<104> The Summer Tournament

Chapter 104: The Summer Tournament

"Hurray! Hurray! Kirinishi! Hurray! Hurray! Kirinishi!

Go! Go! Kirinishi!"

On the day of their first match, Akagi's players were stunned by the opposing team's cheering squad.

The cheerleaders were dressed in short skirts, accompanied by a large group of girls wielding various props and shouting encouragement.

The sheer energy of so many girls cheering was overwhelming—it practically caused a spike in testosterone levels.

"Wow, this is amazing!"

"Their cheering squad is dazzling!" Over 100 girls had come to cheer from the stands, creating a scene that left everyone in awe.

"I'm so jealous!" Sendo, too, couldn't help but fall victim to the spectacle.

Faced with an opponent like this in their opening match, Akagi's players could hardly concentrate.

They stared blankly at the opposing team's stands, mesmerized.

"Don't go easy on them just because of this!" Sendo coughed lightly to mask his embarrassment and tried to encourage his teammates.

"Don't worry, Sendo. We're not like you!" someone retorted, hitting him right in the feelings.

"Such an enviable cheer squad... We have to make them taste defeat! (The wrath of single guys!)" Sendo declared.

"Yeah!!!"

"Play ball!" The coach's command signaled the start of the game, with Akagi taking the field for defense first.

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

Sawamura's pitches, while not the best at the junior high level, were blazing fast for a team like Kirinishi.

The opposing batter was frozen in disbelief.

They couldn't comprehend how a team that had been eliminated in the first round last summer had improved so much.

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

"Strike three! Batter out!"

The first batter watched helplessly as he was struck out.

"Ping!"

"Pop!"

"Out!"

The second batter hit a weak fly ball on the first pitch.

"Out! Change sides!" The third batter was struck out as well, and Akagi completed a smooth transition to offense.

"Now it's our turn to attack! Stay focused and watch the pitches carefully!" Sendo shouted.

"Yeah!!!"

"First up, shortstop, Ohno-kun!" The stadium announcer called out the lineup.

"Whoosh!"

"Ahhh!!!"

As the opposing pitcher began his windup, the cheerleaders erupted in high-pitched screams.

It's said that three women make a scene—imagine what over a hundred teenage girls could do!

The distraction was palpable.

"Pop!" In the moment Ohno lost focus, the ball landed in the catcher's mitt.

"Kirinishi really is the toughest opponent!" Sendo muttered, though his eyes were clearly glued to the "scenic view" in the stands, leaving him too distracted to give proper instructions—not that they were needed at this point.

The distraction didn't stop there.

Ohno ended up striking out.

"Second up, right fielder, Aoki-kun!"

Thankfully, Aoki wasn't as affected and managed to hit an infield single, reaching first base.

If not, Sendo might have died of shame.

"Third up, second baseman, Kondou-kun!"

It was now Kondou's turn, one of the team's most reliable batters.

"Pop!"

"Ball!"

The first pitch was a breaking ball outside.

"Steal!"

"Pop!"

"Ball!"

"Pop!"

"Safe!"

Against a team like Kirinishi, Akagi's runners—except for Wakana and Takada—stole bases freely.

After observing the pitcher's delivery, Aoki took the opportunity to steal second base.

"Steal!"

Aoki attempted another steal on the next pitch, but—

"Ping!" Kondou capitalized on a misplaced pitch and made solid contact!

Aoki easily reached home plate to score, and Kondou advanced to second base.

Thankfully, aside from Ohno, the early batters were composed players.

Otherwise, the cheer squad could have completely derailed them.

For these boys just entering puberty, the distraction was almost too much to handle—they couldn't stop drooling in envy over the opposing team's supporters.

"Fourth up, pitcher, Sawamura-kun!"

The stadium announcer emphasized Sawamura's position as the cleanup hitter, making it sound grand and impressive.

But as a batter, Sawamura wasn't exactly reliable.

Fortunately, this thick-skinned player was completely immune to distractions from girls.

In fact, Sawamura was so focused that he still held a grudge over Sendo's earlier instructions and was muttering to himself about it.

"Steal!"

"Pop!"

"Ball!" The pitcher, distracted by the steal attempt, threw another ball.

"Safe!"

"Pop!"

With no outs and runners on third base, Sawamura's expression turned increasingly fierce, intimidating the opposing pitcher to the point of near panic.

However—

"Steal!"

"Ping!"

Sawamura executed a perfect bunt toward first base with a determined glare.

"Forced play!"

"Safe!"

Kondou easily reached home plate to score.

At that moment, the opposing infield made a critical error.

The first baseman dropped the ball during the throwback, allowing Sawamura to safely reach first base!

The Akagi players were so moved by this mistake that some were nearly in tears.

It reminded them of last summer, when they had made similar—and even more embarrassing—errors repeatedly.

Reflecting on how much they'd improved over the year, they couldn't help but feel a mix of gratitude and relief.

