Secret Code

"Strike, strike, strike, strikeout!"

With Oda's strikeout, the match between Akagi Middle School and Nagano Metropolitan Middle School came to an end.

By the seventh inning, both sides were in almost the same situation. Both were one point and two hits.

In the seventh game, it was also the third stick!

Half a catty and eight taels are evenly matched.

These two words probably best reflect the strength and performance of both sides.

In the first half of the seventh inning, Nagano Metropolitan Middle School attacked.

Before the batters came on the field, Takeshi Ryu gave everyone a final boost.

"The game has come to this point, and for us, it is not the ideal situation. But overall, it can be considered to have dragged Akagi into our rhythm. Although the loss of points at the beginning is surprising, it is fortunate that we also chased after them. Come back. It's still a tie, so let's play according to the plan we negotiated before the game."

"Yes!"

"Third, pitcher, classmate Marian."

At the beginning of the first half of the seventh inning, Sawamura welcomed Marian.

At this time, Sawamura was a little embarrassed. To be honest, he really can't blame Nagano Metropolitan, he can only blame himself for not being free from the habits of his previous life.

Pitchers and catchers generally follow two rules. The first is to play the role of communication between the pitcher and the catcher, so the signal must be clear. Of course, no matter how clear the secret code is, it is not as good as communicating directly with the mouth.

But in a real game, direct communication is definitely not possible. Once the batter knows your ball path and defensive tactics, it's easy to target. So the password must comply with the second criterion, which is secrecy.

Ten years later, with the advancement of technology. In the major leagues, there are so many high-definition cameras and computers. Deciphering the code of the shooting partner has become very simple. Once the code is detected, the team playing at home has some way to notify the batter on the field.

Strictly speaking, this practice is definitely illegal. But as long as there is no evidence, who can know? Who will care?

Sawamura has been in the big league for so long, and naturally, he has seen these things.

His ball path has been continuously guessed before. Sawamura's first thought was what little habit he had in pitching, which is undoubtedly the most likely situation. However, Sawamura's pitching posture in his previous life was adjusted by countless famous players, and it is impossible to have a small habit that can be seen with the naked eye. After comparing the computer and the high-definition camera, even if Sawamura's little habit was discovered, it was too late to notify the batter on the field. Therefore, Sawamura ruled out this possibility without hesitation.

After ruling out the possibility of small habits, what remains is the secret code. Sawamura subconsciously thought that his own code had been seen through, which is why this situation occurred.

There are generally two types of passwords in the communication process for confidentiality. One is the gesture password. For example, the catcher keeps playing numbers, two fingers, and one finger, and then expresses different ball paths and defensive formations according to the sequence.

The catcher gives the pitcher a password, because it is difficult for the batter to see, so it is good to use a digital password, but the pitcher gives the catcher a password. If he uses the gesture password, he will be stared at by the beater, which is naturally not acceptable! You also don't know whether the other party can guess the meaning of your password. Therefore, the pitcher usually only nods or shakes his head in response to the batter, indicating whether he agrees or disagrees.

Of course, this is only in the catcher-based ball allocation, and in the pitcher-based ball allocation, the pitcher can't fully express himself by simply nodding and shaking his head. If you want to fully express your meaning, you also need other actions to assist. And these actions are generally hidden in the pitcher's small actions, such as touching the hat, slapping the arm, juggling the ball, shouting slogans, blinking and so on.

Of course, the pitcher is not sure whether he made small movements unconsciously, and whether it will affect the catcher's catch because of such small movements. Therefore, a specific key is required to open the code. For example, the pitcher shakes his head twice in a row and setting this as a key means that the next little action is no longer an unconscious little action, but a specific code...

This is the case with Sawamura and Ren. Although Ren's ability as a catcher is good, he can't compare to Sawamura, a reborn pitcher in the big league. Therefore, it is Sawamura who really takes the lead in distributing the ball among the two. Ordinary opponents, opponents who can be suppressed by straight ball and ball power, Sawamura will listen to Ren's greetings. Once confronted with a difficult opponent, Sawamura will activate their specific key and play a secret code.

Just like in this game, against Marian and Tsuchihara, Sawamura is the main player.

Sawamura and the others did not deliberately conceal this matter, and naturally, they were not afraid that others would find out.

Unexpectedly, it was this little habit that gave Akagi a fatal blow.

Nagano Metropolitan Middle School's 1st and 2nd clubs were naturally not the opponents that Sawamura needed to match. These opponents were handed over to Aoi Ren. And Aoi Ren's ball-matching habit was obviously seen through by his father.

For the first ball of the same person, if the previous round was an outside corner, then the first ball of the next round, Ren, will 180% be an inside corner.

Takeshi Ryu used this small rule to direct his disciples to swing the bat. For the words of their own coaches, the batter naturally regards them as good words and believes them.

That's why they threw Sawamura's ball and hit it out in a row.

After his own pitches were hit consecutively, Sawamura subconsciously thought that his pitch was seen through and then the third ball was Marian. He took the right to match the ball as a matter of course and stopped it in his own hands.

Facing Sawamura's continuously changing balls, Marian didn't swing at all. Even when he was about to strike out, he would rather use bunts than fight Sawamura.

From Sawamura's standpoint, this naturally confirms the possibility of them seeing through their own balls. But he knew that Takeshi Ryu just saw that every time he throws a changeup ball, there are too many small movements.

As for seeing through Sawamura's code, let's not talk about it. This is the middle school softball league, not the major leagues, and there is no comparison at all. It's just that Sawamura has been in the big league for too long in his previous life, and his thinking has not changed.

Sawamura's feeling right now is a lot like the humiliation and anger that a three-year-old child has been crushed by his tricks.

So when he was fighting against Marian, he was very energetic.

He didn't even use the changing ball, he just bullied people with the staggered path of the inside and outside corners.

"strike!"

"Clang!"

"foul!"

Two consecutive goals, especially the second goal, felt the power of Sawamura's throw, and Marian's face became ugly. He faintly had a very bad premonition. He felt that they had accidentally released a wild beast.

In fact, almost.

Originally, Sawamura's pitching was very rational, the distribution of physical strength, whether the team could keep up...

In short, he has a lot to consider.

But now, Sawamura suddenly understood. His opponents are a group of thirteen- or fourteen-year-old kids who haven't even matured physically. What is he serious about with them? It is not better to directly crush with strength.

"Whoosh!"

After thinking about it, Sawamura's pitching became aggressive.