CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 91: A GAME OF BASEBALL

"Play Ball!"

With a command from the umpire standing behind home plate, the game officially began.

Top of the first inning, Waseda Jitsugyo’s leadoff batter is Shigetsugu Shinjiro——as the leadoff batter, his task today is heavy, not only to hit the ball out but also to provide more information about the opponent pitcher’s style to his teammates behind him.

Therefore, Shigetsugu Shinjiro didn’t plan to make a move at the start; instead, he was determined to first observe Shimabukuro Hiroshi’s status in this at-bat.

The first pitch, Konan High School’s catcher Yamakawa Daisuke called for a low inside fastball——while the game just started, finding the inside pitch feel for their pitcher would greatly help in the later games.

As the trusted ace pitcher, Shimabukuro Hiroshi did not disappoint his teammates, throwing a 144 km/h fastball that swiftly crossed the pitcher’s mound to the home plate, precisely passing through the inside corner of the strike zone, entering into the catcher’s glove behind the batter with a loud sound.

"Strike." After the umpire announced the ruling, Shigetsugu Shinjiro took a deep breath and then took small steps to retreat from the batting box to make an adjustment.

When the baseball crossed the plate just now, his eyes were completely focused on observing the baseball’s path——it’s no surprise, truly a pitcher recognized as strong in the tournament, with excellent control skills.

For the second pitch, this time Shigetsugu Shinjiro was prepared to seriously hit.

On the mound, Shimabukuro Hiroshi assumed an almost identical pitching posture as the first pitch, under the force exerted by the torsion of his lower limbs and hips, his upper body tilted forward, and the baseball was thrown from his hand.

Gazing at the trajectory of the incoming ball, from Shigetsugu Shinjiro’s perspective, this ball’s position was just right to hit——so without hesitation, he swung the bat.

However, the anticipated fierce collision did not occur; the baseball brushed closely past the swinging bat and again passed through the strike zone, flying into Yamakawa Daisuke’s mitt.

"Pop." The collision between the baseball and mitt made a muffled sound——this was a breaking ball, the significant speed difference of nearly 20 km/h compared to the first pitch caused Shigetsugu Shinjiro’s timing judgment to falter, ultimately leading to that swing and miss.

After two pitches, no balls and two strikes, the pitcher already had an absolute advantage on the field.

The subsequent third pitch offered no surprises; facing Shimabukuro Hiroshi’s outside slider, Shigetsugu Shinjiro, who was cornered, still chose to swing, hitting a grounder that rolled toward the second and third base direction——

There, Konan’s starting shortstop Ooshima Kousuke was already in position to catch it; bringing the incoming ball into his glove, Ooshima Kousuke tightly gripped the seams of the baseball, with a flick of the arm, he hurled the ball toward the first baseman’s location;

At first base, Maezono Hideaki stepped on the base with his back foot, extending his left hand toward the incoming ball’s direction, catching the ball steadily before Shigetsugu Shinjiro could reach base, putting him out with a force play.

Returning to the dugout, Shigetsugu Shinjiro whispered to Matsunaga Kenta, who was about to come up: "As expected, just like the pre-match data stated, Shimabukuro’s arsenal of pitches is truly rich, his fastballs and breaking balls are both formidable—if possible, try to chase those indistinct paths more, and tangle with him for as long as possible!"

Matsunaga Kenta nodded, and after putting on his batting gear, he took a bat and walked into the batter’s box to prepare.

However, less than five minutes into the at-bat, Matsunaga Kenta returned to his team’s dugout——in this duel at-bat, the battery of Shimabukuro Hiroshi and Yamakawa Daisuke clearly changed their pitching strategy, opting for a more straightforward confrontation.

Right from the start, three consecutive fastballs with speeds over 142 km/h made Matsunaga Kenta find it somewhat difficult to handle; just as he was barely adjusting to such velocity, Shimabukuro Hiroshi switched his approach with the next pitch, throwing a slider with horizontal movement, causing the batter to miss and striking Matsunaga Kenta out.

Subsequently, while Kenshu Yasuda managed a hit, the cleanup hitter Onoda Shunsuke was baited by a high fastball, hitting a pop fly easily caught by Konan’s left fielder Yoshinobu Shinji.

After the first inning ended, Waseda Jitsugyo couldn’t score.

"Three outs!"

"Switch sides!"

Upon hearing the umpire’s call, the players from Konan quickly jogged back to the dugout from the field——in this half-inning, Konan’s defense was solid, consistently suppressing Waseda Jitsugyo’s lineup; next, it was time to test their offensive capabilities.

In Konan’s dugout, supervisor Wakayama Yu was still motivating his team members with a final pep talk:

"Don’t forget the strategy we devised pre-game—execute the routines you’ve been repeating daily for the past three years, and we can definitely break through quickly!"

"Today’s game, enjoy it to the fullest—unleash all your strength, defeat the opponent with integrity, show them where our championship comes from; tell them why we are the biggest favorites!"

Half a minute later, Waseda Jitsugyo’s players were already in position on the field, and the umpire signaled Konan’s first batter, Guoji Continent, to start batting.

Amidst the cheers from their Alps Stand, Guoji Continent walked into the batter’s box and took his stance.

On the mound, Uchida Saint, wearing jersey number 11, felt somewhat nervous——for him, who had always been the team’s backup pitcher, starting on such an important match and a large stage was a very pressured matter, making his body feel a bit tense.

The tension in his body naturally reflected in the quality of his pitches: facing the first batter Guoji Continent, Uchida Saint subsequently threw three bad pitches after a count of one ball and one strike, with pitch paths either too high or too low, walking the opponent’s leadoff batter onto base.

The next batter was the second batter, Keitai Castle Opening——as soon as he entered the batter’s box, supervisor Wakayama Yu, standing outside Konan’s dugout, gestured a signal towards him.

In the batter’s box, Keitai Castle Opening took in all of his own supervisor’s gestures, then brought the bat horizontally, posing for a bunt——it was clear, the strategy was a sacrifice bunt to advance their leadoff batter to second base, which is the most common and effective advancing tactic in high school baseball games.

Of course, against the offensive side’s intentional sacrifice bunt, the defensive side naturally has countermeasures: pitchers can use high fastballs or vertically moving breaking balls to fool the batter, tricking them into hitting weak infield pop flies.

But this method does require certain skills from the pitcher itself——normally, Uchida Saint could certainly do it; however, standing on the semifinal stage, he evidently needs some time to calm his nerves and find his groove in the game.

"Clank!"

Just as Uchida Saint released the baseball, it was tapped by Keitai Castle Opening, while Guoji Continent at first base also started running.

Having prepared in advance, Tsuchiya Ryota immediately retrieved the slowly rolling baseball from the ground and threw it toward first base——Keitai Castle Opening was forced out at first, but the runner at first base, Guoji Continent, had already successfully advanced to second base.

One out, runner on second, the next two batters for Konan are the core of their lineup:

Third batter, Iruku Shosuke, with a regional tournament batting average of 56.5%, eight consecutive hits, and also possesses quick feet, clocking 6.9 seconds for the 50-meter sprint;

Fourth batter, Mae Hira, Konan’s power slugger, extremely skilled in distance hitting, with two home run records in the Koshien tournament.

On the Alps Stand of Waseda Jitsugyo’s side, the fans supporting the school held their breath, watching the field situation tensely, fearing that their actions might affect their own players’ performance.

"With one out and a runner on second base, Waseda Jitsugyo is about to face Konan’s two strongest batters."

"So—viewers, how will the game unfold? Can Waseda Industries from West Tokyo withstand this crisis?"