Chapter 232: A Clash in the Blink of an Eye
"Fifth batter! Center fielder, Sendo!"
"Fifth batter! Center fielder, Sendo!"
"This batter leads the team in RBIs!"
"The strange thing is that he swings at a lot of bad pitches, but what's truly troublesome is that he often turns them into hits."
"He's a double-edged sword. We need to keep our pitches low and slightly outside. If he swings at them, we've won the exchange. But in this situation, we can't afford to walk him."
"Just like their leadoff hitter, his speed is terrifying. Once he gets on base, his scoring rate is too high."
"To be honest, he's the toughest batter in this lineup."
Coach Ugai's wariness toward Sendo was at its peak. This wasn't a hitter you could neutralize simply by issuing a walk.
He was the kind of batter you could only afford to walk if there were runners ahead of him or if there were two outs. Otherwise, you had no choice but to face him head-on.
"The first pitch is probably going to be an outside pitch!"
It's hard to get a good hit in the first at-bat, so making a bold prediction is reasonable.
However, now that he's adjusted his mindset, even when predicting a pitch, he fully entrusts his body to react, significantly increasing his margin for error.
"Hit it, Sendo!"
"Go for a big one!"
As Sendo was deep in thought, the cheers and support songs filled the stadium.
Even though Maki admired Seidou, his resentment for not being chosen fueled his determination. But he wouldn't underestimate the first-year cleanup hitter standing before him.
Sendo had built his reputation through sheer skill.
Maki even felt like this was what it meant to be a recruited player for Seidou.
Perhaps he was just consoling himself, thinking that Seidou hadn't scouted him simply because Rei-chan had never seen him play.
From what he recalled about Rei-chan's scouting of the seniors, Tanba was noticed in his first year purely because of his height. There was no way she would ignore his height if she had actually seen him play—especially since Maki didn't have the same mental issues as Tanba.
Japanese high schools have no limit on athletic scholarships; they just regulate expenses. If Rei-chan had seen Maki play, she wouldn't have hesitated to offer him a spot.
"Keep it low, Maki! This batter uses an American-style uppercut swing!" Yagi made a downward motion.
Maki nodded cautiously.
"First pitch!"
"Here it comes! Outside—huh?"
Seeing that the pitch was a bit high, Sendo felt lucky and his body began to react. But then, the ball started to break.
Ping!
Thud! The ball hit the ground at high speed.
"Foul ball!"
"That was close! If that had stayed fair, it would've been dangerous."
"That feeling again! My brain saw the pitch break, but before I could send the command, my body had already moved on its own."
"Is this a side effect of giving my instincts more control?"
"No… Calling it a side effect isn't right—it's an advantage!"
"But still, what exactly is happening here?"
Sendo quickly tried to recall the process.
"I don't get it at all! What's different?"
Since he was in the middle of a game, he had no choice but to stop thinking and focus.
"So this is the swing of a first-year cleanup hitter!"
"It was his first time seeing a curveball, and judging by his swing, he clearly didn't expect it."
"Yet he still managed to hit it?"
"It must be because he's tall—his strike zone covers a different range than most."
"But how the hell do I pitch to him now?"
"We have to rely entirely on low pitches, balls outside the strike zone, and high waste pitches!"
"Otherwise, we'll be facing the sixth and seventh batters with runners in scoring position, and we'd better be ready to give up a run."
"Whether it's a hit or a walk, it'll likely cost us a run, so we might as well settle things here and now!"
Coach Ugai gave his instructions.
There was no other way. Sendo was just too tall.
That meant his lower strike zone was much higher than that of other batters. If the pitch wasn't low enough, it would land right in his sweet spot.
Uppercut swings are particularly effective against pitches with vertical movement.
The best approach was a combination of outside low balls and high waste pitches. Otherwise, breaking balls wouldn't be as effective against Sendo.
It wasn't something other batters could envy—height was an innate advantage.
Take that short-legged guy for example—his advantage was a tiny strike zone. Pitchers with poor control would throw him a lot of balls.
The downside? If a pitcher did manage to control the ball and place it really low, he would struggle to hit it.
There were times when a pitch almost scraped the ground but was still inside the strike zone—how frustrating would that be?
Maki could dominate smaller batters, but in return, he struggled against tall batters who excelled at hitting low pitches.
