Chapter 43: Kanto’s Best Catcher

Since Sawamura came on the field, the situation has been firmly under the control of Seidou High School.

In three innings, they recovered two points and did not drop points.

Nevertheless, Osaka Kiryuu is not easy to mess with, whether it's on the attack or on the defense, they got it all covered.

With the game like this, in the first half of the seventh inning, Seidou High School changed their catcher.

Chris came on and Miyuki came off.

For the players of Osaka Kiryuu, it was a very bizarre substitution.

They have already understood Miyuki Kazuya's strength very clearly in the game just now.

Although in the current Seidou high school team, there are many eye-catching star players.

For example, when the fourth batter and the team's Captain, Yuuki Tetsuya, just watching his Swing has a strong visual impact.

Superintendent Matsumoto even said that this guy was very powerful and that they should avoid confrontation with him.

It is not difficult to see the extraordinary Yuuki Tetsuya.

Even if Seidou High School couldn't make it to Koshien in the next summer tournament. Takahiro Matsumoto is convinced that such a player will not be buried.

As long as those professional scouts are not blind, they will definitely put Yuuki Tetsuya on the draft list!

This kind of Batter, let alone one in a hundred or one in a thousand, he is most likely one in ten thousand.

In addition to the Yuuki Tetsuya, of course, Sawamura Eijun.

Sawamura's performance in both pitching and batting was dazzling. Considering that he is only a first-year student now, his future is probably more grand than the Yuuki Tetsuya.

Others like Kominato Ryosuke are also very eye-catching.

Even if the team of Seidou was shining like this, it couldn't hide Miyuki's brilliance.

His sense of existence was equally strong.

With his game-calling, Catching skills, containment, including batting…

There is everything that a catcher should have.

Such a catcher, even if other teams have to bow down, they have to recruit him.

And Seidou High School still substituted him?

Matsumoto's face was a little distorted, and his true nature was almost exposed.

Under the reminder of his own students, he managed to hold back his ill-tempered emotions.

"Coach Kataoka, you really treat us as a practice dummy."

"Then you're welcome, let us continue the plan, and if there is a chance to hit base due to errors, find a way to score more points."

Takahiro Matsumoto will continue to carry out the previous tactics to the end.

And Chris, in this situation, came to the field.

Before playing, Chris took the initiative to talk with Sawamura.

"How long can you last?"

When his Shisho asked, Sawamura naturally had to answer respectfully.

"Don't worry, there are only three innings left. There is no problem in sticking to the end."

Chris ignored Sawamura's answer and continued to stare at Sawamura until he wavered when he saw this gaze.

If Osaka Kiryuu did not use tactics that consumed Sawamura's stamina, it shouldn't be a problem for Sawamura to persist until the end of the game.

During the game, Sawamura is very good at adjusting his state. If he pitches at his own pace, it will only be 50 balls in six innings.

Sawamura practiced very hard yesterday and took the rest of the day off, so still has some physical strength.

However, from the very beginning, Sawamura's physical exertion has increased. It is hard to say how long Sawamura can last at such a rhythm.

Sawamura himself has a spectrum of this judgment. After all, he is not an ordinary player. As a person who often reserves his physical strength through training, he knows his own limits very well.

"If I want to maintain peak pitching, it will be about 20 balls. If there are breaking balls in the middle, the number will go down to 17 or 18 balls. But if we use normal pitching with some fishing balls in the middle, it will be 30 or 40 balls." said Sawamura.

Chris nodded.

The situation was worse than he expected.

The so-called peak pitching means that it can guarantee the speed and power of the ball and the accuracy of ball control.

This requires not only strong focus but also physical strength. When the physical strength reaches a certain level, the pitcher's ball control and ball power will definitely decline.

With reckless throwing of various breaking balls, Sawamura could throw about twenty balls in total.

It is obviously impossible to use these twenty Pitches to play three innings.

'Then you have to think of other ways…'

But now, the players of Osaka Kiryuu under the leadership of their Coach are aggressively trying to consume Sawamura's physical stamina, and they will never allow themselves to be solved Out easily.

"In this case, we can only take some risks."

Now Chris also understands the meaning of practice games.

Superintendent Kataoka has already selected Sawamura to be the Ace. You must know that the Ace's responsibility is very great. Especially in the Tournaments, especially when there is a chance to play extra innings.

If that happens, and Sawamura is exhausted.

What will Seidou do?

Will they continue to believe in Sawamura and leave the stage to him? Or rather, let someone else replace him?

This is the true intention of Kataoka using Sawamura now.

Knowing Kataoka's intentions, Chris naturally wants to help Sawamura through this difficult situation.

"For a real Ace, throwing the ball without control is absolutely not allowed. That's tantamount to pinning the number of Outs on luck, or on the opponent. It's definitely not okay!"

"So a good pitcher must think and dare to act. To a certain extent, the plan of solving the opponent can even appear directly in the pitcher's mind."

This is what Chris told Sawamura.

Now, Sawamura told Chris about his situation. The two of them thought of this at the same time.

How would they use those balls to hold the remaining three innings?

To hold up the three innings, it takes twenty-seven balls, three balls for every batter.

Therefore, it is unrealistic to rely on Strikeouts.

If you can't Strikeout, you can only pitch to contact!

"But they have already made up their minds to consume my stamina."

Sawamura thought suspiciously.

"If the other party doesn't hit, it doesn't mean that we can't let them swing. So we will go fishing. As long as the bait is big enough, I think they will be tempted."

The first ball: A Straight ball in the middle!

After Chris gave Sawamura a sign, he squatted directly in the position of the catcher.

On the first ball, the batter did not swing, but waited patiently for the ball to pass.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

It wasn't until Sawamura's pitching ended that the batter came back to his senses.

It was a Straight ball just now, he didn't even notice it before.

Satisfied, Chris passed the ball back to Sawamura and squatted down again.

Meanwhile, the dugout of Osaka ​​Kiryuu High School.

"Why is that new catcher look so familiar?"

"Yeah, it seems like I've seen him before."

Several third-year substitutes stared at Chris, thoughtfully.

"His name is Takigawa Chris Yu, have you heard of him?"

Superintendent Matsumoto asked curiously.

"It's been too long, and I can't remember what he looked like. But Takigawa Chris, isn't he the first Catcher in the junior clubs of Kanto Middle Schools?"

Kanto's Number 1 Catcher, Takigawa Chris Yu.

…

T/N: The First Chapter!