"Ms. Uchida."
"yes!"
Mari Uchida looks very energetic in a baseball jacket and a white pleated skirt.
She stood in an empty venue and used a microphone to talk to two hosts who were nowhere to be found.
"I heard you like baseball, right?"
"I love it so much! My dream is to marry a professional baseball player!"
"Oh——" the male host exclaimed, "Ms. Uchida, I used to work for a professional team and was considered a baseball player. Do I have a chance?"
"This." Uchida Mari tilted her head in embarrassment.
"What do you mean by a baseball player?" The female host laughed, "Uchida-chan, don't worry about this person."
"Yes, I understand." Uchida Mari responded straightforwardly.
"Hey——" the male host shouted with a little reluctance.
Uchida Mari smiled cheerfully, and the entire electronic screen was filled with her sweet smile.
"However," the female host said, "Uchida-chan could be considered as a member of the on-site baseball team."
"Eh?" Uchida Mari was startled and said with an exaggerated expression, "Is it okay?"
"Of course not!" the male host firmly objected, "Ms. Uchida is already 30 years old this year. This is the Koshien qualifiers, and the contestants are all high school students! This is a crime!"
"Hmm..." Pretending to be silent, Uchida Mari said in a light tone, "Sure enough, I should ignore you today."
"sorry!"
There was laughter at the scene.
After the warm-up, the hostess said, "It's time to pitch. Ms. Uchida, please go to the pitcher's mound."
"Yes! Okay!"
Mari Uchida handed the microphone to a staff member on the side, put on her gloves, took the ball, and walked up to the pitcher's mound.
The gaze of thirty thousand people made her smile so tense that it seemed a little unnatural.
"Come on, Ms. Uchida!" the male host shouted.
Mari Uchida raised her hand holding the ball and made a "come on" gesture.
Kamikawa's catcher squatted at home plate, and the umpire stood behind him in a similar manner.
"Uchida-chan, let's get started!"
Mari Uchida lifted the ball over her head and then raised her leg.
The posture should have been practiced and is quite standard.
Throw it out with all your strength.
The distance from the pitching mound to the catcher's home plate is 18.44 meters.
For Mari Uchida, who is only 155 cm tall and doesn't train regularly, it was impossible for her to throw the ball accurately into the catcher's glove. The ball fell down weakly halfway through its flight.
The ball rolled on the ground toward the catcher.
Mari Uchida covered her mouth shyly, then laughed brightly.
"Thank you Ms. Uchida! Haha!"
"The kick-off is over. The 104th Summer Koshien Tournament, the East Tokyo Division Finals, has officially begun!"
"In the first half of the first game, Chiyoda-ku Misatsu attacks first! Shinjuku-ku Kamikawa defends!"
"Kamikawa's nine starting players have entered the field!"
"Kamikawa's starting pitcher is indeed Uchida Yuki, a veteran who is in his third year of playing in Koshien. Last year, also at Jingu Stadium, he led Kamikawa to win a ticket to Koshien and represented the East Tokyo 20th Ward in Koshien!"
"Well, they lost in the first round of Koshien last year. I wonder where they will go after a year of hard work."
"This is Uchida's last year as a pitcher. I'm sure he will have the strongest desire to win. Come on, Misatsu!"
"The first batter of the three pines is also in position!"
Uchida Yuki took a deep breath and looked straight ahead at the catcher.
Lift your legs and swing your arms.
The moment the ball went out, the electronic screen showed the speed of the ball: 146km/h.
The batter swung and missed.
"Strike!" the referee shouted.
"With a ball speed of 146, Uchida is in good shape," the male host praised.
"Hmm!" the hostess said, "Last year, Uchida threw a personal record of 150 in the Koshien preliminaries and finals. I wonder if he can break it this year."
"The second ball... was hit! But it flew very high, it was a high fly ball! Kamikawa's outfielder is in position!"
"He's going to be killed! Ah, he's really been killed !"
"As expected of Uchida! This pitch is definitely a win! It seems that the first batter of Mimatsu is still too nervous!"
The first batter of Sansong left the field, and the second batter trotted onto the field, carrying his bat.
"Kamikawa!"
"come on!"
The two words "Shenchuan" were written in a large area of ​​the auditorium, and the wind band played a passionate march.
On the other side, the Sansong cheering team was equally unwilling to be outdone, and cheers continued one after another.
The cheerleaders stood in the aisle, waving confetti.
VIP seats, Toru Watanabe was completely confused.
