Chapter 206: Pre-Game Meeting

Seido High's dominant start to the Summer Koshien tournament quickly became the talk of high school baseball across Japan.

Ten home runs in a single game.

Five of them hit by Ace Ushijima Wakatoshi alone.

The overwhelming display left countless schools stunned.

As expected, Ushijima's incredible performance dominated the sports pages of the nation's baseball newspapers.

For Seido's second game, Coach Kataoka once again chose Furuya Satoru as the starting pitcher.

Although Ushijima still didn't take the mound, he continued to anchor Seido's offense.

Unlike the opening game, however, the second-round opponent proved far more resilient.

In the first inning, Kuramochi, Shirasu, and Isashiki were retired in order.

Three up.

Three down.

On defense, Furuya answered with an equally dominant inning.

His blazing fastball overwhelmed the opposing lineup, retiring all three batters.

The deadlock lasted until the second inning.

Yuki Tetsuya led off with a sharp double.

Then Ushijima stepped into the batter's box.

CRACK!

His powerful swing sent another ball soaring toward deep center field.

Unfortunately, his wooden bat shattered at the moment of contact.

The broken bat robbed him of another home run.

Even so, the ball carried all the way to the outfield wall.

Yuki easily scored from second.

Meanwhile, Ushijima sprinted around the bases, stretching the hit into a stand-up triple.

With runners in scoring position, Masuko and Miyuki capitalized, allowing Seido to score two runs in the inning.

From there, Seido steadily widened the gap.

Thanks to the mercy rule, the game ended after seven innings with Seido claiming another convincing victory.

This opponent was far stronger than the first.

Their pitching and defense prevented Seido's powerful lineup from completely exploding.

Even so...

The result was never truly in doubt.

Ending the game early also meant the team could conserve energy before the next round.

With two dominant victories, Seido once again became one of the hottest topics of this year's Summer Koshien.

One thing, in particular, caught everyone's attention.

Their pitching rotation.

Furuya started the game and pitched three scoreless innings.

Although his control was shaky at times, Seido's outstanding defense repeatedly bailed him out.

Kawakami followed with two and two-thirds scoreless innings.

He performed steadily, but after allowing a runner to reach third base, Coach Kataoka immediately brought in Tanba.

Tanba inherited the pressure and nearly allowed the inning to unravel.

Fortunately, Seido's infield and outfield defense came through once again to escape the jam.

Although Ushijima hadn't pitched in either of the opening games...

His bat alone had become one of the biggest stories of the tournament.

He added another two-run home run in the second game, continuing his blistering form.

That evening...

Inside the team hotel, Seido held its pre-game meeting.

Coach Kataoka looked around the room before speaking.

"I'm not satisfied with the performance of our pitching staff in these first two games."

The atmosphere immediately became serious.

"Furuya."

"You've been far too slow to settle into your rhythm."

"You issued too many walks and created several unnecessary scoring opportunities."

"Fortunately, the defense bailed you out every time."

Furuya silently lowered his head.

"Kawakami."

"You pitched steadily."

"Nothing spectacular..."

"But nothing to criticize either."

"You fulfilled your role as a relief pitcher."

For Kawakami, that was already high praise.

Then Coach Kataoka turned toward Tanba.

"Tanba."

"You still lose confidence too easily after taking the mound."

"When you should challenge hitters..."

"You hesitate."

"And your lack of confidence affects your pitching."

Tanba could only lower his head.

He understood that every word was true.

Coach Kataoka continued.

"We won these two games..."

"But let's be honest."

"Our offense carried us."

"If our batting lineup hadn't performed so well..."

"Neither game would've been that easy."

Silence filled the meeting room.

No one argued.

Because everyone knew he was right.

Meanwhile...

Ushijima quietly sat in the corner with a lollipop in his mouth, carefully reviewing the team's statistics.

Batting averages.

Pitching numbers.

Defensive charts.

Everything was neatly organized.

Looking at the data, even he had to admit one thing.

Seido's batting lineup was arguably the strongest in the nation.

Coach Kataoka finally announced tomorrow's opponent.

"Our next game..."

"...is against Seiho High School."

"The defending favorites."

"And their cleanup hitter..."

"...Sano Shuzo."

"A batter with sixty-seven career home runs."

"This will be our toughest challenge yet."

Coach Kataoka looked directly at Ushijima.

"Tomorrow..."

"You'll take the mound."

Ushijima simply nodded.

"I understand."

Nearby, the team scout handed him Seiho's scouting report.

The first page contained only one player.

Sano Shuzo

Third-year.

180 centimeters.

67 career home runs.

In the previous round, he had crushed a towering three-run home run off Kiryu High's ace, Taichi Hiromi, eliminating last year's Summer Koshien runner-up.

Ushijima read the report before looking up at Yuki.

"So..."

"You've never hit a platinum home run before either?"

"..."

Yuki laughed awkwardly.

"No."

"How many career home runs do you have?"

"Thirty-eight."

The room immediately buzzed.

"Thirty-eight?"

Isashiki's eyes widened.

"Then you're almost caught up to Azuma-senpai!"

Azuma Kiyokuni had finished his high school career with forty-two home runs.

Yuki had already reached thirty-eight.

Yuki shook his head.

"Azuma-senpai never got the chance to play at Koshien."

"If he had..."

"He probably would've hit even more."

"Sano has appeared in both Spring and Summer Koshien for two straight years."

"He's played far more official games."

"That's why his total is so much higher."

Yuki's respect for his former captain never changed.

Ushijima, however, had already returned his attention to Seiho's scouting report.

After studying it for another moment, he calmly spoke.

"Tomorrow..."

"I'll let Seiho's second batter reach base."

Everyone looked at him.

"That guarantees Sano bats in the first inning."

"I'll strike him out."

"The entire team relies on him."

"If their cleanup hitter gets shut down immediately..."

"Their momentum disappears."

Miyuki grinned.

"That confident?"

Ushijima looked up.

"I can strike out a professional player like Azuma Kiyokuni."

"So why would I be afraid of a high school batter?"

"Even if Azuma-senpai is only on a professional farm team..."

"He's still a professional."

"If I don't have the confidence to strike out Sano..."

"Then I don't deserve to stand on the mound."

The room erupted in laughter.

His tone wasn't arrogant.

It was simply confidence backed by ability.

Coach Kataoka then turned toward another player.

"Kominato."

"How's your leg?"

Ryosuke smiled.

"It's completely healed."

"Good."

"You'll return to the starting lineup tomorrow."

Haruichi's face immediately lit up.

His brother was finally back.

Although Haruichi had started Seido's first two Koshien games...

He didn't mind returning to the bench.

Watching his brother take the field again made him genuinely happy.

Just then, Ushijima turned toward Furuya.

"Furuya."

"Would you mind coming off the bench tomorrow?"

Furuya blinked.

"Why?"

"I promised Ryosuke-senpai."

"I'd make sure both Kominato brothers started together in a Koshien game."

"I want to keep that promise."

"After the Autumn Tournament begins..."

"I'll make it up to you."

"You'll get two starts."

There wasn't a trace of selfishness in Ushijima's voice.

If he asked someone to sacrifice an opportunity...

He intended to repay it.

Furuya simply nodded.

"Okay."

Then, after thinking for a second, he added,

"Besides..."

"If you're pitching..."

"Playing left field is pretty boring."

"..."

The room fell silent.

A second later...

Laughter erupted throughout the meeting room.

Even Coach Kataoka couldn't help smiling.

Because...

Furuya wasn't wrong.