NOVEL SIMPLE V6_Chapter 11: Southpaw Weakness
V6_Chapter 11: Southpaw Weakness
The most surprised by Taiyou's performance are probably the players from Teito themselves.
Even though they are also one of the top eight teams in Koshien, unlike Seidou who have retained almost half of their main lineup. The only key players remaining are Kengo Inui and Mukai Taiyou. So of course, they were expecting a hard game.
To their surprise, the game started off well. Taiyou, in particular, was evenly matched with Sawamura on the mound, even managing to slightly outshine him.
This was a pleasant surprise.
Unconsciously, their spirit began to burn brightly.
In the top of the second inning, Teito High School launched their attack.
The players of Teito were as invigorated as if they had just taken stimulants.
Miyuki understood that this was due to the excellent performance of Teito’s battery, which boosted the confidence of their entire team.
Seeing their defense solid, their desire to attack grew stronger.
‘This momentum cannot be allowed to escalate.’
Realizing this, Miyuki signaled to Sawamura with a throat-slashing gesture. If the opponents' spirit has been enflamed to this extent, even a hit might only fuel their confidence further.
What to do? Since their confidence is beginning to sprout and grow, they must be suppressed thoroughly.
Facing Sawamura’s pitching for the first time, the batters struggled to adjust to his unconventional form and the breaking balls he mixed in.
‘Did they really think the title of Maou was just for show?’
No matter who the opponent is, he can put them down.
“STRIKE!”
“STRIKE!!”
“STRIKE!!!”
“STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!!”
“STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!!!”
“STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!!!!”
There was no suspense. Facing the breaking balls thrown by Sawamura from his Wall-Making Form, Teito’s batters were visibly disoriented.
This was their first real drop of the frustration felt by Seidou’s previous opponents at Koshien.
The reason for their struggle and embarrassment wasn’t that their strength was lacking, but because their opponent was skilled, adaptable, and unbelievably strong.
They couldn't predict how the pitched ball would behave.
From the Batter’s Box, the speed of the pitch was astonishing, leaving them no time to react.
The most frightening thing was that no matter what type of pitch Sawamura threw, his Form remained identical from the batter’s perspective.
There were no clues at all.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
With nine pitches and three Strikeouts, Sawamura didn’t even show the need to throw an extra ball.
In the bottom of the second inning, Seidou High School took their turn to attack.
This time, Miyuki was the starting batter for Seidou High School.
As Miyuki stepped into the batter’s box, he unhesitatingly swung at Mukai’s first pitch.
Previously, Mukai’s first pitch against Kuramochi and Sawamura had been a tricky inside corner, aimed at pushing them back.
Knowing that Miyuki is very cautious with such pitches.
‘They are likely aiming for the low outside corner.’
Miyuki guessed correctly and swung at that location.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and soared away.
Despite the fielders’ best efforts, they failed to intercept the ball immediately.
They could only watch as the baseball flew past them.
Pak!
Fortunately for Teitou, the fielder covering the gap managed to prevent Miyuki from advancing to second base immediately.
No Outs, runner on first base!
In the second inning, Seidou High School’s first hit finally appeared.
It wasn’t from the Maou, Sawamura Eijun, but from the fourth batter, Miyuki Kazuya.
Since becoming the team’s fourth batter, Miyuki had finally developed a batter’s instincts.
Now, even without runners on base, he could occasionally hit some solid balls.
With no Outs and a runner on first base, the opportunity was excellent!
Faced with this situation, Coach Kataoka in the dugout finally couldn’t hold back and signaled the players on the field.
Maezono was instructed to bunt to advance Miyuki to second base.
Ping!
Although Maezono wasn’t particularly skilled at bunting, he executed it without hesitation.
If it had been under normal conditions, such a bunt might have resulted in a double play for the opponents! But now, the rain played in Maezono’s favor, slowing the ball to just the right speed.
Although Maezono himself was eventually out, Miyuki advanced to second base.
One Out, runner on second base!
Such an aggressive offensive approach naturally caught the alert of Coach Okamoto from Teito High School.
“These youngsters really do know how to put pressure on us!”
Coach Kataoka’s tactical aggressiveness also impressed Coach Okamoto.
Compared to the less threatening first base, the runner on second base, who is in scoring position, is clearly more menacing.
A good hit now could easily bring Miyuki home.
Not to mention, Maezono is followed by the reliable Shiratsu and the rising star Toujou.
Teito High School faced a crisis!
“Don’t focus on the runners, concentrate on the batters!”
Facing Seidou High School’s aggressive attack, Coach Okamoto didn’t falter but instead mounted a precise counterattack.
“Cunning old fox!”
Kataoka glanced thoughtfully at Okamoto in the opposing dugout and subtly signaled Miyuki on second base.
At second base, Miyuki felt every cell in his body racing.
They had arranged tactics against Mukai Taiyou, but the opportunity had come sooner than expected.
Mukai is a Southpaw Pitcher!
Stealing bases is difficult from first base because he can always keep an eye on it.
But runners on second base are in a different position.
When he prepares to pitch, his head faces home plate, and he can only see first base out of the corner of his eye.
In other words, he is essentially facing away from second and third base.
A runner on second base is effectively in Mukai’s blind spot.
The night before the game.
