"The coach told me that he won't be taking you out of this inning."
Tanba, who had originally thought he might be completely out of the pitcher's mound, felt as if he had come back to life after hearing these words.
He looked at the dugout in disbelief.
Did such words really come from his own coach's mouth?
Coach Kataoka was expressionless.
Ochiai sat behind him, sulking, pinching his little beard on his chin with his thumb and forefinger.
How willful!
Kataoka didn't act like a coach at all, but rather like an immature player.
In this situation, he was still so willful? Could it be that he had already given up on this Kanto Tournament?
Giving up on the not-so-important Kanto Tournament to cultivate the team's Ace didn't seem entirely unreasonable.
But was the Ace on the pitcher's mound right now truly worth them doing that?
Ochiai was very doubtful.
"If the principal or the Board of Directors blames you, I won't intercede for you."
Ochiai mused to himself.
Although this wasn't a good thing for the entire Seido High School Baseball Team.
For him personally, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. If Kataoka insisted on his own way and suffered a huge loss this time, offending the principal and the Board of Directors.
Even if he was a coach from Seido High School's direct lineage, he might very well be replaced afterwards. If he was replaced, perhaps he could get his wish and become the coach of this team.
Coach Ochiai's little schemes were destined to fail.
Tanba, who was originally on the verge of collapse, squeezed out his last bit of stamina due to Coach Kataoka's trust and threw a pitch that was still in decent condition.
"Ping!"
Although the ball was still hit, the batter didn't hit it well.
The ball was hit foul.
Yuuki ran to foul territory and caught the falling ball in his glove.
"Thwack!"
"Out!"
Three outs, change of offense and defense.
Returning to the dugout, Tanba stood before Kataoka, his face full of shame.
"I'm sorry!"
Chris looked at Tanba, who was hanging his head, and felt a pang of pity, so he stepped forward.
"The ball speed is a bit slow, but the overall pitching doesn't have any major problems. Just in terms of pitching performance, I think Tanba pitched pretty well. As for why he kept getting hit? There are two main reasons: one is that they have already gotten used to Tanba's pitching, and the other is because…"
Chris gave his opponent a deep look, but couldn't say the last words.
But even if he didn't say it, everyone could understand.
Shonan Gakuen, even though they were all second-year baseball players, their strength was truly not bad!
"Now is not the time to talk about these things. Let's discuss it at the review meeting after the game. Our goal now is to find a way to turn the game around."
Coach Kataoka seemed largely unaffected by his opponents scoring four consecutive runs, and instead, passionately commanded his players to continue fighting.
"Yes!"
The batters of the Seido High School Baseball Team, one by one, were eager to play.
They would absolutely not let the game end like this.
But the actual outcome was very cruel.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strikeout!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
The ninth batter, Tanba, including Kuramochi, who was the First Batter.
Were both struck out.
In the late stages of the game, Aoki, whose pitch count was already approaching one hundred, not only showed no signs of fatigue, but instead became stronger as the game progressed.
"Is this guy's stamina really that good?"
In the dugout of the Seido High School Baseball Team, the teammates looked at Aoki, their eyes a bit dull.
Zhang Han shook his head: "During his junior high days, his stamina, while not a weakness, was definitely not as strong as it is now."
Having pitched nearly a hundred balls, and facing the batters of the Seido High School Baseball Team, Aoki's pitching actually didn't show any obvious weakening?
Miyuki Kazuya also followed up, saying: "It looks like Aoki has grown a lot in the two years since he joined Shonan Gakuen!"
Zhang Han and Miyuki were already players with extraordinary abilities.
But it seemed that among players their age, besides Narumiya Mei, there were also players of extraordinary caliber in other regions.
Finally, Kominato Ryosuke tried to prolong his at-bat in the batter's box.
As a result, he only managed to prolong it until the seventh pitch, accidentally hitting an infield ground ball and being forced out.
Three outs, change of offense and defense.
In the stands, a reporter scratched his head in surprise.
"To be able to suppress the Seido High School Baseball Team's lineup to this extent? Seido now, let alone scoring, can't even get a hit."
From the fifth inning onwards, all nine batters of the Seido High School Baseball Team had a turn, but couldn't get a single hit.
At the end of seven innings, the score was surprisingly tied.
7:7!
"If only I could have prolonged it for a few more pitches."
Because of Kominato Ryosuke's persistence, Aoki's pitch count soared, reaching one hundred and five pitches.
But Kominato Ryosuke seemed still not satisfied.
Kuramochi, standing next to Kominato Ryosuke, felt his face turn as red as a monkey's backside.
That kind of pitch, the senior hit it foul five times in a row, and he was still so dissatisfied?
Then what about those of them who hadn't even touched the ball?
Just as the Seido High School Baseball Team's situation was precarious, they changed pitchers.
"The game is just beginning now."
Mikura, realizing that the Seido High School Baseball Team had made a substitution, widened his eyes and stared at Zhang Han.
However, to his surprise, the Seido High School Baseball Team did not put Zhang Han on the pitcher's mound, but instead brought in a first-year rookie pitcher.
"Furuya Satoru?"
Mikura frowned.
Because in the past two years, they had been recruiting star players nationwide. Mikura knew more or less about any star player who had made a name for themselves during their junior high days.
But he had never heard this name before.
Mikura was uneasy, so he turned his head and stared at the substitute players in the dugout, asking.
"Does any of you know this person?"
Those substitute first-year players looked at each other and all shook their heads.
It was clear that they had never heard this name before either.
"A rookie pitcher with no reputation?"
It was only natural that the opponent had potential.
A powerhouse like the Seido High School Baseball Team, a player who could make it to the First string, absolutely couldn't be without potential.
But for such a complete unknown, even if he had high pitching potential, how much strength could he display in a game?
"Could it be that the Seido High School Baseball Team has already decided to give up on this game?"
Although Mikura found it hard to believe that such a good thing would just fall into his lap. But the facts were laid out before him, leaving him no choice but to believe.
Otherwise, why would the Seido High School Baseball Team replace with a first-year pitcher at this time, instead of putting their true Ace, Zhang Han, on the field?
"Never mind!"
Unable to figure it out, Mikura finally decided to stop racking his brain. Anyway, no matter what the Seido High School Baseball Team's plans were?
He just needed to do one thing well.
That was to take out the pitcher on the field.
"Don't take it lightly just because the opponent is a first-year rookie. Go all out and score runs."
In the top of the eighth inning, before Shonan Gakuen's batters came to bat.
Mikura sternly instructed them.
It was only a tie score now; they had merely returned to the same starting line as the Seido High School Baseball Team.
This didn't mean they had already secured victory?
To secure victory, they must...
"Boom!"
Just as Mikura was about to give the batters a few more instructions, on the pitcher's mound, the tall pitcher newly brought in by Seido had already thrown his first pitch.
Then the entire stadium suddenly fell silent.
Followed by a huge uproar.
"What the heck was that?!"
"Even standing in the stands, I felt like I heard the sound of the baseball breaking through the air."
"Really?!"
Mikura looked blankly at Furuya Satoru on the pitcher's mound, countless question marks rising in his heart.
Why was such a pitcher hidden in the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout?
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strikeout!"
"Strikeout!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
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