Chapter 18: Team winning is always first.

Game 4.

Second half of the round.

With Miyuki also eliminated by Yokohama's pitcher.

,

Asad as the 7th batter of seido, walked to the batter's seat again.

While!

Facing the first shot of the Yokohama pitcher, Asad swung the bat without hesitation.

Shout!

From forces above the national level.

Let this ball instantly hit the ground under the third baseman's crotch.

By the time the third baseman realized that Asad had hit the ball, the baseball had already bounced behind him.

Tread!

Asad casually threw the metal rod aside, and then quickly rushed to first base.

As in previous matches.

Asad's physical strength was exhausted a lot.

So.

This time, the running speed was not as fast as in the second game.

But the baseball landing point is too tricky!

Even if the third baseman picks up the ball as fast as he can!

But the ball he passed had just flown over the pitcher's hill, and Asad had already reached first base!

"Wow!"

"This kid is on the base again!"

"And like in the second game, swing the bat when the opponent throws the first shot!"

"The most important thing is that the target position of the hit is really fantastic!"

Auditorium outside the venue.

As Asad hit first base.

In an instant, there were countless more discussions.

If we talk about the audience before.

Just conquered by Asad's pitch.

Then the current audience's mind was also conquered by Asad's blow.

"Asad's performance is very stable!"

In the seido rest area, Takashima Rei said in surprise.

She originally thought that after Asad consumed a lot of physical strength, in order to save physical strength to pitch, she would give up this blow.

Even if you don't give up.

It is also impossible to hit the ball accurately in the crotch of the third baseman as in the second game.

However!

The reality is!

Asad's strike level did not drop in the slightest!

"Coach."

"At the next game."

"I think I can move Asad's rod forward."

Captain Tetsuya Yuki advised head coach Tetsushin Kataoka.

"I have plans to do that too."

Kataoka Tiexin had already seen that Asad's mentality was countless times stronger than Danba's.

Even if it's the first time on the field.

I can still perform steadily at the level during training.

This kind of performance.

If you don't put the stick first.

It was inevitably too wasteful of Asad's strike ability.

...

On the pitch.

Asad looked at the Yokohama pitcher and looked at himself from time to time, and couldn't help laughing.

The heart said, "Don't look at me. "

"I'm not going to waste my physical strength on stealing the base this round."

Pitched 4 innings in a row.

And the second game ran at full strength many times.

Even the physical strength consumes most of it.

So.

Asad's current physical strength.

It was no longer possible to support him running at full strength.

The decrease in speed means that the success rate of stealing bases will be greatly reduced.

Of course.

Even if it can steal he Will but there isn't much hope of getting back to home plate.

Asad didn't plan to steal either.

After all....

If Hakushu and Sakai hadn't hit the ball, wouldn't Asad have wasted his strength in vain?

It's like the second game!

Asad fought hotly, and used all his strength to get a stealing base!

And when he reached third base, he also pinned down the pitcher of Yokohama 5 times!

Result....

Hakushu and Sakai didn't hit a slightly better rolling earth...

Caused Asad's previous efforts...

All

blind....

If the physical strength used to steal the base in the second game was saved, Asad felt that he could shoot one or two more rounds.

...

8th stick.

Kenjiro Hakushu strikes.

After some battling with the Yokohama pitchers.

He didn't even touch the ball and was eliminated.

9th stick.

Ichiro Sakai stepped into the batter's seat.

And his end.

As in Hakushu.

...

"Fortunately, there was no theft just now."

"Otherwise, it will be a waste of effort."

Asad praised his wit in his heart.

...

"Offensive and defensive exchange!"

With the referee's order.

Asad put on baseball gloves and entered the field with his other teammates.

Then.

Stand on the pitcher's mound.

Threw 9 extremely fast high-speed straight balls neatly.

Hitters in Yokohama.

There is no way to take this kind of ball.

Every swing of the bat will usher in a falling short.

When the third batter in the 5th game was eliminated, the attack and defense were exchanged again.

And in this round of attack.

Qingdao played well and scored one point again.

2-0!

After that, the sixth inning.

Asad was under the gaze of many spectators.

Give it your all.

Throw fast, high-speed straight balls in a row.

However

After knocking Yokohama's first hitter strikeout....

Asad found that there was not much strength left in his body...

Thereupon.

