The finals in West Tokyo, where the Seidou High School baseball team faces off against the Yakushi High School team, has unknowingly entered its final stages.
The fifth inning was the turning point in the game, where Seidou High School's baseball team scored a remarkable four runs in one go.
This thoroughly solidified their path to victory.
Yakushi High School was forced to bring in their ace pitcher.
From that point on, both teams were trading blows, and even the hits were scarce.
The two teams' Aces went head-to-head, each trying to outdo the other.
Yakushi High School's baseball team had their strategy, rarely using bunts during their batting process.
Sawamura, on the other hand, gave it his all. After all, this was the last game in West Tokyo, and he didn't need to hold back any stamina. So, he went all out with every pitch, giving no opportunity for Yakushi's batters to make a solid hit.
He struck out three batters in a row, with a terrifying performance that intimidated everyone.
The fans in the stands, whether supporters of the Seidou High School baseball team or Sawamura's own fans, were ecstatic. If not for the pull of gravity, they might have soared into the air.
"SAWAMURA!!"
"DEMON KING!!"
"DEMON KING!!"
"SAWAMURA!!"
Even if they couldn't fly, they expressed their excitement in their own way.
Watching Sawamura strike out one powerful batter after another filled them with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Their adrenaline soared, and at that moment, they and Sawamura on the field seemed to merge as one.
They wished they could transfer all their energy to Sawamura to make him even more terrifying.
This was the true presence of the Demon King, wasn't it?
In the past, Sawamura, who flexibly used various pitching methods, was reliable but lacked the intimidating aura of a true demon king.
Only now, when every opponent was struck out, was Sawamura finally showing the dominance expected of the Great Demon King.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
This was the rhythm that suited their Great Demon King.
Sawamura continued to strike out batters, and Sanada was no slouch either.
Using his unique cutter, Sanada made it difficult for the Seidou High School batters to make solid contact, relying on his team's defense to secure outs.
At first, his performance wasn't stellar. Perhaps due to an injury or fatigue from the previous game, Sanada's pitches lacked quality when he first came on.
At that time, the Seidou High School players thought it was natural for them to get hits from him.
But as the game progressed, Sanada's pitches became increasingly sharp, and his performance improved.
Now in his third year, once Sanada freed himself from his physical restraints, the power he unleashed was enough to make anyone take notice.
One by one, Seidou High's batters were dealt with.
Even Kuramochi, batting first, couldn't escape the strikeout.
On the other side, Sawamura was facing Yakushi High's offensive lineup just the same.
He struck out two batters in a row, and in the bottom of the sixth inning, he once again faced Raichi, the leadoff batter.
Raichi's father, Raizou, was indeed a smart man. Before the game, he had already considered all the angles.
He decided to have his son, Raichi, bat first.
This increased the chances for Raichi to face Sawamura.
If he had kept Raichi batting fourth, even if there were a couple of encounters, even if Raichi managed to hit Sawamura's pitch out of the park, it wouldn't change the outcome.
With the new setup, Raichi had the chance to face Sawamura again, and now there was hope for a hit.
By the final stretch of the game, even Sawamura, made of iron, would likely face some fatigue.
Whether it was a drop in pitch speed or some other issue…
If Raichi could seize the opportunity, there was a chance to land a hit off Sawamura.
Their latest confrontation was the same. The game had entered its later stages, and during the last encounter, Raichi had successfully hit Sawamura's pitch for a hit.
He was now the only one to have achieved such a feat.
This time, his chances were high.
"Moron son, I've gone to great lengths to set up this stage for you, don't let me down!"
Raizou was fine with either a home run or a hit.
Although he hadn't given up on the game, his primary concern was for his players. He didn't want them to develop a mentality of fear before the battle.
Raizou understood that unless Seidou High's team made a ridiculous decision to pull Sawamura out, there was no way Yakushi could turn the game around with such a large score difference.
Would Seidou High do that?
If it were Raizou, he would never consider such a move.
Since Seidou High wasn't planning on making such a decision, what would they do next?
Raizou had already stopped thinking about it.
He simply hoped that his precious son would perform well in the remaining time.
If his son could get two hits off the Great Demon King Sawamura in this game, what would that mean?
'If, in the following two encounters, Raichi could hit a home run…'
Then when scouts nationwide evaluated Raichi, they would likely have to reconsider their assessment.
After all, this was the only player who had taken on the Great Demon King Sawamura and won.
Raizou thought this scenario would be wonderful, but reality soon dashed his hopes.
After the last hit, Sawamura was provoked.
The main reason was that he wanted to test himself and see if his precision was still as sharp as before.
Overall, he was satisfied with the result of the experiment, proving that his original style hadn't faded.
Now, when facing Raichi again, Sawamura's sharpness had somewhat diminished.
Once he decided to use his Level 4 breaking balls, that feeling faded entirely.
This test also left Sawamura uneasy.
Apart from the Level 4 breaking balls, any other pitch he threw made him feel slightly uneasy.
While this didn't guarantee that Raichi could hit those pitches, he had to admit there was a certain risk.
What truly made Sawamura feel alert was realizing that, at some point, Raichi's strength had grown to a level where Sawamura couldn't easily defeat him with pitches below Level 4.
Considering Sawamura's experience, even without the new Level 4 breaking balls, he couldn't confidently say he could strike Raichi out.
'In just over a year since entering high school, Raichi's growth had reached a baffling level.'
This was something Sawamura couldn't ignore.
"STRIKE!"
Ping!
"FOUL!!"
After a couple of set-up pitches, Sawamura used his unique Level 4 Forkball.
Although it wasn't fully developed, once it was, it had the potential to reach the Level 5 threshold.
Even though it wasn't fully developed, using it as a Level 4 breaking ball wasn't out of the question.
BUUUUZZZZZZ!!!!!!!
No matter when Raichi's swing was always full of force.
It was as if a mini tornado was rampaging in the area he swung.
Such a powerful swing, yet it didn't connect with the ball.
The baseball, as it neared the strike zone, suddenly dropped like a honed missile!
SNAP!
The baseball landed firmly in the Mitt of Miyuki.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
With this Strikeout, Sawamura had completed the defense for Seidou High in this inning.
One fan in the stands nervously swallowed.
Sawamura's power even made him feel a chill.
"By the way, how many strikeouts has Sawamura gotten so far?"
…
T/N: Well, That's it for today!
As always, Thank you all for reading!!
And I hope you all have a nice day!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +185 Chapters there.