The pressure on Yuma was immense!
He had only pitched less than three innings, but the amount of sweat he had produced was already equivalent to the total sweat output during an entire regional game.
Although he had a large and robust build, he was actually quite a meticulous person.
He had noticed this detail early on but had kept it to himself. As the team's Captain and Ace pitcher, he had his own concerns.
He was afraid that if he spoke about his fatigue, the entire team would collapse.
It had been a long journey to make it to Koshien, and it was the wish and dream of the whole team, the school, and all his teammates.
He didn't want to burden his teammates' dreams because of his own issues.
The previous two innings had been scoreless.
Even though he was already feeling exhausted, he silently encouraged himself.
He could hold on, he was sure he could!
It was just one game.
As long as he gave his all, he would definitely make it to the end of the game.
His strong willpower kept him going, and it was also supporting his pitching.
Even though the game's pace was much faster than he had originally anticipated, he still stubbornly held on and barely kept up with the tempo of the Seidou team.
Because the main players weren't on the field, the Seidou team's players couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Once the opponents caught up to their rhythm, it would take some effort to overcome them.
After watching the previous match, it wasn't clear what Coach Kataoka was thinking when he made the last-minute changes to the starting lineup.
This resulted in the freshmen and substitutes being put on the field unprepared.
At first, relying on their hard training and strong individual skills, Seidou's baseball team had a slight advantage.
But completely defeating the opponent wasn't so simple.
To do that, the Seidou team's players would have to put in some extra effort.
This was how the match was supposed to unfold, but Nishiyama's appearance had broken that pattern.
Nishiyama was the first to secure a clean and crisp double with no Outs.
Runners on first and second base.
At this point, it was time for the second batter, Kijima.
Coach Kataoka's substitutions were thorough; every core player from Seidou's team had been swapped out, including their main second baseman, Kominato Haruichi.
The substitute for Kominato Haruichi was Kijima.
Kijima, with his fully shaved cut, wasn't particularly strong or imposing in terms of physique, and he even appeared somewhat frail.
Even when standing next to Haruichi, Kijima didn't have much of an advantage in height.
Honestly, Kijima wasn't very noticeable within the Seidou team.
However, survival of the fittest—when Seidou first chose their main players, Kijima managed to make the cut. This meant his strength was undoubtedly unquestionable.
For him to stay in this position, he certainly had the necessary skills.
Kijima also realized that this was an extremely important opportunity for Seidou High School.
If they didn't take advantage of it, it would be a huge missed chance!
In order to avoid regret later, he decided to adopt a very conservative strategy.
After two Strikes, he repeatedly Fouled off pitches, attempting to get four balls and walk to first base.
Kijima knew exactly what he was doing.
If his strategy succeeded, it would be perfect.
Even if it didn't succeed, it wouldn't have too much of an impact on the overall situation.
The sweat on the opponent's face couldn't be stopped.
Even though it was August and the weather was sweltering, the pitcher had wiped his sweat five or six times within just the first two or three innings.
'This was unusual.'
Although the exact cause was unclear, Kijima was very aware of one thing.
The opponent's stamina had definitely reached a dangerous critical point.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been sweating so much.
With this judgment in mind, Kijima quickly realized that if he kept up this back-and-forth with the opponent, even if he didn't get four balls, it would still benefit Seidou.
Understanding this, he made a decisive choice.
He chose to continue Fouling off pitches and eventually hit the ball outside the strike zone.
"BALL!"
"FOUL!"
"BALL!!"
They battled for a total of 13 pitches, and in the end, Kijima successfully drew four Balls and walked to first base.
The hit that Nishiyama had made earlier had already been heavy enough.
Now, with this walk, the situation that Jouyou High was facing had become even worse.
No Outs, runners on first and second.
In the Jouyou High dugout, their Coach, who had been largely passive, finally couldn't stay seated any longer and stood up to call for a timeout.
After calling the timeout, he specially instructed a player to go onto the field to relay a message.
When the game resumed, Jouyou High made targeted adjustments.
The third batter, Ono, was walked, and the bases were now loaded.
At this point, Jouyou High had decided to face off with the fourth batter, Yuuki Masashi, head-on.
Unlike Seidou, who knew nothing about their opponents, Jouyou High, while not treating Seidou as their primary rival, still had extensive information on Seidou's team.
The information they had gathered was very detailed, and not only did they have data on Seidou's main players, but they also had records on their distinctive substitutes.
For example, Yuuki Masashi—among Seidou's first-year players, Yuuki stood out for his strong presence. He had hit the most home runs.
For Seidou, a team lacking strong power hitters, he was an incredibly rare and valuable player.
Jouyou had naturally done their homework on such a player.
Yuuki Masashi had tremendous hitting power, and his swings were excellent; even if he didn't hit the sweet spot, he could still send the ball flying.
These were his strengths.
However, with those strengths came some inherent flaws.
For example, his hitting precision wasn't always great!
He often swung and missed.
Yuma had great control and sharp breaking balls.
Using those to deal with a batter like Yuuki Masashi was perfect.
...
T/N: Sorry for yesterday, it was truly out of control. I caught a nasty cold; even looking at a screen and writing about it was a challenge.
So I apologize for the inconvenience.
And of course, this game will be completed Tomorrow!
Anyway, Thank you all for reading!!
And I hope you all have a good day!