After Narumiya Walked him, the plan had already taken root in Sawamura's mind.
All of this was, of course, part of a plan set up in advance by the Seidou High School baseball team.
Before the game, Seidou had conducted thorough calculations, and the final conclusion was very promising...
All of Sawamura's actions were based on this calculation.
When Narumiya pitched, Sawamura had already started running.
A hit-and-run!
The players from Inashiro weren't surprised at all when they saw this scene.
It was a relatively normal offensive play.
Tadano didn't pay too much attention to this detail when he noticed it.
Although Narumiya was quite skilled, he didn't have the same Last Moment Adjustment like Sawamura.
So, their responses were naturally more limited.
Narumiya took his stance and threw the ball. After traveling 18 meters to the catcher's mitt, the entire process took 1.76 seconds.
This speed was certainly among the top in the country.
In just 1.76 seconds, Sawamura, who had started early, had already covered almost half the distance. He was only about ten meters away from second base.
Paak!
At this moment, the baseball was intercepted mid-flight—Miyuki had deliberately hit it, sending it toward third base.
It was a ground ball, which Miyuki had intentionally hit to fall quickly, bouncing twice along the way.
This added a fraction of a second.
By the time Yabe ran up and picked up the ball, the whole process had already taken just over a second.
Adding this to the previous 1.76 seconds, the total time had almost reached three seconds.
Sawamura's speed couldn't compare to a sprinter like Kuramochi.
So, at this moment, Sawamura was still some distance from second base.
But the distance was very close, and there was no way the third baseman could throw the ball to second base in time.
This was why Tadano had that conflicted expression.
He wanted to warn the third baseman but felt it would be of little use.
The third baseman, according to his rhythm, threw a 30-meter-long pass to the first baseman.
The entire motion, without considering the initial movement, took about a second for the ball to fly to the first baseman.
Even with Inashiro's thorough training, the throw took roughly half a second to complete.
1.5 seconds!
In those 1.5 seconds, Sawamura had already stepped onto second base and was charging toward third.
Despite his slower start, once Sawamura picked up speed, he ranked in the top three for speed within Seidou High School's baseball team.
By the time the first baseman caught the ball and reacted, and then threw it back to third, another 1.5 seconds had passed!
All of this, under the assumption that everything went smoothly.
From start to finish, Inashiro's players would need at least 6 to 7 seconds to get the ball back to third base.
This was the result calculated by Watanabe.
Of course, this time was calculated assuming no mistakes were made.
If any mistakes occurred, the time would increase significantly.
A fielding catch, followed by two 30-meter-long throws, realistically has a high chance of errors!
After making the calculations, Watanabe concluded that if the timing was right, this tactic had a high chance of success.
And the probability was quite high!
"How high?"
Upon hearing this, Kataoka was very interested.
Earlier, Seidou High School had used similar strategies, but they were entirely dependent on player performance, without a well-formed tactical system.
If the strategy could become a system, it would have an entirely different meaning.
It would mean that, with a base out, they could use a series of plays to turn a runner on first into a runner on third.
A runner reaching third base!
This is a significant advantage in baseball.
It's like half a step from scoring!
"The distance from first to third is about 55 meters! As long as a player can run the distance in around seven seconds, they could try it."
Even most teams, without any mistakes throughout the process, couldn't stop it with their reactions.
Even strong teams would find it difficult to pull it off!
With Watanabe's guarantee, Seidou High School officially refined the tactic.
This became one of Seidou's cards.
Now that the opportunity was perfect and the opponent was Inashiro, Sawamura wasted no time in using it.
In the middle of executing this calculated move, he thought there was no suspense in reaching third base.
Little did he know...
The players from Inashiro were far more capable than he expected.
Snap!!
On the way back, Shirakawa intercepted the ball a step earlier.
When he caught the ball, Shirakawa was still running toward third base, just coming from shortstop.
This was his reaction when he saw that Sawamura didn't stop at second but kept running toward third.
'Shirakawa actually caught the ball in the middle of his run?'
Sawamura couldn't help but admire this moment.
The players from Inashiro were indeed no pushovers, especially Shirakawa!
His defensive skills even surpassed those of Haruichi.
Sawamura ranked third in speed within Seidou High School's baseball team, covering the distance from first to third in 6.71 seconds!
Theoretically, even if Inashiro made no mistakes, stopping him would not be an easy task.
But as fate would have it, the players from Inashiro had indeed intercepted the ball a step earlier.
Shirakawa, after catching the ball, didn't immediately rush toward third base. Instead, he calculated the point where he would intersect with Sawamura and ran directly to that spot.
He was aiming for a direct tag-out!
This was a very safe move; as long as his mitt touched Sawamura, Sawamura would be Out.
Shirakawa was in a better position than Sawamura. Even if he couldn't catch up with him, blocking Sawamura at an intersection wouldn't be difficult.
"Die!"
