Chapter 14: The Spirit of the Bat

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the offense of Sankou began.

With two consecutive strikeouts, they dealt with Seidou's formidable Kuramochi and Kominato. The momentum of Sankou soared to its peak.

Originally, when facing Seidou, the biggest pressure on opponents came from Seidou's pitching staff, making it difficult for them to score points against their pitchers.

In this situation, who felt the most pressure? Who was in the most worrying position?

On the surface, it appeared to be the batter, but in reality, the pitcher bore the greatest burden.

You can't afford to give up runs; once you do, there's no way to recover them.

At the same time, the pressure on the batters is also significant. When facing a team like Seidou, their chances of scoring are already slim. If there isn't a reliable pitcher on the mound, what's the point in trying to score?

Sankou had previously faced such terrifying pressure and played against Seidou under these immense conditions.

It's no wonder that after falling behind by three runs at the start, most players of Sankou felt hopeless.

But suddenly Amahisa stabilized the situation with his outstanding skills, preventing Seidou from extending their lead.

Now, the players of Sankou felt as if they had found hope in despair. Although they still didn't believe they could turn the game around, they felt a renewed motivation to fight.

With their Ace performing so well, how could they, as teammates, easily give up?

Holding onto such unwavering belief, and determined to take a piece out of the giant that is Seidou, Sankou began their offense in the fifth inning.

First up to bat was the cleanup hitter, Hoshida Mamoru.

Once in the Batter's Box, he resembled a samurai poised to draw his sword.

On the surface, he appeared normal, but he radiated an air of danger. It felt like one movement from him could unleash a thunderous strike.

'This guy is no ordinary player; we must treat him with caution!' Miyuki thought to himself.

It would be fine to use sharp breaking balls against Hoshida, but considering Sawamura's current pitching rhythm, it would be best to use a Moving ball against him.

Glancing at the three empty bases, Miyuki decisively signaled Sawamura to switch to the Moving ball Kai.

'Since no one was on base yet, it didn't matter if the opponent had a chance to hit.'

Miyuki had full confidence in Sawamura's abilities.

'The rhythm of the pitch must be fast; we can't give the opponent any chance to breathe.'

Even though Miyuki's internal judgment was that it didn't matter if Hoshida got a hit, the signal he gave to Sawamura didn't reveal this sentiment. Instead, it spurred Sawamura's competitive spirit, encouraging him to throw the Moving ball Kai even more fiercely.

On the mound, Sawamura nodded slightly and decisively released the baseball from his hand.

For Sawamura, there was never a winning shot only the most suitable one.

At least, that was true until he developed his Level 4 breaking ball.

He was not a monster like Furuya, who could crush everything with sheer speed. Essentially, Sawamura was a pitcher who relied on fielding to achieve outs.

Whrroosh!

The small ball shot through the 18-meter space like a laser beam in the blink of an eye.

Facing the incoming baseball, Hoshida in the Batter's Box showed no hesitation. He decisively swung his bat.

He had no intention of waiting for the ball; whatever pitch came over, he would swing at it as long as it was in the strike zone.

BUZZZZZ!

His bat swung, producing a tremendous crack. Just as it seemed he would send the ball flying, the ball suddenly breaks.

It slid several toward the outer corner.

'A Slider?'

Watching the ball slide outward, Hoshida's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Ping!

After making contact, the ball spun out of bounds.

"FOUL!"

During this process, all the substitute players in Seidou's dugout were so tense they forgot to breathe.

"Whew!"

"Whew!!"

"Whew!!!"

Despite their earlier confidence in Sawamura, this scene made them anxious.

So strange!

It was incredibly unsettling.

Sawamura's exceptional pitch was easily brushed aside.

After all, this was a Moving ball Kai, not a regular one.

On the other side, the players in Sankou's dugout were not faring any better.

"Did the baseball visibly break before reaching the plate?"

"It shifted clearly!"

As they discussed this, the members of Sankou's baseball team exchanged bewildered glances.

To be honest, they found it hard to accept.

What on earth was happening?

Coach Tahara's gaze toward the pitcher's mound was filled with nervousness.

As a Coach of a prestigious school, he had encountered many talented players, whether from his own team or those they had faced.

