Throughout the weeks' worth of training before the tournament, I was pushing myself every day.
I started off the morning with agility and stamina training before official training started.
I then trained with the first-string, the pitchers focused on fielding drills and situational pitching with a runner on base.
I was still rusty on the fielding drills, but I was picking things up quickly.
I really felt the effects of the 'Pickoff' skill as I thrived during the situational pitching.
The runners on base either were too slow to get to the next base before Miyuki could throw them out at the next base, or I picked them off before they could return to the base.
From the runner's perspective, they didn't know what was happening.
They felt like they were their mind and body were being dragged through wet mud.
Whenever they looked at Sawamura on the mound, they felt a pressuring aura holding them down.
Coach, who was looking over the training and focusing mainly on the two new pitchers of the team, was impressed by the way Sawamura handled himself on the mound with a runner in play.
He kept himself calm and wasn't flustered by the presence or the steals of the runners which allowed him to get the outs when he needed them.
'His fielding still needs some work but he's good at pickoffs, he's almost ready.' Coach thought.
After that, the team would eat and go to school.
After school we would be back to training again.
I used this training to pair up with Chris to further enhance my pitches.
He had really opened throughout the week, and he was even teaching me things that I hadn't fully focused on before like why a catcher calls a certain pitch in a certain situation.
This made me remember the sessions Miyuki would have in a years' time in the manga where the pitchers and catchers of the team would discuss this very subject.
***
"Chris-senpai, how would you feel if we did some group sessions with the first-string catchers and pitchers and discuss this sort of thing? I think it'll help improve some of the players' game intelligence and help the team overall." I asked him. During one of our sessions.
He considered my suggestion for a moment and then agreed it would be beneficial.
"I agree but I'm not sure if Tanba or Miyuki will agree." He replied.
"Well, I'm sure Tanba-senpai would agree to it if you were the one suggesting it. As for Miyuki, I could persuade him by saying something like 'wouldn't it be great if the pitchers had the same thoughts as you on the next pitch and be less reluctant to shake their head at your calls' or something like that." I said with a smirk.
Chris slightly smiled at that.
"True, that is probably the best way to get Miyuki on board." He said back to me.
***
After that, we went to them a suggested the meetings.
They were both reluctant but agreed in the end by our persuasion.
We managed to get all pitchers and catchers from the first-string and also quite a few from the second-string as well as they wanted to join.
We would have these sessions after training, either in Chris' or Miyuki's room and talked and discussed pitches and why they were called and in what situations.
It was very eye-opening as it made me think deeper into how I could use this information during games and be able to understand Miyuki more when he will give me signs.
After the pitcher/catcher sessions, I would spend a bit of time with Miyuki so he could catch my pitch.
On the first session we had, Chris decided to join us to give Miyuki information about each pitch and my habits and traits as a pitcher to help Miyuki become more familiar.
***
Miyuki called for a four-seam high and inside.
WHOOOOOOOSH
BAANG
Goosebumps.
Miyuki's arms and back were shivering.
The last pitch he caught for Sawamura was back when he faced off against Azuma.
Back then, Miyuki was excited because Sawamura was good and had a lot of potential.
But that pitch just now, it was on a different level.
The speed and impact had gotten better by leaps and the accuracy of the pitch was perfect.
Miyuki then called for a splitter.
WHOOOOOOOSH
SHUM
BAANG
The impact was solid and crisp, another round of goosebumps attacked Miyuki, his eyes were shaking a little from Sawamura's splitter.
"It's scary, isn't it? That splitter." Chris said from beside him.
"It has the exact same pace and path as his four-seam and then drops at the last second with such power that it almost pushes your mitt back." He continued.
Miyuki gave a big grin with fire in his eyes.
"Yeah, it's a deadly weapon. Definitely game-ready." Miyuki replied.
He then called for a cutter, high inside.
WHOOOOSH
SHHWWIIPP
BANG
Executed perfectly.
Two-seam, low and away.
WHOOOOOSH
BANG
Change up.
Whoosh
Pah
'Huh?'
Miyuki was frozen for a second when he finally realised something.
"Did you notice?" Chris asked with a smirk. "I also noticed it after seeing all his pitches. It's honestly scary when I dwell on it. Every single different pitch Sawamura has, has the exact same pitching form and motion. There is not a single variation in his movement for different pitches. They all look the same. And with his unique form that hides his throwing arm from the batter, no batter will know what pitch it is until last second." He continued.
Miyuki got goosebumps for the third time in a couple of minutes.
"How does he do that?" Miyuki asked.
"He said it's because the only he changes between each pitch is his grip. He said when he started playing baseball, he didn't have a proper teacher to teach him pitching so he just adapted and started changing his grip on every pitch, eventually becoming a moving fastball with unpredictable, uncontrollable movements. He said that the different grips were his inspiration for his breaking balls." Chris replied with a glint in his eye.
"He has been on his own, working by himself to improve what he has. Now that he's at Seido, it's our job to help his progress and keep an eye on him so he doesn't fall running on his own." Chris continued.
Miyuki thought about Chris words for a while.
'What he said is right. What I know about Sawamura is from what I heard from Rei-chan. Sawamura has indeed been working on his own for a while now. He was the lonely Ace in his old team. We need to bring out his maximum potential while supporting his back.' He thought with a determined face.