Why did the batter who had already reached first base get himself out after the ball was hit?
Catch the kill?
Does it mean that if the ball is caught by the opponent in the air, the batter is out directly?
Toru Watanabe once believed that as long as the ball was hit high and did not fall from the sky, the batter could run from home base to first base, second base, third base, and finally back to home base to score a point.
It seems that the people who made baseball rules also took this situation into consideration and made restrictions on fly balls:
No matter whether the batter runs to first base, second base, or third base, as long as the ball is caught directly before it hits the ground, the batter is out.
For ordinary people, catching a ball falling from a high altitude may be difficult, but for a baseball team that has been training since childhood, as long as they do not make mistakes, they can almost certainly catch such a ball.
The rules of baseball are much more complicated than those of other sports.
A basketball goes into the hoop, a football goes into the goal, and a tennis ball goes over the net. Even people who don't understand the rules of these sports can understand them.
Watanabe Toru glanced to his left and found that except for him and Kiyono Rin, the other three seemed to know baseball.
The two ladies continued to communicate in low voices.
During this period, Uchida struck out the second batter in Misatsu.
"Three hitters, two outs! The situation is dangerous. I don't know if the third batter can withstand the pressure!"
"It's a hit! It's a ground ball! Can I get on base?"
The hit ball was caught by the second baseman, who threw it hard to Kunii Osamu who was guarding first base.
Kunii Osamu had to catch the ball before the third batter touched first base.
The moment the ball fell into Kunii Osamu's glove, the third batter rushed to first base and touched it.
"Did it succeed?" the man asked expectantly.
"It looks like the ball came first...safe! Successfully reached base!"
"Ah, the umpire said that Kunii, who was guarding first base, left his foot off the base in order to catch the ball! He was just that close! What a shame!"
"As expected of the third batter! He's very capable of getting on base steadily! There's still a chance for this San Song, come on!"
"Now it's up to Sansong's fourth batter. If he is eliminated directly, Sansong will have three batters out, and the offense and defense will switch directly, and the third batter's efforts will be in vain!"
“As long as you work hard, it won’t be in vain! It’s this spirit of hard work that makes baseball games exciting!”
"That's right. Okay, the batter who successfully reaches first base will slightly move away from the base and make a stealing gesture to interfere with Kamikawa's pitcher Uchida!"
Unfortunately, Uchida was very strong and confident enough that he ignored the third batter on first base and struck out four batters.
In the first half of the first sentence, Sansong scored: zero.
The offense and defense switched, it was Mitsumoto's turn to pitch and Kamikawa to hit the ball to attack.
“What a pity!”
"It's only the first inning though. A baseball game will never end until the bottom of the ninth inning!"
Toru Watanabe watched and slowly guessed the rules of baseball based on what the two commentators said.
By the fifth inning, the sun was scorching and the air seemed distorted, but the stadium was still bustling with activity and the cheerleading team never stopped.
Kujo Miki said to Shizuru who had recovered from his injuries:
"In the name of the Human Observation Department, go and send some ice and drinks to Shenchuan."
Jingliu nodded and backed away from the VIP seat.
"Is this a way to win people's hearts?" asked Toru Watanabe.
"Just one sentence can make them grateful, and change their resentment of 'Why doesn't the Human Observation Department participate in training' to 'The Human Observation Department naturally doesn't have to participate in training'. Why not do it?" Kujo Miki said indifferently.
"Kamikawa is an elite high school. Getting along well with classmates will also be helpful for your future?" Toru Watanabe looked at her.
"Even if we don't get along well, will they give up working for the Kujo family's company just because they hate me? You think too highly of them." Kujo Miki said with contempt.
"That makes sense." Watanabe Toru nodded, "When they graduate, no matter what happens in high school, they will all be proud to have President Kujo as their classmate."
That's the reality.
"It's just that the Kiyono family is taking advantage of it in the name of the Human Observation Department." Mrs. Kujo looked at Mrs. Kiyono.
"It's really exciting!" Mrs. Kiyono watched the court with great interest.
Beside her, Kiyono Rin yawned gracefully.
During the sixth game, Toru Watanabe saw through a telescope that all the players in Kamikawa had already eaten their popsicles and covered their faces with ice cubes.
By the seventh inning, Kamikawa, who had recovered, received significantly more cheers than Mimatsu.
However, Sansong is worthy of being a team that won eight games in a row to enter the finals. It is far from being comparable to Qingshan High School, which was defeated 21:0 and ended the game early.