Sure enough, just five or six meters from third base, Shirakawa appeared from the side, raising his mitt, ready to tag Sawamura.
'Damn it!'
In a dangerously close move, Sawamura instinctively lunged forward.
With that, he narrowly avoided Shirakawa's mitt.
Smack!
Sawamura's body crashed heavily to the ground.
After Shirakawa's failed tag, he charged forward once more.
But Sawamura, who had already fallen, was like a lamb to the slaughter.
Fortunately, he didn't just sit there and wait to be tagged. He curled his legs and pushed himself forward.
His entire body shot forward, and just in time, he touched the third base bag.
The umpire at third base, who had been stunned by the series of events, was speechless.
'Was this really a high school game?'
'It was more like a highlight reel from the major leagues!'
'It was thrilling and cool!'
Only when Sawamura gave the umpire a resentful look did the umpire snap back to reality.
"SAFE!!"
Although Miyuki was out and had to forgo the opportunity to face Narumiya directly...
Seidou High School's baseball team had just earned the best chance to score.
With one Out and a runner on third...
The tactical options available to Seidou were numerous.
Hit and run!
Forcing a score!
A direct confrontation!
Stolen base!!
The players from Inashiro had to figure out Seidou's intentions if they wanted any chance of stopping their offense.
Otherwise, Seidou would be sure to score this run.
On the stands, Fujio, a veteran reporter from Baseball Kingdom magazine, was filled with admiration.
"The king of baseball, Seidou High School, truly lives up to its name. While there are still some teams in the nation that can challenge them, there's no doubt that Seidou High School is currently the team that knows best how to win games."
Originally, the Inashiro baseball team could barely compete with them.
Now, even the Inashiro players looked helpless in the face of Seidou's aggressive tactics.
At this moment, Seidou's next batter, Maezono, stepped up to the plate.
As soon as Sawamura successfully reached third base, the rest area of the Seidou High School baseball team erupted in cheers.
"Awesome!"
"So Cool!"
"That was so exciting!"
Seidou's attack is sharp. Even though the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team gave it their all, they were still outplayed by them in the end.
The teammates were celebrating around Watanabe, but he didn't have much of a smile on his face.
While the result was good, the process had been extremely tense. If things had gone according to the usual play, Sawamura could have easily been Out, and no one would have been surprised.
Watanabe, feeling a bit guilty, was comforted by Coach Kataoka who walked over and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"You don't need to worry too much. That situation just now proved that the strategy you devised was effective. As for Sawamura almost being tagged out, it was entirely because the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team's speed is just that fast!"
Coach Kataoka spoke honestly.
"We must admit, this opponent truly has the potential to challenge our strength."
Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team.
For the past decade or so, this team has been on fire in the Tokyo area. They are well-known nationwide.
They were the hottest team in Tokyo, having participated in the Koshien tournament numerous times over the past decade.
They almost always made it to Koshien every year!
In a place like Tokyo, where powerhouses are abundant, Inashiro's ability to maintain such a dominant record naturally drew attention.
Though they never claimed national supremacy, they were still very well-known across the country.
In terms of all-around strength, they could overpower Seidou.
However, with the rise of Seidou High School's baseball team, Seidou has taken almost every major honor that Inashiro once competed for.
Inashiro's baseball team was clearly outclassed.
Even after Inashiro became the runner-up in the Spring Koshien, they still couldn't turn the situation around.
Now, Inashiro High School is still popular!
Inashiro is the only team that outshines Seidou in terms of strength on paper.
"They deserve to be excellent!"
In the end, Coach Kataoka gave this conclusion.
"The strategy you developed, although it might not be the best to work against Inashiro, should still be very effective."
Coach Kataoka acknowledged Watanabe's efforts and then continued.
"And as for just now, the reason Inashiro was able to catch up was because of luck."
"Your strategy was solid! Even if we were to take a step back, without that plan in place, Sawamura wouldn't have attempted that move. He wouldn't have reached third base at all."
After retiring from the team, Watanabe took on the role of team manager. He had done an excellent job and contributed greatly to the team's success.
Coach Kataoka had been wanting to tell him all this for a while but had never had the chance until now.
Finally, he got the opportunity!
Encouraged by Coach Kataoka's words, Watanabe's expression brightened significantly.
For a moment earlier, he had even doubted his own abilities.
But now, Watanabe knew exactly what kind of person Coach Kataoka was. If the coach didn't genuinely believe in his abilities, not even a knife to his neck would have made him offer any praise.
"Looks like we have a good chance for that point!"
Ochiai said, stroking his chin.
Miyuki, who had returned to the bench, agreed with Ochiai's assessment.
This point really did seem possible!
The reason they only said it was "possible" and not a sure thing was because it still depended on the opponent's reaction.
With a runner on third base, if the opponent held their ground, it would be hard for Seidou to score.
The key would be to see how Inashiro would react.
And Inashiro didn't disappoint.
…