NOVEL NEXT V7_Chapter 18: Conclusion
V7_Chapter 18: Conclusion
On the mound, Wakabayashi felt as if his brain was about to crash.
‘A hit? Again?’
Just like the previous two pitches hit by Seidou's first and second batters, these were hit with precision.
He couldn’t understand what was causing this phenomenon. Was there some pitching habit he had that was being exploited?
‘No, that couldn’t be.’
He had been playing baseball for years and had received formal training in youth clubs. If there were any particularly obvious habits, they would have been noted long ago. The fact that no one had mentioned anything before suggested that only a player or two with exceptional talent could read his pitches from his movements.
After all, there are many talented people in the world.
But to think that all the batters from Seidou High School possessed such ability was something Wakabayashi could not believe.
‘So what was the reason?’
While Wakabayashi was lost in confusion, the audience was not concerned with his plight.
"SEIDOU!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"MIYUKI!!!"
They celebrated the victory with a roar like a tsunami.
That’s right, victory.
The 2:2 tie was completely changed by the Grand Slam, making the score 6:2.
Even if Ouya’s players were replaced by superheroes in red underwear, they would still have a hard time turning the game around.
“Victory is sealed!”
Fujio in the stands slammed his ballpoint pen onto his notebook. The offensive surge from Seidou had left him baffled.
But he could guess something.
‘What pattern had Seidou discovered to suddenly unleash such a powerful attack?’
‘As for pitching, Wakabayashi was still at the level he had shown before.’
No matter what happened on the field, the game had to continue.
Ouya called a timeout after the Grand Slam.
At the same time, they issued decided a countermeasure.
The game resumed!
The first batter up was the assassin, Shiratsu Kenjiro.
He raised his bat high and, noting the opponent’s shifting defense, made a beautiful hit.
Ping!
The white ball hit the ground and bounced back.
The fielder couldn’t reach it in time.
“SAFE!”
No Outs, runner on first base!
“Sixth batter, center, Toujou-kun.”
Now it was Toujou’s turn. Standing in the Batter's Box, he carefully analyzed the opponent’s movement.
“Go for it!”
“Let him hit it!”
The infielders, while supporting him, boldly changed their defensive positions.
‘An outside corner fastball!’
This move allowed Toujou to quickly determine the type of pitch coming.
Here it comes!
As the ball was thrown, Toujou swung his bat decisively.
‘Eh?’
At that moment, he realized the pitch was not an outside corner ball but an inside corner one.
Ping!
The white ball bounced off and rolled back to the pitcher.
Wakabayashi, striking a classic Bruce Lee pose, caught the ball cleanly in his mitt and quickly passed it to second base. There, the ball was received and then thrown to first base.
“Out!”
“Out!!!”
A very clean double play.
Toujou looked stunned.
On the mound, Wakabayashi, still in his Bruce Lee pose, shouted loudly.
“WoooShuu!”
This shout seemed to provoke Seidou and demonstrate his own ‘unyielding’ spirit.
Wakabayashi was truly in a state of panic and confusion. He had no idea how Seidou High School had figured out his pitching.
If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ouya High School completely collapsed.
In this critical moment, it was Coach Araki in the dugout who gave the orders.
“What did you say?”
Looking at his teammates who had come with the orders, Wakabayashi widened his eyes in disbelief.
He could hardly believe the words coming out of his teammates' mouths.
“At first, the coach didn’t believe it either, but it seems to be the case. The opponents have seen through our defensive and pitching strategy.”
“These damn baseball gorillas should just focus on training their muscles and not use their brains to learn!”
Wakabayashi fumed.
“What does the coach have as a countermeasure?”
“The coach wants us to adapt to the situation.”
This led to Shiratsu successfully reaching base and Toujou being forced into a double play.
In Seidou High School’s dugout, the players’ reactions were equally surprising.
Miyuki smiled wryly. “I didn’t expect them to figure us out so quickly!”
“It’s already great to score four runs! In this game, it’s fine, but in a crucial match, having such an opportunity to attack continuously is an absolute weapon.”
Watanabe’s analysis!
In the future, Seidou’s approach would become a sharp dagger.
It may not be as flashy as a sword, but it can strike deadly blows.
With two Outs and no runners on base, it was Kanemaru’s turn to bat.
He raised his bat high, looking formidable.
Inside, he was secretly worried.
There was no longer a strategy to follow; he had to go head-to-head with the opponent.
Whoosh!
As he momentarily lost focus, the white ball flew toward him.
Kanemaru swung his bat decisively.
Ping!
The ball was hit high into the air.
Kanemaru’s face fell.
‘I was tricked again!’
Playing against Ouya High School left many Seidou High School players feeling annoyed.
This feeling of being completely exposed was truly unpleasant.
Fortunately, Seidou’s advantage was solidified, and the players didn’t need to worry too much.
The score was 6:2!
Furuya also fired up with this advantage, started going all out.
“STRIKE!”
“STRIKE!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!”
The batters of Ouya could only swing and fail to hit anything.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged.
The game reached the seventh inning!
What was initially expected to be a crushing victory had turned into a tightly contested match. Despite a furious attack, Seidou had established a clear advantage.
Yet, Ouya High School’s players had never given up their resistance.
They kept trying to find ways to handle Seidou High School.
Although their methods ultimately failed, their spirit did not wane.
Some fans at the scene were moved, crying and cheering them on.
