Lee-Hyun was very disappointed.
He originally thought that he would definitely be one of the 18 spots to go to Koshien.
However, to his surprise, he was ultimately eliminated.
In fact, the two spots that were eliminated had already been anticipated by everyone. The five first-year new players all fell at the very end of the list of first-team numbers.
They were numbered 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.
This meant that if anyone needed to be eliminated, these first-year players would definitely be the first to go.
Among these five new players, there were two catchers. At least one of the catchers would be eliminated. If luck was bad, both of them might be eliminated together, which was not impossible.
After all, the help they could provide to the team was the smallest.
Putting them in the first team, apart from training, they had almost no value in actual play.
If only one of the catchers was eliminated, then one of the remaining three first-year players would also be eliminated.
Nishiyama, Yuuki, and Lee-Hyun.
Among these, although Lee-Hyun was the weakest in terms of strength, everyone generally believed that Lee-Hyun was the one least likely to be eliminated.
When he played against Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team, his spectacular steal of a base directly decided the result of the game.
If it weren't for him, although the Seidou High School baseball team might not have lost, the outcome would not have been as stable, and there might have been setbacks.
People generally thought Nishiyama was the one most likely to be eliminated.
Although he was the strongest in terms of overall strength among all the new players in the Seidou High School baseball team, his position was quite awkward.
He was a pitcher!
And right now, the Seidou High School baseball team was being praised as a "pitcher kingdom," and the most plentiful position in the team was likely that of the pitcher.
The team already had the Ace pitcher, Sawamura, the Monster, Furuya, and the capable third-year, side-pitcher, Kawakami.
Having Nishiyama would only be a luxury, making the pitching lineup of the Seidou High School baseball team appear even more robust.
If you really wanted to say what improvement he could bring to the team, that would be nonsense.
Although the first-year players of the Seidou High School baseball team were all very talented, they were still too immature.
They did not have the qualifications to improve the strength of the Seidou High School baseball team.
Unlike Masashi and Lee-Hyun.
Although both of them were mostly not very useful, if the timing was right, they could still make contributions to the team.
Just like when Lee-Hyun faced Inashiro earlier.
When Lee-Hyun was eliminated from the main team, his roommate, Mogami Takashi, opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything comforting to say.
He knew that Lee-Hyun must be feeling very bitter.
"I want to go for a walk," Lee-Hyun said.
He didn't want to stay in the dormitory and walked alone along the embankment around the field.
He could vaguely hear the sound of wind blowing from the field.
Although the first-team players were not allowed to practice too late before heading to Koshien, the second and third-team players did not give up on their efforts.
Originally, Lee-Hyun should have been in the first team. Now that he had been eliminated from the first team, Coach Kataoka did not say anything about his future arrangements.
Should he be placed in the second team to accumulate experience or directly be sent back to the third team?
Lee-Hyun's situation was very special. It would not be inappropriate to let him stay in the first team, and putting him in the second team wasn't wrong either. Sending him back to the third team wasn't completely impossible.
What would his future be like?
Lee-Hyun had no answers in his heart.
As a young man living alone in a foreign country, it was the first time he had the feeling of missing his hometown.
A small coastal village, near the edge.
A place that his father jokingly called a "suburban area."
In that small place, their life was not exactly wealthy, but it wasn't tight either.
Swimming and hiking with his friends were endless joys.
He could even hear the school bell ringing in his ears.
Thinking of this, Lee-Hyun smiled.
"Hey, am I acting all deep?" he murmured.
He didn't know when, but two figures had come to his side.
Hearing someone speak, Lee-Hyun quickly stood up and turned around to see his coach, Kuramochi, and Sawamura.
Earlier, Kuramochi and Sawamura had tried again but still couldn't find the feeling from that game.
"Let's put it off for now and talk about it later when we have inspiration," Kuramochi suggested to Sawamura.
Sawamura felt a bit unwilling.
He knew very well that now was the time to strike while the iron was hot. Once that feeling faded completely, it would be hard to get it back.
Some things, once missed, couldn't be found again.
Sawamura had a feeling that if he gave up now, it would be very difficult to recapture that magical feeling later.
But there was nothing he could do.
Kuramochi was right, and the Koshien games were about to begin.
Although Sawamura didn't think any team in the country could compete with Seidou High School's strength, you could never be too sure.
Hadn't they been surprised by Inashiro Industrial High School's explosive strength?
In that semifinal, Seidou High School really almost lost, by just a hair's breadth.
Not to mention, Seihou and Komadai were at their peak now.
If they weren't careful, who could say they wouldn't explode with terrifying strength?
Sawamura could only temporarily put these thoughts aside and focus on preparing for the Koshien games.
As they passed by the embankment on their way back to the dormitory from the indoor training ground, they saw Lee-Hyun sitting alone on the embankment.
The young man seemed to be feeling a bit unbalanced.
Everyone had said he would definitely be selected, and he probably thought the same.
Now that the results were out, he didn't make it into the first team, losing the chance to go to Koshien.
Feeling down was perfectly natural.
Sawamura and Kuramochi exchanged a glance and took the initiative to greet him.
"Are you upset about not making it to Koshien?" Sawamura asked straightforwardly.
In this year's summer tournament, the first-year player who really made a contribution to the Seidou High School baseball team should have been Lee-Hyun.
Although other first-year players also performed okay when given the chance, it only meant that Seidou High School gave them the opportunity. Their performance was not enough to affect Seidou's outcome.
Lee-Hyun was different!
He had made a real contribution to the Seidou High School baseball team.
Although he had only played once and didn't even stay on the field for ten minutes in total, those ten minutes pulled the Seidou High School baseball team back from the edge.
He had made such a huge contribution but didn't qualify to go to Koshien.
Anyone standing in Lee-Hyun's shoes would naturally have thoughts about that.
"No!" Lee-Hyun was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.
"If I had been chosen to be eliminated from the first team, it would have been understandable given my strength."
He explained with a clear gaze.
Clearly, this was how he truly felt.
Sawamura and Kuramochi exchanged a surprised look.
This guy really seemed to take it in stride.
Then why was he sitting here like an abandoned child?
…