Chapter 354: Relief Pitching
"But if you can deliver a performance that satisfies me, I can consider not taking you out!"
As Tanba was about to head out, Coach Kataoka's voice came from behind.
In this game, Coach Kataoka actually wanted Tanba to pitch a few more innings.
But as a coach, he knew that this round through the lineup would be difficult to suppress.
Of course, that was the plan before this inning. Now that they had a sufficient lead, letting the ace continue wasn't a problem.
Overall, he was still concerned about the other pitchers.
At the same time, that dramatic pause could further ignite Tanba's morale. (Though his morale was already high—it almost felt like it might explode. Both coaches were really good at firing up their players.)
"Yes!!!"
"Top of the 6th inning! Kiryu High's offense! First batter! Center fielder, Amazawa-kun!"
"Here it comes!"
"Hit it, Amazawa!"
"We're counting on you, Amazawa!!!"
"Shut him down, Tanba!"
"This guy's nothing to be afraid of!"
"They're really underestimating him! But… today he's already struck out twice in two at-bats! That's just how it is!" Amazawa felt somewhat offended hearing the cheers from Seidou's side.
Although he had struck out twice, just like Tetsu against Inashiro, he was a batter being specifically targeted.
"Haven't seen it before, right? A game where Amazawa looks this miserable! Let alone striking out twice in a row! But! That kid won't just accept it!" Coach Matsumoto looked at his leadoff batter at the plate.
"I'll take you down here!
…fushi!"
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Another first-pitch curveball! The batter swings and misses!"
"What an incredible batter! Not afraid of striking out at all, swinging with full commitment!" Miyuki stared at Amazawa, already on full alert.
"Another breaking ball! Splitter! We must disrupt his rhythm!"
"Whoosh!"
"Crack!"
"Right field!!!" Miyuki shouted the next instant.
"He got it!"
"Yes!!!"
"A strong pull to right!"
"Thud!"
"It dropped!!"
"So fast!"
"Damn it!" Shirasu picked up the ball and threw it back unwillingly.
"Whoosh…!"
"Pop!"
"Safe!!!"
"Yes!!! Triple!!!"
"Haha! Beautiful hit, Amazawa!"
"As expected of Amazawa!"
"But Seidou's outfield is really scary! All three outfielders have arms that can throw directly home!"
"Keep it going, Hirata!"
"Bring him home in one go!"
"Keep the offense going!"
"Second batter! Second baseman, Hirata-kun!"
Kiryu's number two batter stepped up amid the loud cheers.
"As expected of the third round! Have they changed what they're targeting? Also, this guy is really fast!
He even made it to third against our defense! His batting is strong too! But we can't lose either, Tanba-san!" Miyuki glanced at Amahisa on third, then turned toward the mound.
Pitcher and catcher nodded at the same time.
"Pop!"
"fushi!"
"Crack!"
"First-pitch attack!"
"He hit this one too!"
"The runner from third scores! Now it's a two-run difference!
Kiryu's lineup is starting to explode!"
"This game just got interesting!"
"A slugfest? That's great!"
"Not necessarily! Kiryu's ace is stronger!"
"Idiot! Seidou's lineup is stronger than Kiryu's!
Don't mix things up!"
"fushi!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Yes! The breaking ball still has power!"
"Steal!"
"Whoosh!"
"A bunt?"
"No!!!"
"Crack!"
"It's a hit-and-run!"
"That makes it three consecutive hits!!!"
"Here it comes! Kiryu's super-powered machine-gun lineup!"
"Super-powered? What's that?"
"Shut up! Don't worry about the details!"
With both Seidou and Kiryu trading hits, the game completely heated up!
This kind of back-and-forth scoring was what you usually saw at Koshien!
Pitching duels were actually rarer!
The crowd was loving it!!!
"Fourth batter! Pitcher, Tachi-kun!"
"Yes!!! We're counting on you, cleanup!"
"No outs, runners on first and third!"