He put the baseball in his hand on the ground.

Looked at.

Everyone in seido and the audience were stunned.

"This is?"

"What happened?"

"Why did you suddenly drop the ball?"

When the audience saw Asad's actions, they were all full of doubts.

"Match suspended!"

Miyuki also came to his senses and said something to the referee.

The words fell.

He got up and ran to the pitcher's hill.

First baseman Tetsuya Yuki, second baseman Ryosuke Kominato and others also ran quickly towards pitcher mound.

"Asad, what's wrong with you?"

Miyuki asked as soon as he came over.

"Didn't you say that before?"

"My body is very excited, so even if I have a lot of physical exertion, I can still maintain my previous level of pitching."

"But..."

"Now it's cooled down..."

Asad spread out his hands and said the reason bluntly.

"Huh? Cooled down? "

"Why did it suddenly cool down?"

"Also, how do you know?"

After hearing this, the doubts in his heart increased.

"After people exit the state of 'self-forgetfulness'."

"The body will be very tired, which is how I am now, so I naturally notice it."

"So."

"Now if I continue to stay on the field, not only will I not be able to play any role, but I will also drag everyone down."

"In order not to affect the team."

"I'll go down and rest first."

Asad said, and in the surprised eyes of Miyuki and the others, he smiled lightly and walked towards the rest area.

"It's the first time I've seen a pitcher who voluntarily dropped the pitcher hill..."

Ryosuke Kominato muttered.

"Not to mention the pitcher's hill, other positions, few starters voluntarily give up."

Yoichi Kuramori said with some emotion.

"This kid is overmature..."

The pitchers Miyuki has seen in the past, even if they are too tired to pitch anymore, are reluctant to walk down the pitcher's mound.

But what about Asad?

You don't need an order from the coach, you go down yourself....

Seido Rest Area.

When Asad came back.

The coach also asked why he came down suddenly.

To this.

Asad gave the same explanation.

When the coach and the others listened, they looked at Asad's gaze, full of disbelief.

Played baseball for so long.

It was the first time they had seen a pitcher take the initiative.

And Kataoka Tetsushin, who served as an ace pitcher when he was a student, was shocked even more than others!

He remembers clearly!

At the beginning, once he climbed the pitcher's hill, he said that he didn't want to come down!

"..."

Kataoka Tetsushin opened his mouth and wanted to say something.

But he was too shocked to think of what to say for a while.

And.

How much physical strength Asad has.

Kataoka Tetsushin is 'very clear'.

In his opinion.

At the end of the 4th game.

Asad's physical strength should be exhausted.

It's just that Asad said that his body was very excited and could play for a long time, so Kataoka did not replace Asad.

So.

Now I heard Asad say that he was out of state.

Rationally speaking, Kataoka also knew that it was not suitable to stay on the field.

But...

Asad is also too decisive...

If you change to someone else.

Even if he was hit a home run because of lack of physical strength.

Although I feel guilty, I definitely don't want to walk down the pitcher's mound.

It can be said.

Asad took the initiative to withdraw.

Directly to Kataoka will not work.

But.

The game continues.

This kind of bizarre thing, just leave it to digest slowly after the game.

As for now.

Of course, the instruction to give substitutions.

After all.

Asad had no physical strength.

Kataoka couldn't force him to play.

No more.

As a coach.

He also can't keep a pitcher without physical strength on the court.

...

"First half of the sixth inning!"

Seido High School changes pitchers!"

"In place of Asad, it is the pitcher Furuya, Satoru "

Not long after, the on-site broadcast came the news of seido's replacement.

"Furuya, Satoru?"

"Isn't he a first grade?"

"Obviously Asad has been strikeouting opponents, why should he change people?"

"Is seido's coach having a brain problem?"

"..."

The audience continued to question it.

All kinds of filthy words keep coming out.

"Coach, I'm sorry to let you be misunderstood."

Asad sat in the rest area, listening to the vulgar scolding sounds around him, and said a little apologetically.

"It's okay."

Kataoka replied lightly.

When he was a student, when he first climbed the pitcher's hill, he was also questioned many times by countless people.

I have already practiced the ability to 'automatically block scolding'.

...

On the pitch.

Furuya, Satoru has already walked to the pitcher's mound.

Then.

Started his solo show.

"Phew!"

Furuya, Satoru blew his fingers lightly, and calmly assumed a pitching posture.

