The original intention of the diamond ace

One night before the sixth battle, in the cafeteria.

"... Liu Dong, the starter, had seven hits in seven innings and gave up one run. ... The offense exploded in the final game, scoring a total of nine runs."

"So in the quarter-finals two days later, the opponent is Chuangsheng High School."

Senpai Watanabe put down the materials and said seriously: "What you need to be wary of is the ball called 'Chuangsan Second Suture'."

"Its biggest feature is that the drop will not be that big, and it can decide the game in the strike zone. A large number of hitters have hit ground balls..."

I propped my chin, two sutures, I don’t know what they are like, I kind of want to see them......

"Kawakami, I plan to let you start the match against Chuangsheng."

"Yes!" Senior Kawakami replied excitedly.

"You did well in the last game! Especially after the home run, you can still throw the ball calmly!" Mae Soon-senpai happily patted him on the shoulder.

"The supervisor has approved your performance in the last game, and you should work hard to start the next game!" Miyuki said with a smile.

"Uh-huh!"

"Sawamura is the follow-up voter, and everyone else should be prepared."

"Yes!!"

"Oda, you'll go to left field next game." Supervisor Kataoka said calmly.

"Yes!"

"Your main ball is the second seam. Compared with others, you should be better at it."

"I'll do my best!"

I didn't expect to be able to play again so soon!Although it is only the outfield, it is fortunate enough.When I came back from the office last time, I thought that I would have a chance only if I got Jiashien.

"Everyone focuses on the game in front of them first. If someone has a bad performance, I will replace him immediately."

"Yes!!"

"Yes! Boss!"

***

Soon came the day of the game.

Qingdao—Chuangsheng!

Kawakami, who is full of fighting spirit, is in excellent form today, almost exerting his greatest strength. In the first game, the opponent quickly made three ups and downs.When it was the turn to attack, although the pitcher on the opposite side was hit by Qingdao, the cooperation between the second baseman and the catcher still came up and down in disguise.

Until the second half of the second inning,

One out, man on second base.

The six-pitched Oda stepped onto the strike zone calmly, made preparations as usual, stood still and looked at the pitcher calmly.

"First goal!"

I watched the flying ball, stepped forward, and slammed the stick.

I remember his second suture is to fall to this place!

"Pong!"

I dropped the bat and hit the bases at full speed.

"A two-point shot from six sticks!!"

"Qing Dao is the first to go!"

"Oh!! Well done! Oda, you're a monster from today on!"

"Ooooh! Well done, Oda!"

There was a burst of cheers from the stands.

I smiled and waved my hand. It's not that I'm not enthusiastic, it's just that I don't talk about it after so many years. I just read a lot of other people's second stitches.It's a bit embarrassing to cheer for an immature second seam now.

…………

In the following games, Kawakami's good form continued, with only three hits in seven innings, no points allowed, and the score reached 3:0.Among them, it was my turn to hit the bench four times, a home run, a slugger, a grounder, and a catch.

In the eighth game, in order to keep the trump card in hand, the supervisor replaced the slightly tired Kawakami and sent Sawamura.After these few days of rest, Sawamura has adjusted well and easily solved the batter.

The game came to the second half of the eighth inning, Seidou's attack.

"Fourth point! Qibang Jinmaru's well-timed hit broke the stalemate, and Qingdao once again opened up the score!"

"If Chuang Sheng can't score four points in the next game, the game will be over!"

It's a pity that our offense did not stop, and two more points were added later. The benches and stands of Chuangsheng had become quite quiet, and the players gradually fell into despair.

The captain of Chuangsheng looked back at everyone's expressions, gritted his teeth, and said loudly: "We haven't lost yet! The game is not over yet! Let's score a point first!"

Everyone looked up at him and raised their spirits.

"Yes! You haven't lost yet!"

"Play one first!!"

"Kitano! I'll leave it to you, hit it out!"

…………

Shouting and shouting, everyone's eyes became firmer.

'Three years of sweat will not lie!How could we fall down here! '

'Summer for seniors, I'll let it go on! '

'I will definitely take them to Jiashiyuan! '

…………

It's a pity that Sawamura, who is in excellent form, didn't give them a chance.