"Blow him away in one go!"
"As expected… still aiming for the fastball? In this situation, we can only rely on Tanba-san to hold them off!" Miyuki glanced at the runners and the ready Tate, then immediately called for a mound visit.
"Tanba-san! They're targeting the fastball—I'm going to center the game plan on breaking balls!" Miyuki stated his plan right away.
At the same time, he felt relieved—if it were Tanba from spring, he might have collapsed, but now his eyes were still steady.
"Got it! I'll leave the pitch-calling to you!" Tanba nodded.
Then—
"Crack!"
"You've got to be kidding me!!!" Isashiki shouted wildly.
"Bang!"
"It's here! A direct hit off the left-center wall!!!"
"The cleanup delivers!!!"
"It's tied!!! And now it's no outs, runners on second and third! Hahaha!"
This time, even before the announcer could react, the crowd erupted the moment the ball hit the wall.
The players on the field could only hear the overwhelming noise, not the words.
It was complete chaos.
"Why? He actually swung at a breaking ball?" Miyuki was stunned.
Meanwhile, in Kiryu's dugout, Coach Matsumoto held his cap with both hands, wearing a sly grin.
It was clearly his setup.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, a flash of white shot out—
"Boom!!!"
"Ugh!" A certain agile big guy crouched down with all his strength.
"Out!!!"
"Out at third!!!"
"… "
The stadium fell into complete silence for about three seconds.
A stadium filled with tens of thousands of people—utterly silent.
As the crowd's attention shifted back from the next batter to the outfield—
Aside from those already watching there, what everyone saw was a figure slowly bending down to pick up his cap.
Even from afar…
That number 8 looked enormous.
"What was that?!"
"A laser?!"
"How fast was that throw?!"
"Why is that guy even there?!"
"So fast!!! In every way possible, that was insanely fast!!!"
After the silence came an even louder explosion of noise.
Those who saw that figure would never forget it.
That indifferent posture.
That lone, king-like silhouette.
Elegance. Dominance. An overwhelming presence.
With that terrifying, almost condescending throw—
He told everyone:
Don't get carried away.
There's still a true monster on this field.
"Idiot… getting played around so easily—what are you even doing? So unreliable…" Sendo muttered softly as he put his cap back on.
"That throw…was like a savior," Chris-senpai said with a sigh.
"…Yeah." Coach Kataoka also let out a breath.
In that situation, there was no way to make a substitution. In a stadium with tens of thousands of people, the pressure was too great for any other pitcher.
Coach Kataoka had never felt this way before.
But—
that man…
With just one throw—just a single out—the opponent's entire momentum was completely crushed.
In Coach Kataoka's eyes, that figure seemed to be saying:
"Don't get carried away. If you gain momentum, I'll force you down with sheer power!"
At that moment, Sendo finished adjusting his cap as if he had just done something trivial, turned around expressionlessly, and jogged back from the edge of the field.
That entire sequence of movements—no one knew how many hearts it melted.
That posture… even men would be captivated—unbelievably cool!
"He really made me hold my breath! That kind of overwhelming momentum that was about to explode, suddenly being suppressed—it feels awful! But… something feels off. That series of hits seems to have ignited that man's fighting spirit!" Coach Matsumoto stared at that figure, filled with emotion.
…
"We were really saved there, Sendo! Honestly, I was starting to waver! From here on, we need to be even more careful with pitch calling!" Miyuki, on the field, regained his spirit because of that play.
"Miyuki!!!" Coach Kataoka called out.
"Hm?"
"Pitching change!"
Now that the opponent's momentum had been suppressed, it was the perfect time to make a substitution.
"Announcement: Seidou High substitution!…Eighth batter, pitcher Tanba is replaced! Furuya! Eighth batter, pitcher Furuya!"
"He's here! The monster prince!"
"Finally! The legendary power pitcher!"
"I've been waiting for this!"
Furuya had already gained a large number of fans at Koshien.
