Chapter 47: Not Unconquerable

To clarify everything, we need to replay the scene. With one out and a runner on second base, the batter is Narumiya and the runner is Carlos.

Before pitching, Sawamura specifically used his gaze to keep Carlos close to the base, preventing him from straying too far. Carlos complied and showed no intention of stealing.

At this moment, Miyuki and Sawamura naturally assumed that Inashiro's strategy was to have Narumiya and Yamaoka face Sawamura head-on.

Great! Despite Narumiya and Yamaoka not being easy opponents, Miyuki was confident in a direct pitching duel. He believed Sawamura would ultimately win.

Unfortunately, Miyuki and Sawamura were not the only ones who knew this; another man had the same thought.

This man is the founder of the Inashiro Dynasty, currently renowned as Tokyo's best coach, Kunimoto Hiroshige.

He did not believe that Narumiya and Yamaoka would get a clean hit off Sawamura in the first encounter. Thus, he devised another tactic.

He signaled his players to have Carlos steal the base and let Narumiya bat!

This tactic was based on detailed intelligence.

Sawamura has a unique skill that other pitchers lack.

That is the 'Last-Moment Adjustment'!

In simple terms, even if Sawamura winds up to pitch, as long as the ball hasn't left his hand, he can still control the ball's location.

This skill is not very useful against batters since he could only throw some simple Straight balls, and the Breaking balls could not be thrown.

But it's very effective against stealing runners.

Who wouldn't be troubled by a pitcher like Sawamura?

With this 'Last-Moment Adjustment,' Sawamura was even hailed by the media as a nemesis for runners.

An opponent that cannot be defeated in a direct confrontation!

Such a glorious aura leads people to instinctively believe that Sawamura's individual skills are flawless and unbeatable.

Kunimoto Hiroshige, however, thought differently.

He liked reverse thinking.

If he had a pitcher like Sawamura, what would he fear the most?

Reverse reasoning led to a surprising conclusion:

'The more perfect something seems, the more likely it has a fatal weakness. Sawamura's Last-Moment Adjustment seemed great and powerful, but it also had a critical flaw.'

'That is, a pitch off-target is just a simple fastball. Also, even if the pitch is off-target and out of the batter's range, if the batter knows in advance, it's not entirely impossible to hit.'

The remaining issue is simple!

'Just find a way to force Sawamura to use his Last-Moment Adjustment.'

At the start of the game, Carlos got on base. This was unexpected for both the Seidou High School team and Inashiro's team. However, Kunimoto Hiroshige saw it as a great opportunity to exploit Sawamura's Last-Moment Adjustment.

So, he deliberately walked Carlos.

This created a situation with one Out and a runner on second base.

'Next!'

The tactical highlight.

As Sawamura was keeping Carlos in check, Carlos remained motionless on second base. When Sawamura was about to pitch, Carlos suddenly stole the base!

Faced with Carlos's sudden steal, Miyuki instinctively moved from his original crouched position, signaling Sawamura.

Sawamura on the mound knew Carlos was stealing and quickly used his Last-Moment Adjustment, moving the ball outside the strike zone, making it easier for Miyuki to catch and potentially tag Carlos Out.

An easy Out was presented, but everything was planned.

When Sawamura pitched off-target, Narumiya, who was originally set to hit, stepped forward. What was once a big mystery ball turned into an ordinary outside fastball.

Ping!

Narumiya hit the ball, his face reddening.

'Heavy!!'

The ball felt heavier than he expected!

'In just two months, Eijun had improved in every aspect.'

What Narumiya intended to be a home run now seemed impossible.

The ball flew out, landing behind Sawamura, between the shortstop and second baseman.

"Good!"

"It landed!"

"Run!!!"

The Inashiro bench and the stands at Hachioji Stadium erupted in cheers.

What did they see?

It was nothing short of a miracle.

The nearly invincible Sawamura, who had never been scored on at Koshien, was about to concede a run?

In fact, it was quite possible.

As the ball flew, Carlos would certainly reach base safely with his speed.

Realizing this, spectators' eyes reddened with excitement.

I am witnessing a miracle!

The moment to witness history had arrived!

Just as the crowd trembled with excitement, waiting for the miracle.

An unexpected event occurred.

The ball that had been hit towards the outfield was about to be a long hit.

A nimble figure suddenly leaped in.

He caught the ball after the first rebound.

On the mound, Sawamura felt as if he was redeemed. Though the ball being hit wasn't entirely his fault, as the pitcher, he couldn't blame others for his mistakes.

"Haruichi!"

He looked gratefully at the not-so-brawny figure.

Kominato Haruichi was as skilled in defense as his brother Ryosuke.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

At that moment, Kuramochi rushed in!

He came to assist.

Kominato Haruichi, unable to throw due to his prone position, handed the ball to Kuramochi.

"GO TO HELL!"

Kuramochi's actions were like a stuntman, catching and sending the ball sharply to first base in one move.

Kuramochi didn't mind sending Narumiya out himself.

Carlos, who had already reached third base during Sawamura's pitch, knew he couldn't be tagged out, so the ball was thrown to first base.

However, Carlos did not stop at third base.

When he saw Kuramochi throw to first, he dashed towards home plate.

This move was conspicuous but not widely noticed.

Even the spectators' focus was on the ball going to first base.

The ball and Narumiya reached first almost simultaneously.

The first-base umpire, having already assisted Inashiro once, this time raised both hands and then separated them.

"OUT!"

"Phew!!"

Seidou's players breathed a huge sigh of relief.

At that moment, a desperate shout came from home plate.

"BACK HOME!!!!!"

The muscles on Maezono's face were shaking, and he didn't think much about it. During the game, he trusted Miyuki's judgment, so he passed the ball directly to home plate. When he looked at home plate, his eyes nearly popped out.

Carlos was less than ten meters from home plate.

At his full sprinting speed, he'd reach home in about a second.

The throw took 0.5 to 0.6 seconds, and Miyuki still needed to tag him.

No time!

Maezono knew this during the throw.

But he stubbornly threw the ball anyway.

'If you try, there's a chance of success; if you don't, you'll never succeed.'

Snap!

The ball landed precisely in Miyuki's Mitt.

Miyuki's body reacted faster than his mind, reaching for Carlos.

Carlos wasn't slow either, diving desperately towards the plate.

He reached it, touching the base with his hand.

"SAFE!!!!"

The match between Seidou High and Inashiro was more intense than expected.

The first inning saw a dramatic twist.

The once invincible Sawamura had given up a run!

The spectators were not cheering but in shock.

They stared at the field, stunned.

Unbelievable!

The great Sawamura, who had never conceded a run at Koshien or even in the whole summer, had just given up one.

Not only the spectators but even Seidou's teammates were stunned.

To be honest, they didn't expect this either.

Inashiro's bench.

The usually calm Kunimoto excitedly pumped his fist up.

'It worked!'

'Although the result differed from his original plan, it showed everything.'

'Sawamura was not unconquerable.'

'With adequate preparation and effort, scoring against him was possible.'

"Good!"

In this pitching duel, scoring first meant taking control.

Unlike the summer match, Inashiro now firmly held the initiative.

Despite the shock, the game continued.

Two Outs, no runners on base.

The next batter for Inashiro is Yamaoka.

At this moment, Seidou called for a timeout.

Miyuki went to the mound to discuss strategy with Sawamura.

The previous situation had a huge impact on Miyuki and Sawamura. They needed to quickly clear their thoughts, or the situation would worsen.

…

T/N: Yes, Seidou could lose this game, even with Sawamura on the mound.

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a nice day!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +120 Chapters there.