<52> Rebirth – Practice Match (4)

Chapter 52: Rebirth – Practice Match (4)

"Yes! We're a team aiming for the nationals, and I'm the one who dragged everyone into this. For my sake, a bunch of beginners have been practicing late every day."

"And then there's that guy, Sendo. Without me, he'd probably be lounging comfortably with air conditioning, watermelon, and manga!"

"Now's not the time to act selfishly!"

Standing in the batter's box, Sawamura thought about many things. He might be clumsy, but he wasn't dumb, nor was he completely oblivious to the situation.

"Damn, another left-handed batter! And this one's way more difficult than the previous second batter! The last time the slider hit the strike zone, we got lucky. Morishita's control isn't sharp enough to land that precise pitch regularly! No choice here!"

Seeing Sawamura's position, the opposing catcher felt his mood drop. After being tortured by left-handed batter Aoki, now there was another one—a cleanup hitter at that!

"Come on!" The catcher signaled, pressing his right fist and left glove against his chest and getting into position.

Thud!

"Ball!"

An outside pitch that missed the zone!

"He didn't even flinch! As expected of a cleanup hitter. Without even a close look, he can tell if it's a ball! And since he entered the batter's box, the runner on base has stopped moving."

"This batter must really be trusted. Let's go with another slider!" The opposing team fell into Sendo's intended trap, misreading the situation and fighting imaginary battles, unaware they were being subtly misled by Sendo's plan.

Although this catcher wasn't particularly bright, Sawamura hadn't exposed any weaknesses. Against an unfamiliar team, anyone would think the same way.

Thud!

"Ball!"

"Holding out hope, but it looks like that pitch that made it to the strike zone last time was just luck, huh?" The catcher's last illusion was shattered.

Third pitch!

Thud!

"Strike!"

A fastball at chest level entered the strike zone!

"Alright! It seems the batter's judgment is affected when facing pitches inside and outside! Looks like studying pitch placement really pays off!" The misunderstanding deepened as the opposing catcher found a new layer of confidence in his strategy.

The fourth pitch—a slider to the outside corner—went for a ball!

"Alright, that's it, Ei-chan! Now the pitcher's out of options!" In the gap between pitches, the entire team cheered, pressing more pressure on the opponent.

"Tsk! As expected of a cleanup hitter. That last batter swung at this pitch, but he didn't even flinch. The next one will be an inside pitch!"

Thud!

"Strike!"

"Yes! The count is full now, and the batter's lost his fallback!" The cheering from bench pumped up the energy in the stadium in the top half of the inning.

"Walking him is fine, but if he swings, we'll have the upper hand!"

Sixth pitch—

"Yes! He moved, and the runner didn't… Wait, what?"

Ping!

With a precise bunt, the ball rolled neatly along the first-base line.

As Sawamura's bat met the ball, Aoki on third base bolted home, while the first baseman rushed forward to grab the ball.

"Throw to home!" The catcher made a critical error, thinking the runner was late on his start and not expecting such a perfect bunt.

"Eijun, go for second base!" Before the first baseman could even stand up with the ball, Sendo's voice reached Sawamura, who took off as the first baseman readied to throw.

Even if the catcher hadn't made a mistake, the first baseman's instincts were too unpolished for this play; it was a safe bunt regardless.

In the original story, Sawamura's sprinting speed would have still allowed him to make it. But in this life, he had been following Sendo's explosive training regimen since elementary school, which greatly boosted his short-distance speed, doubling its impact.

By the time the first baseman threw the ball, Sawamura had already reached first base and was sprinting toward second without hesitation.

This team had known each other since elementary school; they shared a strong bond of trust and familiarity with each other's voices.

Thud!

The catcher caught the ball just as Sawamura reached between first and second. The catcher turned and saw Aoki sliding home, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Aoki, seeing this, gave a signal, prompting Sawamura to keep running to third.

"Third! Third! Hey! What are you doing, Ishihara?! Third! Third!" As he heard his teammate calling his name, Ishihara turned just in time to see Sawamura racing between second and third, too late to stop him.

"Is this catcher done for?" Sendo mused with a smirk. "Looks like he's not professionally trained at all. Does Seiwa even have a backup catcher? It'd be a shame if he falls apart completely."

Unbeknownst to Sendo, Seiwa didn't actually have a substitute catcher, just as he'd jokingly suspected.

In youth baseball, developing catchers was a significant challenge. Even formal training only covered basic pitch calling, emotional control, and some rudimentary techniques.

Sendo taught Shin more than anyone else, yet even that wasn't enough—it takes higher levels of play to fully develop a good catcher.

This is precisely why Coach Tahara from Ichidaisan was so eager for someone like Miyuki. Back when Miyuki was in his first year, the Ichidaisan catchers were notorious for their rigid pitch-calling approach.

This shows just how hard it is to cultivate a quality catcher.

After all, catchers need to understand a wide range of tactics, develop their own insights and strategies, command the field, and excel in on-the-spot strategic adjustments, psychological plays, and more. Essentially, a catcher is like a team's second coach on the field.

Seiwa High, however, was just a regular athletic club, and its current starting catcher was only 14 years old.

Even among the strongest junior high softball teams, a catcher at that age wouldn't be much better.

In fact, this catcher was already considered decent. With more time, Coach Takei might even be able to develop him into something better.

Though Coach Takei wasn't fully aware of Sendo's insights, he could clearly see that his team's 14-year-old primary catcher was rattled.

His confidence was crumbling; his gaze was unfocused and full of uncertainty, as if he didn't know what to do anymore.

Being able to mechanically throw the ball to the bases was the best he could manage. Even if a substitute catcher were available, switching him out now could destroy the kid's love for baseball. Truly, baseball is a daunting sport.

"Time out!" Coach Takei called, quickly running onto the field.

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