At the end of the eighth inning, Kamikawa scored 5 points and Misatsu scored 3 points.
"Top of the ninth inning, Sansong attacks!"
"There's still a chance, come on!"
"That being said, the chances are slim. We need to at least get two runs in this inning, and make sure Kamikawa doesn't score in the bottom of the ninth inning."
"It doesn't matter if we get two points! If we can make it through the second half, we can enter the extra game, the tenth inning! Look at the expressions of the Sansong players. They are very focused and no one is giving up!"
"Everyone, please cheer for Misong!"
"Sansong, come on!" The unified shouts of 30,000 people seemed to shake even the stadium.
After pitching eight innings, Uchida's face was red as he stood on the pitcher's mound, and his baseball jersey was soaked with sweat.
It concerns the Koshien spot, his three years of hard work, and all the people who support the baseball team in Kamikawa. Even if they are temporarily in the lead, he is still so nervous that his body is numb because of the pressure.
In baseball games, not to mention three points, even an eight-point deficit in the last inning has been reversed.
"It's okay, it's okay." Uchida breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as I pitch seriously and don't make mistakes, I can win the game."
On the opposite side, Sansong kept adjusting his stick grip and occasionally twisting his neck.
No one wants to lose!
"Sansong——!"
"come on--!"
Even in a dense crowd, even in the scorching heat of 35 degrees, the Sansong cheerleading team never stops.
Amid the cheers, the baton player adjusted his batting stance.
Uchida placed his fingers on the side of the ball.
Lift your legs and swing your arms!
Use your index and middle fingers to flick the ball line!
With one batter's full concentration, the ball, which was traveling at 143 km/h, seemed to slow down.
The ball is spinning, and its trajectory is sideways to the front. It is a sliding ball! It will fall in the end!
Good ball? Bad ball?
Do you want to fight?
Can you hit this ball close to the ground?
No.
Don't rush! Don't rush! Steady!
At that moment, the ball, faster than a vehicle on the highway, fell into Kamikawa's catcher's glove.
A three-pronged strike, no swing.
There was a brief silence.
"Ball!" the referee yelled.
A stick gasped as if it was emerging from the water, and after two breaths, it sank back to the bottom of the water.
It’s not over yet, I’m still at a disadvantage.
Don't relax for a moment!
The nervousness made Sansongyiba's stomach twitch and his hands and feet go numb, but once he adjusted his batting stance, the cheers, the scorching sun, and the physical discomfort were all forgotten.
The only thing in his eyes was the ball.
Uchida caught the ball thrown back by the catcher and took a deep breath.
He had dreamed of such a scene countless times - in the ninth inning, relying on his own pitch, striking out the opposing batter cleanly and neatly amid the cheers of teachers and students throughout the school, and receiving the cheers of the audience.
but.
If you really get into this situation, you won’t be able to hear any cheers at all.
"As long as we can win, I'm willing to lose my arm at Koshien! As long as we can win!" Uchida prayed in his heart.
Place your fingers on the sides of the ball and lift your legs.
The moment your feet touch the ground, stretch your hands forward and backward to form a horizontal line, like a stretched bow.
At the moment of throwing, push the ball downward with the side of your middle finger!
One stick to concentrate.
The ball flew over the catcher's head and seemed to be a deliberate bad throw.
No, that's not right!
If you ignore the forward and backward movement, the ball appears to be spinning in place.
It's a curveball!
At the last moment, it will turn into the strike zone in an arc!
"Uchida's curveball will end up slightly lower." The coach's words came to mind, and I swung the bat without thinking.
"Bang!"
"It was touched! The ball rolled out!"
As soon as the commentator's voice was shouted, the first batter dropped the bat and rushed to first base.
His upper and lower teeth were clenched tightly, and the veins on his neck were exposed.
"Hino!"
“Go ahead!”
Behind him were the shouts of the players in the coaching booth, and in front of him was first baseman Kamikawa.
Staring at the opponent's first baseman, Hino rushed across first base a little faster and a little faster.
The first baseman is still waiting for the ball... he's on base... he's on base!!
“Keep running!”
Hino heard yelling.
"continue--!"
There was no time to think, no time to wonder whether Kamikawa had made a mistake in catching the ball or the ball had bounced erratically.
Trust your teammates!
"Ah——" Hino yelled and rushed to second base.
“Come on!!!” everyone in the audience shouted.
At this moment, Kamikawa's left fielder finally caught the ball that bounced erratically.