"Damn it! Next time, I'm going to swing!" Sawamura declared, completely forgetting that unless there were two outs or no runners on base, he wasn't allowed to swing. He truly never learned.

The game continued. Takada, acting as if he were their savior, swung and missed multiple times, finally gifting Kirinishi their long-awaited first out and saving their morale from complete collapse.

"Sixth batter! Center fielder! Omura-kun!"

Omura stepped up to bat as the next hitter, and as he prepared, Sawamura started making his presence known on the bases.

"I'm gonna run! I'm gonna run! Hahaha!" Sawamura shouted obnoxiously, drawing attention to himself.

"That idiot! Still, it's not a bad way to support Omura," Sendo commented with a chuckle from the bench, finally pulling his gaze away from the cheer squad for a moment.

"Pop!"

"Ball!"

"Pop!"

Meanwhile, the opposing catcher, visibly irritated by the constant stolen bases, stood up quickly, pretending to throw.

"Ah!" Sawamura yelped, diving back to the base dramatically.

"Safe!" In the end, it was just a bluff to vent the catcher's frustration.

Akagi's offense didn't stop there.

Both Omura and the next batter, Oyama, hit consecutive singles, advancing Sawamura to third base.

Shin followed with a bunt, driving in a run, though Wakana was later retired on a grounder.

However, thanks to consistent hits from reliable players like Aoki, the cheer squad's psychological impact quickly waned, and the game lost any suspense.

Akagi's batters continued to score aggressively while Sendo stole glances at the cheer squad with his exceptional dynamic vision.

His observations were perhaps a little too detailed, as he caught glimpses beneath the cheerleaders' skirts, leading Wakana to nearly hit him out of frustration.

The game concluded in the top of the seventh inning when Akagi secured the final out with a ground ball.

The final score was 10-0. Akagi recorded 18 hits while Kirinishi managed only three off Sawamura.

As the game ended, Akagi—especially Sendo—faced one last emotional blow from the opposing cheering section.

If hearing a single girl cry is heartbreaking for most guys, what would it feel like to hear over 100 girls crying in unison? Sendo shivered all over, utterly overwhelmed.

"Playing against a team like this is just too much!" Sendo sighed.

"Yeah, no kidding," Sawamura agreed for once.

That evening, Sendo faced yet another challenge: Fumino was upset with him. Who could blame her?

During the game, he had practically glued his eyes to the opposing team's cheer squad.

Having spent the entire day glaring at him with fiery eyes, Fumino didn't even say goodbye before leaving.

That night, Sendo braced himself for whatever troubles awaited him.

...

Akagi's game had taken place on Saturday, while their next opponent would be decided in a Sunday match.

Sano and Wakana were tasked with recording the game, with Wakana also teaching Sano about proper angles and filming techniques.

The rest of the team continued their usual training.

Since Nagano's schedule wasn't particularly tight, their next match would take place the following week.

As the tournament progressed and the number of teams decreased, the schedule would become more intense.

...

After watching the recorded game as a team, Akagi's baseball club held a strategy meeting.

"Next week, our opponent will be Susabano Middle School. Their batting lineup is balanced but lacks any standout hitters. The pitcher's velocity is decent, reaching up to 130 km/h.

"However, his control isn't great, and his breaking balls—curveballs and sliders—are relatively simple. As expected, any team reaching the second round won't rely solely on fastballs," Sendo explained while tapping the chalkboard.

"Sen-chan, how should we prepare?" Ohno, as lively as ever, was the first to ask.

"Well, their lineup isn't particularly difficult to handle. Their leadoff hitter struggles with outside pitches, but the rest don't have any glaring weaknesses."

"Their catcher's game-calling is subpar and easy to predict. Additionally, his throwing arm isn't strong, so the key to beating them lies in aggressive baserunning and bunting. Attack their defense with stolen bases whenever the opportunity arises."

"Got it!" The team nodded in agreement.

"As for their pitcher, since I don't throw breaking balls, we can't practice against them directly. Instead, we'll focus on hitting fastballs this week. I'll adjust my pitching speed to match his so you can get used to it."

"That should do it!"

"Not quite. We should also watch more footage of their pitcher. His breaking balls might be tougher for some of you to handle, so pay close attention."

"Understood!"

"Unfortunately, if we beat Susabano on Saturday, we'll have to play the next round on Sunday." Sendo tapped the name of their potential next opponent on the list: Tokugawa Middle School—the first seed.

Several players swallowed hard. Honestly, Akagi's luck was baffling.

It seemed like fate kept drawing them against Tokugawa early in tournaments.

Last time, they met in the second round, and now it would be the third.

With no choice but to take it one game at a time, Sendo's pitching workload increased.

The problem was that Susabano's and Tokugawa's ace pitchers had vastly different velocities.

Sendo couldn't afford to win one game and then spend less than half a day adjusting to Tokugawa's speed.

Instead, he had to practice against both simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Tokugawa's players were equally surprised to see Akagi so early in the bracket.

Determined to avenge their loss a month ago, they were readying themselves to crush Akagi with a vengeance.

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