Then.

With all your strength.

Throw the ball in his hand at the catcher Miyuki Kazuya.

Boom!

With the sound of a baseball hitting a glove, the scene instantly became quiet.

The audience who just questioned the coach/Furuya, Satoru.

Only to feel that in the void, it was as if someone had slapped them hard.

...

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

In the middle of the vast course.

From time to time, there was a heavy noise.

It was the sound of Akira Hitani's high-speed straight ball hitting Miyuki's gloves.

And every high-speed straight ball appears.

will put a lot of pressure on the batter.

So that those batters almost subconsciously swung the bat.

But...

They couldn't hit again....

So!

Although the balls thrown by Furuya, Satoru are all on the high side, as long as they don't swing the bat, they are real rounds...

But because Yokohama's batters all swung their bats, a bad ball turned into a good one!

And the behavior of these batters!

It also let them taste the grievance of being strikeouts from Furuya, Satoru's body again!

"Oh my God!"

"Strikeouts and eight strikeouts in a row?!"

"No... Incredible! "

"Another incredible monster has appeared in seido!"

"I originally wanted to say that that kind of super fast high-speed straight ball is very physically exhausting, Asad can't hold out until the ninth game, but I didn't expect that thisFuruya, Satoru could actually throw such a fast ball!"

"It's the ninth inning, can you continue to maintain strikeouts?"

"I don't know if it's my illusion, although this Furuya, Satoru's pitch is also fast, but his ball seems to have all deviated from the good ball area?"

The appearance of Furuya, Satoru.

The audience seats were detonated again.

Countless people were discussing around Furuya, Satoru.

Of course.

Some people also began to compare Furuya, Satoru and Asad.

And then.

People who have been fanned by the Furuya, Satoru circle.

and people who were fanned by Asad.

Because they all think that the object they support is the strongest in the team, they quarrel.

...

"Hmm."

"Although Furuya, Satoru can't put most of the ball into the good ball area like Asad."

"But that's about the results."

"It's similar to Asad."

"Since I came on the court until now, it's all strikeouts."

"Both of them are so good that they can't tell that they are in the first grade..."

At the outermost periphery of the audience, after analyzing a wave of reason, endless sighs emerged in his heart.

..."

Seeing the performance of the Furuya, Satoru is so perfect.

Listen to the praise of the surrounding audience and Kominato Haruichi.

Sawamura's face became a little hideous because of envy.

...

Meanwhile.

Furuya, Satoru on the field.

The final round of pitching begins.

High-speed straight ball after struck.

Let the opponent grit his teeth and want to hit, but the bat and ball, every time is passed by.

Boom!

The last ball thrown by Furuya, Satoru also dodged the batter and flew into Miyuki 's gloves!

"The hitter is out!"

"Game over!"

The referee immediately shouted.

The second half of the ninth inning was a Seido offense.

But on the scoreboard at this time, it was seido who was ahead.

So.

Follow the rules.

The second half of the ninth inning does not need to be held, and Seido can be declared the winner directly.

"Hey! Did you record the game just now? "

"You have to be careful with seido this year."

"It seems that after going back, I will have to repeat this game a few more times."

The scouts of the major colleges and universities left the stadium with a full harvest.

...

On the pitch.

Yoichi Kuramori happily jumped on Furuya, Satoru's body: "Ahhahaha, you guy pitched well!" "

Ryosuke Kominato who came over couldn't help but praise: "It's beautiful!" "

Since joining Seido.

It was the first time he had experienced a game he could win so easily.

Lounge area.

Kataoka Tetsushin showed a smile for a long time.

You can see it.

He is also very happy to keep a clean sheet against Kanagawa's famous baseball goal.

"But..."

"After this game..."

"Asad and Furuya, Satoru will be thoroughly studied by other schools!"

"Asad is okay, his ball control has been trained to a very good level after so long training plus his other pitches he can surprise everyone."

"Today's pitch."

"Most of it went into the good ball zone."

"But the Furuya, Satoru doesn't work, every ball is a bad zone."

"That's why the opponent doesn't know how to get so many strikeouts."

"If known by the opponent."

"Then it will be difficult to eliminate the opponent with a straight ball from Furuya, Satoru."

"There is still some time before the summer conference, so we have to let the Furuya, Satoru focus on improving ball control."