After recording three consecutive strikeouts, Sawamura brought the top of the first inning to an end.
The two teams switched between offence and defence.
It was now the bottom of the first inning, and Akagi Junior High's turn to bat.
Leading off for Akagi in this match was none other than Sawamura's trusty battery partner, Yamaguchi Ken.
"Don't get nervous, Yamaguchi."
Sawamura casually patted Yamaguchi on the shoulder, encouraging him to relax.
"We're counting on you, Yamaguchi!"
"Now's your chance to show everyone what a real man can do!"
The other members of Akagi joined in, enthusiastically cheering their teammate on.
Thanks to Sawamura's outstanding pitching, everyone's spirits were exceptionally high.
After all, as long as Sawamura could consistently retire Nagata's batters, the rest of them only needed to concentrate on scoring runs.
One run!
Just a single run would be enough to secure victory!
That kind of confidence was an extraordinary source of motivation.
There was strength in numbers, and when everyone worked together towards the same goal, the fighting spirit they could generate was truly remarkable.
Of course, batting ability depended heavily on natural talent.
Although two members of Akagi had some experience playing baseball before joining the club, Yamaguchi was actually a better batter than either of them.
In fact, apart from Sawamura himself, Yamaguchi was the strongest hitter on the entire team.
Naturally, everyone had high expectations for him.
If Yamaguchi could successfully reach base and keep the batting order moving until Sawamura stepped up as the fourth hitter, Akagi might very well score their first run in the opening inning.
"I'd love to get a hit too, you know!"
Yamaguchi gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Of course he wanted to hit the ball.
Who wouldn't?
Unfortunately, whenever he remembered the pitches Sawamura had thrown during their usual training sessions, or the fastballs delivered by Miki, the first-year pitcher from Shirin Junior High, an overwhelming sense of helplessness would creep into his heart.
Those pitchers throw so ridiculously fast!
How am I supposed to hit anything like that?
Ultimately, most of Akagi's players hadn't grown up playing baseball.
Their abilities were still extremely limited.
Even Yamaguchi, who was supposedly their second-best batter, had been practising his swing for less than a fortnight!
Pop!
While Yamaguchi was still struggling with his doubts, Nagata's pitcher delivered his first pitch.
The baseball travelled steadily towards home plate and landed neatly in the catcher's waiting mitt.
From where Yamaguchi stood, the pitch was absolutely astonishing.
What?
It's so slow!
It's moving like a crawling tortoise!
Forget comparing it to Sawamura's pitches or those thrown by Miki from Shirin's second-string team.
Even Yamaguchi himself could probably throw considerably faster than Nagata's pitcher!
As for the exact velocity, there was no point discussing it.
Yamaguchi simply wasn't experienced enough to make an accurate judgement.
However, one thought suddenly occurred to him.
Maybe…
Maybe I can actually hit this!
Having fallen behind by one strike, Yamaguchi decisively swung at the next pitch.
CLANG!
And wouldn't you know it?
Yamaguchi really did live up to his reputation as Akagi's strongest batter after Sawamura!
He actually made contact!
Not only that, but the ball flew away at a surprisingly good speed and angle.
I HIT IT!
HOLY CRAP! I ACTUALLY HIT IT!
Yamaguchi stared at the bat in his hands with an expression of complete disbelief.
The entire experience felt almost magical.
He'd never imagined that a day like this would actually come!
This is amazing!
Absolutely amazing!
Even the normally introverted Yamaguchi could barely resist the urge to burst into cheers.
Unfortunately, before he could celebrate his achievement, he vaguely became aware of someone calling his name.
"Yamaguchi!"
"YAMAGUCHI!"
Gradually returning to his senses, Yamaguchi followed the sound.
He spotted Sawamura shouting something at him while frantically waving both arms.
Huh?
What's wrong?
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH? RUN! HURRY UP AND RUN!"
Finally, Yamaguchi understood what Sawamura was trying to tell him.
Run?
Run where?
Naturally, towards first base!
Simply hitting the ball wasn't enough.
Once the ball was put into play, the batter had to reach a base safely before the opposing fielders could retrieve it and complete the out.
Only then would the hit actually count.
Realisation finally dawned upon Yamaguchi.
He immediately began lumbering towards first base, his enormous body swaying as he ran.
Unfortunately…
By that point, an astonishing amount of time had already passed.
First, Yamaguchi had hit the ball.
Then he'd stood there in complete disbelief.
Afterwards, he'd become absorbed in admiring his own magnificent achievement.
Sawamura had started shouting at him.
Only then had Yamaguchi finally remembered that he was supposed to run!
The entire sequence had taken more than ten seconds.
And with Yamaguchi's considerable bulk, covering the distance between home plate and first base required another five seconds!
