Chapter 350: The Tactics of Both Sides
After Miyuki was shut down and stopped talking, Chris-senpai turned his head and handed Sendo a banana.
"But that was really close. Just a little more!"
"No. The bat was just suppressed by the pitch's power. And I didn't hit the sweet spot either. My hands are still a bit numb. Tate-san has really improved a lot," Sendo replied while looking at his hand, placing the banana on the bench.
"I see," Chris-senpai said gently as always.
Truly gentle.
After that short conversation, everyone's attention returned to the field.
Tetsu's duel was about to begin.
Although there was one out with a runner on second, Kiryu no longer intended to face Tetsu head-on.
On one hand, the risk was too high.
On the other hand, they didn't want Tetsu getting used to the pitch patterns too easily.
If they wanted to keep suppressing him, letting him see too many pitches would be disadvantageous later in the game.
If Sendo and Tetsu hadn't been on the same team, Sendō would have been treated the same way.
Even just now, most of the pitches thrown to him were balls—they clearly didn't want to settle things directly.
....
Since Tetsu refused to swing at bad pitches or difficult courses, he was eventually walked.
Because they had been repeatedly throwing inside pitches to Tetsu earlier, Masuko had been influenced by that and swung at an outside ball.
That resulted in two outs.
....
"Seventh batter! Catcher, Miyuki!"
"Pick up all the good stuff, you bastard!"
"Seriously?"
"Four balls!"
"Bases loaded strategy?"
"Well, we could challenge this batter, but his scoring ability is pretty good… and besides, the pitcher is batting after him."
Coach Matsumoto glanced at Tanba, who was crouched behind Miyuki.
After finally taking the lead, and now facing a lineup where they could secure outs reliably, there was no reason to risk a direct confrontation with Miyuki.
"Strike!"
"Batter out!"
Although there had been a walk in this inning, Tetsu's walk was an aggressive four-ball approach, and walking Miyuki was a tactical necessity, so nobody objected.
Seidou hadn't expected that in a situation where their cleanup lineup started the inning and the leadoff batter reached base, after getting Sendo out, Coach Matsumoto would find the safest route and execute it perfectly.
Not only that, by avoiding direct confrontations, he also made it harder for Seidou's main scoring threats to get used to Tachi's pitches.
With all the information exposed, and with Matsumoto commanding the game fully, even though this Kiryu team wasn't much stronger than during the practice game, their combat strength had clearly improved.
That was the terrifying aspect of a complete master coach—someone who combined intelligence gathering, analysis, in-game command, and overall control.
Compared with Matsumoto, Coach Kataoka still lacked some experience, or perhaps simply didn't think quite as deeply—though Sendo's presence had already made his thinking much more flexible than in the original timeline.
....
"That old man is really troublesome," Sendo muttered quietly after seeing Kiryu escape the inning without allowing another run.
"If he weren't troublesome, Kiryu High wouldn't be what it is today. But a strategy like that can't succeed twice through luck," Coach Kataoka said calmly, showing no sign of being shaken.
He still firmly believed that his own strategy was correct.
Win with the orthodox approach, triumph with the unexpected.
Kataoka's strategy was a completely open scheme—yet open schemes were often far more effective than surprise attacks.
Even when the opponent knew Seidou's intentions, they couldn't break through because their weaknesses were perfectly pinned down.
All they could do was endure, just like in that inning where Kiryu had also been preserving Tate's stamina.
Kataoka's philosophy came from the same lineage as Coach Sakaki's—deeply rooted in the idea of combining direct pressure with opportunistic tactics.
After all, baseball itself was originally derived from the concept of warfare.
A runner was like a messenger, passing through three bases along a predetermined route, evading pursuit, and finally returning to home base.
....
After observing for so long without giving specific instructions, Coach Kataoka had already thought of a potential surprise tactic.
He simply hadn't issued the order yet.
The main reason was that Seidou's starting players this year were extremely reliable—he could trust them to judge situations themselves.
In the original story, during the summer tournament Kataoka rarely gave detailed instructions unless it was a crucial moment.