Unfortunately, the only one who barely qualified as such was Sendo.
Tanba had the height, but when it came to batting… well…
In reality, this was just what Coach Ugai of Sensen believed. He had no idea that the reason Sendo swung at bad pitches was simply that he couldn't distinguish between balls and strikes.
"Speaking of which..." Before swinging, Sendo muttered to himself.
Ping!
"Foul ball!"
"Alright! We've got him cornered!"
"You're keeping up with the rhythm, Sendo!"
"Phew, it's a relief that Sendo's weakness—his inability to distinguish balls from strikes—hasn't been exposed. Even though he often gets forced into tough counts, the opposing pitcher won't dare to keep throwing even worse pitches just to bait him."
Chris watched the situation unfold with a resigned expression.
"Hmph! Now's not the time to worry about that minor flaw!" Coach Kataoka snorted.
"Are they here yet?" On the field, Sendo occasionally let his mind wander, glancing toward the stands while continuing his self-talk.
Pop!
"Ball!"
"I'm getting a feel for the curveball's trajectory... but this fastball is too far off to hit properly," Sendo thought to himself.
"This guy... he's in incredible form today. Huh? He's looking at me?"
"No... he's looking at the Seidou emblem on my uniform with admiration?"
"Right! If I remember correctly, this guy wanted to join Seidou!"
"But he lacked the courage to enroll through the general admission process. In the end, that old man kept inviting him until he chose Sensen!"
"So that's why he's playing so well today? How unfortunate!"
It was unclear whether Sendo's "unfortunate" remark was directed at himself or at Maki.
As Sendo continued his inner monologue, Maki had already lifted his leg high.
Whoosh!
"Idiot!"
Ping!
"He hit it!"
"A deep drive to left field!"
"Safe!"
"What a pity! If the left fielder weren't playing so deep, that could've been a triple."
What was the big deal? Against a power hitter, it's only natural for the outfield to play deeper, right?
"Hahaha! Nice hit!"
Seidou's self-appointed field commander, Sawamura, shouted excitedly.
"Beautiful swing!"
"I told you! No matter how good your form is today, throwing the same pitch twice in two pitches... Idiot!"
"Hmm... Though this one was placed slightly further outside."
Of course, Sendo wouldn't admit there was any luck involved. It was a clean hit—results speak for themselves.
"He managed to hit that pitch too?" Yagi stared at Sendo standing on second base.
"Stay calm! That was just a lucky hit, and it almost went foul."
"Now that he's on base, we have no choice but to brace for giving up a run."
Coach Ugai, who never placed absolute trust in his players, maintained heavy involvement in the game.
Unlike Seidou, where players had more freedom, he didn't call every single pitch, knowing full well that every team had people skilled at deciphering signs.
However, he still provided broad strategic guidance, ensuring the team remained structured and disciplined.
Now on second base, Sendo took an exaggerated lead-off.
"That's it! That's the way!"
"Use your speed to disrupt them!"
"Focus on the batter!"
"Today, you can do it!"
"This guy really can run... But he probably won't steal third on the first pitch, right?"
With that, they signaled for a pickoff attempt.
Pip!
"Safe!"
"This pitcher is in incredible form! His pickoff move is so fast!"
"But stealing third is impossible without a big lead."
"I love this kind of thrill," Sendo thought, brushing dirt off his uniform with a grin.
After all, speed and adrenaline go hand in hand.
And so, Sendo extended his lead again.
Pop!
"Strike!"
This time, Sendo didn't attempt to steal on the first pitch—not because it was the first pitch, as the catcher assumed, but because Maki's pickoff move was too fast.
He needed to observe at least one pitch, to see if there was any information he could pick up from watching the pickoff move and the pitch delivery from behind. Anything that could help him distinguish between the two would be crucial.
Otherwise, if he tried to steal on a pickoff attempt, he'd be dead in the water.
And just one pitch in, Sendo actually found something. However, he wasn't entirely sure how reliable it was.
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to hold off on stealing for a bit longer. He'd rather bet on his speed than risk misjudging and wasting an out.
Besides, Sendo had more confidence in his speed than his batting. The risk was there, but he didn't believe he would lose.
"This time, I'll take an extra step first, then accelerate. A right-handed pitcher's pickoff move is more exaggerated. I just need to be extra careful, and it'll be fine," he muttered to himself.