Fifteen seconds!
A full fifteen seconds!
Given that much time, Sawamura could practically have made it all the way around the bases and returned to home plate!
Yet Yamaguchi hadn't even reached first!
Although his hit had been quite respectable, Nagata's fielders weren't made of wood.
They'd already retrieved the ball and thrown it to first base long before Yamaguchi arrived.
And so, the unfortunate Yamaguchi was thrown out at first.
Back in Akagi's dugout…
Sawamura buried his face in his hands.
He looked as though his entire world had collapsed.
"What's wrong?"
Wakana asked worriedly.
Sawamura's sudden expression of utter despair had given her quite a fright.
"HOW EMBARRASSING!"
"THIS IS TOO BLOODY EMBARRASSING!"
Sawamura's face had practically turned purple.
If Kuramochi-senpai ever finds out that one of my teammates couldn't reach first base even after fifteen seconds, he'll probably laugh so hard his teeth fall out!
"I'm sorry!"
The chubby Yamaguchi lowered his head in shame.
Sawamura had already explained the rules to them countless times.
He'd repeatedly reminded everyone what they needed to do after hitting the ball.
Yet the moment Yamaguchi actually stepped onto the field, he still couldn't stop himself from making such a ridiculous mistake.
"It's fine! It's fine!"
Sawamura quickly recovered.
Like a cockroach that simply refused to die, he somehow managed to pull himself together again.
He patted his battery partner reassuringly.
"At least you managed to hit the ball! That's still a pretty good start!"
After all, most of Akagi's players were complete beginners.
Mistakes were unavoidable.
Sawamura understood that perfectly well.
It was simply something he had to accept.
However, there was one thing that made the situation particularly painful for him.
In his previous life, he'd been just as ignorant as the rest of his teammates.
Back then, he hadn't fully appreciated just how terrible some of their mistakes actually were.
But now, having returned to the past with all his experience and knowledge intact, he was finally seeing everything from an entirely different perspective.
And the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous his former ambitions seemed.
To think I actually wanted to take a team like this to the National Tournament back then…
Just how completely out of touch with reality was I?
Perhaps this was precisely what people meant when they said ignorance was bliss.
One out.
Nobody on base.
The astonishing performance of Akagi's players had also left Nagata's team utterly dumbfounded.
A hit that should have been worth at least a double had somehow turned into an out!
Just what kind of players were these fellows from Akagi?
Were they secretly talented?
Or were they simply a bunch of complete amateurs?
If they were hopeless beginners, how had their batter managed to strike the ball so well?
But if they were actually skilled players, how could they possibly fail to understand something as basic as running the bases?
Nagata's players simply couldn't make sense of it.
Nevertheless, the match continued.
Unfortunately for Akagi, their next two batters weren't nearly as impressive as Yamaguchi.
The first was struck out without much difficulty.
The second managed to hit an infield grounder, but the ball travelled straight towards Nagata's pitcher.
The pitcher fielded it cleanly and threw to first base.
Another out!
Three outs.
The sides changed once again.
It was now the top of the second inning.
Nagata Junior High returned to offence.
This time, their fourth hitter was due up.
The cleanup hitter!
No matter how weak a baseball team might be, its fourth batter was never someone who could be dismissed entirely.
Anyone entrusted with the cleanup spot was bound to possess at least some genuine batting ability.
Consequently, Sawamura approached this opponent with considerably more caution.
As he prepared to pitch, he deliberately avoided throwing towards the centre of the strike zone.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
After falling behind by two strikes, Nagata's cleanup hitter finally spotted an opportunity.
CLANG!
He swung his bat and connected with Sawamura's pitch!
However, the instant the baseball struck the bat, the fourth hitter felt an astonishing force surge through his hands.
For a moment, he genuinely thought the bat was going to be torn straight out of his grip!
What the hell?!
How can a pitch be this heavy?!
The sheer power behind Sawamura's fastball was terrifying.
This wasn't remotely comparable to the force one would normally expect from a pitch travelling at 120 kilometres per hour!
Although the batter had made contact, the baseball barely had any momentum left.
It rebounded weakly off the bat and began rolling slowly forwards.
This time, however, Yamaguchi performed rather well.
He quickly picked up the ball and used his mitt to tag Nagata's cleanup hitter, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Out!"
"BATTER OUT!"
With Nagata's fourth hitter retired, Sawamura went on to keep the opposition scoreless, once again sending three consecutive batters back to the dugout.
For the second time in a row, Nagata had gone down in order.
The game moved into the bottom of the second inning.
And now, stepping up to bat for Akagi Junior High…
Was their fourth hitter.
Their captain.
Their ace pitcher.
Sawamura Eijun!
End of Chapter 008