They had already lost!
In the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout,
The main first-team players, those who hadn't had the chance to play, had gloomy faces.
The team had gained an overwhelming advantage, and logically, they should have been happy.
But they just couldn't feel happy.
The substitutes and freshmen were too capable—so capable, in fact, that it exceeded their expectations.
4:0.
With Seidou High School's rigorous training, unless Luck completely favored Jouyou High School, It was very unlikely that they could make a comeback.
This also meant that the main first-team players had almost no hope of returning to the field in this game.
In other words, they were stuck on the cold bench, watching this game unfold.
"The outcome is decided."
Coach Ochiai rubbed his small goatee and muttered.
If there was anyone who understood Coach Kataoka's thinking the most, it was probably Coach Ochiai.
While there were many experienced tacticians in the Seidou High School baseball team, because they were players, they often viewed things from a player's perspective.
Only Coach Ochiai, who looked at things from the same perspective as Coach Kataoka, could see things from the coach's viewpoint.
It was because of this that, in the previous game, they saw firsthand the power of the Kanetsu-Norin.
Players have their own feelings.
As Coaches, Ochiai and Kataoka shared a similar sentiment.
Overall, Seeing Kanetsu-Norin eliminate one of the elite teams, Seijitsu, was quite a shock.
While the players were still stunned, they couldn't help but make a comparison.
If they were in Seijitsu's shoes, could they win this game?
The answer was uncertain.
In each player's heart, the answer might be different.
Most of the Seidou players were still optimistic.
They believed that victory would eventually belong to Seidou.
That pitcher named Hoshitaru had shown incredibly impressive skill during the game.
But the Seidou High School baseball team's teammates had more faith in their own Big Demon King's abilities.
Both were monsters.
But the monster that was Sawamura Eijun was definitely stronger than the other.
Even if Luck favored the other side, and by some miracle the two players were on equal footing.
Seidou High School's players were confident they could win based on their own abilities.
So, their final conclusion was often quite optimistic.
They generally believed that even though the opponent was strong, in the end,
Victory would definitely belong to them!
But from a Coach's standpoint, such thinking was too naïve.
Baseball games were never just about pure strength.
If it were, teams would simply compete based on their overall strength and just crown the strongest as the champion.
Why even play the game?
Moreover, according to that theory, even if an underdog rose and eventually defeated their opponent,
As long as the comparison of overall strength showed the underdog to be weaker,
They would be eliminated.
Is that reasonable?
Isn't that nonsense?
Since it's a competition, it must be filled with uncertainty.
No one knows for sure who will win in the end.
It could be the stronger one, or it could be the weaker one.
It's unpredictable.
And even if there's a huge gap in strength, there are still games where the weaker side makes a comeback.
From a player's perspective, they only compare the players' strengths.
But from a Coach's perspective, they have to look beyond just that.
They need to have a long-term view.
They consider the entire team's performance.
For Seidou High School's baseball team, individually, they definitely held the upper hand.
But when you consider the whole team, Seidou's advantage still exists,
But it's not as large as everyone originally thought!
Seijitsu.
Even among the many elite teams in Koshien, their team was still top-tier.
From Coach Kataoka's and Coach Ochiai's perspectives, they could see certain clues.
In that game, Kanetsu-Norin had done considerable preparation in advance.
That's why they were able to suppress their opponent so thoroughly.
This team didn't just have a monster pitcher.
They also had an extremely knowledgeable baseball strategist and strong execution.
All of this had obviously been carefully planned ahead of time…
Back to the game.
The Seidou High School baseball team's offense ended at 4 runs.
Yuma, a capable and experienced player, quickly adjusted his pitching strategy when he sensed things weren't going well.
He started to go head-to-head with Seidou's offense.
Before the main first-team players were sidelined, they didn't have the courage to do that.
Now, they had the guts to try!
"The pitching style has changed!"
In the resting area of the Seidou High School baseball team, the teammates who weren't able to play and were simply killing time, keenly noticed that the pitcher from Jouyou High School had made a big change.
He no longer relied on his speed and control like before to directly face off against the Seidou High School team. Instead, he opted for a more indirect approach, beginning to force Seidou's batters into difficult situations, and then relying on his defense to secure outs.
Originally, the Seidou High School players on the field had figured out their opponent's weaknesses. But with this change in rhythm, their planned strategies immediately became useless.
It was all for nothing!
"These guys are interesting!"
Teams that can make it to Koshien are indeed not to be underestimated.
Now Jouyou High School was the same.
This pitcher, Yuma, had deliberately kept this strategy as a trump card, and it seemed like he wanted to surprise the Seidou players.
I have to say, this was a good idea, but was it really that easy to pull off?
Although Seidou's substitutes and freshmen were significantly weaker compared to the regular players, these kids had been handpicked by Seidou's top talents.