He twisted his body, raised his arms, and exerted all his strength, subconsciously trying to throw it to Kunijui Osamu.
"Maki!"
It was the voice of Yoshikawa, who was guarding second base.
Don't think, don't look, rely on memory and experience, rely on three years of tacit understanding, throw to second base!
Kanagawa second baseman Yoshikawa put one foot on the second base, forgot everything, stretched his body as far as he could, and stretched out his gloved left hand.
"Catch it for me!"
Hino, who was hitting the ball at Mimatsu, had already seen the ball appear in his field of vision.
His teeth were clenched and the muscles on his face were trembling.
Second base is right up ahead! Jump on it!
"Snap!", the ball fell into Yoshikawa's glove.
At Yoshikawa's feet, Hino, who had the dream of entering the Summer Koshien at Mimatsu High School, touched the base with his fingers.
Hino's body, unable to control its speed, circled around the base as if being washed away by a flood.
But the base was like a life-saving pillar; no matter how far his body was thrown, his hands still held on tightly.
The stadium fell silent.
Hino didn't even stand up, just laid on the ground with his hands on the base.
Quiet.
The referee spread his arms and shouted:
"safe!"
It was as if a bomb had exploded and the entire Jingu Stadium exploded with a loud bang.
"Three songs! Three songs!" the audience shouted.
All the students of Sansong were so excited that they stood up.
"Hino!"
"Sansong!"
The slogans are no longer unified, and everyone is venting their inner emotions.
"It's amazing! It's amazing! This is what it means to never give up, this is youth, this is Koshien!" The commentator was extremely excited.
"The ninth inning, the last inning, the last chance, Misatsu's hitter Hino successfully reached second base!"
"There's a good chance of scoring! Come on, Sansong!"
Uchida, on the pitcher's mound, looked at Sanmatsu's bat on second base.
This guy named Hino got up from the ground, supported his knees with his hands, gasped for air, and stared at third base with a wolf-like gaze.
"This is my last year! I will never lose! I will never allow myself to lose!" Uchida caught the ball thrown by the second baseman, turned around, and looked towards home plate.
There, the second batter of the three-pronged attack, holding the bat, looked at him with the same eyes.
"Can't lose! Can't lose!"
The sun seemed to pull in all of a sudden, and the strong sunlight fell directly on my body.
Everything in front of me began to blur.
"Uchida!"
"Uchida!"
Kamikawa's team members surrounded them instantly.
"What happened? Player Uchida suddenly fainted!" the commentator said nervously.
"Heatstroke? I got the news that athlete Uchida has heatstroke!"
"Ah - now, what should Kamikawa do? The final ! The Koshien dream! A year's hard work!"
Uchida was carried back to the coaching booth and applied with ice.
Everyone in the coaching booth was worried, not only about Uchida's health, but also about the upcoming game.
"Aihara, you go." The coach's face was serious.
"Coach, I..." the relief pitcher named Aihara said hesitantly.
"You have no confidence!" the coach yelled.
“……” Not only Aihara, but everyone was worried.
This team has many batters, but the only good pitcher is Uchida.
He has worked hard in Shenchuan for three years and everyone has full confidence in him.
As for the relievers...
The coach looked around at everyone and said, "We are still leading. Even if they overtake us, what does it matter? Can't we catch up in the second half? Cheer up! Go for it!"
"Yes!" everyone roared.
"Hirata!"
"Yes!" the catcher answered loudly.
"Shout slogans!"
"yes!"
The original eight starters, plus Aihara who replaced Uchida, formed a circle with their arms around each other's shoulders.
The cameras were focused and thirty thousand people were watching them.
"Who doesn't have holidays and weekends?" Hirata yelled.
"We!" The eight team members stood up and shouted in response.
"What time does training start in the morning?"
"Six o'clock!"
"What time will you be back?"
"Until you can't swing the bat anymore!"
"How long?"
"Joining the club begins! Until today!"
"Who carries the honor of Shenchuan?"
"us!"
"What should be done?"
"Keep winning!"
"Keep winning!" Aihara shouted again.
"Keep winning!" The baseball team and everyone in Kamikawa shouted in unison.
The camera turns to the other side, Sansong High School.
Baseball players folded their hands.
"The more desperate the situation!" the captain roared.
"The more you don't give up!" the team members roared.
“Ah—” The students of Sansong High School shouted in unison, and pressed down hard with their folded hands.
Put on your helmet, lace up your gloves, pick up your bat, and both sides return to the field again.
The game continues.