"17:1! The team that broke through the second round of the Koshien is the champion, the Seidou High School!"
In this game, none of the core players of the Seidou Baseball Team were on the field.
The team that played was made up of substitute players and new students.
Even with such a lineup, they still crushed their opponents to the point where they didn't know where to go.
In this game, the Seidou Baseball Team showed all the fans across the country what it means to be a champion. What does it mean to be strong?
The only flaw was that near the end of the game, they let their guard down and were hit by the opponent.
This left a small stain on their glorious record.
It also somewhat dampened the spirits of the substitute players, who had been in high spirits until that point.
According to Coach Kataoka and the Seidou Baseball Team's coaching staff's original plan, they aimed to crush all their opponents. If they could do so without letting any opponent score a single point and complete all the games with a shutout, that would have made everything even more perfect.
However, that beautiful wish was naturally no longer achievable.
Because by the last round, they had already allowed a point. As a result, the dream of shutting out all their opponents became an impossible one.
They couldn't make it a reality.
Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff must have been disappointed, right? Because their substitutes were not strong enough.
This good plan was now falling apart.
But the substitutes were wrong about something.
That unrealistic fantasy was already thrown out the window after the Seidou Baseball Team's coaching staff saw the game between Kanetsu-Norin and Seijitsu.
Their most important goal was still to win the championship. That was the foundation of their legend.
Everything else was just a bonus.
If they had it, that would be nice; if they didn't, it wouldn't really matter.
The most important thing was to defeat all the strong enemies they encountered along the way.
Why did Coach Kataoka adjust the lineup at the last minute?
The reason was actually simple. After seeing the strength of the opponent, he no longer had the same level of big-headed confidence.
To deal with Kanetsu-Norin, he even played mind games with them before the match.
Against their second-round opponent in the Koshien, the Seidou Baseball Team unexpectedly went out with all substitutes.
As Seidou's opponent, Kanetsu-Norin had to take this into account when preparing to face the Seidou Baseball Team.
Of course, they would prepare for Seidou's main players and lineup, and they had to be cautious of them.
But they couldn't afford to take the substitutes lightly either.
After all, even if all the players on the field were substitutes, the Seidou Baseball Team's strength was still terrifying.
From Kanetsu-Norin's perspective, they had no right to slack off on either side.
They had to be thorough on both sides, or they wouldn't have a chance to compete with Seidou High School.
Originally, Kanetsu-Norin only needed to prepare information on 9 players and research one lineup for the match.
Now, they had to double that.
The match between the two teams was in four days.
Would Kanetsu-Norin have enough time to prepare all this information and make all the strategies?
Coach Kataoka and the Seidou Baseball Team's coaches weren't sure.
But causing trouble for the opponent? Why wouldn't Kataoka want that?
As for the original fantasy, after seeing the opponent's strength, Coach Kataoka ruthlessly threw it away.
Winning was the top priority. Advancing was the most important thing.
Anything else, in the pursuit of the final victory, could be sacrificed.
Coach Kataoka never expected his strategy to completely fool the opponent.
Kanetsu-Norin made it this far, and though it was based on their strength and fighting spirit, someone must have been giving them meticulous guidance along the way.
Without that help, they could never have come this far.
If there were a strategist behind them, they would definitely understand Kataoka's plan.
But once they understood, what could they do about it?
This was a well-planned open strategy. Even if the opponent knew all the details, they would still fall for it.
Even if they understood Kataoka's plan, wouldn't they be on high alert for both Seidou's main and substitute players?
They would definitely be guessing what kind of lineup Seidou would field when they played.
Once they started guessing, they had already fallen into the trap Kataoka set up for them.
The Seidou Baseball Team successfully reached the third round.
Only one more match remained before the quarter-finals redraw for the finals.
If their instincts were correct, their final opponent in this match would be the unexpected Super-Dark Horse—Kanetsu-Norin.
In fact, the day after Seidou High School's baseball team advanced to the top 16, Kanetsu-Norin did the same. They easily defeated their opponent.