Tahara had seen many great players in his career.

A great player can lead a team. A great pitcher can even determine a team's fate...

He thought he had seen it all.

But after witnessing Sawamura's pitching, he still felt astounded.

This was the first time he had seen such a monster.

He looked deeply toward the direction of Seidou's dugout. Watching that tall figure wearing sunglasses, he couldn't see the expression on his face.

'Kataoka-san, I truly envy you.'

'With a super talent like Sawamura on your team, it's no wonder Seidou could dominate Koshien last summer and this spring.'

The battle on the field continued.

Almost everyone was immersed in the sharpness of Sawamura's Moving ball, except for Hoshida Mamoru in the Batter's Box, whose mind sparked with different thoughts.

He had forgotten about the team's victory or defeat right now, the tens of thousands of spectators around him, and the responsibilities he was carrying...

All he saw was Sawamura on the pitcher's mound.

What flooded back to him was the shock he felt when he first entered Sankou.

At that time, the Senpais in their third year were too distant from him, so he had limited interaction with them. The ones he interacted with most were the hardworking second year.

Oomae Takahiro!

One of the top ten players drafted before.

In the second year, Oomae already wielded significant hitting prowess, becoming the team's fifth hitter, with his batting skills recognized by the entire team.

But even so, Oomae-senpai was still the last to leave the practice.

As a Kohai, Hoshida often struggled to persevere when swinging the total 500 times a day.

Of course, he could continue swinging, but what's the point of mechanically moving your arms without focus?

Facing the amiable Oomae-senpai, Hoshida had once posed such a question.

The scene of Oomae's answer still echoed in Hoshida's mind, unforgettable.

"Look at the three big words written on the wall!"

On the wall of Sankou's indoor practice field, there were three prominent words.

[Practice Batting Daily!]

"This is our tradition at Sankou. Sometimes I get confused. When my mind is hazy, I wonder if continuing to practice has any meaning. But regardless of whether it has meaning or not, many generations of players at Sankou have persevered! Not to mention, every generation of the fourth hitters has accomplished this. It must have its significance..."

Since then, Hoshida has committed to a total of a thousand swings a day.

It was also from that time that Hoshida learned about the legend of the spirit of the bat from his Senpais.

It is said that if you swing a thousand times a day for a year, the spirit of the bat will naturally dwell in your bat.

To date, Hoshida has persisted for 541 days.

Although he had never felt the spirit of baseball, he believed the soul of Sankou existed in his swings.

The human brain can flash thousands of thoughts in an instant, but in the real world, only a fraction of a second may have passed.

After receiving the return from Miyuki, Sawamura wasted no time and quickly pitched the ball.

"Wow, that's fast!"

Not only was Hoshida surprised, but even the spectators watching were astonished.

This pitching rhythm clearly exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Too fast!"

"So fast it felt unprepared."

Hoshida, in the Batter's Box, didn't feel that way.

He had swung so mechanically before that his mind registered what was happening.

When Sawamura pitched the ball, his body responded naturally.

Hoshida's physical movements surpassed his brain's thinking.

His body moved faster than his thoughts.

The moment Sawamura released the pitch, a trace of caution flashed in his eyes.

For some reason, an ominous premonition stirred in his heart. This tension and excitement didn't belong to any period of his high school or middle school years.

It came from memories before his regression.

Experiences of competing against top batters in the Major Leagues.

Looking up, Sawamura was shocked to see Hoshida in the Batter's Box.

'This guy!'

Ping!

As if rehearsed a thousand times, the bat struck the ball with precision.

This time, like before, Hoshida didn't hit the sweet spot, but with sheer power and momentum, he managed to send the baseball flying.

On the mound, Sawamura's eyes flashed with deep caution.

Previously, he had underestimated this opponent; his threat level was definitely not below that of the others he had faced.

The ball, after being hit, flew directly over second baseman Haruichi's head.

Then it sailed through the outfield.

Nishiyama rushed toward the ball's landing spot like a gust of wind, attempting to catch it with his mitt.

But he was too late.

Missing by a good ten centimeters, the baseball landed just outside his mitt and continued its flight.

…

T/N: Is it cheating if your bat has a Bankai? XD

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