Yuma had confidence in dealing with Yuuki Masashi.
This freshman in his first year, despite his strong performance earlier, had some very distinct traits. Could he be dealt with?
For Jouyou High School, it was a 50-50 chance.
From a probabilistic standpoint, they held a significant advantage.
They had faced off three times before, and they had successfully neutralized him twice.
With such a large advantage, if they didn't make good use of it, wouldn't they be foolish?
Not to mention, he was the fourth batter of the Seidou High School baseball team.
Regardless of whether this fourth batter was overrated, the fourth batter was still the fourth batter, and its significance was entirely different.
If they could successfully deal with him, they would gain a significant edge in the game.
Although, by this point, their players had already given up on winning. After all, the point gap was too large, and in the remaining three innings, they wouldn't be able to catch up.
They had no hope of winning!
But this didn't mean they would give up the game.
This was Koshien!
The dream place for hundreds of thousands of baseball players across the country.
They had worked so hard to get here, so how could they so easily give up this chance?
It was impossible! Even if they could just stay on the field and shine a little, they would still try to showcase their strength!
Of course, there was an objective fact that had to be mentioned.
That was, the Seidou High School baseball team hadn't put enough pressure on them to make them feel hopeless.
In other words, they hadn't felt despair at all.
In the game between the two teams, the Seidou High School baseball team did have a huge advantage, but they didn't completely suppress the opponent and left the other team with room to show some of their abilities.
At this point, if the main players of the Seidou High School baseball team had been on the field, the situation would have been very different!
If they had played, the gap in strength between them and the opponents would have been enough to make the opponents feel deeply despairing!
This could also be seen as the dividing line between the main players and the substitutes.
If the main team were playing, the opponents wouldn't have had any chance at all.
But since the substitutes were on the field, the opponents had a chance to grab onto something.
Didn't Yuma still confidently think he could deal with Yuuki Masashi?
If Seidou had shown their full strength, enough to make their opponents despair, the opponents would never have had such delusions.
Even if there had been a confrontation, the feeling would have been a last-ditch effort, with no other choice.
Unlike now, where the opponents still had high hopes for themselves. They still wanted to take this opportunity to show their strength.
Because of their relaxed demeanor, the ball Yuma threw also came out very relaxed.
The small baseball almost reached the batter's face in the blink of an eye.
Watching the ball fly towards him, about to reach his hands.
Yuuki Masashi's eyes were firm.
He was not at all affected by his previous missed swings, and his state of mind remained steady.
Now, he felt a surge of power within him.
This power was ready to erupt at any moment.
What did the outside world think?
He didn't know and didn't care to know.
Right now, he only had one thought in his mind: to fully focus on the ball in front of him and wait until it was within his striking range.
Then, he would hit it hard.
Here it comes!
It happened in the blink of an eye, the small baseball reached his hands.
Yuuki Masashi gathered all the strength in his body and focused it in his arms as he swung the bat.
Buuuuuuzzzzzzzz!!!!
As he swung, there was a humming sound from the air friction above the Batter's Box.
BAAANGG!!!!
The bat collided forcefully with the incoming ball.
When Yuuki Masashi made contact with the ball, his expression didn't relax at all; instead, it grew even more serious.
From the recoil on his hands, he clearly realized that he had missed the ball slightly.
However, he didn't give up. At this moment, he put all his strength into it.
The ball coming towards him wasn't a fastball, but a breaking with a subtle break.
This was something Yuuki Masashi hadn't anticipated.
But it was fine. It wasn't too late to realize now.
As long as the result was good, everything would be fine.
After missing the sweet spot, he used an incredibly powerful swing to forcefully alter the ball's flight path.
The ball was sent soaring high into the air.
The 55,000 spectators in the stadium all focused their attention on the baseball soaring through the sky.
The result of this hit would directly determine the outcome of the game.
Yuma, standing on the mound, froze when he saw this.
He had clearly expected to easily deal with this kid.
But now, it seemed like things weren't as easy as he thought.
Yuuki Masashi's calm performance far exceeded his expectations.
When the swing didn't go as planned, the batter didn't panic at all but continued with his usual style of swinging.
That high fly ball was somehow still hit inside the field.
And it landed in the gap in the outfield.
When the ball hit the ground, Seidou High School's bench erupted into cheers.
Even those main players who hadn't had a chance to play were filled with pride over Yuuki Masashi's performance.
He had done incredibly well!
Yuuki Masashi's performance exceeded what they had expected from him.
The ball had been hit!
And it landed in the gap in the outfield.
The teammates on base certainly wouldn't miss this chance.
They ran forward, trying to get back to home plate.
At this moment, it seemed like even the heavens were helping them.
The Jouyou outfielder, who was rushing back, failed to catch the ball in time.
As a result, not only did Nishiyama at third base advance but even the runner on first base, Kijima, made it past a few bases.
He successfully ran home.
With this, Seidou High School scored two more points.
With these two points, the lead had stretched to 9 points.
But it didn't end there. Yuuki Masashi, who had just finished his turn at bat, took the chance to run to second base.
Now, there was one Out and a runner on second.
Seidou High School's chances to score remained excellent.
The point gap had widened to a full 9 points.
They were now just one point away from a double-digit lead.
At this point, the players from Jouyou High School were inevitably lost in confusion.
Seidou High School's team was strong, even their substitutes were strong.
They had already known this.
But they hadn't expected their strength to be this overwhelming.
They had practically no counterattack ability.
Originally, they wanted to keep the deficit within 10 points, but now it seemed impossible.
Seidou High School's players were like wild dogs—once they seized an opportunity, they never let go.
The following innings proved this point.
With a hit-and-run play, Yuuki Masashi, who had been on second base, made it all the way home.
This became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The score difference was now over 10 points!
Moreover, the offense didn't end yet!
From that moment until the end of the game, it rained hits and balls on the Jouyou High School outfielders.
17:1
By the end of the game, the score became soul-crushingly wide.
"Game Set!!! In the second round of Summer Koshien, the Seidou High School baseball team faced Jouyou High School. The winning team is the reigning champion, Seidou High School baseball team!!!"
…
T/N: Now, the second game ended!
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