But in the autumn tournament, his commands increased dramatically—until the new generation of base coaches and players like Watanabe matured enough to support him.
Once he could rely on the players again, he returned to his hands-off style during the summer.
....
"Tanba! Leave the hitting to those guys. As a pitcher, you haven't lost to Tachi Hiromi. Against the bottom of their lineup, pitch proudly and confidently!"
Coach Kataoka said this to Tanba, who had just struck out.
"Yes!!!"
The ace instantly revived to full energy.
....
"Furuya! Kawakami! Warm up properly and be ready to enter at any time! If the timing is right, I'll send you in. We still have a game tomorrow—we can't overwork our ace."
As he spoke, Kataoka revealed a relaxed smile.
That smile quickly spread through the entire team—including Sawamura.
"YES!!!"
The Seidou defense preparing to take the field let out a fierce and thunderous roar.
....
"'We still have a game tomorrow'… that means he's never even considered the possibility that we might lose! And 'we can't overwork the ace' means they're absolutely not our opponents! Hehehe… hoho… hahaha!"
Sawamura understood the hidden meaning behind Kataoka's words and began laughing strangely, unable to stop.
"This team… doesn't look like it could lose at all! We're the strongest!!!"
When Sawamura lifted his head, his eyes were shining.
If even Sawamura could understand it, then of course everyone else did too.
That was why their blood boiled with excitement.
....
Top of the 5th inning — Kiryu High's offense
Seventh batter: Shortstop, Nakai!
The batter stepping up was the familiar buck-toothed player from Kiryu.
Seidou remembered him well.
The reason was simple: during the practice game, when Sawamura first entered, he committed a pickoff violation at first base.
The runner who had been on first at the time was Nakai, who was then automatically awarded second base.
....
"Even though he's part of the bottom of the lineup, he's the type of batter who swings decisively without hesitation. We absolutely cannot underestimate him.
We already saw that clearly during the practice game!"
This batter also didn't lift his front leg.
Normally he only raised it slightly.
....
"Fushi!"
"Whoosh!"
"Hm? A mistake pitch?"
Nakai saw the ball flying toward his face.
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Then the ball suddenly bent sharply into the catcher's mitt.
Strike!
Tanba's curveball proved once again that he was in explosive form today.
Earlier curveballs had also broken sharply, but a pitch that made a right-handed batter feel like it was hitting his face wasn't something you could throw at will.
....
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
Strike!
The second pitch was another curveball.
This one didn't break quite as dramatically as the previous one, but it was still impressive.
"Fushi!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
"Third base!"
Seeing the batter mishit the ball, everyone in the dugout shouted together.
"Smack!"
Masuko caught it steadily.
Out!
"The final pitch was an inside fastball!"
"One out!"
"One out!"
Seidou's players encouraged each other again.
Tanba smoothly secured the three outs and ended the inning before the lineup reached its third rotation.
This also made Miyuki breathe a sigh of relief.
No matter what, he really didn't want to face Kiryu's top lineup led by Amazawa in this inning.
....
"Nice pitching, Tanba-san!"
"Tanba-san!"
"Looks like it's still too early to crush him. Well, whatever. With the score this close, Kataoka probably won't replace his ace so easily," Coach Matsumoto said while watching the team encouraging each other. He didn't seem too concerned.
.....
"How does it feel? His pitches?" Coach Kataoka asked before the inning began.
"The power of his pitches is much stronger than during the practice game. And the troublesome thing is that as the innings go on, the pitch power actually increases. But they're not impossible to hit.
However, that slider is really outrageous," Isashiki was the first to speak.
"And so far he hasn't made any mistakes. Today we probably can't rely on that happening," Ryousuke added.
"Uga!" Masuko fully agreed with Ryosuke.
"Boom!"
Tetsu silently released his presence.
"Alright, I understand. How many sliders has he thrown?" Kataoka asked.
"Eight pitches. Mostly used together with the curveball to disturb the batter, and also when facing Sendo and Yuuki. But the finishing pitch is still usually that fastball," Chris-senpai said while looking at the scorebook.
"Then how many of those finishing pitches were low outside?" Kataoka asked again.
