Chapter 233: Targeting
"Idiot!!!
Doing such a dangerous move—are your knees okay?"
Just as Sendo returned to the dugout, Coach Kataoka scolded him but couldn't help showing concern for his condition.
"No problem! Although the sudden stop and second burst of power put a lot of strain on me, I only feel a bit fatigued, but there's no pain at all! Don't worry! My joints are much tougher than the average person's. My knees aren't that easy to wear down or get injured."
Back in elementary school, Sendo lived in Nagano. Though he didn't play baseball at the time, he did try out other sports for a short period.
He had sprained his ankle before, but since his grandparents were very concerned about his well-being, they took him to the hospital for a thorough check-up.
They even X-rayed both his legs just for a single ankle sprain.
It was then that Sendo realized his body was abnormally resilient. Whether it was his ligaments, meniscus, or other joints, they were far more durable than the average person's.
According to the doctor's description back then, the best way Sendo could describe himself was—a Vajra Gourd Baby.
Even when his childhood body was far more fragile than now, he still had incredible durability. Just imagining how much more exaggerated it must be now was astounding.
Although Sendo was only fifteen years old and his body hadn't fully matured, he could still sense the risks of overexerting his power.
(Even for an adult's body, suddenly stopping and then exerting force again would make their legs feel weak—even if they weren't going full throttle. This is perfectly normal. Speaking for myself, even trying to push off for a second burst of speed makes my legs go weak, so NBA players really are monsters.)
After hearing Sendo's explanation, Coach Kataoka gave him a deep look but said nothing more.
Maybe.
After that, Miyuki hit a ground ball, ending Seidou's second-inning offense.
Sensen's attack began from the sixth batter. One player got on base thanks to an easy-to-hit fastball, but Seidou quickly secured three outs and switched sides.
In the third inning, facing a fully warmed-up Maki, Seidou's batters hit ground ball after ground ball.
With the bottom of the third inning beginning, both teams had finished probing each other and were now facing the second round of the batting order.
Sensen started with their leadoff batter again—a dangerous turn in the lineup.
This time, Sensen completely locked onto Tanba's frequently hittable fastballs.
During the first time through the lineup, their hits also came off fastballs, but it was more a result of Tanba throwing easy pitches rather than them deliberately targeting his fastballs and ignoring everything else.
Seidou was unprepared for Sensen's sudden aggressive swings. Even though they got two outs, they still gave up two runs, with runners on first and third.
By now, Seidou realized Sensen's strategy was to swing at hittable pitches, which just so happened to be Tanba's weak point.
Even Miyuki felt that Sensen's batters were being too decisive. Their eagerness to contribute had exposed their targeting of fastballs. So, he ended the inning with a sequence of breaking balls, leaving runners stranded on first and third.
"A player who thinks for himself in the game... Having someone like that really makes you want to trust them."
Coach Ugai looked at Miyuki with a hint of envy.
Although Sensen was considered a strong team, their prestige was nowhere near that of the Three Great Powerhouses, so they had no way to recruit truly exceptional players.
At this moment, Wakana and a few others finally arrived at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
It wasn't that they didn't want to come earlier—the station was simply too far from the stadium.
The moment they entered, they quickly spotted Sawamura, who was making a ruckus in the bullpen, and Sendo, who stood out conspicuously on the field.
"How is it? Were you able to pick it up?"
With Seidou also starting their second time through the lineup in the top of the fourth inning, Coach Kataoka asked.
"Thanks to yesterday's practice! I still remember it clearly!"
Pudding-senpai spoke first.
"I..." Sendo was just about to speak.
"Just do whatever you think is best."
For a batter like Sendo, who couldn't specifically target just one type of pitch, this was the only advice Kataoka could give.
"The trajectory of his curveball is a little different, but it's still within an acceptable range!"
Jun-san also spoke. Compared to hitting Maki's fastball, the curveball was actually easier to handle.
"That curveball is definitely hittable!"
As the leadoff batter for this inning, Ryousuke voiced his thoughts.
"That decisive curveball… should we aim for it completely?"
Yuuki guessed Kataoka's plan—rather than struggling to hit difficult fastballs, they might as well focus on the curveball.
Coach Kataoka smiled and nodded.
"I..."
"Swing low and hit with power. Once on base, aim aggressively for the next one!"
Coach Kataoka once again cut off Sendo before he could finish speaking.
"Yes!"
