Three innings, fourteen Strikeouts!
Such an exciting scene and the excitement of the audience is easy to imagine.
But the more excited they are, the easier it is to overlook some of the small, but crucial details of the game.
It would not be surprising for most people to conclude that the two pitchers are evenly matched.
But is that really the case?
Perhaps not.
There are still some calm observers on the field like Fujio.
Wearing a cap and looking ordinary, he has never been someone who attracts much attention.
However, his understanding of baseball is certainly among the best in the field. If you were to count on your fingers, you'd find he's among the top.
In these 14 strikeouts, it's true that the two pitchers are evenly matched.
14 strikeouts, seven for each pitcher — that's a math problem that even a kindergarten student can figure out.
But there are some details that people have overlooked.
For example, how many pitches did Sawamura throw in these three innings?
And how many did Narumiya throw in the same period?
Fujio's small notebook had clear records.
In the first inning, Narumiya Mei threw 14 pitches and got three strikeouts.
In the second inning, he threw 13 pitches for three strikeouts.
By the third inning, he used four pitches to retire Kanemaru, five pitches for Kuramochi, and seven pitches for Kominato Haruichi. In total, that was 15 pitches!
Seven strikeouts and only 43 pitches were thrown.
As far as pitch count goes, Narumiya had controlled his game very well.
To get strikeouts, a pitcher usually has to throw more Balls out of the strike zone to tempt the batter into swinging.
As a result, the number of pitches thrown will naturally increase.
Typically, pitchers who rack up a lot of strikeouts end up throwing a lot of pitches!
Narumiya's performance can't be called bad, in fact, it's quite good.
But, compared to his opponent, the gap is still noticeable.
In the same three innings, with the same seven strikeouts, how many pitches did Sawamura throw?
28 pitches!
That's the total number of pitches Sawamura threw in these three innings.
43:28!
Such a huge difference in pitch count clearly reflects the performance of the two pitchers.
Compared to Narumiya, Sawamura's Strikeouts came much more easily.
To put it simply, if this game continues, it will only get more favorable for the Seidou High School baseball team.
As the pitch count rises, Narumiya's stamina will start to weaken, and his pitch speed and effectiveness will decline.
At that point, if Narumiya wants to continue striking out batters, he will have to throw even more pitches!
In this vicious cycle, the players from Inashiro High School will likely be the first to collapse before Seidou High School.
Unconsciously, Seidou High School, which was initially trailing, has now taken the initiative on offense and very violently at that.
This is the terrifying part of Sawamura.
The game has already started to follow his rhythm.
But now, everyone is caught up in those 14 strikeouts and most haven't noticed this.
With this thought, Fujio looked deeply at Sawamura.
He had seen many high school prodigies before, but a player like Sawamura — strong in ability yet able to maintain control — was a first for him!
Sawamura Eijun is a prime example of a young prodigy who has maintained his composure. His fame has already surpassed that of some professional stars in Japan.
For a high school player to receive such praise is quite normal to expect some self-destructive pride.
But Sawamura is far from that.
He continues to take one step at a time, steadily advancing.
Every time Fujio watches Sawamura play, he can't help but feel this sense of awe.
Though the feeling is the same each time, the emotions it stirs up are more intense than before.
And now, those feelings are nearly overwhelming.
The game continues.
Narumiya Mei, the big fish, has already taken the bait!
But Sawamura has no intention of letting up.
Fishing is like that: patience is key. If you pull the line too soon when the fish bites, it's hard to catch it. In fact, you might just scare it away!
Being too hasty is not good, and waiting too long isn't good either.
If you wait too long, the fish might just take the bait and swim away.
So, when fishing, the timing must be perfect. You have to let Narumiya bite a little deeper before you reel him in.
To do that, Sawamura must continue striking out batters.
In the top of the fourth inning, Sawamura faced his toughest challenge yet.
