"SEIDOU!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"SAWAMURA!"
"SAWAMURA!!!"
In the stands, the fans were going wild.
They roared the names of the Seidou High School baseball team and Sawamura, wanting to transmit their energy to the players on the field.
Faced with this kind of enthusiasm, Sawamura couldn't reject them.
He could only raise his arm and acknowledge the cheering fans.
The fans, already crazy enough, became even more ecstatic after receiving a response from Sawamura.
They waved everything they could, banging their water bottles and various props.
It was as if they were in a carnival.
The game was only halfway through, having just finished the 4th inning.
If you think about it, the fans shouldn't be so excited yet.
But they were, and they had no intention of hiding their emotions.
They expressed their excitement passionately.
It was in this atmosphere that Sawamura walked down from the mound.
Before they knew it, the game had reached the 5th inning.
After the thrilling showdown in the first inning, the following innings had been relatively calm.
It was basically a duel between two pitchers, constantly striking out batters from the opponent's side.
But even this simple, brutal confrontation was enough to get the fans fired up.
Back in the dugout, Sawamura always had a smile on his face.
After high-fiving his teammates, he turned his attention to the opposing batters coming up to bat.
The players from the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team didn't seem to be affected by what had happened earlier.
Their ace, Hoshitaru, seemed completely unaffected.
Against the Seidou High School team's batting lineup, they remained composed.
They successfully recorded Outs.
The powerful batters from Seidou, Shiratsu, and Toujou, still hadn't managed to do anything against Hoshitaru.
Especially after Toujou returned to the dugout, he could only laugh bitterly when meeting Sawamura's probing gaze. He frankly said:
"I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but I feel like this guy's pitches have become even more powerful than when we faced him for the first time!"
According to this theory, by now, Hoshitaru had already thrown over 60 pitches.
By this point, most pitchers would be nearing their first physical limit.
Let alone someone like Hoshitaru, who is pitching recklessly.
His stamina should have been on the brink of collapse.
But strangely, as his pitch count approached 70, Hoshitaru's pitching velocity didn't drop—in fact, it increased.
"It might be a flash of brilliance, and after a few more pitches, he'll collapse," someone from Seidou joked.
"When we faced Seijitsu, he threw 119 pitches! Why would his stamina drop by half against us? Don't joke!"
The Seidou players weren't willing to believe in such lucky thinking.
They didn't believe Hoshitaru was just having a flash of brilliance.
If that wasn't the reason, then the only reasonable explanation was that Hoshitaru was that kind of pitcher.
The later the game, the stronger his pitching became.
From the start, Seidou's players had already struggled against him.
Even Sawamura and Miyuki couldn't manage a hit.
And now, their opponent was only getting stronger!
What hope did Seidou's players have of getting a hit now?
The players looked at each other, unsure whether to make a bold promise.
"Just keep pushing forward, we'll find a way! And hey, we're still leading by one run. That's enough! I won't let them catch up."
Seeing his teammates' worry, Sawamura knew it was time to step up.
He was the ace pitcher of the team—if he wavered, Seidou High could be in real danger.
Sawamura couldn't allow that to happen.
So, he stood up and decided to lead the team forward once more.
The best way, of course, was to score more runs.
If one run wasn't enough to make them despair, then let's get two.
If two isn't enough, then three.
As long as the lead was large enough, the opponent would eventually feel despair.
At that point, the pressure on Seidou would lessen significantly.
But before that, there was one thing Sawamura had to take care of.
And that was dealing with Hoshitaru.
This guy's strength wasn't just in his pitching.
His presence at the plate was also not to be underestimated.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Sawamura went head-to-head with Hoshitaru from the start.
In such a pitching duel, Sawamura was very cautious.
Otherwise, he might very well be caught off guard.
In order to avoid that, and also to maintain Seidou's momentum, Sawamura gave Miyuki a look, letting him understand the unspoken meaning.
Miyuki was sharp.
He instantly understood what Sawamura meant.
'Whatever it took, Strike Out Hoshitaru.'
He didn't want a regular strikeout, but one that would make the opponent feel utterly powerless.
Through a powerful strikeout, he wanted to prove to everyone the resolve and power of the Seidou High School baseball team!
At the same time, it was to intimidate the opponent.
He wanted to leave an impression of invincibility in their hearts.
'You brat, you're really something!' Miyuki thought in his mind.
But he didn't hesitate to agree with the plan.
The one-run lead was simply too small!
Although Seidou still had control of the game, that single-run lead wasn't enough to relax.
Seidou needed to show more strength.
Seeing Miyuki's signal, Sawamura nodded slightly, setting up and throwing the ball.
Roaar!
The baseball roared out like a rocket, constantly breaking its speed limit.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the Batter's Box.
'It's here!'
'The speed, incredible!'
From Hoshitaru's perspective, the speed was terrifying.
Though he had faced Sawamura before, standing in the Batter's Box felt completely different.
