Chapter 51 Selecting the semi-finals of the High School Fieldball Conference
If Seido's line is studying how to defeat Yokohama's ace Ken Kawakaku, then for Seido pitchers such as Yagami Yagami and Jinguji Ichi, it is how to hold on to the score under the powerful offensive of Yokohama's line with as little effort as possible.
Lose points or even lose no points.
In order to advance to the finals, both sides must use all the strength of their teams to deal with it.
Director Kataoka began to announce the starting lineup for the semi-finals:
"One bat, shortstop, Taro Fukuda."
"Second baseman, third baseman, Kotaro Tojima."
"Three bats, left fielder, Yuuki Tanaka."
"Four bats, first baseman, Dong Qingguo."
"Five bats, center fielder, Murasuke Taiki."
"Six bats, right fielder, Takashi Fujii."
"Seven bats, second baseman, Tetsuya Yuuki."
"Eight sticks, catcher, Kentaro Matsuda."
"Nine sticks, pitcher, Jinguji Ichi."
When he heard his name was on the starting list, Jinguji nodded vigorously and shouted: "Yes!"
Being a starting pitcher in the semifinals may mean that he will not be able to pitch as a starting pitcher in the finals on April 4, but winning the semifinals two days later is the most important thing at this moment.
"Although the opponent this time is very strong, no matter who the opponent is, I believe you will go all out to win the game!"
"Yes!" Everyone in Qingdao replied in unison.
"Don't go out to train tomorrow. Have a good rest and have enough energy to face the following games." After announcing the starting list for the semi-finals and tomorrow's schedule, Director Kataoka added: "There may be some tomorrow.
When the TV station comes for an interview, you don’t need to act too nervous, just answer truthfully.”
The next morning, the interview team that had made an appointment with Director Kataoka in advance arrived at the B&B where everyone was staying in Qingdao. They did not ask to film the training content of the players, but they took a lot of content that was very life-like in their daily lives.
.
The reporter who came to interview also invited several players who are currently attracting attention, such as Tokiyokuni, Murasuke Daiki, Jinguji Kaichi and Yagami Ya. They each conducted five to ten minutes of individual interviews and filming, which took more than an hour.
Hours later, their interview ended.
…
Yagami called to Keisuke Miyauchi in front of him: "Miyauchi, shoot a few balls with me to warm up."
"Okay, I'll get the protective gear." Keisuke Miyauchi nodded and went back to the room to get his catcher's protective gear.
Tomorrow is their semi-final against Yokohama. Senior Matsuda and Senior Jinguji are communicating before the game. After all, the catcher needs to confirm the status of the pitcher so that he can make corresponding plans for the ball distribution during the game. Of course, this is also
As a result, he had no choice but to find someone in the palace to practice hunting with him.
Iori Yagami returned to his room, picked up the pitcher's glove, and left the B&B with Keisuke Miyauchi.
When the two of them were about to leave, they happened to see Yuuki Tetsuya holding a bat in his hand, seemingly preparing to go out to practice swinging.
Behind him, Jun Isashiki and Toruya Masuko were both holding bats and were about to go out to practice swinging together.
When everyone saw this, they gathered together and walked out to the playground of the middle school they borrowed.
After the day's practice, everyone went to bed very early to rest in order to be in the best condition for tomorrow's semi-finals.
The next day, after everyone got up and washed up, they did some simple exercise in the courtyard of the B&B.
At eight o'clock, everyone from Qingdao came to the Japanese room to have breakfast one after another. On the white board in front of them was written "Departure on time at ten o'clock in the morning".
After breakfast, everyone in Qingdao returned to their rooms for the final rest.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, everyone on Aomichi boarded the school bus and drove towards Hanshin Koshien.
Outside Hanshin Koshien Stadium, fans from all over the country gathered, either for the teams they support, or simply to enjoy one or two exciting games.
When Seido's school bus stopped at the drop-off point at Hanshin Koshien, many Seido fans flocked to cheer for the Seido players loudly.
"Qingdao! Qingdao! Qingdao!"
"The King Qingdao dominates the world!"
"Tokyo must win! Tokyo must win!"
"Please, Director Kataoka, there are still the last two games!"
Everyone in Qingdao followed Director Kataoka and Director Ohta and walked into the player-only channel amidst the cheers of the surrounding crowd.
On the other side, at the school bus stop in Yokohama, there were also enthusiastic cheers of support that were not inferior to those on the Aomichi side.
The respective captains of Aomichi and Yokohama still went to the referee first to guess whether to attack first or not.
"So, it's confirmed, Qingdao will attack first and Yokohama will attack later. No objections, right?"
After the guessing game, the referee said to Dong Qingguo and the two of them.
"Yes." Dong Qingguo and the others nodded to show that they had no objection.
"I hope you can bring a good game today, go all out and don't leave any regrets." After the referee finished speaking, he left with the starting list submitted by Aomichi and Yokohama.
The captains of Dong Qingguo and Yokohama, Nagasho Fukuda, nodded to each other, then returned to their own players and led them towards the entrance and exit of the stadium.
As the players from both sides appeared on the court, the audience in the stands gave their own cheers and applause.
"The two teams entering the field now, on the first base side, are the representative team from Tokyo, Seido High School, which has entered the high school field ball selection competition again after six years; on the third base side, is the representative team from Kanto, Koshien
Yokohama High School is a frequent visitor to the wealthy club. Today, they will compete here to compete for the ticket to the finals!" The commentator began to introduce the two teams.
On the playing field, the staff are busy filling in soil and drawing lines to tidy up the field.
After placing their backpacks and golf equipment in their respective rest areas, the players from Seido and Yokohama came to the edge of the field to start warming up, waiting for the official start of the semi-finals.
At 10:57 a.m., the referee signaled that the game was about to begin. Players from Seido and Yokohama lined up with their respective captains on both sides of the field. Following the referee's order, players from both sides rushed to the field together.
Stand at home plate and bow to each other.
"present!"
Then Seido's players withdrew from the field, leaving only Yokohama's defensive players to go to their next defensive position.
Yokohama's ace Kawakaku Ken walked up to the pitcher's mound, bent down to pick up the baseball that had been placed there in advance, stroked it with both hands, wiped off the dirt on it, turned the baseball in his right hand and carried it behind his back.
Yokohama catcher Nagasho Fukuda crouched down behind home plate and gave a signal to their ace Ken Kawakaku...
Both sides threw several warm-up balls back and forth.
The referee looked at his watch and saw that the start time of the game was coming soon. He turned to Yokohama catcher Nagasho Fukuda to remind him.