Next, he would face the second batter of Inashiro, Shirakawa, the third batter Narumiya, and the fourth batter Yamaoka Riku.
To truly get Narumiya cornered, Sawamura needed to strike them all out.
He glanced at the cameras and recording devices in the stands, and a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
If given a choice, he would prefer not to reveal his hidden cards so soon.
But facing Inashiro, there was no way he could afford to hold back.
'I won't hold back anymore!'
Sawamura, on the mound, seemed to have made up his mind, and without hesitation, he prepared to pitch.
WHRROOSH!
Here it comes!
Seeing the ball flying toward him, Shirakawa's eyes gleamed with sharpness.
He sensed that Sawamura's pitch would be extraordinary.
So he tensed up, mentally preparing himself.
The moment the small baseball flew toward him, he was ready to strike it.
No hesitation, no holding back.
Without making Shirakawa wait too long, the pitch arrived like a shooting star.
Facing the blazing fast pitch, Shirakawa timed his swing and took his shot.
Ping!
The moment his bat met the ball, Shirakawa's expression froze.
It seemed he had underestimated Sawamura. Not only does this guy throw tricky pitches, but even his fastballs are not to be taken lightly.
Though he barely made contact, he couldn't hit the ball far.
He could only watch helplessly as the ball dropped Foul on the third base side.
"FOUL!"
At the catcher's position, Miyuki knew exactly what Sawamura intended to do and quickly signaled for the next pitch.
After the fastball, Shirakawa lowered his stance, aiming to enhance both his power and accuracy.
Miyuki, seeing this, immediately gave Sawamura the signal, and Sawamura threw his signature Magic ball!
Among all of Sawamura's breaking balls, the Level 3 Magic ball has the widest range of movement.
Just as expected, Shirakawa couldn't make contact with the ball, which broke sharply.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!!"
With just two pitches, Sawamura had Shirakawa in a tough spot.
Without hesitation, he threw his third pitch.
'Damn…!'
Shirakawa felt his eyes almost pop out as he tried to track the pitch.
Sawamura didn't give him time to think; one breaking ball after another.
Shirakawa could only swing based on instinct, with no time to analyze the pitcher's strategy.
The pitch came down sharply just as he was about to hit it…
Shirakawa swung and missed again.
SNAP!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
With that, Sawamura used a breaking ball to strike out Shirakawa.
He secured the first out in a beautiful fashion!
The fans in the stands were ecstatic.
"Eighth! Eighth in a row!"
Although they had a feeling something big might happen, it was still just a feeling.
Now, however, they could feel it clearly.
Could this be the moment when everything changes? Could this be the beginning of something huge?
The Demon King Sawamura Eijun's pitching rhythm seems to be getting smoother and smoother, doesn't it?
"I won't let you go on any longer!"
Narumiya Mei, in the Batter's Box, gritted his teeth and snarled.
That brat Eijun must have been cheating today. He struck out Carlos and Shirakawa, and that too on their second trips to the plate!
Narumiya wasn't dumb — he knew what this meant.
Sawamura was on fire.
He had to stop this brat, or else he wouldn't be able to contain him at all.
Determined to hit Sawamura's pitch, Narumiya swung, but he never managed to make contact!
Straight-Fastball!
Changeup!
Finally, a Splitter!!
A completely different kind of breaking ball from what he had expected, and Narumiya couldn't handle it.
Three consecutive swings and misses!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
With two strikeouts in a row, Sawamura's momentum was unstoppable.
Next, he would face the fourth batter from Inashiro High, Yamaoka Riku.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
Another three Strikeouts, another nine pitches.
After four innings, Sawamura had only thrown 37 pitches in total.
With this kind of pace, he could go on for 15 innings without much worry.
On the other hand, Narumiya wasn't so lucky.
In the bottom of the fourth, Seidou's turn to bat began.
The first to step up to the plate was the third batter, and pitcher — Sawamura Eijun.
...