Though still rough, though still wild—he was a true monster!
And high-velocity pitching is one of baseball's great thrills.
"He really picked the perfect timing! I didn't expect that mentally fragile pitcher to have grown this much!
He's become a true ace! But it's not too late! There are still four innings left—that's enough!" Coach Matsumoto had prepared thoroughly for Seidou, even understanding Tanba's previous condition.
"In practice games, his velocity dropped due to fatigue. But his control has never been great—watch for strikes! This pitcher isn't someone who can't be broken in a short time. Turn the game around in one go—and take him down too!" Coach Matsumoto shouted to his players.
"Yes!!!"
"Kataoka! Let me attack your weaknesses!"
"Do you understand, Furuya? One out, runner on second! The score difference is only one run—pitch carefully!"
"I won't let them hit it!" Furuya said calmly.
"Boom!!!"
"I get it—just put that aura away!" Miyuki said helplessly.
"Seriously… This guy hasn't changed at all!" Miyuki muttered while crouching behind the plate.
"Bringing Furuya in at this moment… even the outfield understands the coach's dilemma. Is this a blessing… or a disaster? We'll find out soon! We still have four innings left to attack—pitch carefully!" After scanning the field, Miyuki focused and began calling pitches seriously.
"One out!"
"One out!"
Players on the field began encouraging each other—the importance of Sendo's play was becoming more and more evident.
"Fifth batter! Third baseman, Sudo!" the stadium announcer called.
The game resumed!
"Don't think about anything—just throw it!"
"Pop!"
"Piu!"
"Boom!!!"
"Ball!"
"147!"
"That's it!"
"That speed! That sound! It's exhilarating!"
"Too bad it's a ball!"
"Haha! Exactly!"
"From the batter's box, this guy's pitch pressure is no joke! Coach was right!" Sudo thought as he looked at Furuya on the mound.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!!!"
"Strike!"
"A fast splitter! The batter swings and misses!"
"Incredible—that's a fast splitter!" Sudo muttered.
Miyuki didn't respond, fully focused on the game.
Seeing that, Sudo turned his attention back to Furuya.
"Careful… careful…" he reminded himself.
"Piu!"
"Boom!!"
"Ball!"
"Alright! The pitcher can't throw strikes!"
"He's seeing it well!"
"Even so…Standing in the box against this pitch is still scary!" Sudo thought.
"Whoosh!"
"Here it comes! Fastball!"
"Crack!"
"Ouch!"
"First base!"
"Pop!"
"Safe!"
He barely made it on base, benefiting from the ball landing far from the fielders.
…
"Yes!!!"
"Keep it going!"
"Turn it around, Furuya!"
"It just landed in a bad spot!"
"Finally got on base! Be careful! Nagumo! His pitch power is no joke! My hands went numb instantly!" Sudo signaled to Nagumo to be cautious of the pitch's power.
Seeing that even their powerful fifth batter said that, Nagumo nodded seriously.
"Sixth batter! Catcher, Nagumo!"
At that moment, Coach Matsumoto gave another signal!
Nagumo stepped into the batter's box in a bunt stance.
"A squeeze play? Looks like Kiryu is starting to play cautiously too. But we just need to do what we have to do." Miyuki observed Kiryu's move, then spread his arms, signaling Furuya to throw with confidence.
"The runner is going!" a teammate shouted.
"Pop!"
"Piu!"
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"No bunt?" Furuya looked at the batter, confused, as the runner returned.
"For an inexperienced first-year, this kind of pestering approach really disrupts focus, doesn't it?" Coach Matsumoto smiled slightly.
Coach Matsumoto never cared too much about a single run.
What mattered was breaking down Furuya as a pitcher.
Runs would come—but not necessarily now.
After all, with only one out, as long as they avoided a double play or strikeout, that run was still secure.
Now Seidou was truly starting to feel the pressure.
Tanba, the experienced pitcher, had been driven out, and the others were finding this situation difficult to handle.
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