Chapter 78 Spring Tokyo Metropolitan Conference Finals
After bidding farewell to Chris, Tanba and others, Yagami left the school with his packed belongings and walked home on foot.
"Mizushima-kun."
Yagami happened to meet Mizushima-senpai's younger brother Mizushima Hikari on the way, who had also finished club practice.
"Hello, senior!"
After a detailed chat, the two of them found out that they both lived on the same street, although the distance between them was a bit far.
"President Yaghen, why would Yuzuo say that I... am not as good as my name?"
Mizushima Ryo was a little puzzled and asked the elder Yagami next to him.
Are people as good as their names?
Iori Yagami thought about it and understood why Yusa said that. Because that guy is a fan and secret admirer of Mizushima-senpai. It is understandable that Aiya and Karasoshita have different expectations for her brother.
"Well, I know a little bit about this..." Yagami smiled and told Mizushima Ryo that Yusa Ryoto was a fan of Mizushima-senpai.
Time passed quickly. Yagami Yagami and Mizushima Ryo waved goodbye at the intersection of the street, and then walked back to their homes in different directions.
…
At seven o'clock in the morning on April 30, many baseball club members gathered at the training ground for morning exercises.
"The seniors are working really hard!" Aso Takashi, a first-year student who came to the training ground carrying a bat, couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the second- and third-year seniors who occupied many training places.
"Some people in the same grade as us also practice very hard." Guan Zhidao next to him took over and said: "We should also work harder."
"But this is not handsome at all." Aso Takashi did not want to devote all his free time to baseball. He had already set a goal before entering high school, that is, to have a sweet love in high school.
.
"But if you want to join the army, you have to work hard!" Guan Zhidao knows his friends well. Although he often says some cool words, he really likes baseball in his heart.
A sport.
"Ah! I'm so bored, let's go swing the bat." After Aso finished speaking, without waiting for Seki Naomichi's reply, he directly found a place with few people and began to practice swinging the bat.
Guan Zhidao was carrying a bat and practicing his swing next to him. They successfully blended in with the baseball club members who were doing morning exercises.
At eight o'clock in the morning, everyone ended their morning training one after another and began to walk to the cafeteria to have breakfast.
The notice "First Army will gather and set off at 10:15 am" is written on the whiteboard in the cafeteria. After reading this, everyone in Qingdao is making time plans in their minds. Those who are going to compete or watch the competition will have to go back to the dormitory after breakfast.
Go to change clothes and get things. Members of the second and third armies who are not going to watch the game can stay and continue practicing by themselves.
When everyone from the Seido Baseball Club arrived at the stadium, they found that there were far fewer people watching the game than in the previous semi-finals. After all, the two teams in today's game will get a quota to be selected for the Spring Kanto Conference regardless of winning or losing, and will enter the spring season.
Aomichi, one of the top four players in Koshien, has already obtained a quota for the Spring Kanto Tournament.
Whether they can win the spring Tokyo High School Wildball Tournament is rarely of concern to baseball giants like them. As a result, they generally do not let the main players play the whole game, but rather let substitute players come on to give them a chance to play.
.
The reporters who came to record the game were not very enthusiastic either. Those they knew and those they did not know greeted each other, set up their cameras, and then gathered together to wait for the game to start.
On both sides of the field, the two supervisors from Qingdao and City Sanda had similar moods. They made a simple arrangement and asked the players to go to the edge of the field to warm up.
"We'll attack first." Dong Qingguo returned to the rest area after guessing and told the result to Supervisor Kataoka. After hearing this, Supervisor didn't say much and just nodded to show that he understood.
Yagami was pitching in the bullpen next to the dugout to warm up. He didn't know how many innings he could pitch at most today. He turned to look at the bullpen on the other side of the field in the junior dugout. It seemed that the pitcher who was warming up was Ma Kaname.
After practicing for a while, the staff came over to notify that the competition was about to begin. Everyone in Qingdao lined up and rushed to the field together with the captain Dong Qingguo's order. Players from Qingdao and the three major players in the city stood in a row and bowed to each other.