"Yes~!"
Interrupted twice in a row, Sendo replied weakly.
"No matter how big a giant is, if his footing is unstable, he'll fall. Understood?"
"Ah!!!"
"That was so hot-blooded!"
Sendo rolled his eyes.
"But… it's about time we evened the score. Falling behind really sucks!"
After finishing his internal grumbling, Sendo glanced at the scoreboard.
"Top of the fourth inning—Seidou High School's offense. Second batter, second baseman—Ryousuke Kominato!"
"We're counting on you, Ryo-san!"
"Onii-san!!!"
"Onii-san?"
Hearing Sawamura call him that, Wakana immediately perked up.
(In Japan, besides calling one's own older brother 'Onii-san,' it's also used in remarried families or even for a girlfriend's older brother! For a moment, Wakana thought Sawamura might be dating Oni-san's sister…)
In this game, Maki kept his fastballs low. Even with just a simple mix of outside fastballs and curveballs, he had kept Seidou in check.
That was also why Seidou wasn't panicking—a one-dimensional pitcher couldn't last an entire game unless he had an extreme fastball like Furuya's.
"Ping!"
After hitting the first fastball foul, Onii-san connected with the second pitch, a curveball, sending it through the infield.
Since he wasn't a power hitter, and Sensen's team focused more on a solid fundamental playstyle, Onii-san only managed to reach first base.
"It's my turn! Uraaa!"
"Batting third, left fielder, Isashiki-kun!"
"No outs, runner on first. The batter is the third hitter, Isashiki! Can Seidou High School capitalize on this opportunity to score?"
At that moment, everyone's expressions varied—Jun had a fierce, almost feral look, Yuuki remained expressionless, while Sendo was struggling with his helmet. (That guy's eyes were practically rolling back as he kept adjusting his helmet for comfort, as if it had become a habit.)
"Whoosh!"
"Big shrimp!"
"Pop!"
A fastball low and outside. Although it was described as "low," since it entered the strike zone and given Jun's height, it was still quite high—about two baseballs above his knees. For a shorter batter, this would have been an ideal pitch to hit.
After swinging and missing, Jun placed his bat on his helmet to reset his mindset. Since he had been aiming for a curveball, it naturally affected his ability to hit the fastball well, and he already struggled with fastballs to begin with.
"Watch the ball carefully, Beard-senpai!"
Sawamura, ever the instigator, was asking for trouble.
"Shut up!"
After snapping at him, Isashiki felt much better.
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
The second pitch followed the same trajectory, and Isashiki hit a foul ball behind him.
"Whoosh!"
On the third pitch, upon realizing it was a curveball, Isashiki held his breath and—
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
—unfortunately, it went straight to the shortstop.
"Beard-senpai! Don't, don't mind!"
"Annoying! You idiot!"
"Wait… are they actually targeting Maki's curveball?"
Yagi was stunned by this realization.
Though, on second thought, it wasn't that surprising. Maki only had a fastball and a curveball.
At the start of the game, Seidou hadn't had enough time to adjust, and his fastball wasn't particularly easy to hit.
Since the curveball's trajectory in practice had been fairly consistent, it was bound to become a target.
Of course, that was from an outsider's perspective. Sensen likely never imagined that the Seidou seniors would suggest piling dirt onto the mound to practice hitting against tougher pitches.
Still, Maki couldn't afford to abandon either pitch—both were essential for survival.
For most batters, even if they anticipated the curveball, they still had a decent chance of getting out. But against this one man…
"Batting fourth, first baseman, Yuuki-kun!"
"A true man—one who lives in his own world! If I had to describe it, he's like a shooting star streaking across the sky!"
At this moment, Sensen faced a dilemma. With one out and a runner on first, intentionally walking Yuuki wasn't an option. If they put him on base, they'd have to deal with Sendo next, and then what?
If they continued, they might have to walk him too, leaving bases loaded for Masuko. Even if they got Masuko out, unless they turned a double play, they'd still have to face Miyuki with the bases loaded…
But if they didn't walk Yuuki, they'd be forced to face him head-on.
Realistically, they had no choice but to challenge him. Even if they gave up a run, high school pitchers thrived on confidence and momentum.
Right now, Maki was in top form, suppressing Seidou's offense. If they overthought things and broke his mental state, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot.
Their only option was to pitch low and pray that Yuuki struggled to make good contact with the curveball.