As they finished analyzing Teito High School’s tactics, Coach Ochiai identified a key weakness in their strategy.
Like Mukai’s southpaw pitching.
When the Seidou High School players first heard this, it felt as if a big question mark was over their heads.
‘What kind of weakness is this?’
‘A southpaw pitcher is rarer and, therefore, more challenging to handle, isn’t it?’
“No,” Ochiai explained. “Such pitchers have two unavoidable weaknesses. First, they can’t effectively control runners on second and third base with their gaze. Even our Ace struggles with this.”
Sawamura’s attempts to control runners on second and third base are strenuous, sometimes requiring the catcher’s assistance.
“Comparatively, our own Ace is better than the opponent’s, as Sawamura’s pitching action is very quick, and he has the advantage of last-moment adjustment. Even if he doesn’t have time to control the runners, he can still coordinate with the catcher.”
“But Teito High School lacks such advantages. Mukai’s rhythm is good, but as the opponent becomes stronger, his preparation time lengthens.
Unlike Sawamura Eijun’s 0.72-second pitching action, Mukai’s preparation time is 1.2 seconds. His ball takes about 0.6 seconds to travel from the mound to the catcher, which makes it a total of 1.8 seconds.
Even without delays, the catcher still needs a few more seconds to throw the ball to third base. Altogether, this exceeds three seconds! With proper timing, our players can easily steal bases to achieve our tactical goals!”
Ochiai stroked his goatee thoughtfully.
The Seidou High School players looked at him with newfound amazement.
Their seemingly dead-spirited middle-aged coach not only had solid training knowledge but was also adept at making such tactics.
Coach Kataoka was equally inspired.
After the first inning of the game, he realized Mukai’s formidable strength.
Recognizing that scoring against him would be difficult, Coach Kataoka made a decisive decision to have Maezono bunt, advancing Miyuki, who was on first base, to second.
Instead of risking wasting precious opportunities in the hope of consecutive hits, Kataoka preferred to secure the points through a more controlled but aggressive offensive strategy.
This was Kataoka’s plan.
As the team captain, Miyuki understood this tactic very well.
When Kataoka signaled for a steal, Miyuki knew exactly what to do next.
He quietly moved from second base to third base, waiting for Mukai to prepare his pitch.
With a burst of speed, Miyuki sprinted to third base.
In the stands, Owada Akiko swallowed hard and watched Miyuki’s move intently.
‘Unexpectedly, Glasses-kun was stealing the base at this crucial moment.’
Her heart raced with anxiety, and she silently prayed for her favorite Glasses-kun’s success.
“Not so fast!”
SNAP!
Kengo Inui caught the ball and quickly threw it to third base.
By a hair’s breadth, Miyuki touched the base safely.
“SAFE!”
What could have been one Out with a runner on second base turned into a one Out situation with a runner on third.
Teito High School’s ironclad defense was being dissected with a precise scalpel.
Seidou High School’s intentions were now clear, and it seemed unlikely that Teito could prevent them from scoring.
As expected, Shiratsu took a bunt stance.
Seidou High School was determined to force the score!
“Do it!” Okamoto made the sign!
Teito High School’s response was equally resolute.
Their infielders moved forward!
They were fully prepared to prevent Miyuki from returning home.
With Sawamura on the mound, Teito High School had yet to find a way to hit and score against him.
In this situation, allowing Seidou High School to score first would push Teito High School to the edge.
‘No, absolutely not!’ Okamoto doesn’t want to lose the momentum from this early in the game.
So even if it was risky, they had to eliminate Seidou High School’s chances of scoring.
“Such a firm attitude!”
Coach Kataoka recognized this.
With no chance to force a score, they would confront Teito High School directly.
‘With the fielding lineup disrupted due to the shift, the probability of hitting through defensive gaps was high.’
“So, play normally and trust your swing!” Kataoka signaled Shiratsu.
Shiratsu nodded, then raised his bat, his eyes locked on Teito High School’s pitcher’s mound.
Teito High School’s players watched Shiratsu cautiously.
After some preparation, Mukai threw the first pitch.
Ping!
Shiratsu swung decisively at the first ball.
The ball flew into a foul.
“FOUL!”
Shiratsu’s expression turned slightly grim.
‘Although the ball wasn’t fast or powerful, its tricky placement was daunting.’
Compared to Yoh Shunshin, Mukai’s pitching was equally challenging.
‘I didn’t expect Tokyo to have pitchers of this caliber besides Yoh Shunshin!’
He thought for a moment and adjusted his grip on the bat.
His goal wasn’t necessarily to get a hit; even a grounder that advanced the runner would suffice.
As long as he could score and give the opponent an Out, it was acceptable.
Shiratsu’s strong resolve was clear to Inui Kengo.
‘How scary!’
‘One wrong move and you will pay for it dearly!’
Even with experience in Koshien, encountering an opponent with such a strong spirit was rare.
Inui naturally alerted to this extraordinary opponent.
‘Here we go, use your three-dimensional pitching!’
Six months ago, if someone had told Inui Kengo that the strike zone could be used not just by height and width, but also by depth, he would have thought they were crazy and needed mental help.
But now, he had gradually accepted this as a reality.
The strike zone truly is three-dimensional!
…
T/N: Btw we will only focus on the important moments from now on. Otherwise, this Volume will never end :)
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