The Unexpected Result

After the Monsters game, with the shock and upheaval long since passed, the Haneul High members were casually watching the highlight reel of their matchup against Daeji High. There were a few rough spots here and there, but the players had clawed out a win through an incredible chain reaction of plays. To the Haneul High players, Daeji High looked like a team whose momentum was so weak that simply reaching the semifinals felt like a miracle.

"So you're telling me we were leading by over forty runs against those guys, offered to give them the win if they scored even a single point, and then we still lost because they managed to score one?"

"........Yes."

"Kuh...... Puhahaha!!"

Laughter from the second- and third-years echoed through the clubhouse. It wasn't the mocking kind aimed at underestimating the opponent. It was genuine laughter born from sheer absurdity.

'Well, we already knew about this from before, didn't we?'

Back when Kim Sihu and the second-string players had bet the practice facility and lost, that story had already spread throughout the Haneul High baseball team. Now that their next opponent was Daeji High, the topic had simply been dredged up again for another round of teasing.

"So, who exactly should we be watching out for from them?"

"Ah, I know that one pretty well."

Normally, one of the reasons Haneul High would get upset by Daeji High stemmed from complacency born of information imbalance. That had been the prerequisite for the great disaster in the original story. They had underestimated Lee Taehyun when he took the mound as a pitcher, only realizing something was wrong after the heart of their lineup was shut down by the KKK. Focused solely on legendary manager Ryu Eunseong's tactical baseball, they had failed to grasp the players' latent potential and began getting hammered with hits. Then Park Minhu awakened, forming a connection with Lee Taehyun at the plate, and the score gap widened dramatically.

"Lee Taehyun throws a fastball around 150 km/h, with his slider and forkball as his strengths. His delivery is basically a carbon copy of Sun Dong-yeol's...... and when I actually caught him, he showed that kind of presence."

"Hmm...... A carbon copy of Sun Dong-yeol, huh......"

Before I knew it, I had started the briefing, pointer in hand beside the coach.

"That said, since catcher Choi Young-hoon is only just putting the mask back on this year, even though his max velocity is 150, if we assume he's adjusting his strength so the catcher can actually receive the ball...... his average velocity is probably around 140-144 km/h. The break on his breaking balls won't be that sharp either."

-Thwack!

"There are three hitters we need to watch. Park Minhu (2B), Choi Joo-hwan (3B), and Lee Taehyun (DH). In other words, the two through four hitters."

I moved the pointer to Park Minhu's face.

"The two-hole hitter, Park Minhu. His speed is the fastest on Daeji High, and his defensive range is about as wide as Yoo Ta's senior's."

The moment I deliberately singled out Yoo Ta senior, his face started to flush. His competitive spirit was probably flaring up.

"And the three-hole hitter, Choi Joo-hwan, is a classic contact hitter who handles inside pitches extremely well. The four-hole hitter, Lee Taehyun, is the core of Daeji High's offense. Honestly, the smartest move is usually to just walk him. We don't have data on the other hitters, which means they're not worth pitching around."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Once the briefing ended, the coach's question came flying.

"But isn't that data from before the national tournament?"

"No, it's the material Epinel and I compiled together yesterday."

When I looked up at Epinel, I saw her giving a thumbs-up with dark circles under her eyes.

'I told her she didn't have to do it alone.'

With my knowledge of the original story, I could have just said "Those guys are ridiculously strong, so watch out" without any data work. But Epinel had insisted she couldn't allow the manager to skip her own duties, so she had started reviewing materials in the library until late at night. Thanks to my high mental stats, I hadn't felt particularly sleepy even as Epinel grew exhausted and dozed off. By the time it neared 1 a.m., instead of the half-finished notes, I had quickly jotted down everything I knew on paper, woken Epinel who had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and sent her back to the dorm. Yet somehow she had turned all the paper materials into a full PPT presentation. She really was the type to push herself too hard in every way.

"Anyway, even though this is a team that's been reborn and this is their first national tournament, they have potential on par with or greater than Seoul High. Everyone, stay sharp......"

"By the way, you're the starter, right?"

"That's right."

Yang Uijin asked from his chair. Well, if I just shut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them down completely, the problem would be solved anyway......

"But if only I stay focused, it doesn't mean the defense will suddenly play better. I'm just letting everyone know not to get complacent. I don't plan on batting this time."

"Does that mean you're going to pour all your focus into pitching?"

"Yep."

When I declared that I, who usually played both ways, would go all-in on pitching, the Haneul High players finally seemed to grasp just how strong Daeji High was.

'Normally they wouldn't listen to a first-year saying something like this.'

Well...... my performance was good, so they were respecting my words. It was probably possible because Haneul High was a meritocracy.

"Anyway! Haneul High is a strong school, but we can never accept excuses like 'we lost because we got complacent.' We have to crush them completely."

"Yeah, if our first-year captain is saying this much, let's all stay sharp."

When third-year captain Lee Hyun-bin spoke up, most of the players nodded as if they understood the gravity.

'Who knows what they'll pull. We really need to stay tense......'

And that tense feeling of mine......

["Ah, with Park Won-jun striking out as well, Haneul High takes a perfect game 18 to 0!"]

["Eighty-one pitches, twenty-seven strikeouts...... Words can't describe that performance, Lee Seojun. It showed the perfect gap between him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and fellow two-way player Lee Taehyun, didn't it? Coach Kim Taehwan is roaring with joy."]

["Yes, after all, there's been a rivalry between him and Daeji High's current manager, Ryu Eunseong, dating back to their high school and professional days."]

["Right, they scored two runs every inning from the first to the ninth, creating an enormous 18-0 gap. Lee Taehyun pitched all nine innings, but it was a disappointing result."]

["Seventeen of those runs were unearned due to defensive errors...... They completely shattered Daeji High's defense."]

["By the way, Lee Seojun really doesn't look like a high school player every time I see him pitch. His fastball was still in the mid-150s even in the ninth, right?"]

["Yes, and the movement and power on his pitches only grew exponentially as the game went on. Especially that curveball that dropped like a waterfall—it was truly art."]

["Well, we're so used to Lee Seojun's pitching that it doesn't seem like much, but the truth is, throwing a fastball near 150 km/h and breaking balls with that much movement exactly where the catcher calls for them is something even professional players struggle to do at a high level."]

["Yet he made that difficult feat look almost supernatural."]

["Yes, a record of eighty-one pitches and twenty-seven strikeouts...... It might be one that never appears again in high school baseball history."]

["Haha, if it's Lee Seojun, I feel like he'd do it again. Eighty-one pitches, twenty-seven strikeouts."]

'...........'

The ninth batter for Daeji High walked back to the dugout, staring blankly at the sky.

'.....This isn't right.'

"Dude, you were insane today!"

'.....What?'

The Daeji High kids were weaker than I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought. Even Lee Taehyun, whose pitches were enhanced by , , and , couldn't even touch my stuff and collapsed.

'In the original story, Haneul High lost to a school like this?'

What the hell, it felt like some massive bug had occurred. Was it really a bug?

'............'

Ah. The bug was my own stats.