes.'

'Which means that the next ball will likely be the winning shot!'

Whoosh!

The small white ball flew, and it was no different from the ordinary Straight ball.

'Hm?'

Chris observed this ball very clearly, but he still didn't see any difference…

'Did I guess wrong?' Chris thought suspiciously.

In the blink of an eye, the baseball was at hand.

Chris couldn't wait any longer. He trailed by two Strikes, another strike, and will be struck Out.

He can only aim for Straight balls and swing the bat.

Buzz!

During the swing of the bat, Chris's eyes never left the white ball.

He himself is very strange, whether he is looking forward to the unexpected change of this small white ball, or is he looking forward to hitting it out.

The moment the bat was about to hit the white ball, the white ball that had never left Chris's sight finally made a break.

SNAP!

"STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!"

'What kind of ball is this?'

With Chris being struck Out, Seidou High School's offensive in this inning was done.

The score stayed at 6:0.

In the first half of the sixth inning, Yoshiyama High School attacked.

"Notice of changing players from Seidou High School, No. 18 pitcher Furuya-kun will replace Tanpa-kun, and again, notice of changing players from Seidou High School…"

Coach Kataoka, who was seeing this as a good chance to give more opportunities to his other players, also chose to take action.

He sends Furuya to the mound, who had just completed an amazing performance in the previous game.

"Monster-kun, come on!"

"Seidou High School's pitching squad is really strong. In addition to the great Ace, Sawamura Eijun, there are backups like Tanpa. Now adding Monster-kun to it is really an overkill."

"Come on!"

"154-kun! No. 1 in the country!!!!"

Seeing Furuya walking up the pitcher's mound, there was an astonishing cheer from the stands!

The audience is still looking forward to the Monster-kun who turned out to be able to perform well on the pitching mound.

In a corner of the stand.

The contingent of Seihou gathered there.

"The fastest ball speed is 154 km/h, this guy is very valuable to defeat."

The tall figure in the lead, wearing the No. 5 uniform of Seihou High School, with sparkling eyes, looked at Furuya on the pitching mound.

Those eyes were like a hungry tiger staring at his prey.

This person is now the most powerful monster in Koshien, Sano Shuzo.

Throughout his high school career, until now, Sano Shuzo has hit a full sixty-five home runs, a super monster batter.

Seeing Furuya's pitching, Sano Shuzo's had an aura excited aura around him.

The Coach of Seihou, Yuu Nishidera, still recognizes the fighting spirit of his own four clubs. It's just that his eyes are really unbelievable.

"Don't stare at him, since Superintendent Kataoka still sent him to mound right now, that means he is not the main force of Seidou High School.

When we played against us, Seidou High School was the pitcher. It is impossible for Seidou's pitcher to be Furuya, nor can it be Tanpa just now.

The man who stood on the pitcher of Seidou High School at that time must be their Ace. Instead of wasting time thinking about Furuya, why don't you think about how to deal with Sawamura-kun? That's the real enemy of Koshien this summer!"

…