Having benefited from mental reinforcement in the batter's box, he now applied the same strategy to baserunning—feeding his instincts with concepts and letting his body handle the execution.
At that moment, Maki lifted his leg. But it was hard to tell whether he was turning for a pickoff or actually pitching.
Sendo tensed his leg muscles, his eyes locked onto Maki's raised left leg.
According to the information he had just ingrained into his instincts, there was an invisible threshold in his mind. If Maki's knee lifted above that threshold, his center of gravity would shift, making a pickoff impossible—he would have to commit to the pitch.
This realization had only just occurred to Sendo, but it would allow him to start his sprint just a fraction of a second earlier.
Of course, only someone with Sendo's elite reflexes and dynamic vision could capitalize on such a small timing window.
After all, while a pitcher's leg lift wasn't slow, it wasn't exactly fast either.
And in that instant—
"Stealing!" The second baseman shouted.
"Damn it!"
Pop!
Maki chose to throw an outside pitch.
"Ball!"
But because the batter, Masuko, was a right-handed hitter, the catcher had to move around him before making the throw.
Though he had trained extensively for this, the extra movement still took time.
And against Sendo's lightning-fast burst, every 0.1 second was crucial.
Sendo's steal had been calculated and executed with precise analysis, shaving off an unknown number of those precious 0.1 seconds.
Pop!
"Safe!"
Though he had to dive into the base and looked a bit messy, there was no doubt—Sendo had won this race against time.
"This guy is in insane form today! His reactions and throws are so fast!" Sendo glanced toward the pitcher's mound, acknowledging Maki's sharp play.
"Only one out! As long as Masuko keeps the count alive, I can keep studying the pitcher! If I just get a ground ball, I'll absolutely make it home!"
His eyes burned with determination, and even "Pudding-senpai" could sense it.
"They might go for a squeeze play!"
Meanwhile, the Sensen dugout—unaware of Seidou's strategy—was more inclined to believe they'd attempt a forced run to ensure the first score.
As a result, Sensen's infield moved forward.
But don't misunderstand—they weren't confident in stopping the run. With Sendo's ridiculous speed, it was nearly impossible to prevent the run unless the ball landed perfectly right in front of an infielder.
Even if that happened, they would still need to race against his speed.
Realistically, as long as the ball made contact with the ground and didn't bounce straight into an infielder's glove, the best they could do was throw out the batter at first base.
With Sendo at third, the usual "safe" plays weren't guaranteed anymore.
Pop!
"Ball!"
"He's not moving! Are they actually going to let the batter swing instead of forcing the run?"
"Forget it! It's already a 2-0 count—I don't care anymore! Outside low fastball!"
"Got it."
As Maki set up for the pitch, he locked eyes with Sendo at third base.
"Stealing!"
Just as Maki pitched, Sendo suddenly bolted a few steps forward, startling Sensen's third baseman, who quickly called it out.
"Don't get distracted! Focus!"
Maki and Yagi both knew—they couldn't afford to miss their mark on this pitch.
"Guh!"
Ping!
However, just as Sendo decelerated and began shifting his weight to retreat, he caught a glimpse of Masuko making contact—hitting a ground ball.
Immediately, Sendo reaccelerated toward home plate.
The ability to stop, then instantly accelerate again—that was something only Sendou could pull off.
His movement was almost identical to a perfectly timed dash on a routine ground ball, where a third-base runner breaks for home the moment the bat makes contact.
But in this case, because Sendo had already taken a lead and made a fake steal, his starting point was barely 20 meters from home.
With a normal strategic play, even from 28 meters, there was a decent chance of scoring.
At 20 meters?
With Sendo running?
It was practically guaranteed.
"First base!"
Catcher Yagi made the right call.
There was no point in throwing home.
Pop!
"Out!"
"Safe!"
Just like that, Seidou High secured their first run.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Did he stop and then accelerate again?!"
"How the hell did his knees not snap from doing that?!"
The crowd was left stunned by Sendou's movement.
"Nice baserunning!"
"Hahaha! Nice baserunning, Sendo!"
Came the excited cheers from Seidou's self-proclaimed field commander.
"Idiot! That was way too risky! Are your knees even okay?!"
Even after making it back to the dugout, Sendo didn't receive only praise—he also got a scolding from the sunglasses-wearing coach.
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