Miyuki was seriously excited by catching for Sawamura.
Being paired up with Furuya was exciting as well as the speed and power Furuya had was like no other.
However, catching for Sawamura was different.
Precise pitches, exactly where he wanted, whereas Furuya's accuracy was nonexistent, he threw more balls than strikes in the bullpen.
Good speed and power that has a solid impact on the mitt because they hit their targets everytime.
It was not as powerful as Furuya's, but it was close, if Sawamura continued to improve as he has, it wouldn't be long.
Sawamura's pitches were more comfortable for Miyuki to catch as well.
It was a breath of fresh air from caching for Furuya because Miyuki had to move his glove to catch Furuya's pitch, Miyuki had to work twice as hard to ensure the catch. Not like he was complaining though, he enjoyed the challenge.
Sawamura also had incredibly versatile pitches which complement each other and could have unlimited variations and sequences that gave Miyuki lots of options.
Throughout the time Miyuki hadn't been looking at him, Sawamura was sprinting as fast as he could, improving at a rapid pace.
'If I'm not careful, I'll be left behind. I need to train harder.' Miyuki thought to himself with fire in his eyes.
"You know what's the funniest thing about it?" Chris asked Miyuki.
"What was it, senpai?" Miyuki responded.
"Sawamura said that he's not complete yet." Christ replied.
"What? He isn't complete even with the arsenal he has?"
"Yeah, apparently, he will probably stick to this arsenal and just improve his physical traits during this year. Unless he gets an 'inspiration' on a new pitch, he said." Chris said whilst holding up two fingers on either hand and bending them on the word 'inspiration'.
"This crazy brat!" Miyuki said with a smirk.
He then looked at Chris for a moment, seeing his cloudy eyes had disappeared, replaced with a sharp glint.
He then chuckled.
"Haha, Chris-senpai, it looks like pairing up for Sawamura has been the best thing for you!" Miyuki teased, remembering Chris' reluctance to pair with Sawamura at the start.
"Yeah, it has. You should have seen our first session. He called me out immediately with no remorse. I felt like I was being lectured by my father, hahah!" Chris responded with a laugh.
"Hahah I guess that means I can't be lazy in front of Sawamura, otherwise it'll be my turn for a lecture." Miyuki responded.
"Oi, you two!" a voice came at them, making them both snap to the first year on the mound.
"Are you guys going to keep gossiping like a bunch of old women at the market or are we gonna keep going? My shoulder is getting cold here!" Sawamura scolded.
Both Chris and Miyuki looked at each other for a second and then burst out laughing.
"Oi!" Sawamura retorted.
"Alright, alright! We're ready, you brat!" Miyuki then threw the ball back to Sawamura.
***
This schedule kept up until the end of the week.
The night before the start of the Kanto tournament, Coach, Chris and Miyuki were in Coach's office.
"So, how was it pairing with the two rookies?" He asked them.
"They're both monsters that don't ever stop training." Miyuki said with a smirk.
"Agreed." Chris said.
"Do you think they're both ready for the Kanto tournament?" Coach asked.
Miyuki was the first one to speak up.
"Furuya's power and speed is like no other, batters will never touch the ball if they swing. However, if the batters decide not to swing, we might have a problem then." Miyuki said with a serious face. "His pitching is still uncontrolled, and his accuracy is still way off mark. He throws more balls than strikes, even in the bullpen."
"What about Sawamura?" Coach asked, turning to Chris.
"Honestly, the only thing Sawamura needs right now is experience in games. His pitches have been perfect all week, he has refined them all to an unbelievable level. His power is looking good, there are still improvements in that area but there's no need to rush that. His accuracy is top class, he will throw where you tell him to every pitch. His pickoffs are good too, he only needs some work in fielding. If anyone is ready to play in the Kanto tournament, it's Sawamura." Chris said, dep in thought as he analysed Sawamura's progress.
The Coach smirked while listening to Chris analysis.
"It looks like he's grown on you." Coach said, looking at Chris. "I can see the muddiness has cleared from your eyes as well. Did Sawamura's pitching cause your newfound motivation."
Chris was a little stunned at this.
But then he sighed a little.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you Coach? You paired me and Sawamura up to try and rile me up." Chris asked
"I'm not sure what you mean." The Coach said.
He then moved on from the topic.
"Okay, from what you're telling me is that out of the two, Sawamura is more ready to play in the game tomorrow, is that right?" He asked.
"Yes, Coach." They both replied.
"Okay, we'll start with Tanba tomorrow and then bring on Sawamura sometime in the game." Coach said.
***
At the same time, unaware to the conversation in the coaches' office, I was swinging a bat on one of the fields.
After a while, I checked the stats screen. Throughout the week, they had been a couple of improvements.
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: A-
>Pitching: A+
>Batting: B-
>Fielding: C-
>Game Intelligence: B+
>Mental: A+
Skills: 10
I had improved in a few areas.
My pitching, batting, fielding and game intelligence had gone up since I last looked at it.
I was happy with the changes, but I kept my head clear.
'I'm ready to play whenever, hopefully Coach lets take the mound tomorrow.' I thought with a clenched fist.