They certainly weren't weak. They couldn't possibly lose to Jouyou High's team.
In the first inning, no one scored.
In the second inning, no one scored.
In the third inning, Seidou scored four runs.
Then, in the fourth and fifth innings, the Jouyou pitcher Yuma changed his usual pitching rhythm and started playing a more strategic game with Seidou's batters.
The Seidou players, who had grown used to Yuma's previous pitching, found it difficult to adjust to the new strategy.
As a result, after two innings, they only scored one run.
The score was now 5:0.
Though they managed to get one run, the players of Seidou High weren't feeling happy.
They could clearly sense that the opponent was weak. From how they felt, they could easily dominate and win.
However, in reality, they were not able to take advantage of their situation.
If not for the reliable pitching of Kawakami, they wouldn't even have been able to secure this much of a lead.
This wasn't acceptable!
They had worked so hard to get this playing opportunity, and they didn't want to let it slip away just like that.
Additionally, the ones on the field were mostly first-year rookies and third-year veterans.
The third-years, needless to say, were keen to perform well in their final major competition.
The rookies were the same.
As first-years, they were eager to show what they could do.
With this intense urgency in mind, the game had fallen into a stalemate.
No wonder they were all fidgeting like ants on a hot pan, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Coach Kataoka soon noticed the players' mental state.
This wasn't a good mindset. If it wasn't handled well, it might even lead to mistakes.
Although Kataoka hadn't planned on spending too much energy on this game, he realized that he had to change his original plans.
During a break in the game, he gathered the players together to talk to them and adjust their mindset.
"You've all been playing great, there's no need to rush," Kataoka first affirmed their earlier performance.
Though the players were not satisfied with their previous play, hearing their Coach's acknowledgment made them happy.
One by one, they started to relax.
"I understand that you all want to perform well on the field," Coach Kataoka said, changing his usual stern tone to that of a comforting teacher.
"This anxious mindset may have led to some missteps. But in reality, our opponents are not weak!"
At this point, Coach Kataoka's gaze became sharp, and he stared at his players seriously, emphasizing each word.
"A team that makes it to Koshien is on the same level as us. Don't burden yourselves with mental pressure. Relax your minds, and go all out in your showdown with them. Treat them as if they were Inashiro, understand?"
"Understood!!"
Kataoka's method of teaching, first sweet and then harsh, was effective.
The players who had been somewhat anxious now finally calmed down.
After playing through several innings, they had begun to realize that their opponents were not as easy to deal with.
It wouldn't be easy to hit a home run or even a long hit.
In this situation, they could only choose to calm their minds and deal with the opponent more steadily.
Take it step by step, one inning at a time.
By the sixth inning, Seidou's players began to change their approach, adapting to the rhythm of the opponent.
In this inning, with consecutive hits from Asou and Higasa, Seidou's team managed to score another run.
The score was now 6:0.
The following players also sent another runner home.
Instead of being overconfident, they took a more cautious approach, focusing on getting the runners home first.
Though they sacrificed two players, Higasa managed to get the runner back home.
With that, Seidou's lead expanded to 7 runs.
The score became 7:0.
By the end of this inning, looking at the huge gap on the scoreboard, Jouyou's players knew they had no hope left.
They were bound to lose this game!
Not even if they brought together the best players in the nation could they recover such a large deficit in the remaining innings.
This was still under the condition that Seidou didn't change their pitcher.
If Seidou switched pitchers, things would only get worse for them.
At this point, the only hope left for Jouyou's team was to try and keep the deficit under 10 runs.
If they could finish the game with a single-digit score difference, at least it would look better.
Losing to Seidou was the most normal thing in the high school baseball world.
It seemed no team could say with confidence that they could win when facing Seidou.
As long as they could hold their ground and not make their loss too embarrassing, they would be content.
Honestly, Jouyou's players' dreams weren't unreasonable.
They had already conceded defeat, they just wanted to maintain some dignity.
Why not give them that?
If Seidou's main players were out there right now, they might have given Jouyou this small request.
Unfortunately, the players on the field for Seidou were not fulfilling even this small favor.
By the seventh inning, with one out and runners on first and third base, the fourth batter, Yuuki Masashi, was up.
Yūki had previously hit a grand slam, bringing in 4 runs in one go.
The score was 7:0, and the runs Yūki had brought in accounted for the majority of that.
With such a player standing in the Batter's Box, Jouyou should have been highly cautious.
But they weren't. Their earlier grand slam was seen by Jouyou's players as just a fluke.
They still believed they could face Yūki head-on.
After all, didn't they take him out in their previous confrontation?
They thought this time might end with the same result.
With that in mind, Yuma confidently threw the ball.
Whoosh!
…