Chapter 666 - 666: Hit By Pitch

Tanba's words greatly encouraged the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Originally, everyone thought that while this senior's pitching skills were good, his personality wasn't assertive enough.

Now, though no one knew what kind of stimulus he had received, he had truly stood up.

He genuinely intended to lead the Seido High School Baseball Team to victory in this game.

Coach Kataoka, who had already prepared for a substitution, saw Tanba's eagerness to pitch and the trusting gazes of the surrounding players.

He had no choice but to change his mind.

This scene was too special, both for Tanba personally and for the entire Seido High School Baseball Team.

He couldn't intervene at this moment and interrupt everyone's enthusiasm.

"Very good, get ready to go!"

Since he couldn't interrupt, he could only encourage.

Fortunately, after seeing Tanba's performance, Zhang Han had already mentally prepared for the scene unfolding before him, so he didn't think much of it.

The game continued, with Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team on offense.

It wasn't just Seido High School that adjusted their team during the game break; Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team also made adjustments.

Moreover, their adjustments were more aggressive compared to Seido High School.

Just now, Narumiya Mei had seriously told all his teammates around him,

"Two runs, we just need two more runs!"

At this moment, the Tokyo Prince had already felt the immense pressure from the Seido High School Baseball Team.

So he didn't wish for anything else; he just needed his teammates to get him two more runs, and he could guarantee the team's victory.

"No need for that many, one run is enough..."

Coach Kunitomo saw things more clearly than Narumiya Mei.

"Although Seido changed pitchers, the first pitcher on the mound didn't relieve much pressure from Tanba. Tanba's pitch count has already far exceeded 70, and his condition cannot be unaffected. Zhang Han hasn't pitched since the Kanto Tournament. Either he's injured, or his pitching is under some kind of restriction. Whichever it is, the defense of the Seido High School Baseball Team poses a limited threat to us. As long as we drag out the time and go into extra innings, victory in today's game will surely belong to us."

Coach Kunitomo was the type who rarely spoke, but once he did, he had already planned everything out.

Narumiya Mei's words had already greatly moved the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

Now, with Coach Kunitomo's endorsement, the players felt their blood boiling. They were already impatient to get on the field and settle the score with those guys from the Seido High School Baseball Team.

"Aooo!"

The players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team almost roared as they stepped into the batter's box.

Even the usually composed Shirakawa let out a yell, startling the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

"These guys, did they take some kind of medicine in the dugout?"

The Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's performance, as if they had gotten the wrong script, left the Seido High School Baseball Team's teammates completely bewildered.

They truly couldn't understand why these guys suddenly became so motivated.

What happened?

Tanba also noticed the change in the Inashiro players, but like the other players on the Seido High School Baseball Team, he was completely at a loss.

He also couldn't understand what was wrong with these guys from the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

"Don't mind them, focus on pitching."

As the team's catcher, Miyuki could vaguely understand why the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team were so excited.

The game had been going on for most of the time, and Narumiya Mei had been pitching continuously, no matter how fierce his performance was.

For the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, there was still a sense of unease within them.

After all, even Narumiya Mei still had the possibility of giving up runs later on. Considering the presence of Zhang Han and Yuuki, this possibility was not small.

They urgently hoped to change the situation on the field, or rather, they had been forced to a moment where they had to burn their bridges.

At this point, from the perspective of the Seido High School Baseball Team, the most important thing for them was to remain steady.

No matter what tricks those guys from the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team were planning, as long as they could hold the score and successfully get outs, the situation would only become increasingly unfavorable for Inashiro Industrial.

"Our next task is to snowball, and the most important thing for snowballing is stability."

Miyuki signaled Tanba for a high-breaking curveball.

Although his newly learned Forkball also made the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team extremely wary, Tanba's biggest weapon remained his high-breaking curveball.

The reason Miyuki signaled this was to hope that Tanba could utilize his greatest strength and successfully deal with the opponent on the field.

However, Miyuki quickly realized that his plan didn't seem so easy to succeed.

Shirakawa, who stepped into the batter's box, was inherently a relatively small-framed player. For such a batter, his strike zone was much smaller than those of taller batters.

This increased the difficulty of pitch control for the pitcher.

Shirakawa seemed not content, pressing his body tightly against the edge of the strike zone, with even a part of it possibly leaning into the strike zone.

With such a stance, if Koichiro Tanba stubbornly used his high-breaking curveball, there was a high probability that it would directly hit Shirakawa.

Miyuki instinctively took a sharp breath.

Shirakawa's body was like a nail, firmly planted there, not moving an inch.

At this moment, he had clearly made up his mind. Even if it was a hit-by-pitch, he was determined to get on base.

This invisibly put immense psychological pressure on the Seido High School Baseball Team, or more precisely, on Tanba on the pitcher's mound.

What to do?

Should the high-breaking curveball be sealed, and only ordinary Fastballs and Tanba's newly learned Forkball be used?

Miyuki dismissed this idea almost without thinking.

They knew their own situation.

Koichiro Tanba's basic pitching wasn't bad; even without the high-breaking curveball, he was an excellent pitcher.

But he was only excellent; he definitely didn't have the qualifications to compete with top pitchers.

Such pitching might be fine against ordinary teams, but if used against monsters like the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, they probably wouldn't even know what hit them...

Cannot give up.

Giving up was simply not an option.

But the current dilemma needed to be resolved no matter what.

Miyuki thought for a moment and signaled Tanba.

At the same time, he placed his glove on the edge of the inside corner.

Although Tanba's control wasn't as precise as Kawakami's or Zhang Han's, he could still differentiate between inside and outside corners.

He didn't believe that with this stance, Shirakawa would be able to swing at an inside pitch.

Miyuki made up his mind.

