Chapter 180: Emperor Of The North

After Sawamura once again made the batters from Komadai go three up and three down, Seidou High School completely grasped the initiative of the game.

Keen viewers also found something particularly interesting.

That is, until now, Sawamura Eijun has not let the players of the Komadai Fujimaki High School get a single hit.

"As expected of Sawamura-kun!"

Looking at the small notebook in his hand, Owada Akiko in the Press Box, said as she looked at her note and at Sawamura.

"Three up and three down again, even after changing gears." Fujio was also very emotional.

So far, Sawamura Eijun has pitched five full innings, and the number of pitches is just 40.

Considering that this is the final, if there are no surprises, Sawamura should Pitch to the end of the game.

Regardless of the overtime situation, there are still four innings and 12 Outs to go.

"Maybe in this match, Sawamura Eijun will create a great miracle."

Fujio had a faint hunch, a hunch that something very important was going to happen.

The game continued, and in the first half of the sixth innings, it was the players from Seidou High School to attack.

"The Komadai Fujimaki High School requested a pitcher change, and the pitcher going to the field is Hongou Masamune-kun."

Sawamura was not surprised by this result at all. The pitching squad of Komadai Fujimaki High School is strong, but the only ones who are really qualified to stand against Seidou High School are the former Nitta and the upcoming Hongou.

Now that Nitta is out of steam, it is natural for Komadai's Coach to replace him. The one who can take over from Nitta is naturally Hongou.

Honestly, this is a really troublesome opponent.

But it's also a terrific opponent.

From the point of view of Seidou, it is a pity that they were not able to score from Nitta.

If they can conquer Nitta in advance, there is no doubt about the outcome of the game. But now, the outcome of the game has returned to the unknown again.

"Then it starts now!"

Although he has already thrown five innings, his physical strength has been consumed considerably. Nevertheless, facing Hongou, Eijun's fighting spirit is still high.

Before he returned to the past, Hongou was the closest to being a legend.

For Sawamura, who aims to be a legend, Hongou is an opponent he must defeat.

After all, the two sides have not played against each other for a whole year. The last time we played against each other was in the national competition in middle school. At that time, Sawamura Eijun was able to win, and he also played some tricks.

After Hongou lost to him, he was irritated and strangely motivated, and his strength improved significantly.

Another year has passed, how far has the current Hongou progressed?

Sawamura himself was also very curious.

"Then let me take a look and see how you are on the mountain?" Sawamura was excited.

"First Batter, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun."

The starter in the sixth inning of Seidou High School was Kuramochi Youichi.

When he saw Hongou, who had just been replaced on the pitching mound, he couldn't help but be startled.

When he watched the material before, he felt very incredible. Unexpectedly, this year's first-year freshmen are swarming with monsters.

In addition to Furuya, there are still pitchers who can throw a ball with a speed of more than 150 km/h. (93 mph)

'Hongou Masamune!'

'Either way, this guy too is an absolute monster.'

'But, if we can't slay this monster, we can't win victory.'

Kuramochi had a plan in his mind.

In the past, he had attempted to steal bases, and although he was unsuccessful, he should have left a deep impression on his opponents.

'So this time, let's go with a normal swing.'

Kuramochi reached this conclusion not because of a whim. On the contrary, this is the conclusion he reached after a lot of thinking.

The speed of Hongou is too fast.

The ball is strong and powerful. In the face of such an opponent, if he rashly uses bunts, it will be counterproductive if you are not good enough with bunting.

After the baseball hits the bat, it may bounce on its own without waiting for Kuramochi to unload the power.

In fact, Sawamura Eijun was the only one who was able to successfully unload a fastball over 150 km/h at Seidou High School.

No one else was 100% confident to say in what direction they could knock this kind of ball with precision.

In this way, instead of taking a risky bunt, Kuramochi could hit the ball and use a hit-and-run approach to see if he had a chance to get hold of the first base.

With a plan in his mind, Kuramochi took a stance and looked intently at Hongou on the pitcher's mound.

What surprised him was that Hongou's actions were very indifferent, and he didn't seem anxious at all.

The teammate was obviously injured, and when this guy was in the rest area, he looked impatient.

Why was it so dull after arriving on the field?

'The current first-year Kohais are really not cute at all.'

Kuramochi felt a sense of frustration when he realized that he couldn't figure out what Hongou was thinking.

Roaar!!

Just when Kuramochi was annoyed, Hongou's ball was thrown.

The white ball is almost against the edge of the inside corner, flying into the catcher's Mitt.

Boom!

"STRIKE!"

In the face of the pitch that was like a precise scalpel, Kuramochi couldn't take a swing at all.

'What the…!'

After seeing Hongou's pitching with his own eyes, Kuramochi immediately had a shuddering feeling.

Standing on the strike zone, Hongou's ball speed is much faster than he imagined! This is not the most terrifying, even if Hongou's pitching is really fast, it is not to the extent that it surpasses Furuya Satoru.

The place where Hongou is really stronger than Furuya is in ball control.

He can actually throw such a Fastball into the corner of the strike zone with precision!

And at the edge of the inner corner, which made Kuramochi unable to swing the bat.

Even if he has done Fastball adaptation training before, the timing of the ball can be controlled, and the angle can be controlled.

Like Hongou, expand the pitching direction to the entire strike zone.

Kuramochi is helpless!

There's no way he could play a corner ball like that at all.

Looking up at the ball speed display on the electronic board, Kuramochi was even more shocked.

152 km/h! (94 mph)

'Damn it, the first ball hit such a high speed, isn't the opponent too vicious?'

When he originally looked at the information, he felt that the speed of the Hongou was still a little slower than that of Furuya.

'But now, It is almost the same as Furuya.'

'This is bad!'

With his sense, Kuramochi immediately sensed that his situation was not good.

His hunch was correct, and the next thing was exactly as he expected.

The second ball, again Hongou throws an inside corner ball.

Facing the same pitch as before, Kuramochi was still powerless.

The speed of the ball is too fast, and the path of the ball is also tricky.

Kuramochi couldn't keep up with the timing and the course.

"Damn!"

This disparity in power made Kuramochi very dissatisfied. But helpless.

It's just like how these players at Komadai Fujimaki High School felt when they faced Sawamura.

Roaar!!

Kuramochi cannot think too much, the third ball of Hongou is coming.

In the face of this ball, Kuramochi, who has been chased, has no choice but to bite the bullet and swing the bat even if it misses.

The bat was swung, and of course, it didn't touch anything.

The small white ball landed on the plate and bounced into Renji's Mitt.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"

Kuramochi looked at the plate and then at the mound in disbelief.

This is Hongou Masamune!

...