NOVEL NEXT V6_Chapter 65: Support!
V6_Chapter 65: Support!
“Don’t move!”
At the shout, Maezono instinctively stopped in his tracks.
He then saw Sawamura, who had originally been on the pitcher's mound, suddenly darting forward like an arrow.
His speed was incredible!
It was probably just after the pitch; upon seeing Carlos setting up for a bunt, Sawamura immediately sprinted forward.
Under these circumstances, he still managed to remind him not to leave his fielding position.
Such calmness was astounding.
The ball rolled to a spot perfectly between the pitcher and the first baseman.
Determining who should field the ball was tough. Without a clear understanding, both could easily rush towards it.
It was quite a situation.
In such a scenario, Sawamura’s calm commands left Maezono with no choice but to be impressed.
‘Just as expected from Sawamura!’
Admiring him, Maezono felt confident about the next defense.
Despite Carlos's fast legs moving quickly, Maezono firmly believed this player wouldn’t break through their defense.
In the blink of an eye, Sawamura had picked up the ball. Without even glancing back, he threw the ball to first base in a strange-looking form.
Snap!
As Carlos approached like a whirlwind, the white ball had already reached first base.
“OUT!!”
“Damn it!”
Carlos slapped his leg in frustration.
The rapid changes in the game had affected his speed. Just a moment earlier, he might have reached the base if he had maximized his speed. However, seeing Sawamura charge out had made him hesitate.
This hesitation indirectly affected his speed.
Unforgivable.
Forget why Carlos was angry at himself; let’s move on with the game.
In the top of the ninth inning, Inajitsu High School was on the offensive.
In no time, the ninth batter and Carlos were out.
Two Outs, no one on base.
Seidou High School was just one out away from completing nine innings.
“Seidou!”
“Seidou!!”
With such a smooth rhythm, Seidou High School’s supporters began chanting the school name in unison.
They seemed to see the light of victory.
‘Just one more Out, only one more Out.’
Once this last Out was secured, the game would be decisively in Seidou High School’s favor.
In the top of the ninth inning, if Inajitsu High School failed to score, Seidou High School would undoubtedly take control of the game.
With Seidou High School's lineup starting a new for the ninth inning, their chances of scoring were formidable.
In this situation, if Inajitsu couldn’t take the lead, they would inevitably fall into a passive position.
Everyone watched as the situation turned.
At this moment, an unexpected event occurred.
PING!
Sawamura, who had been nearly flawless, threw a Change-up that was hit into the outfield. Shirakawa charged to second base.
Two Outs, runner on second base!
The stand turned and fell silent.
Everyone stared in shock at Sawamura on the mound, bewildered by the sudden shift from the seemingly all-powerful Ace.
In the catcher’s position, Miyuki’s face looked the most troubled.
‘Sawamura had just missed his pitch!’
The change-up, which was supposed to curve away, suddenly became an easy-to-hit highball.
This pitch had only the speed of a Change-up with none of the usual movement.
‘Sawamura’s stamina had reached its limit!’
Turning to glance at his own dugout, Miyuki hesitated, wondering whether to consult Coach Kataoka.
‘Sawamura’s stamina was a problem. Whatever the specific reason, he was no longer fit to stay on the field.’
In the dugout, Coach Kataoka remained completely unperturbed, as if nothing had happened.
‘Was he going to trust his Ace pitcher in this situation?’
Miyuki wasn’t surprised by Kataoka’s decision.
If he didn’t, it wouldn’t be Kataoka.
‘The question was, why had Sawamura, who had been vigorous moments ago, suddenly lost his touch?’
‘Hopefully, it wasn’t a brief resurgence.’
On the mound, Sawamura’s expression mirrored his surprise. He stared blankly at his hands for over ten seconds.
Then he gave a wry smile.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble! But more balls might come flying your way! SO EVERYONE AT THE BACK PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!!!”
Even though his stamina was on the edge, Sawamura Eijun showed no intention of giving up the mound to anyone else.
In the dugout, Furuya and Kawakami looked eager and ready to step in at any moment.
But Kataoka didn’t glance their way.
Coach Ochiai, stroking his chin, nodded subtly.