Especially their Ace, Hoshitaru, who left a deep impression on everyone.
Six appearances in the Batter's Box, six hits.
They scored a total of 14 runs against the opponent, with more than 20 hits.
On the other side, he pitched 110 pitches, and not a single batter reached base.
First game: shutout!
The second game: another shutout!
Meanwhile, they managed to land 10 hits.
Such terrifying offensive efficiency combined with pitching prowess.
Hoshitaru's performance was even more impressive than Sawamura Eijun's when he first entered Koshien.
If there was one downside, it was that Hoshitaru was already a third-year player.
In other words, although Kanetsu-Norin had faced tremendous challenges to get to this point, this was their last chance.
It would be impossible to see them perform again after this.
Meanwhile, Sawamura had just established his reputation when he was still a freshman.
Therefore, the intimidation factor of the "Demon King" was still stronger than Hoshitaru's.
This small team somehow made it this far. It was nothing short of a miracle.
The Seidou High School baseball team successfully advanced to the top 16.
Two games, two dominant victories.
Seidou High School was the first to start, but their group's final match was the third to last.
By the time they were about to play, several teams had already secured their group victories.
The teams that secured early victories didn't have any surprising outcomes.
Seidou's teammates secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least, the world hadn't gone crazy.
Previously, they almost started doubting that the world was against them.
Thankfully, the five teams advancing hadn't exceeded Seidou High School's expectations.
All were familiar faces, or rather, their rivals.
The first team to qualify was Teito High School, also from Tokyo, just like Seidou High School.
The Mukai Taiyo signature 3D pitching was finally making a splash at Koshien Stadium.
Against this pitch, their opponents were nearly driven mad.
There were hardly any baseball plays during the entire game, with just two hits in total.
The final score was 7:0.
Inui made two hits, one of which was a home run.
His performance was so impressive that he fully deserved his spot in the fourth batting position.
Although the game between Seidou High School and Kanetsu-Norin attracted a lot of attention, with almost 90% of the media focusing on them,
there were still several major media outlets that highly praised Teito High School's performance.
Teito, having previously dominated the nation twice, had completely revived.
According to their coach, Mukai Taiyo was the kind of player who had the 'fire' in him.
A team with such a player could never be weak.
The second team to advance was the Emperor of Hokkaido.
The score was 11:0.
Their opponent was a powerful team from Shizuoka Prefecture, which was also quite strong.
They were eliminated early by the Emperor of the North, with a very miserable scoreline.
Hongou Masumi directly focused on the Demon King, his eyes filled with challenges.
It seemed like he wanted to challenge Sawamura Eijun.
With his current strength and his team's abilities, he indeed had the qualification to do so.
The third team to advance was Seihou, led by Akashi.
The star player has revived from ashes, performing exceptionally well in the previous games.
The final score was 6:0.
Without fully exerting themselves, Seihou easily defeated their opponent.
The fourth team to qualify was Hakuryu High School from Gunma Prefecture.
This was a frequent visitor to Koshien, ranked number one in national machine power.
They had faced Seidou High School many times before and were very strong.
In their second-round match, they defeated their opponent 8:1.
If Hakuryu High School had a weakness, it was that their ace pitcher, Ouno, couldn't compare to those of other teams.
Thus, they often lost out in pitching battles.
More teams also advanced, and not only were they familiar to Seidou High School, but Sawamura was especially familiar with them.
They were from Nagano Prefecture, a powerhouse.
The team had a group of players who had been Sawamura's old rivals in Nagano.
Though their school had only been established a few years ago, with the addition of Nagano's golden generation, they achieved great results.
In regional competitions, they crushed their opponents with ease.
This game was no different—they easily crushed their opponents.
The final score: was 20:0!
Their Ace pitcher, Nanami Haruka, who also came from Sawamura's region, pitched a perfect nine innings in just 71 pitches.
During this process, no opponent managed to reach base.
His performance was so incredible that it drew widespread attention.
If it weren't for the sudden rise of Kanetsu-Norin, they would have seemed like the biggest threat to Seidou High School.
...