On the pitcher's mound, Tanba also didn't question it, but quickly agreed with Miyuki's approach and very decisively threw the ball to the inside corner.

Clearly, he also didn't believe that any batter could swing at an inside pitch while pressing their body tightly against the edge of the strike zone.

"Ping!"

Shirakawa aimed at the incoming baseball and suddenly stood up completely.

Compared to when he was half-crouching, his body was now a few centimeters off from the strike zone. The angle that was originally impossible to swing at was now not entirely unhittable.

"Ping!"

Shirakawa didn't let this pitch go, swinging decisively. The baseball was hit out, landing and bouncing before the Seido High School Baseball Team's outfielders could react.

"Pop!"

"Ball..."

Fortunately, the baseball veered off the foul line by about twenty to thirty centimeters.

"Phew!"

Miyuki let out a long breath.

On the pitcher's mound, Tanba's eyes also held a hint of apprehension.

Clearly, this hit had a significant impact on this pitcher-catcher duo of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

They had never imagined that Shirakawa's hitting technique would be so exquisite.

It was probably not much worse than their team's Kominato Ryosuke.

What to do?

Leading in the count, the Seido High School Baseball Team's predicament remained unresolved.

Miyuki, as the pitch caller, faced two choices at this moment.

One was aggressive, and the other was even more aggressive.

Retreating had never been an option for Miyuki.

Given the current game situation, if the Seido High School Baseball Team chose to retreat, even just one step, the blow to their entire team would be immeasurable.

For a pitcher and catcher, sometimes such a choice has to be made.

Fastball or high-breaking curveball?

One was an aggressive attack on the inside corner, the other an even more aggressive attack on the inside corner.

Miyuki chose the more aggressive one.

Although there was a certain probability that it would hit Shirakawa, as long as Tanba could control the angle well, and deviate slightly more inwards than his previous pitches, this danger was not entirely unavoidable.

Even if it couldn't be completely avoided, it could be avoided by 80-90% or more.

For Miyuki, or rather, for the current Seido High School Baseball Team, such a risk was acceptable.

And it was worth it.

Whether they could fully control the rhythm of this game depended on the outcome of their next pitch.

If it were before, Miyuki would have hesitated somewhat in using such an aggressive pitch calling.

He would consider Tanba's personality and the risks involved in doing so.

But now he firmly believed that Koichiro Tanba could definitely meet such a challenge.

He could definitely overcome this difficulty and lead the Seido High School Baseball Team to greater glory.

"Whoosh!"

Tanba's action was much more decisive than before.

Upon receiving the signal, he threw it without much hesitation.

The baseball looked as if it was hurtling directly towards Shirakawa.

Shirakawa's eyes flashed with a sharp glint as he saw the trajectory of the flying baseball.

At the same time, he stepped out. While stepping, he shifted his body back half a step.

The ball that was originally difficult for him to observe could now be seen very clearly.

At the catcher's position, Miyuki was very surprised when he saw this scene.

Shirakawa's current action was completely different from Miyuki's original imagination.

He had originally thought that Shirakawa was pressing tightly against the edge of the strike zone to seal off Tanba's high-breaking curveball, using the threat of a hit-by-pitch to make him afraid to throw it.

But now it seemed that was not the case at all.

It was as if they were specifically waiting for this pitch to fly over.

As the baseball was about to drop, Shirakawa swung decisively, hitting the baseball with his bat.

"Ping!"

The white baseball passed by Masuko's side.

Even Masuko, faced with this sudden baseball, only had time to extend his hand.

"Pop!"

"Safe!"

With the ball behind the Third Baseman, Shirakawa ran to Second Base in one go.

The sudden hit, and the fact that Tanba's high-breaking curveball was hit, were very heavy blows to the Seido High School Baseball Team.

The teammates looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Miyuki, on the other hand, was somewhat annoyed.

He had thought everything through, but at the same time, he had overlooked an important issue.

That was, the sudden change in angle had caused Tanba's high-breaking curveball to lose its previous power, which led to Shirakawa targeting it.

This won't do.

Power comes first; everything else is secondary.

Next, facing the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's third batter, Yoshizawa.

He was a third-year player, and as a core power hitter for the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, his strength was unquestionable.

But when this guy stepped into the batter's box, he made almost the exact same choice and action as Shirakawa, pressing his body tightly against the edge of the strike zone.

This time, when Miyuki signaled for the high-breaking curveball, he didn't tell Tanba to deliberately deviate the angle.

Instead, he told him to pitch it with confidence.

Tanba looked back at Shirakawa on Second Base.

That guy was standing obediently on the Second Base bag, not moving an inch, looking like a good child.

But thinking of how that guy had tricked him in the batter's box earlier, Tanba felt a surge of suppressed anger.

This time, he also learned from the previous lesson, gripping the baseball tightly with his fingers and throwing his full-power pitch.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball looked as if it was hurtling directly towards the batter.

Yoshizawa saw this scene but was not very flustered. Clearly, he was confident that the baseball would curve next.

So he waited patiently, ready to observe the pitch's trajectory.

However, this time he miscalculated; the baseball showed no sign of curving at all.

"Oh no!"

Yoshizawa wanted to dodge.

The reason they stuck to the edge of the strike zone was to scare Tanba, not to actually take the ball with their bodies.

Coach Kunitomo wouldn't give such an order, and the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team weren't pushed to that point yet.

But just as he was about to dodge, Yoshizawa suddenly discovered, to his surprise, that his body couldn't move at all.

Perhaps it wasn't that he couldn't move, but that the baseball was flying too fast.

By the time his eyes saw it, the image was transmitted to his brain, and his brain reacted, the baseball had already arrived in front of him.

"Pop..."

The baseball solidly hit Yoshizawa on his lower jaw.

Even though he was wearing a batting helmet, he still fainted instantly.

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