Chapter 166: Warm Up

'It is a Screwball!'

The huge reflected force from his hand caught Sawamura by surprise.

Before he could react, the baseball bounced and landed right in front of the shortstop.

The ball bounced off the ground, and Sawamura ran to first base in vain.

SNAP!

"OUT!"

Two Outs, runner at second base.

Although Sawamura was Out, Kominato Ryosuke ran into the scoring position very steadily.

Seidou High School's chance to score is still not cut off.

"Yuuki!"

"Yuuki!!"

The Seidou fans in the stands shouted Yuuki's name in unison, hoping that the captain could help the team come out on top.

After Sawamura was Out, they had a very bad feeling. Now they desperately need to see that Seidou High School has an advantage.

In the rest area of ​​Seidou High School, Seidou's coaches got the feeling of the audience more clearly.

"Was the last ball a Screwball?" Ochiai asked Sawamura, who was returning to the dugout.

Sawamura nodded and affirmed: "Yes, it should be a Screwball. After the ball entered the hand, it moved to the outside. The spin is 100% a Screwball."

"As expected!"

Ochiai nodded, his brows furrowed involuntarily.

The Screwball, because of the physical damage it does to the pitcher, is on the verge of extinction in professional baseball.

Unexpectedly, among the current high school students, there are still people who have such a terrible weapon.

"In the previous data, there is no record of Screwball at all!" Chris, the main catcher, said softly.

Sawamura nodded.

Although Seidou hadn't made a specific tactic against the Komadai Fujimaki High School, Sawamura had read the general information.

In his memory, the Ace of Komadai has never thrown a Screwball.

If it wasn't for the lack of defense in his heart, even in the face of the Screwball, Sawamura would not be at all helpless.

"His Screwball has not fully honed. The spin is easily recognizable. As long as everyone is familiar with it, it is not impossible to deal with it." Sawamura reassured everyone and said.

Of course, these words are not empty words, as far as Sawamura himself can see, the ball is not hard to make contact with. Mainly depends on luck, and it takes time to get used to it.

What really made him fearful was the attitude of the Komadai Fujimaki. In the finals of Koshien, the Komadai had not used their full strength and could still hide cards.

'Honestly, this is not a good sign.'

Ping!

As if a tornado had blown through, he hit the ball in a solid form, and the ball flew all the way to the outfield.

"Beautiful!"

"It's going to the outfield!"

With such a hit, the Players in the rest area of ​​Seidou High School couldn't help but get excited.

Sawamura also smiled.

'The captain is the captain, and his swing is really special…'

Just when Seidou's player thought that this point had entered the pocket, someone soared forward from the Komadai's field and firmly caught the ball that Yuuki hit into his Mitt.

SNAP!

"OUT!"

Sawamura's smile froze on his face, and the surroundings became silent.

The ball that was originally thought to be a 10-9, was actually caught by someone?

In the Komadai outfield position, the bespectacled boy stood up, he raised his Mitt.

Sawamura's eyes flashed.

Don't mention this guy, he's still his acquaintance.

He is the fourth batter, catcher of the former Aoki Middle School, and the partner of Hongou, Renji Enjou.

"It is Renji? This guy is this good at being an outfielder?"

Sawamura was very surprised.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

The attack in the first inning of Seidou High School ended here, leaving only Ryosuke on second base.

In the rest area, the players from Seidou High School changed their equipment and went to the field.

The lineup is like this:

No. 1, pitcher, Sawamura Eijun.

No. 2, catcher, Takigawa Chris Yuu.

No. 3, first baseman, Yuuki Tetsuya.

No. 4, second baseman, Kominato Ryosuke.

No. 5, third baseman, Masuko Toru.

No. 6, shortstop, Kuramochi Youichi.

No. 7, left fielder, Sakai Ichiro.

No. 8, the Center, Isashiki Jun.

No. 9, right fielder, Shiratsu Kenjiro.

In the final of the Koshien, the main force of Seidou High School played, making a statement of going all in!

Before going on the field, Chris communicated with Sawamura: "In the Game Calling, do you want to focus on Striking Out the batters, or Shut them Out?"

"Let's focus on striking them Out!"

Sawamura affirmed: "The opponent has shown the presence of an Ace, how can we not fight."

"Okay, should we mix Balls?"

"You don't need Balls, it's all Strikes."

Seeing Nitta's Screwball, Sawamura's genes for pitching exploded.

Breathing in the air of the Koshien Stadium, listening to the deafening cheers around, Sawamura felt that the cells in his body began to beat restlessly.

In the second half of the first inning, Komadai High School attacked.

Last night, Seidou High School studied the information on Komadai and finally came to the conclusion that this team has a high probability of scoring in the first inning.

'So we have to be careful at the beginning.'

"First Batter, outfielder, Takeda-kun."

Looking at Takeda walking into the strike zone, the opponent's information automatically appeared in Chris's mind.

'Takeda, who is a very fast runner, is supposed to be a good base stealer.'

'But in his record, there is almost no record of bunts and steals. The batting average is over 30%!'

'Of course, the possibility of the opponent's bunt cannot be ruled out. According to Nitta's performance before, it is not difficult to see that the Komadai obviously did not do their best in the game before the final.'

'In this case, the pitching needs to be more cautious.'

The first ball: a Forkball to the inside corner!

On the mound, Sawamura nodded slightly when he saw the sign Chris gave him.

As expected of Chris-shisho, he understands his wishes.

The Mitt in his right hand was like a wall, As the center of gravity of his body shifted, his left hand was like a whip, and he threw the baseball forward of his hand.

Takeda on the strike zone, watching the baseball coming, prepares for a bunt.

However, there is no chance to find it!

The small white ball almost rubbed against his chest and flew into Chris' Mitt.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

Takeda's face became ugly. In the situation just now, he couldn't use a bunt at all!

He can't use the handle of the bat for bunts, can he?

'What with this ball? Can you even call it a Forkball?'

'And Damn, I have never used bunt before, how did the members of Seidou see through my intention?'

Takeda's doubts have not been answered. On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura's second ball is coming.

Whoosh!

'So fast!'

Not only can't see the starting point, but the rhythm of pitching is also frighteningly fast, which caught the batter off guard.

In order not to be chased by the number of Strikes, Takeda should have swung the ball, but he failed to take it.

In his stupefied effort, Sawamura's pitch came.

In a panic, he didn't even have time to discern the path of the ball.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

In the blink of an eye, Sawamura took the lead and chased the batter.

At this moment, he has just started to warm up.

Takeda's face was hideous from anxiousness.

'I am chased!'

Sawamura's rhythm was too fast to give him any time to react, and the ball was thrown like a flying arrow.

"Whew!"

The next ball, absolutely not…

Before Takeda could figure it out, a ball flew over the mound.

The ball didn't look fast, but Takeda's whole body seemed to be frozen, standing there without moving half a step.

SNAP!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"

Struck Out looking!!

…