Kominato Haruichi!
In the King of Baseball team at the Seidou High School baseball team, this young man's presence is quite well known.
On one hand, he has a handsome appearance, and his temperament makes him resemble the boy-next-door.
In a world where looks matter, even though he's a little shy, he is easily remembered by others.
Besides that, another important reason is, of course, his baseball skills.
His batting technique is ranked first in the entire Seidou High School baseball team.
When he partners with Kuramochi for defense, they are referred to as the "Iron Wall" of the second base position.
Such a title proves his strength to a certain extent.
He is very strong! Although his strength differs from what ordinary people imagine.
But as long as he stands on the baseball field, whether it's offense or defense.
Kominato Haruichi's presence is impossible to ignore.
If anyone dares to underestimate him.
In the end, they might not even know how they lost.
Such an opponent meant that before the game, Hoshiryu High School naturally made ample preparations.
Although Kominato Haruichi has many legends surrounding him, in the end, his strength isn't truly fearsome enough to be compared to top-tier players.
From the perspective of Hoshiryu High School's players, as long as they really want to deal with Kominato Haruichi, it shouldn't be too difficult.
In the previous match at Seidou High School.
Kominato Haruichi perfectly mimicked his older brother's traits, forcing the opponent to throw four balls.
In that game, he completely subdued Hoshitaru, who was usually unflappable against the Seidou High School baseball team.
This interesting moment was, of course, noticed by the Hoshiryu High School players.
But at that time, they didn't pay much attention to it.
Haruka Nanami's control, although not as terrifying as the Nine-grid or Three-dimensional level, was still among the top.
To get Four Balls off him wasn't an easy task.
If Kominato really intended to do so, the players of Hoshiryu High School would have welcomed it.
Moreover, subconsciously, they didn't believe Kominato would do such a thing.
It wasn't originally his style; he only replicated his older brother's technique by coincidence.
If given another chance, it's possible he wouldn't be able to do it again.
With that in mind, the Hoshiryu High School players felt they didn't need to worry about it.
But then, unexpectedly...
They didn't think it was possible, but it happened.
And it happened with their help.
"BALL!!"
Because they had thrown two Balls in succession, now Hoshiryu High School was in a tough spot.
"BALL!!!"
Soon, they were pressured by three Balls.
After that, they had to be very cautious with their pitching.
Because if they threw another Ball, not even two, just one more Ball...
The batter at the plate would be Walked.
Considering that behind him stood Sawamura and Miyuki.
The players of Hoshiryu High School certainly didn't want Kominato Haruichi to make it to base under these circumstances.
If they weren't going to Walk Sawamura and Miyuki.
The consequences could be very dangerous.
The lead they had just gained could be quickly overturned by the Seidou High School baseball team.
Having worked so hard to gain the lead, the players of Hoshiryu High School certainly didn't want to let it go easily.
So at this moment, they could only give it their all!
But the pressure was overwhelming...
One more Ball could lead to disastrous consequences.
It was a make-or-break pitch!
Hosho signaled Nanami from the mound.
After receiving the signal, Nanami nodded slightly and decisively threw the baseball from his hand.
As expected of a pitcher who once led his team to the national finals.
Nanami had experience with big games.
Such experience might not be obvious at times.
But once faced with a crisis, the difference in handling such situations becomes evident.
Players with experience in big matches tend to handle sudden crises much better than those who have never been in such situations.
It was just like now.
If the pitcher on the mound were anyone else, they might panic in such a critical situation.
Once a pitcher panics, it becomes hard to throw a pitch in the strike zone.
And under such circumstances, in order to ensure the ball goes into the strike zone.
They would have to put more effort into their control.
They couldn't afford to just get by.
With more effort on control, the power and movement of the pitch would inevitably be affected.
At this point, Hoshiryu High School's situation was inevitably starting to deteriorate.
This was an unavoidable situation; no one could do anything about it.
Once the pitcher gets pressured, this vicious cycle only gets worse.
The initiative in the game quietly shifted.
Now, the initiative was with the Seidou High School baseball team.
This change in control was so subtle that only real experts could notice it.
Even now, many fans still firmly believe that the pitcher from Hoshiryu High School had a strong grip on the game.
Paak!
"FOUL!"
Paak!
"FOUL!!"
After the full count, Haruichi still fiercely stuck to Nanami.
It wasn't until now that the spectators realized something wasn't quite right.
Things didn't seem to be going as they had expected.
The one controlling the game now wasn't the Ace pitcher from Hoshiryu High School.
But the small guy standing at the plate.
In the Seidou High School bullpen.
"YEAAH!!"
"Devil Brother!!"
"Show Them The Hell!!"