After the salute, the city's three major defense players stayed behind, while everyone in Qingdao left the field and returned to the rest area.
Manaka stood on the pitcher's mound, stepped on the intact ground under his feet, and after making preparations, he took the baseball passed by the catcher Ikenaga, bent down, picked up the powder packet, shook it in his right hand, and then threw it behind him.
, stood up, took out the baseball from the holster, and threw the baseball in his hand according to the request of senior Ike Naga.
After the two of them threw a few balls back and forth, the referee signaled that the game was about to begin. Shuhei Ikenaga stood up and passed the ball to Mauchi Kaname. He squatted down and signaled, opened his ball cover and waited for Mauchikana's pitch.
Taro Fukuda, Aomichi's first bat, has also stood in the batter's box, holding up his bat and waiting for a hit.
"Buzz——"
At twelve o'clock at noon, as the air raid siren sounded on time, Manaka was about to step forward with his left leg, twist his waist, and swing his arm to throw the baseball in his hand.
"call out!"
"Whoa!"
"Bang!"
The baseball that he was about to throw out with his arm successfully dodged the metal bat that Taro Fukuda swung at home plate, and slipped into the cover of catcher Shuhei Ikenaga behind him.
“strike.“
Ikenaga Shuhei took out the baseball from the holster, stood up and threw it back to Shinaka Kaname, then crouched down again and gave him a new signal.
Taro Fukuda, the hitter who missed his swing, felt the force of Manaka's pitch. He stood up again in the batter's box, raised the bat, and watched the baseball speeding towards the pitcher's mound again without hesitation.
Swing the metal bat directly in your hand.
"call out!"
"Ping!"
What a powerful ball!
Taro Fukuda pushed the bat in his hand outward with force, sweeping the baseball flying from the pitcher's mound to the sideline of first base.
Taro Fukuda first moved the wrists of his hands, then gripped the bat again and made a posture waiting for a hit.
"call out!"
Manaka swung his arm and threw the baseball in his palm again, and the white baseball turned into a white light and flew towards home plate.
"Whoa!"
Taro Fukuda then swung the metal bat in his hand, and the bat drew an exaggerated arc above home plate, causing a sound of cutting through the air.
"Bang!"
With a crisp sound, the baseball flying from the pitcher's mound once again avoided the metal bat swept by Taro Fukuda and flew into the open ball sleeve of catcher Shuhei Ikenaga.
“strike out.“
"A clean three-ball strikeout!" The commentator on the TV broadcast said excitedly: "At the beginning of the day, Manaka-kun from the top three teams in the city went all out as soon as he came on the court and pitched very well."
Manaka quickly scored three outs in the first half of the first inning and ran back to the dugout with the other defensive players.
In the second half of the first inning, Yagami Yagami, as Aomichi's starting pitcher, successfully allowed the city's top three batters to end the first inning.
In the next three innings, Mamanaka Kaname's performance could no longer go as smoothly as in the first inning. He threw four bad balls in the second and fourth innings, not to mention walking the batter to get on base, and even got knocked out by the batter.
The score was 2:1 at the end of the fourth inning, with Qingdao temporarily leading.
In the second half of the fifth inning, Aomichi began to change pitchers, and third-year Yu Sakai came on to pitch.
After Yu Sakai stood on the pitcher's mound, he took a deep breath, held the baseball in his hand, and looked up at the City's top three ace and right fielder Yusuke Murahashi, who was standing on the batter's box.
"Sakai-senpai, feel free to throw the ball boldly!"
"Pitch them and we'll catch them."
"Tackle the hitters one by one, don't rush.".
The defensive players behind him were cheering for Yu Sakai. He looked at the signal signal given by catcher Matsuda, nodded vigorously, raised his hand above his head, raised his left leg and stepped forward heavily, twisted his waist, and raised it high.
His right hand swung, and the baseball in his palm flew out on the pitcher's mound like a ray of white light.