Volume 3: Hot Summer Chapter 009: The Savior
"This trump card of the Qingdao High School baseball team is so useless..."
"As soon as the opposing batter reaches third base, his entire state will change dramatically."
"Maybe I'm too nervous?"
"If he was a freshman, it would be fine, but he's a third-year player. He's nervous against Musashi High School. I feel really sorry for the Seidou High School baseball team."
Although Musashi High School has some strength, it is a little strength. As far as the whole of Tokyo is concerned, they will never be ranked in the top 10, and it is even difficult to be ranked in the top 20.
Facing such an opponent, the Qingdao High School baseball team was in a tough battle, not to mention competing with other powerful teams in the future.
"I'm afraid Qingdao is still not good enough this year!"
"Ever since Coach Sakaki left, it seems like Seidou High School has never really risen again."
"Don't be so absolute. I remember that they entered Koshien once. Although compared with the other two giants, the probability is lower..."
"Yes, he did. It was during Kataoka's first year as the coach. But that team was also coached by Coach Sakaki. He just took advantage of a ready-made situation. That doesn't prove his ability."
In the stands, several teams that came to scout the game expressed the same sentiment.
Although the batting line of the Seidou High School baseball team is stronger than at any time in previous years.
But as long as they have such a trump card, there is nothing to fear.
These people who came to investigate were full of confidence in their team's trump card or the overall strength of their team.
What is a wealthy family?
That is the luxurious team consisting of the ace and the four batons.
Such a team has no weaknesses.
Or it can be said that a team with weaknesses has no chance of becoming a top team.
Just as they were talking, a middle-aged man with ordinary looks and build, wearing a baseball cap, slowly walked into the stadium.
This person has been in the corner at the back of the court for quite some time.
He stood up because he couldn't stand it anymore after hearing people around him talking about it.
"Hidezawa is a very famous pitcher in Tokyo. Although he is in poor form more often than an average ace, he is still one of the most famous pitchers in Tokyo. A pitcher like this has no weaknesses as long as he is in good form."
The person who came was a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom magazine named Fujio.
His words are still very convincing.
The several team members who came to investigate were all silent.
Everyone was stunned for a while before someone asked.
"Mr. Reporter, what exactly is going on in this scene?"
Since Fujio was willing to come forward, he must have already thought of his excuses.
"I wonder if you have heard about this? Chris, the main catcher of the Qingdao High School baseball team, was injured during training. The first-year rookie player replaced him."
"The reason for this scene is probably because the pitcher doesn't trust the catcher."
I'm afraid Xiu Ze doesn't trust his junior classmates, especially when someone reaches third base.
The opponent can score at any time.
As a newcomer who has just been promoted, can he withstand the pressure and display his strength?
These are all unknowns.
There is a runner on third base, so as the attacking side, the players of Musashi High School baseball team naturally have to give it their all.
At this critical moment of confrontation, any hesitation would be fatal.
According to Fujio's guess, this is the most critical reason for Qingdao's problems.
Xiu Ze, who is now in the third grade, is no longer the boy who just joined the team two years ago and could do anything he wanted.
He must consider the overall interests of the team.
It is also for this reason that his pitching speed and power have greatly improved.
But his pitching now lacks some of the reckless power he had in the first grade.
Is this change good or bad?
I'm afraid no one can explain it clearly now.
"That's no big deal. Whether it's the pitcher or the team that has the problem, the fate of the Seidou High School baseball team is already determined."
There are still many people who understand the situation on the court.
Fujio was not the only one who saw the problem.
But it was easy to see the problem, even Zhang Han had some guesses. But it was not so easy to solve the problem, at least Zhang Han himself could not do it.
Chris' absence will definitely have a significant impact on the team.
In fact, all the players in the Qingdao High School baseball team are very clear about this.
But they never expected that this conflict would break out so quickly and so suddenly.
So much so that now, they have no preparation at all and have to tackle this problem.
Supervisor Kataoka in the rest area frowned slightly and prepared to take action.
He planned to give orders to Hidezawa on the pitcher's mound by means of a messenger.
Let him not consider the overall interests of the team, just perform his own duties well.
Leading the team on the court is not something that Xiu Ze can do.
It's not just Hidezawa. In Kataoka's opinion, except for Chris who is injured and cannot play.
Including all the third-grade players, no one has such leadership qualities.
Just as he was about to speak, someone took action before him.
Miyuki, who was at the catcher position, called for a timeout without waiting for Kataoka's notification.
After the timeout, he ran directly to the pitcher's mound.
"I'm sorry to have made you worry, Senior. But please don't worry about me, I can stop it!"
It looked like an apology, but Xiu Ze didn't hear any apology at all.
And no matter how he listened to these words, it felt like they were talking about him.
But Yukichi did apologize, so even if he felt uncomfortable hearing that, he had no way to refute it.
It's really strange, when did he need his younger junior classmates to worry about him?
After Miyuki took a break, Hidezawa finally resolved his worries.
Even if he is the ace of the team, he cannot be responsible for everything.
Especially when pitching, he must first ensure his pitching before he can talk about other things.
Xiu Ze untied the knot in his heart and his pitching returned to form.
But the runners from Musashi High School did not intend to give him a chance to adjust.
Just as Xiu Ze was getting ready to pitch, the runner on third base started running.
Directly steal the base!
This is too bold.
The fans in the stands, as well as the players on the field, felt incredible.
But that's what Musashi High School did.
Hidezawa, who was pitching
Hidezawa’s guess was correct, the runners from Musashi High School were not fighting alone.
Their batters have already taken a bunt stance.
Hit and run?
Forced points?
It is not clear what Musashi High School's original plan was.
But they want to score, for sure.
Fortunately, Xiu Ze forced the ball to be hooked with his fingers before throwing the ball.
This makes it difficult for the batter to hit the ball no matter what he does.
same.
Faced with a pitch that suddenly changed its trajectory, Miyuki still found it difficult to catch it.
"Since you came to the pitcher's mound and said such big words to me, you have to live up to your expectations!"
Xiu Ze was not as worried as he thought.
For some reason, he is quite confident in this new junior fellow he just promoted.
The batter wanted to touch the ball, but the baseball hit the home plate directly and bounced back.
"Snapped……"
Yukichi, who was originally squatting, leaned forward and grabbed the ball firmly in his glove.
“Whoosh!”
At the same time, a figure swooped over and headed straight for home base.
Oops!
The Qingdao friends who saw this scene were all heartbroken.
It would be impossible for Yukichi to stop him in such a short time.
At the critical moment, a glove suddenly appeared and blocked the runner from Musashi High School.
"Snapped!"
“Out!!”
…