‘Trusting the Ace pitcher at this point was reasonable. If the opponent were another team, Kataoka-san might have put Furuya or Kawakami in.’
‘After all, both were excellent pitchers and substituting them for Sawamura could have been a viable option given Sawamura’s fatigue.’
‘But the opponent was Inajitsu, which changed everything.’
With Inajitsu as the opponent, it was not reassuring to let Furuya or Kawakami pitch.
Not only Kataoka but also Ochiai felt the same way. If Sawamura was pulled now, the game might end immediately.
Even if it was forcing the issue, at this moment, Seidou High School could only trust Sawamura.
‘Of course! Coach Kataoka likely thought even deeper.’
‘Scouts from various professional teams were in the stands to evaluate Sawamura’s skills.’
‘If Sawamura were replaced now, it could leave the impression that he lacked the drive or the hunger of the Ace.’
‘That would be problematic. But knowing Coach Kataoka, he like didn’t think of it this way, As he wouldn’t even consider sacrificing the whole team for one player.’
This is true, Coach Kataoka has not really thought this way.
“Third batter, pitcher, Narumiya-kun.”
At that moment, it was Narumiya Mei’s turn to bat.
“Pitch to contact!”
“Sawamura!”
“We have your back!”
“Do it! Sawamura!”
“Two Out!”
What is unusual is that the audience was cheering and responding to Sawamura before Seidou fielders players.
The players of both teams were looking at the stands with strange eyes.
But this suddenly awakened the fielder of Seidou.
“Let him hit!”
“Pitch to contact!”
“We’ll stop him!”
“Trust your pitching!”
“Two Outs! Two Outs!!!”
Only then did Seidou High School’s team start to support Sawamura Eijun with enthusiasm. For the lookers, no one knew if it was because of Sawamura, or the stands vying for their places.
But the truth is, Sawamura’s pitching had been so steady before that they had never encountered such a situation. Now, as he earnestly relied on them, they felt both moved and shocked.
This shock took them a moment to react.
Only when they heard the audience and Narumiya stepped up did the teammates start cheering.
Sawamura on the mound felt incredibly awkward at their brief stop. The audience response made it more strange.
Fortunately, the players responded too; otherwise, Sawamura wouldn’t know what to do.
Facing Mei, Eijun chose not to avoid.
He threw the ball straight down the center.
Whoosh!
The white ball flew fast.
In the Batter's Box, Narumiya Mei looked serious.
The moment he saw Sawamura’s pitch, he knew exactly what kind of ball Sawamura intended to throw.
Moving ball Kai!
It was this pitch with a significant movement.
Comparing it to his own situation, Narumiya Mei thought that, given the current scenario, Eijun would likely use a Moving ball.
‘After a stamina issue, it’s difficult to pitch breaking balls effectively.’
‘In this situation, a Straight ball and a Moving ball are the best options.’
Narumiya guessed correctly!
Sawamura threw a Moving ball!
Inajitsu High School’s players had long prepared countermeasures for this type of pitch.
This type of ball only breaks once it’s in the batter’s hand. To hit such a ball, players can approach with three countermeasures: using the largest bat, hitting before it reaches the zone, or swinging with full force.
This was a gift Coach Kunitomo had prepared for Sawamura.
In previous games, Sawamura had relied on the Moving ball, with breaking balls mixed in.
But this time, Sawamura seemed to have forgotten his knack for the Moving ball and focused entirely on breaking balls.
As a result, the gift prepared by Coach Kunitomo had no effect.
Narumiya Mei used the largest bat.
Before hitting, he even took a step toward the pitcher’s mound.
Prepared perfectly, Narumiya swung at the incoming ball with no hesitation.
Ping!
The white ball was struck and flew high into the air.
Narumiya’s face looked slightly disappointed.
‘The ball didn’t sink?’
Snap!
“OUT!!”
Most of Eijun’s Moving balls had sinking movements. So Narumiya had aimed at the lower part of the ball.
But the ball didn’t sink at all. As a result, the ball was hit high, becoming a fly ball that landed in the mitt of second baseman Kominato Haruichi.
On the mound, Eijun smiled brightly.
But to Mei, this smile seemed incredibly smug.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
…
T/N: The Game should end tomorrow!
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