In the top of the seventh inning, Seidou High School was on the attack!
“Considering who might be our opponent in the day after tomorrow, if we get a chance, let’s decisively crush the opponent this inning!” Coach Kataoka gave his final instructions before the players took the field.
“Up until now, the opposing pitcher has thrown nearly a hundred pitches. Although he hasn’t reached his physical limit, he is starting to tire and his pitch speed has decreased. I’m sure you can see this clearly. At this point, trust your swing and seize the victory!”
“YEAH!!”
The Seidou High School players enthusiastically agreed.
The first batter, Furuya, hit the white ball high into the air.
Ping!
The ball soared high and flew to the back of the field.
“Outfield!”
Wakabayashi, with his mushroom haircut, looked pale.
He had a bad premonition.
Fortunately, his teammates managed to retrieve the ball near the fence.
SNAP!
“OUT!”
Such a clean hit almost resulted in a home run.
Furuya’s performance was truly eye-catching.
“The blind cannon finally fired!” Miyuki joked.
Sawamura shook his head. “You really can’t predict these things.”
Aside from being hit by consecutive hits, Wakabayashi’s overall performance had been very good, effectively suppressing Seidou.
Even such a strong opponent almost gave up a home run to Furuya!
It’s clear this would attract Coach Kataoka’s attention.
With his teammates’ help, Wakabayashi managed to avoid too much embarrassment and secured one Out.
One Out, no one on base.
“One Out!”
“Let them hit!”
The fielders’ morale rose as they voiced their support for the pitcher.
At this moment, Kuramochi took the Batter's Box.
Possibly due to fatigue or tension, the third baseman’s defense was slightly stiff.
Kuramochi’s eyes lit up when he saw this.
‘An Opening!’
Kuramochi, skilled in finding weaknesses, detected Ouya’s vulnerability.
Ping!
The white ball was beautifully hit to third base.
“Hyaa-ha-haa!”
Kuramochi laughed maniacally and dashed to first base.
Noticing the third baseman had missed the ball, he quickly advanced to second base.
One Out, runner on second base!
With his increased offensive power, Kuramochi made it to second base successfully.
Wakabayashi, frustrated, secretly clenched his teeth.
‘Focus on the batter!’ the Catcher reminded Wakabayashi.
Now, the opponent Kominato Haruichi, who was batting second.
Before taking the field, Coach Ochiai had given Kominato a suggestion.
“Would you like to use a metal bat?” he asked Haruichi while holding a metal bat to him
Kominato Haruichi was not one to easily reject others, but he had his own principles.
“It’s just a suggestion. The decision is yours,” Coach Kataoka, wearing sunglasses and looking at the field, added too.
Coach Ochiai didn’t add anything leaving the choice to Haruichi.
“No sir, I will continue with this.”
Ultimately, Kominato firmly chose his familiar wooden bat.
Kominato Haruichi, the wooden bat hitter, had an excellent sense of the ball and strong hitting power.
Ouya High School was wary of this batter.
Wakabayashi hesitated for a moment, then threw the pitch to the inside corner.
Whoosh!
The white ball came quickly, arriving at Haruichi’s reach.
In the batter’s box, Haruichi had no distracting thoughts.
His focus was simple: hit the incoming ball.
At that moment, all his strength was concentrated in his two arms swinging the bat.
PAAK!
The white ball was hit and soared high into the air.
‘Again?’
At this moment, Wakabayashi on the mound felt as if his world had gone dark.
It felt like someone had turned off the lights in the middle of the night.
The ball kept flying until it went out of the field and landed in the stands.
Pak!!
A home run!
A two-run home run!!!
The score changed from 6:2 to 8:2, and Seidou High School’s lead expanded to six points.
The crowd cheered wildly, and the players were ecstatic.
“Once the wooden bat hits the ball squarely, it can still travel far.”
“Exactly!”
“Really? Is it??”
As everyone discussed, Coach Ochiai stood awkwardly nearby.
He stared blankly, pinching his chin, without moving.
Ultimately, his gaze fixed on Kominato Haruichi, who had finished his run, returned to home plate and walked back to the bench.
‘This guy is really stubborn.’
Coach Ochiai was helpless about Haruichi’s stubbornness.
He genuinely believed that using a metal bat would have maximized Haruichi’s strength, but since Haruichi was unwilling, there was nothing anyone could do.
Just like Coach Kataoka, Ochiai could only promote him when his strength was sufficient and replace him when it wasn’t.
Even with a wooden bat, Haruichi’s strength ranked among the best in Seidou High School.
Thus, Ochiai couldn’t say much more.
The game wasn’t over yet. Seidou High School’s offense continued.
The third batter, Sawamura, hit a beautiful hit into the outfield gap for a hit!
The fourth batter, Miyuki, didn’t fail his mission and sent Sawamura home.
Miyuki Kazuya’s brilliance in this game was blinding.
So far, he had a home run, a hit, and five RBIs.
Seidou High School scored a total of nine points.
He alone had driven in five runs.
Followed by him the lower order also managed to score one more run pushing the gap in score further.
With a score of 10:2, Seidou High School led by eight points.
In this situation, the game entered the bottom of the seventh inning.
Although they got runners on base, Miyuki and Furuya effectively suppressed the opponents, maintaining their eight-point lead.
In the end, the game concluded after seven innings with the mercy rule.
Seidou High School advanced to the playoffs finals!
Getting closer to snatching a spot at the Spring Koshien
…