The teammates were ecstatic, almost as if they had already won.
Though they had a vague premonition in the previous game.
That premonition wasn't as clear as it was now.
Now, they could almost 100% confirm that their earlier premonition was correct.
Kominato Haruichi had indeed evolved!
However, the way he evolved seemed a little different from his usual style with the Seidou High School baseball team.
But what did that matter?
Whether it's a big cat or a small cat, as long as it catches the mouse, it's a good cat.
Though this statement may seem extreme, there is a lot of truth in many situations.
Just like in baseball.
If it's not prohibited by the rule, it's allowed.
As long as it's a strategy to defeat the opponent, it's a good strategy.
Just like Kominato Haruichi's current battle style, which largely mimics his older brother.
This method is somewhat different from Kominato Haruichi's previous approach.
But as long as it gets him to base, what's wrong with that?
Any strategy that gets you to the base is a good strategy!
In the Seidou High School bullpen, the team was as excited as if they had already secured victory.
This unconsciously placed a huge burden on the Hoshiryu High School players.
Hosho realized clearly.
'This can't go on any longer!'
They had been tangled for over 10 pitches, and unlike Furuya, they didn't have a reliable substitute pitcher.
Hattori's skills were decent, and his best pitch was only a hair's breadth away from 150 km/h.
This kind of power usually worked well against other teams.
But against the Seidou High School baseball team, it wasn't very realistic.
After all, the strength gap between the teams was just too big.
The King of Baseball team, Seidou High School.
Their strength had already created a massive gap between ordinary teams.
Even pitchers like Nanami Haruka, who were nationally ranked, could only barely suppress Seidou's batting lineup.
At this point, if they really put Mali on the mound...
The consequences would be unthinkable...
His strength could never hold back Seidou High School's offensive onslaught.
Under these circumstances, Hosho calmly made the decision.
They couldn't delay anymore!
Even though it carried some risk, they had to make the pitch that decided the game.
'Do it!'
Seeing Hosho's signal, Nanami nodded and decisively threw the baseball.
Whoosh!
Unlike his previous sharp pitches, this one seemed slower.
The speed shown on the big screen was only 136 km/h.
For most pitchers, this isn't too slow.
It could even be called a fastball.
But coming from Nanami Haruka, it seemed a little odd.
'This is Strange…'
Haruichi at the plate instinctively tightened his grip on his bat.
He prepared to swing.
This pitch, he seemed ready to take a shot.
'Wait, something felt wrong?'
Just as Kominato Haruichi swung, preparing to hit the ball...
He suddenly had a bad premonition.
This feeling made him stop his swing instinctively.
Hosho, at catcher, saw this and got excited!
'Great! Very, very great!'
Even though he didn't know why, Kominato stopped his swing.
'But that ball grazed the strike zone.'
With a full count, if another Strike came...
Hoshiryu High School's situation would instantly reverse.
The reversal would be hugely beneficial for Hoshiryu High School.
What's more...
If they could properly deal with Kominato Haruichi and even strike him out directly.
The long sequence of pitches would have a reasonable conclusion.
For the Hoshiryu High School players, this would also be very beneficial.
Snap!
Hosho caught the ball, visibly excited.
Though it was a close call, they had safely passed through.
Next...
"BALL FOUR!"
"WALK TO BASE!!"
Hearing the umpire's words, Hosho froze.
'Why? What was going on?'
He couldn't understand what had just happened.
He looked back at the umpire in shock.
The umpire, feeling uneasy under his gaze, directly asked.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing!"
Hosho frowned slightly and said.
From his angle, the ball had clearly entered the strike zone.
It could be counted as a Strike.
Even with a slight change in angle, from the umpire's view, it was likely a strike.
'But the umpire had called it a Ball. Why?'
In that instant, Hosho figured it out.
It was simple.
Because Kominato Haruichi didn't swing!
Earlier, no matter how difficult the pitch was, he always accurately judged whether it was a Ball or a Strike.
Under these circumstances, the umpire was unconsciously following Kominato Haruichi's rhythm.
When Kominato Haruichi didn't swing, the umpire instinctively called it a Ball.
With such a preconceived notion, no matter how well they pitched.
The umpire would instinctively call it a Ball.
Unless they clearly threw it into the strike zone.
Hosho Okuchi looked at the small back of Haruichi as he was walking to the first base and felt a chill in his spine.
Hosho had always felt Kominato Haruichi was not to be underestimated.
Now, it seemed like he was absolutely right.
Though this guy had a harmless look, his strength and cunning far surpassed what most people imagined.
Ball four, walk to base.
No Outs, runner on first.
Now, standing at the plate was Sawamura.
...