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
The ball came in too fast—it wasn't caught properly.
"A long hit down the right-field line!"
"And now it's one out, runners on second and third!"
"A beautiful double!"
"Amazing hit, Yuuki!"
"Batting fifth, center fielder, Sendo-kun!"
"Batting fifth, center fielder, Sendo-kun!"
"Let's do this!"
"We're giving you all the good pitches, bastard!"
"Ahh!"
"Sendo-chan!"
From the stands, the passionate supporters from Akagi spotted their second hero!
Especially on the Seidou bench, where so many players joined in cheering for Sendo—it was an honor to be part of it.
"The heart of the lineup! As expected of Sendo-chan!"
"Go for it!"
"Let's go, Sendo-chan!"
The crowd erupted as Sendo stepped up to bat. Even though they knew he couldn't hear them, his supporters still cheered with all their might.
"Here he is! Seidou's RBI king!"
"And with runners on second and third with one out—this is a prime scoring opportunity for Seidou!"
"How many homers has Sendo hit in this summer's qualifiers?"
"At least five, right? I haven't been keeping count!"
"Whoa, whoa! He's only played four games so far!"
Listen to that! Listen to that!
The nearby Akagi supporters felt like they were floating with pride! Their cheers grew even louder, their voices even more desperate.
Spectators nearby couldn't help but ask out of curiosity—after all, "Sendo-chan" was clearly a nickname only those close to him would use.
In Japan, casually calling someone by their name was already considered rude, let alone using such a familiar nickname.
Leaving aside the excitement of his supporters—
Sendo, just stepping into the batter's box, had already guessed that his friends had arrived.
"This is bad. I didn't think I'd get emotional, but now I need to calm myself down. If I get too eager and let them get me out easily, that would be humiliating."
"I'm not the only one who doesn't want to embarrass myself in front of my teammates—Eijun isn't alone in that!"
"Ping!"
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Foul!"
"That was way too fast! And to the left side, too?!"
Sensen's third baseman was stunned.
Usually, with runners on second and third, most hitters would aim to the right.
But not Sendo—he had the privilege of doing things his own way. His batting technique wasn't refined enough to control the direction of a breaking pitch on the low outside corner.
To be fair, even Yuuki couldn't do that—but at least Yuuki wouldn't swing at a pitch like that in the first place.
"At least this batter still chases bad pitches!"
Yagi was both shocked and relieved watching that swing.
Shocked by the speed of the hit—but relieved that this fifth batter wasn't just sitting back waiting for a curveball like the others had.
"Looking good!"
"Keep it up, Sendo-chan!"
Fumino had noticed the Akagi group as soon as Sendo stepped up to bat. She quickly let Rei-chan and the others know and took advantage of the short gap before Sendo's at-bat officially started to bring them over.
She didn't want to miss a second of Sendo's plate appearance.
In fact, Sendo had already told Rei-chan to come, but he had no idea when they would arrive, and with the stadium so noisy, there was no way to call them.
Sendo wasn't like Sawamura, whose brain shut down the moment he started practicing.
However, she didn't take them to the cheering section—just a better spot in the stands with seats, where they had an even clearer view of the game than before.
None of the other Seidou managers noticed what Fumino was doing. The game was so intense that nobody had the time to question why someone had left their seat like they were running a background check.
After making sure Rei-chan and the others were settled, Fumino quickly returned to her seat.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"He saw that one clearly!"
Kanemaru cheered without thinking.
Though, he was actually a little baffled—how did Sendo even recognize that pitch was a ball?!
The truth was, Sendo had simply gambled on the count being in his favor.
During his last at-bat, he had already considered using this as a way to deceive the pitcher and catcher while also masking his own weaknesses.
However, he had only realized it after he already had two strikes—and he never let a two-strike pitch go without swinging.
In that sense, he was a bit like Keitaro Mishima from Cross Game—he didn't put that much trust in the umpire.
Or rather, he preferred to keep his fate in his own hands.
Whether he succeeded or failed, he would fight with his own bat and accept the results.
As expected, his deception had worked.
Sensen's battery realized they couldn't just keep throwing balls off the plate—they had to throw some strikes, too.
"Whoosh!"
The ball's trajectory suddenly shifted—
"Curveball!"
"Ping!"
"As expected, that feeling again... My body reacts faster than my brain."
The moment he connected, Sendo instinctively let go of his bat.
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