[222] Opponent in the Top 8

Chapter 222: Opponent in the Top 8

While Eijun continued to refine his Numbers pitch series, Coach Kataoka returned from the drawing ceremony with the brackets for the quarterfinals.

This marked the final stage of grouping for the tournament.

Overall, Seidou High School drew a fairly moderate opponent, neither overly challenging nor too easy.

Fortunately for Seidou, they wouldn't face the powerhouse Komadai Fujimaki High School unless they both advanced to the finals.

However, baseball is unpredictable, and even if Seidou reaches the finals, there's no guarantee that Komadai Fujimaki will be their opponent.

After all, Seidou defied expectations to change their destiny and make it this far to Koshien, so who's to say Komadai Fujimaki won't falter as well?

The butterfly effect is a real phenomenon—until the results are decided, no one can be certain of anything.

And for now, Seidou's ability to even make it to the finals remains uncertain.

Baseball, as they say, is round, and anything can happen.

Among the remaining eight teams, while there are differences in strength, the gap isn't significant.

Any outcome is conceivable.

Seidou's opponent for the quarterfinals is an established powerhouse: Ikuei High School, the representative from the Miyagi region.

Fans of Ace of Diamond may recall this team from the original series, where they faced Inashiro Industrial in the semifinals of Koshien.

In terms of overall ability, Ikuei High is roughly on par with Seihou High School.

Their individual hitting power is slightly weaker, but their comprehensive team potential is incredibly high.

In fact, they reached the finals of this year's Spring Koshien.

Moreover, they defeated Ichidaisan in the quarterfinals of the current tournament.

Although their victory was narrow—a one-run margin—it demonstrated their strength.

Ichidaisan High had been leading the game and controlling the tempo until Ikuei High erupted in the fourth cycle of their batting order during the eighth inning to turn the game around.

It's worth mentioning that in the original series, during the summer Koshien semifinals, Narumiya Mei of Inashiro completely shut Ikuei High out, preventing them from scoring even a single run.

From start to finish, Inashiro dominated them entirely.

Comparing current abilities, Ichidaisan High and Inashiro Industrial are of comparable strength.

This leads to the conclusion that Ikuei High is a team with an exceptionally high ceiling—they can defeat top-tier teams like Ichidaisan but can also be completely overpowered by teams like Inashiro.

For Seidou, determining how to face such an opponent will require careful consideration.

Most of Seidou's players don't know about Inashiro's complete domination of Ikuei High in the original series.

What they do know is that Ichidaisan High, a team they've had fiercely competitive matches against in their regional games, was defeated by Ikuei High in the spring tournament.

This fact alone is enough to keep them on high alert.

At their lodging that evening, following the conclusion of all third-round matches and the drawing ceremony, the entire Seidou team gathered in the hotel's conference room.

They discussed strategies not only for the quarterfinals but also for the semifinals and finals, should they advance.

With only three matches remaining, and little time between them, the schedule was tight for all eight remaining teams.

Having come this far, it was only natural to set their sights on winning the championship.

The teams that have made it to the top eight are undoubtedly the best of the best in the nation.

As such, Seidou must tread carefully, maintaining their style while avoiding any carelessness or complacency.

At this moment, Chris took the lead in the meeting as always.

Providing the players with a clear understanding of their opponent is crucial.

Chris presented detailed information about Ikuei High's team, including their overall strengths, batting style, and pitching staff.

As the scouting leader, Chris had gathered and analyzed this data thoroughly.

"One particular aspect to watch out for is Ikuei High's pitching lineup," Chris began. "They use a rare two-pitcher system. Their second-year pitcher, Yoshinori Sato, serves as their starter. He wears jersey number 10, with an average velocity of only 135 km/h. He's a right-handed pitcher and batter, with his signature pitch being a forkball."

'His forkball timing is deceptive, capable of forcing batters to swing and miss. Its release and speed are nearly identical to his fastball, which makes it challenging to anticipate. His pitching stance is textbook, and while his release point is clear, his ball trajectory can sometimes be unpredictable."

Chris continued with a detailed breakdown of Sato's pitching tendencies.

"Since the regional tournament, Sato typically pitches until the fourth or sixth inning, enough to face two batting cycles. At first glance, he seems like a pitcher meant to eat up innings, but that's not entirely accurate. As of this summer tournament, his ERA stands at 2.154. There's a high chance he'll be Ikuei High's next ace pitcher."

Chris's detailed analysis was invaluable, giving Seidou's players a deeper understanding of their upcoming opponent and the challenges they might face.

ERA (Earned Run Average), a baseball term, is also known as a pitcher's earned run rate. It is calculated as "earned runs multiplied by 9, divided by innings pitched."

For example, in the game against Seihou, Eijun gave up one earned run while pitching a total of 5 and 2/3 innings.

The calculation would be: (1 × 9) ÷ (17 ÷ 3), approximately equal to 1.588.

This is quite an impressive statistic, but it only represents the result from a single game.

The more innings a pitcher throws, the more reliable their ERA becomes.

Conversely, with fewer innings pitched, the reliability of the ERA decreases.

In professional baseball, an ERA between 1 and 2 signifies a top-tier pitcher, 2–3 is excellent, and 3–4 is considered adequate.

Generally, ERA is calculated over the course of all games a pitcher participates in during a season.

Such season-long ERAs hold significant value because professional players participate in 100–200 games per year, throwing hundreds or even thousands of innings.

The larger sample size provides greater statistical reliability.

Chris's mention of Ikuei High School's pitcher and his exceptionally low ERA is impressive, but it reflects only the statistics from the current summer tournament.

Its value as a reference is somewhat limited. Chris likely shared the number simply as a supplementary point.

...

"135 km/h, and a forkball, huh."

"Hmm, sounds pretty ordinary. But if he's starting for Ikuei High School, he must be something special, right?"

"So, on average, he allows about two runs per game?"

"Not quite two runs. He doesn't pitch complete games. Usually, it's around four or five innings per appearance, giving up one or two runs."

"Well, that's based on just under ten games during the summer tournament, right? Just for reference."

"Even if it's just for reference, it's still an excellent number."

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