A few days later...
"Whoa..."
"That bastard Ushijima has gone completely overboard."
"He won another three MVP awards?"
"How many MVPs does he have now?"
The retired third-year seniors stared at the news on their phones in disbelief.
Kominato thought about it for a moment.
"Ever since the Kanto Tournament began, every MVP on our team has gone to Ushijima."
"He won six MVPs during the Summer Tournament qualifiers."
"Another six at Summer Koshien."
"And now three more in the Autumn Tournament preliminary round."
"He must have over twenty MVP awards by now."
Isashiki couldn't help exclaiming,
"In the first preliminary game against Toyosaki High, he hit two home runs."
"A two-run homer and a grand slam."
"In the second game against To-Minoh, he hit another solo home run."
"And in the final preliminary game against Seishou..."
"He hit two more."
"Five home runs in just three games."
"That brings his official career total to twenty."
Even Isashiki found it unbelievable.
Masuko sighed enviously.
"I haven't even hit ten home runs in three years."
Everyone laughed bitterly.
There really wasn't anything they could say.
Yuki calmly asked,
"How many at-bats?"
Kominato answered,
"Against Toyosaki, batting cleanup, he had four at-bats before the game ended by mercy rule in the fifth inning."
"The next two games also ended after five innings."
"He had four at-bats in each."
Kominato calculated for a moment.
"That means..."
"Five home runs in twelve official at-bats."
"That's a home run rate of over forty percent."
Yuki narrowed his eyes.
"If that's the case..."
"Once the Autumn Tournament reaches the main bracket, opponents will probably start intentionally walking him."
Everyone immediately understood what he meant.
Isashiki nodded.
"Exactly."
"If every opponent intentionally walks Ushijima..."
"Then everything depends on the hitters behind him."
"If they can't bring him home..."
"Even if Ushijima reaches third base..."
"He'll still be stranded."
Chris, however, smiled.
"I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing."
Everyone turned toward him.
Chris rested his chin on one hand.
"The more home runs Ushijima hits..."
"The more every opponent fears him."
"They'll begin intentionally walking him sooner rather than later."
"When that happens..."
"It becomes the responsibility of the hitters behind him."
"If they can't produce base hits..."
"Then Ushijima will simply be left on base."
"That pressure..."
"Will force the rest of the lineup to improve."
"They'll have no choice but to train even harder."
After hearing Chris's explanation...
Everyone slowly nodded.
It actually made a lot of sense.
Isashiki then asked,
"But Miyuki bats fifth."
"Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Chris shook his head.
"Not necessarily."
"What if Ushijima leads off an inning?"
"The first three batters could easily go down in order during the opening inning."
"That would make Ushijima the leadoff hitter in the second."
"If he's intentionally walked..."
"He could steal second."
"Even third."
"But Miyuki could simply be walked as well."
"There would still be open bases."
"The real question..."
"Is whether Maezono batting sixth..."
"And Toujou or Furuya behind him..."
"Can drive those runners home."
Everyone fell silent.
That really was Seido's biggest weakness.
The bottom half of the batting order was simply too inconsistent.
At the same time...
Coach Kataoka was thinking about the exact same problem.
Rei Takashima suggested,
"What do you think about moving Furuya down to ninth?"
"We could bat Toujou and Kanemaru seventh and eighth instead."
Coach Kataoka slowly shook his head.
"I actually want Maezono batting eighth."
Rei looked surprised.
"I originally considered batting him seventh."
"But Maezono isn't fast."
"He isn't a player who can steal bases."
"He's purely a power hitter."
"If he isn't producing extra-base hits..."
"Then he needs runners already on base."
Coach Kataoka pointed toward the lineup sheet.
"Let's say the first inning ends with the top three batters retired."
"Then the fourth, fifth, and sixth hitters also go down in order during the second."
"That makes the seventh batter the leadoff hitter in the third inning."
"If Maezono bats seventh..."
"He'll have difficulty reaching base unless he hits the ball deep."
"His speed isn't good enough to consistently beat out infield hits."
"So..."
"I'd rather move him to eighth."
"If Kanemaru reaches base first..."
"Even an ordinary hit from Maezono can still advance the runner."
Rei nodded.
It was a logical arrangement.
Looking purely at the statistics...
First-year Kanemaru already owned a higher batting average than Maezono.
Among Seido's current starters...
Only Maezono and Furuya were batting below .200.
Of course...
Furuya was a pitcher.
His weaker batting wasn't unexpected.
Meanwhile...
Practice had just ended.
Ushijima looked directly at Furuya.
"I seriously don't understand."
"You wanted to pitch."
"We gave you opportunities."
"You wanted to start."
"So we let you start."
"Then why..."
"Are your outings still so unstable?"
Furuya lowered his head.
Yesterday's game against Seishou had once again exposed the same problem.
He had started on the mound...
But gave up two runs almost immediately.
Fortunately...
Seido's offense exploded, allowing them to end the game early under the mercy rule.
Otherwise...
Those early runs might have cost them the game.
After all...
In baseball...
Losing by a single run is enough to end your season.
Intentional walks alone can completely neutralize the heart of a lineup.
"I'm sorry..."
Furuya quietly muttered.
Ushijima immediately interrupted him.
"We don't need an apology."
"I want to know why."
"Your condition is fine."
"Your velocity is there."
"You've got good stuff."
"So why do you always lose control once you're in an actual game?"
"Why are there always wild pitches?"
"Why do your fastballs keep missing the target?"
"What exactly is the problem?"
Furuya remained silent.
"...I don't know."
"I really don't know."
The rest of the team quietly watched.
Sawamura.
Kawakami.
Toujou.
All of Seido's pitchers stood nearby.
Ushijima sighed before speaking again.
"If this continues..."
"I'm not trying to scare you."
"But you won't just lose your place as a starting pitcher."
"You could lose your place in the lineup altogether."
Furuya slowly clenched his fists.
"Asou's batting has improved."
"His contact rate is already better than yours."
"If your pitching stays unstable..."
"And your batting doesn't improve..."
"There's a very real chance you won't even remain a starter."
"You'll become a substitute."
"Kawakami and Sawamura can handle the rotation."
"If the team runs into trouble..."
"I'll take the mound."
"As for you..."
"You'll be watching from the bench."
Those words struck Furuya harder than any fastball.
He lowered his head even further.
Unable to say a single word.
Standing nearby, Miyuki also wore a troubled expression.
He had been catching Furuya throughout the three preliminary games.
Every inning had felt like walking a tightrope.
Fortunately...
Their opponents hadn't been particularly strong.
And Seido's offense had scored more than enough runs to erase Furuya's early mistakes.
But against powerhouse teams...
Those same mistakes could easily end their season.
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pa-treon com/Scabitsin