Precise ball control, mysterious changing balls, invisible exit point, inaccurate center of the ball... Let Chuangsheng step by step towards the future that they don't want to think about.

"out!"

'It's not over yet!It's not over yet...'

"out!"

'Is our summer coming to an end......'

The batterer gritted his teeth, "No way!" '

"Pong!"

"safe!"

"In the first half of the ninth inning, with two outs, Chuangsheng finally hit their long-awaited hit! Will there be a turning point in the game?"

"Oooo!!"

"Next!"

"It's all on you!"

"Shoot one!"

"out!"

"competition is over!"

"Qingdao defeated the opponent 6:0, the game is over!"

"Qingdao successfully advanced to the semi-finals!!"

The shrill whistle sounded, and the faces of Chuangsheng's players turned pale.

'Is it still over......'

Thinking, tears rolled down suddenly.

"Senior, I'm sorry, I couldn't continue the beating......"

"It's not your fault, I'm out of the game myself..." As he spoke, his sobs stopped the rest of the words, which could no longer be said.

I stared at their figures, stunned.

Jiang Gu saw me and walked over.

"What's wrong?"

I came back to my senses, "It's nothing, I just found out that no matter whether it is a powerful school, an ordinary school, or even a weak school, none of the people who came to the competition came with the feeling of feeling the competition. Go to Koshien."

…………

Afterwards, everyone was summoned to the cafeteria.

"In the match between City Junior High and Xianquan, the result was that City Junior High won 7:3. The key is that their ace Tianjiu didn't play from the beginning to the end of the game. Although the first-year pitcher is also good, but the next In a match against us, they will definitely let the ace be cast completely. This is the video of Tianjiu's last match against Pharmacist..."

"The problem of unstable opening has been improved a lot. In the first few rounds, he didn't lose points against the improved Yaoshi. Not only the slider, but also his straight ball has become more difficult. I heard that there are more A new ball. It's hard to score more points now when he starts."

"Also, they deserve to be more vigilant about their strikes. This is a clip of their strikes..."

Sawamura carefully watched every batter's movements.

"...After the whole game, almost none of their hitters were struck out. In general, their batting flaws are close to zero, and they evolved when Bichun was older."

"Although Tianjiu's pitching is really sharp, we can still score with our line of play, so I think the key to the game is how to deal with their line of play."

Senior Watanabe closed the notebook, "The above is about the situation of the third high school in the city."

He glanced at the supervisor.

Director Kataoka nodded to him and took a step forward.

"Although Tianjiu's unstable start has improved a lot, this problem has not disappeared. You still have to seize the opportunity at the beginning."

"Their ace is indeed stronger than before, but you didn't stop at the time of Spring University. Use your bats to prove it!"

"Yes!!"

"Oda, in the next inning, you go to left field. After three innings, I will switch to someone else depending on the situation."

"Yes!"

Miyuki glanced at Oda who was diagonally ahead.

Darkly, "It seems that Oda's performance in the last game was approved by the supervisor, but the supervisor is also very determined to seize the opportunity at the opening. '

"The starter for the next game, Sawamura, go."

"Yes!! Boss!"

…………

After the meeting, Sawamura stayed and planned to watch the game video of the city's junior high school again.

Okumura walked over to him and sat down.

…………

Looking at it, Okumura said seriously: "They are stronger than in the spring, whether it is Tianjiu-senpai or their line-up."

Sawamura rested his hand on his chin, lowered his head slightly, and meditated while talking to himself: "Although it is really shocking that you can't make a fuss..."

"But as long as you can make them miss..."

"It's not that they can't hit..."

"It's intentional..."

"Let them hit."

Okumura looked at him sideways in surprise.

"You mean baiting them to swing for strikes... . . . "

"But...it shouldn't be that simple."

"You need to control the ball as delicately as threading a needle!"

"can you do it?"

"I have to do it even if I risk my life!!"

"Then it's the ball that makes them unpredictable!"

"it is necessary."

…………

There are still four days until the game.