When Kuramochi used the same tactic and returned to home plate again, the players of the Yakushi High School baseball team were genuinely stunned.
The reason they were like this wasn't just because of the score difference on the field.
The Yakushi High School baseball team was one of the most powerful offensive teams in the country. They were very confident about their team's ability to score.
If it were a different game, under the same circumstances, trailing by two runs, and they were asked if they were confident they could catch up, every player on the Yakushi High School team would likely slap their chest and guarantee they could pull it off.
However, today's opponent was different. Today's opponent was the King-level Seidou High School baseball team.
The man standing on the mound was the Great Demon King, Sawamura.
No matter how confident the Yakushi High School players were in their own abilities, at this moment, they had absolutely no assurance whatsoever.
In their limited imagination, they couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to hit a pitch from Sawamura. What kind of scene would that be?
So, they were all anxious!
In the rest area.
Raizou shook his head in dissatisfaction.
Even though his students' strength wasn't much weaker than the Seidou High School players, when they actually played against Seidou High School, these guys were still terribly nervous.
They unconsciously felt that they were inferior to the Seidou players.
This, indeed, was a fatal issue!
But there was no way around it—big teams were big teams, and grassroots teams were grassroots teams.
This inherent feeling was very hard to overcome. If the game was going smoothly, one might not notice the problem.
However, once they encountered difficulties, the situation would immediately change drastically.
Grassroots teams often lacked confidence.
When Yakushi were in the lower ranks, they didn't have any mental burdens and didn't think too highly of themselves. In every game, they gave their all, thinking only about how to bring down the higher-ranked team.
Under such circumstances, the Yakushi High School team was the strongest.
But now that they had achieved top 8 in the Spring Koshien, they had started to label themselves as one of the best teams in the country.
Once they encountered setbacks in a game, they lost the wild spirit they once had.
It's important to note that the reason the Yakushi High School team was able to win consistently before was closely related to this spirit.
The spirit of wild grass was the best!
Why wild grass?
It means that no matter how much the fire burns, it will always grow back in the spring. That is the true wild grass.
The old Yakushi High School baseball team had this spirit.
They also had a reckless spirit.
Sometimes their players would think, "Well, things are already this bad, how much worse could it get? We have nothing, so we're not afraid of anything."
But now, after achieving success, the Yakushi High School team had become somewhat timid and lost their original boldness.
"You little brats! Don't forget our team's motto. Train seriously during practice, and enjoy the game when we play!!"
Raizou couldn't sit still anymore and stood up to direct his students.
After hearing the Coach's words, the Yakushi High School players responded much better.
Their eyes, which had lost their shine, were now sparkling with brilliance again.
One out, runner on first.
At this moment, stepping up to the plate was Seidou High School's third batter and pitcher, Sawamura.
After Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box, he looked at Igarashi Sora with appreciation.
From Sawamura's perspective, this little guy was much better than that sly and unassuming Tomobe.
Tomobe would never face Sawamura directly. Whenever he had the chance, he'd just Walk Sawamura.
Even if there was no chance, he'd create one and Walk Sawamura.
He was determined to never give Sawamura a fair chance to hit.
At such a young age, he was already thinking in such crooked ways.
Sawamura didn't appreciate that.
The first-year Igarashi Sora in front of him was different.
'He looked so silly.'
'Wait, no…'
'That's not the right word. He looked very sincere.'
With his style, he wouldn't easily walk an opponent.
Igarashi Sora seemed like the type to face the opponent directly.
To confirm this, Sawamura had specifically asked two first-year players, Nishiyama and Yui Kaoru.
These two guys were very familiar with Igarashi. They should know him quite well.
Both gave Sawamura very confident answers.
"That guy is pretty straightforward!"
Yui Kaoru said, somewhat reserved.
On the other hand, Nishiyama was much more blunt.
"He's a bit single-minded and doesn't think very clearly."
Such a straightforward comment even made Sawamura feel uncomfortable.
"Your popularity was probably not good on the national team, right?"
Sawamura couldn't resist teasing.
Nishiyama was taken aback but nodded honestly, asking in confusion, "How do you know?"
Nishiyama had always been very secretive about his time on the national team and rarely talked about it.
After joining Seidou High School's baseball team, his reputation improved.
Maybe it was because everyone had been training so much, and there wasn't much time for personal interaction, so no one could see if there were any conflicts.
With all the intel ready, and having learned about the opponent's style from the relevant people, Sawamura felt that dealing with Igarashi would be a piece of cake.
But what he didn't expect was that the opponent wasn't following the usual rules.
Snap!
The first pitch from Igarashi almost grazed Sawamura's knee and went straight into the catcher's glove.
"BALL!"
Such a dangerous pitch obviously didn't land in the strike zone.
Sawamura wasn't scared by the pitch but looked at the pitcher on the mound in confusion.
He had a bad premonition.
'Could it be that this guy is trying to...?'
~~~
For Igarashi, what exactly is baseball?
He had gradually lost the ability to distinguish it.
From his memories, he had been playing baseball since he was very young. When he first started, due to his tall stature and strong arms, he naturally became the team's pitcher.
Many people said he had extraordinary talent and that he had a chance to become the top pitcher in the country.
However, Igarashi didn't pay much attention to it.
It wasn't because he was arrogant, but because his experiences growing up had made everything feel almost natural to him.
Even after joining the national team, nothing really changed.
Representing his nation to play against competitors from other countries, they also won more often than they lost.
Even the teams that could beat them, their pitchers weren't necessarily much better than him.
Everyone was more or less on the same level.
From being the strongest in the country to being at the top of the world.
Everything had progressed smoothly without any real setbacks.
Igarashi even thought this situation might continue indefinitely.
After joining the strongest team in high school, he casually won a few Koshien championships.
After all, he wasn't good at studying, and after high school, there was no need to pursue further education.
He decided to join the professional baseball league and become a pro player. With the high salary, a few years of playing would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
His life followed this routine, and gradually, this predictable path began to feel boring to Igarashi.
Since becoming the national team's pitcher, his strength seemed to be suddenly constrained by something.
He hadn't grown since.
His teammates were in the same situation.
Joining the national team and competing against the world's best should have been a great environment to hone his skills.
So why was he facing this situation now?
Igarashi couldn't understand it.
Not only he but even his teammate, the highly intelligent Yui Kaoru, was having similar concerns.
Time passed quickly, and soon, they entered high school.
The time before entering high school was the hardest period for Igarashi.
He seemed to have lost interest in baseball and even questioned whether playing baseball was the right thing for him.
This feeling continued until, by chance, he watched a match against the Yakushi High School baseball team.
…