"Demon King!"
"Demon King!!!"
The fans in the stands were shouting fervently. Their mental state was clearly no longer normal.
In such a passionate scene, it was hard for anyone to maintain a calm mindset.
Everyone eagerly watched as Sawamura was about to break the record.
Not just the fans, but also the reporters on the field. Even the professional team scouts, who were mature and didn't take high school performances too seriously, were feeling the heat.
At this moment, they too felt the surge of blood rushing through their bodies.
They instantly remembered their younger days, when many of them had played baseball as kids.
Back then, there weren't many entertainment options—no phones, no computers.
When a game came around, the number of spectators would be huge. And when someone showed exceptional performance, the crowd's enthusiasm was infectious.
The players would even be exhilarated for several days.
Even these seasoned veterans couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.
"Youth is truly wonderful!"
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura had already struck out a total of 15 batters.
At the Batter's Box, Shirakawa, who had thought that even if he couldn't get a hit, he had to find a way to make contact with Sawamura's pitches, now faced a strange atmosphere. Sawamura had clearly become the main character in the stadium, and the Inajitsu High School baseball team felt like the villains.
If they were to be called villains, it would be a step up for them!
The Inajitsu High School team now looked like a group of third-rate goons in a movie.
If the game continued in this way, the momentum of the Seidou High School team would definitely grow stronger.
If the Seidou team's momentum grew stronger, naturally, the Inashiro team's momentum would weaken.
Therefore, it was necessary to interrupt Sawamura's rhythm.
However, before Shirakawa took the field, Coach Kunitomo had given a special instruction:
"Do not hesitate, be bold and swing!"
"To break Sawamura's momentum with bunt hits or precise hitting technique, would be to give up easy Outs to Seidou."
It's really a case of "everyone can make their argument."
For example, using a bunt to break Sawamura's strikeout momentum would indeed work.
But considering Seidou's defensive strength, it's not much different from giving them an Out.
What's to be done?
Even if Shirakawa had thick skin, he couldn't rely on bunting at this point.
He could only brace himself and face Sawamura head-on.
His eyes locked firmly on Sawamura, and Shirakawa's mind started to recall what Carlos had said earlier.
Sawamura's pitches resembled a 'Gyroball'.
Of course, whatever pitch it was, once in Sawamura's hands, it would surely be altered. It would definitely be different from the original version of the pitch.
This Gyroball was no different!
First, the degree of variation was much larger, creating a feeling of surprise.
Secondly, the speed of this pitch.
For some unknown reason, this pitch completely defied the laws of physics.
Generally, the greater the variation of a pitch, the slower its speed would be.
A larger variation means more air resistance, a stronger spin, and more unnecessary force applied by the pitcher...
But the most bizarre thing about Sawamura's pitch was that despite such a huge difference, its speed not only didn't decrease but actually increased.
'It was even faster than a straight ball!'
'Was this even possible?'
'It certainly wasn't!'
This is why Carlos had been so cautious about revealing the specifics of Sawamura's new pitch.
It wasn't that he didn't want to share information with his teammates, but that he didn't even know how to describe it.
If he told them, would anyone believe him?
"What's your suggestion?" Shirakawa asked.
As a teammate, he trusted Carlos' judgment. Since Carlos couldn't fully explain the pitch, it would be useless to force it.
Rather than that, he might as well ask for advice on what to do.
"Forget about that pitch, focus on other pitches! Normally, Sawamura doesn't rely on just one pitch."
Carlos had clearly thought this through, and his advice was very practical.
"Got it!"
Now standing in the Batter's Box and watching Sawamura on the mound, Shirakawa couldn't help but think: sometimes, talent is something you can't envy.
Just like Sawamura in front of him.
Other pitchers might take months, even half a year, to perfect a new pitch.
And even after perfecting it, that pitch might not suit them.
So generally speaking, a pitcher wouldn't learn too many different types of pitches, especially in high school.
One to two types, maybe three to four at most.
Beyond that, pitchers with more than four types of pitches are very rare on a national level.
But Sawamura was different. He had more than ten different pitches, most of which were developed with the help of others, Some were developed just for training's sake.
Such a player was unparalleled—now, in the past, and even in the future.
The most frustrating thing was that the pitches he developed were all highly advanced.
It truly made you think: that people like Sawamura are simply in another league.
While he was thinking this, Shirakawa made up his mind. He wouldn't be intimidated by Sawamura's brilliance.
That wasn't his style.
On the contrary, the better Sawamura performed, the more determined he was to hit his pitches.