The ball was far faster than he'd ever imagined.
Without enough preparation, he dared not swing at it.
Boom!
"STRIKE!"
This hesitation cost him the one Strike.
After throwing the Blazing Fastball, Sawamura immediately stepped up his game.
Seeing the second pitch, Hoshitaru knew he couldn't let this one slip.
Sawamura rarely throws balls outside the strike zone, so if he missed this one, he'd be behind in the count.
To avoid that embarrassing situation, Hoshitaru had no choice but to swing.
After adjusting to Sawamura's pitch trajectory through the two rounds of confrontation, Hoshitaru felt he had a shot at making contact.
But just as he was about to hit, the small ball before his eyes suddenly disappeared.
'A Disappearing Pitch!'
Hoshitaru suddenly recalled one of the many rumors about the Great Demon King.
It was said that one of Sawamura's breaking balls could suddenly vanish.
Hoshitaru and his team had thought this was just an over-exaggeration.
But now he realized he was wrong.
It wasn't a myth; it was the truth.
Sawamura really did have a disappearing pitch.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!!"
If the first two pitches had surprised Hoshitaru, the third pitch completely shattered his understanding.
Roaar!
Before he could react, the baseball pierced the strike zone and landed straight into Miyuki's Mitt.
Boom!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
On this Koshien field, Hoshitaru, who had seemed invincible, was struck out.
And it was a strikeout without even swinging!
The players of the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team felt a deep sense of despair.
In today's match, it wasn't because they weren't trying hard enough; it was simply that their opponents were too powerful!
Even Hoshitaru was Struck out swinging!
And this appeared in their batting.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Sawamura didn't need much effort to take them down.
By the end of the fifth inning, Sawamura had set a remarkable record: he had achieved 15 consecutive strikeouts!
This was a record that had rarely appeared in Koshien's history.
Sawamura raised his hands in excitement and cheered with his teammates.
The fans in the stands went wild.
Incredible, truly incredible!
No wonder he was their idol—the Great Demon King. Whenever he stepped onto the field, he always brought endless surprises.
Just as everyone was thinking this, something big happened in the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team's resting area.
Their chubby, round-looking coach seemed to have fed his players some kind of magic potion.
By the time the top of the sixth inning came around, the previously lethargic players from Kanetsu-Norin High School suddenly seemed to come alive.
During their defensive play, each player gave their best effort.
From Kanemaru to Kuramochi and Haruichi, all of them were strong offensive players in Seidou High School.
And these three had a knack for beating down a team that was already down.
Previously, Kanetsu-Norin High School had been terribly suppressed by Seidou High School, with Sawamura leading the charge.
It was as if they had shaken off their physical constraints, and the whole team underwent a transformation.
In the end, none of the three made it to base.
When Kuramochi and Haruichi came up to bat in the third round, and still couldn't make any progress...
Sawamura clearly realized that things were heading in a bad direction for them.
What exactly will happen?
Sawamura couldn't quite figure it out at the moment.
But one thing he was certain of:
If things continued this way, the game would definitely be affected.
Where, exactly? When?
Sawamura couldn't guess.
But using his instincts, he sensed danger approaching.
"We can't give the opponent any chances; now's the time to go all out."
Sensing the danger, Sawamura made up his mind to strike first.
He used only breaking balls, giving the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball players no opportunity to counterattack.
With the skill of the lower-order batters from Kanetsu-Norin High School, they used all their energy just to deal with Sawamura's regular fastballs.
And even then, they could barely hit the ball.
Now, faced with Sawamura's unpredictable breaking balls, how could they possibly hit?
Originally, Sawamura and Miyuki thought that, after breaking the record, the Kanetsu-Norin High School players would at least put up some resistance.
Even if they couldn't hit the ball, they would try to bunt.
This is standard procedure, the common knowledge for every team.
So, in this round of pitching, they reminded the first baseman Maezono and third baseman Kanemaru to be extra careful.
They couldn't give the opponent an easy opportunity to bunt.
Even if the opponent bunted and actually made contact with the ball...
They had to stop it immediately.
Ready for everything, Sawamura started his direct confrontation with the opponent.
But what he didn't expect was that the opponents weren't going to fight him to the bitter end.
The Kanetsu-Norin players raised their bats high, clearly signaling they wanted to face off against Sawamura head-on.
Sawamura himself couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
If it weren't for him being in this situation, he would have suspected that both teams had agreed beforehand to help the pitcher break records.
Fifteen consecutive strikeouts—this was already enough to shock the world.
With that in mind, they couldn't imagine why the Kanetsu-Norin High School players weren't stopping it.
You know, if they didn't stop it...
The record Sawamura Eijun set might exceed everyone's expectations.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Sawamura Eijun didn't know what the other side was plotting, but they had already handed him the record.
And Sawamura couldn't bear to refuse.
They were being so nice—if he refused, how embarrassed would he feel?
…
T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
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