Chris's eyes widened. He lowered his head and checked carefully, replaying the game in his mind at high speed.
Although he hadn't memorized every detail, it was enough for him to notice the key point.
Tate's pitches were concentrated in the four corners, including the finishing pitches. But because different pitch types and courses were mixed together, Chris had overlooked how often the outside pitch appeared.
"Seventeen at-bats, excluding a few hit-by-pitches. Five were outside fastballs, three sliders, two curveballs… Ten in total," Chris said after checking carefully, letting out a light breath.
"Because of the different pitch types, it's easy to overlook the common point. Depending on whether the batter is left-handed or right-handed, he uses fastballs, curveballs, and sliders to finish the at-bat.
For left-handed batters, it's fastballs and curveballs.
For right-handed batters, it's sliders and low outside fastballs. Since we're still in the middle innings, he may change strategies in the final round."
Kataoka paused for a moment.
"Except for Sendo and Yuuki, everyone else should aim for it! Low outside pitches! Whether it's a strike or a ball, if you're confident, hit it! Right-handed batters can temporarily ignore that slider. Also, don't completely stop swinging at inside pitches. Otherwise our intentions will be exposed too easily and they'll realize what we're aiming for. Before they change their pitching strategy, hit as many of those pitches as you can!"
After saying that, Kataoka glanced sharply at the players.
That look carried overwhelming pressure.
"YES!!!"
"And if they figure it out, wait for my signal. Sendo! Yuuki! You two can judge freely when to swing. If you feel you can hit it, swing!"
"I understand," Sendo said.
Yuuki silently nodded as well.
"Go! Show them your spirit! Let them properly experience Seidou baseball!!!" Kataoka shouted after finishing his instructions.
"YOSSHAAA!!!"
"AHHH!!!"
The team gathered in a circle and shouted loudly.
....
Bottom of the 5th inning — Seidou High's offense
Ninth batter: Right fielder, Shirasu!
"Go, Shirasu-senpai!"
"Hit it!"
"Uh… Balanced-senpai!!!"
Sawamura seemed to be thinking of an impressive cheer and ended up giving Shirasu a nickname.
"Who's that 'Balanced' guy?"
The quiet Shirasu complained silently in his mind.
....
It was only a small episode.
Soon Shirasu focused on the pitcher's mound—the Kiryu ace who was smiling like a skull as always.
"Puh!"
"Whoosh!"
Strike!
Against left-handed batters, the Kiryu battery never hesitated to throw inside pitches.
Then—
"Whoosh!"
The moment Shirasu judged it was an outside pitch, he stepped forward decisively.
"Ping!"
"Whoosh!"
"Thud!"
It dropped! Ninth batter Shirasu reaches base with an infield hit!
"What just happened? That was a ball. Are they suddenly getting impatient? No… it doesn't look like that. Are they increasing the intensity of the battle and starting to swing at some bad pitches?"
Nagumo's thoughts raced.
In truth, even he wasn't sure.
Was it just coincidence, or were they deliberately trying to increase pressure and wear down Tachi?
He never even considered that Seidou had discovered their focus on the outside pitch.
After all, they had hidden it well by mixing pitch types and courses.
Because that thought never occurred to him, he couldn't figure it out.
Still, that didn't stop him from continuing to call pitches.
He also began observing carefully.
He hoped he was simply overthinking things.
After all, Seidou's lineup was powerful.
Even the ninth batter was placed there to maintain lineup continuity.
Getting hit by him wasn't that strange.
....
First batter: Shortstop, Kuramochi!
"Now we've reached Seidou's third cycle of the top lineup! After missing a great scoring opportunity last inning, Seidou launches another fierce attack against Kiryu!"
"Run with all your strength… don't stop your steps…
Run with all your strength… don't stop your steps…
Hit it, Kuramochi!"
"Keep it going, Kuramochi!"
"Go, Kuramochi!"
"Fight!"
"Use your speed to disrupt them!"
....
"Hoo…"
Listening to the cheers, Kuramochi stared at his bat and took a deep breath.
His heart was beating hard.
Thump… thump… thump.
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