After giving up on the new pitch, he would now focus on hitting the fastballs and the Moving!
After Shirakawa made up his mind, Sawamura's pitch came as expected.
It was as if they had planned it in advance.
Here it came!
As the baseball flew toward him, Shirakawa's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.
He knew Sawamura's pitching form very well.
He had seen it countless times on tape and even faced him in many head-to-head battles. By now, he was very familiar with every movement Sawamura made when he pitched.
And no matter what kind of pitch Sawamura threw, his form never changed.
This had become one of Sawamura's trademarks.
Because there were no obvious flaws in his motion, it was harder for opponents to anticipate the pitch they wanted to hit.
But this time, something strange happened—Sawamura's pitching motion had changed.
His stride was noticeably longer, and his center of gravity was lower than before...
What's this?
Suddenly, a flash of realization hit Shirakawa's mind.
'This was Sawamura's new pitch!'
It was just as Carlos had described—he could clearly see it now.
Once Shirakawa realized this, he naturally didn't swing at the pitch.
Boom!
"STRIKE!"
But that wasn't the end. Immediately after that pitch, Sawamura almost exactly duplicated the same motion for the second pitch.
Roaar!
Seeing the second pitch, Shirakawa almost couldn't resist the urge to swing.
But in the end, reason overcame desire. He trusted Carlos' advice.
He believed Carlos wouldn't make a baseless claim, and there was definitely something about the pitch he hadn't fully figured out yet.
So he let it go.
Boom!
"STRIKE!!"
Two pitches in a row, Shirakawa didn't swing.
Naturally, he was now in a pinch.
On the next pitch, Sawamura took an even bigger stride.
Seeing this, Shirakawa frowned.
They say, "One leads to two, but not three."
But Sawamura had completely ignored this rule and used the pitch as if it were a convenient weapon.
Seeing this, Shirakawa wasn't thinking about what to do next.
Instead, he was angry!
'Such a pitch, if it were in another pitcher's hands, would be treated like a prized treasure.'
It would be carefully kept, only used in crucial moments as a trump card.
But Sawamura seemed to use it as just another regular pitch.
This was unheard of...
No matter how mysterious the pitch was, Sawamura's reckless use of it would eventually cause batters to adapt.
'He would definitely regret it!'
Although Shirakawa was fuming about Sawamura's lack of restraint, he couldn't deny it—right now, he had no solution for the pitch.
Though he swung after being forced into a corner...
The ball dodged his bat and landed perfectly in Miyuki's Mitt.
Boom!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Next up was Narumiya.
At this point, Sawamura had already thrown six of those pitches.
Although Inashiro's players hadn't hit one yet, they had a vague idea of what was going on.
It seemed to follow a similar trajectory to a Gyroball, but faster than a straight ball.
This kind of pitch, which defied the laws of physics, was truly troubling.
But now that they understood it a bit better, they could come up with a strategy.
The solution was to swing early, aiming according to the pitch's angle.
Narumiya did exactly that.
"STRIKE!"
On the first pitch, he missed.
Ping!
On the second pitch, he made contact, but it went foul.
"FOUL!"
When the Inashiro players saw Narumiya make contact with the ball, they were ecstatic.
They had almost lost hope, thinking they had no way to hit Sawamura's pitches.
But this unexpected success made them feel hopeful again.
Maybe, just maybe, they could keep going...
While the Inashiro team was lost in their fantasies, Miyuki gave a cold smile.
'Level 4, Rocket, First Stage!'
For a pitch to be classified as a level 4 pitch by both Sawamura and Miyuki, the Rocket pitch was certainly not simple.
Strictly speaking, the Rocket pitch wasn't just one pitch, but a collection of several pitches.
If you took one of them individually, it would be a level 3 pitch, not even considered highly advanced within level 3.
But when these pitches were combined, they complemented each other's strengths.
After Narumiya made contact with the ball, he was ready to keep going.
That's when Sawamura threw the third pitch.
Roaar!
Narumiya followed the same strategy as before and swung.
But this time, he found the ball had disappeared!
Boom!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Nine pitches, three strikeouts, three up, three down.
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura continued to showcase his dominance as the Demon King.
The fans in the stands were completely captivated.
As the top of the seventh inning came to a close, the atmosphere reached its peak.
With those three strikeouts, Sawamura had now struck out a total of 18 batters in the game.
He had broken the single-game strikeout record for the West Tokyo Regional Tournament!
...
T/N: That's it for today!
As always, Thank you all for reading!!
And I hope you all have a nice day!
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