Koshien First Round: Part Two
“Batting ninth, center fielder, Aizawa.”
Top of the third. Senior Aizawa Junya stepped into the box.
Once the lineup turned over, we would have a much better read on their pitcher. If Aizawa could just get on base here, it would be a huge help.
Pop!
“Ball!”
Aizawa held his ground through the fifth pitch.
Even when our hitters made outs today, they never went down easy. There were legendary pitchers who racked up strikeouts with two-seamers and cutters, but the guy on the mound right now was more of a ground-ball inducer. Our guys had enough bat control to foul pitches off, and they were pouring every ounce of focus into simply surviving each at-bat.
Our strategy was simple: don’t get greedy for clean contact. Force him to throw as many pitches as possible.
Baseball is a string of one-on-one duels between pitcher and hitter, yet our lineup moved like a single living organism.
Pop!
“Ball!”
“Nice!”
“Great eye!”
I clapped along with the rest of the team. Consecutive balls had finally earned us the free pass.
“Batting first, shortstop, Shirakawa.”
This inning looked promising for runs.
In that case…
From the scouting report and from facing them through the first two innings, their lineup wasn’t especially strong. If we could put some runs up early, my job on the mound would get a whole lot easier.
“……”
He no longer looked capable of the same sharp moving fastballs he’d shown in the first. How would we attack him now?
Crack!
“Ohhh!”
Senior Shirakawa yanked the first pitch.
Jammed.
He’d been jammed, but he’d forced the pull anyway. If it could just drop between the second baseman and the right fielder…
“Ahh!”
“Damn!”
It had looked like a Texas leaguer for a second, but the second baseman somehow hauled it in from an awkward angle.
“Still got some life in him.”
“So close.”
“Good try.”
Senior Shirakawa shook his head as he jogged back. Swinging at the first pitch and not turning it into a hit had to sting.
“Batting second, second baseman, Minamino.”
Crack!
“Ohhh!”
Minamino took an outside fastball the other way for a clean single.
Nice.
Now the cleanup hitters were coming up.
“Batting third, third baseman, Kazuma.”
“Crush it, Kazuma!”
“Let’s get a run!”
“Senior Kazuma!”
Unlike the unflappable cleanup hitter Matsuda or the adaptable number-five Sanada, Senior Kazuma loved to attack early. He was a right-handed batter facing a right-handed ground-ball pitcher—not the best matchup on paper. Still, you had to believe. He was good enough to hit third for Seisho for a reason.
Pop!
“Ball!”
Aggressive as he was, Senior Kazuma still worked the walk carefully. Matsuda waiting on deck was rock-solid, but scoring right here would be even better.
“……”
I held my breath and watched the duel.
Crack!
“Whoa!”
Damn.
A weak infield grounder. Kazuma wasn’t slow, but with that exit velocity…
“Out!”
“Safe!”
“Whew.”
“That was close.”
Senior Kazuma dove headfirst into first and barely beat the throw. I don’t think I’d ever seen him slide like that before.
A pitcher with the command to throw a tough pitch on the black in a big spot, backed by airtight infield defense that made a ground-ball guy look brilliant.
Well, of course.
No team that made it to Koshien was going to be a pushover.
“Batting fourth, catcher, Matsuda.”
“Matsuda! Smash it!”
“Senior Matsuda!”
The moment our number four stepped in, the dugout energy spiked.
“……”
Rukawa delivered the first pitch.
Inside?
Crack!
“Whoa!”
My teammates stared toward the left-field wall with pure hope in their eyes.
Is it going out?
He’d clearly been looking inside.
“Ahh.”
“So close.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! We’ll score next time! Let’s go play defense!”
Senior Shirakawa clapped his hands and called out. We’d had every chance to put runs on the board and come up empty, but the momentum hadn’t flipped. And I had zero intention of letting it flip.
Crack!
“Out!”
“……”
That one almost got me.
The ball had bounced right in front of me; I’d nearly missed it. But I got the out and closed the inning one-two-three, just like the plan—no breathing room for them.
Alright. Time for us to put some runs up.
“Batting fifth, right fielder, Sanada.”
Pop!
“Ball!”
Sanada worked a twelve-pitch walk. You could see the frustration on his face from all the fouls, but for the team it was pure gold.
“Batting sixth, pitcher, Hongo.”
“……”
He was a hitter who thrived on moving fastballs, but that didn’t mean I had to freeze up. If it came into the zone, I would take my swing. That was it.
Pop!
“Strike three!”
Huh?
“……”
Frustrating, but the sky wasn’t falling.
Crack!
“Out!”
Pop!
“Strike three!”
“Batting third, pitcher, Rukawa.”
Another three-up, three-down. From the fifth onward we’d start with Senior Shirakawa again at the top. I had to keep retiring these guys. If I couldn’t throw the way I had in the first, the third time through the order would be the real battle.
Pop!
“Strike three!”
“Nice pitching.”
“Thanks.”
I gave Senior Matsuda a simple nod and headed for the dugout.
“Hongo, you’re killing it!”
“Seisho’s super ace!”
“Nobody’s touching that arm!”
The stands were loud. Everyone was yelling whatever they felt like, so beyond my own name it was hard to make anything out.
Still…
Not bad for my first time on a Koshien mound.
“Safe!”
Top of the fifth, nobody out, runner on first.
Senior Shirakawa had reached, and the table was set.
“……”
Minamino could lay down a bunt and he could put the ball in play. He was the tactical type.
Crack!
Nice.
Minamino’s sharp swing had given us the perfect setup.
“……”
You could see the life draining out of them. The pitcher was already breathing hard more often than not.
Then we finish it this inning.
Pop!
“Ball!”
Senior Kazuma walked to load them up.
“Batting fourth, catcher, Matsuda.”
Best-case scenario. Bases loaded, nobody out, and Senior Matsuda at the plate.
Crack!
Matsuda swung, and the crack of the bat was pure violence.
“Waaaaaahhhh!”
“Yes!”
“Run! Run!”
The dugout and the stands exploded together. The ball had rocketed into a gap the left fielder had no chance of reaching.
Yes.
I clenched my fist. That swing had been decisive.
No—if we’re scoring, we score more. Make it certain.
“Batting sixth, pitcher, Hongo.”
“……”
The pitcher was clearly gassed.
A little frustrating, but…
I’d lost the first two matchups. Now I was hitting in a very favorable spot. Baseball was still a team sport, though. I had a job to do.
Crack!
Got it.
I saw the flight of the ball and pumped my fist.
I touched first and kept running for second.
I stopped at second and looked at the other team. Heads were down now, chests heaving. They would try to hang on, but they knew this inning had broken them.
Crack!
Pop!
“Strike three!”
“……”
I was starting to feel a little tired. Normally I wouldn’t have noticed it this early…
“Good work.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I reached the dugout I spoke with Coach Maeda. Before I took the mound for the bottom of the sixth, I’d already been told this would be my last inning.
We’d added another run in the top of the sixth. The score was now 9–0. The remaining three innings would go to someone else.
No point being stubborn.
Seventeen schools got a first-round bye. Conserving my arm was part of a pitcher’s responsibility. Koshien was a brutal tournament for pitchers.
“……”
I watched the rest of the game from the bench. With Senior Maejima out there I wasn’t worried, especially with this kind of lead.
Pop!
“Strike three!”