Didn’t you say you were just using me as a substitute?

The referee blew a short, sharp whistle: "Beep! 155 km/h! Strike out."

“Strikeout after strikeout!”

"Kitahara from Aoba struck out his opponent with ease."

"It's horrible! It's horrible! After throwing a ball at 157 mph, the next one is still 155! Monster! Monster!"

"His fastball will become the nightmare of all high school hitters!"

"One man destroyed the Sobu High School offensive line."

"What a terrifying strength this is."

"We witnessed the birth of a monster pitcher in Koshien."

The male commentator spoke passionately, his voice was excited and his saliva was flying.

It's not pretty, but that's the kind of passionate commentary sports demand.

Yu Shida hadn't reacted yet, and he looked at the large LED screen in the stadium with a blank look in his eyes.

On the big screen, a replay of the previous goal was played.

After careful observation, Yu Shida discovered that the ball just now was actually a bad one.

This is also the reason why Shizuka Hiratsuka shouted "Don't throw the stick".

I shouldn't have swung the bat at that time.

But at that time, his mind was only thinking about how to hit the ball, and because he was too concerned, he ignored the angle and trajectory of the ball.

I couldn't hit that ball from the beginning.

I was completely fooled by him.

This time it's not just a crushing of strength, but also a game of IQ.

Yu Shida bet that Kitahara Takashi had no bullets in his gun and would not throw a bad ball.

However, Kitahara Takashi predicted his prediction and not only threw a bad ball that was impossible to catch, but also used this bad ball as a bullet to shoot him directly, forcing him to eliminate himself.

"The third person in the island nation is smart."

Yu Shida shook his head helplessly and walked away dejectedly.

He had a feeling that he might stop here today.

In the fifth game, the offense and defense switched places.

Aoba attacks and Sobu High defends.

A formal baseball game consists of nine innings. Each inning is divided into two halves, the top and the bottom. If the score is the same after nine innings, an extra inning may be played. Extra innings are played in units of one inning each, with no limit on the number of innings played.

"Thank you for your hard work, Kitahara."

Coach Kensuke Amatani patted Kitahara Takashi's shoulder as he walked down.

"Kitahara, you're so handsome."

"With you here, we will definitely go further this year."

"Want to eat a banana? I've peeled it for you. Come on, open your mouth."

In the bullpen, the seniors coming off the bench also released goodwill.

They have no grudge against Kitahara Takashi.

"Thank you, senior."

Kitahara Takashi smiled, took the peeled banana, put it into his mouth, took a bite and chewed it slowly.

He actually doesn't hate these seniors.

There was no contact before because he was not used to being treated coldly, and there was no opportunity for contact.

Now that the other party is willing to take the initiative to show goodwill, he will not put on airs.

Kensuke Amatani looked at the young men who were making a fuss. A smile flashed across his eyes behind his sunglasses, but his expression was serious. He said, "Kitahara has helped me defend their batting line. From now on, you guys should play well and don't let the first years make fun of you."

"Yes!"

All nine team members roared in unison.

After getting familiar with Yu Shida's pitching, the Aoba Baseball Club showed its dominance as the overlord of western Tokyo and did not give Sobu High School any chance.

They scored one after another, setting off a storm of attack.

In the fifth game, he scored another 2 points.

In the top of the sixth inning, Kitahara Takashi struck out his opponents again.

At this time, Sobu High School no longer had the momentum it had at the beginning. The first inning ended before Sobu High School's more threatening fourth batter even got to the plate, with 0 scores.

In the second half after the defensive switch, Aoba's batter seemed to have gained confidence and predicted the pitch path of Shuchiin's pitcher more accurately. He actually hit a home run in his first at-bat. Later, he took advantage of frequent mistakes and easily scored 5 points again.

At the end of the sixth game, the gap between Aoba and Sobu High School had widened to 13:5.

After nine games, the gap between the two sides had reached 19:5.

Later, Sobu High School scored one point, and Kitahara Takashi didn't even dare to look at the scoreboard. It was too brutal.

Qingye should hold back on this score difference, otherwise the gap will be even bigger.

But even so, this is one of the biggest score differences in Koshien history.

Sobu High School is actually not that bad, it’s just that their mentality collapsed, and many people didn’t want to play anymore in the end.

Finally, the air raid sirens sounded again, and the private Sobu High School students couldn't even line up properly. After reluctantly shaking hands with each other, many people sat directly on the ground, and some people had already started digging.

"Let's go!"

Players from both sides began to leave the field, and Kitahara Takashi was also preparing to leave.

"Kitahara-san!"

Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly called him.

"What's up, Miss?"

Kitahara Tsutomu turned his head to look at her.

"Why does everyone like you?"

In the bullpen, Yukinoshita Yukino saw Kitahara Takashi who had become friends with the others.

A hint of confusion and puzzlement flashed across the girl's cold eyes.

She didn't understand why so many people liked someone with Kitahara Tsuyoshi's personality?

Is the gap between him and me so huge?

193

Chapter 193 What kind of messed up rewards are these?

"Why does everyone like you?"

When Kitahara Takashiro heard Yukinoshita Yukino's question, he was stunned for a moment, and his expression seemed a little surprised.

"What's your expression?"

Yukinoshita Yukino frowned a little unhappily.

"I thought you would say: [Sobu High School lost, I didn't lose.]

[Give me the line of Aoba, I can do it too. 】

Such excuses."

Yukinoshita Yukino cast a contemptuous look at Kitahara Takashi: "Losing is losing. I'm not at the point where I can't afford to lose."

"No, what you said last is correct. Give me the Aoba line. I don't think I will lose to you."

It is true that Kitahara Takashi is very strong, but if she had not been unable to withstand the pressure and her mentality collapsed, it would be hard to say who would win or lose.

At least the score gap between the two sides in the second half will not be so big.

"I had a stereotype about you before, but now my opinion of you has changed a little."

Because Yukinoshita Yukino could afford to lose, Kitahara Takashi had to look at her with admiration.

Nowadays, many people can't afford to lose, such as him.

"But even if you were given Aoba's batting line, you would still lose."

"What's the reason?"

Yukinoshita Yukino felt a little dissatisfied, but she was not angry. She just wanted to know the reason.

"Your collapse in the second half of the season was probably due to internal strife within your baseball club."

The bullpens of both teams were too far apart, and Kitahara Takashi didn't understand why there was an internal conflict within Sobu High School.

But he could clearly feel that in the second half of the game, the Sobu High School players had no fighting spirit at all, and all of them had the mentality of "getting it over with quickly and clocking out".

On the field, the outcome of the game is not only determined by the strength on paper, the players' mentality is also the key to victory.

If there hadn't been an internal conflict within Sobu High School, Aoba wouldn't have won so easily.

This Sobu High School team is quite strong.

At least the quarterfinals level.

"Ah."

"That's why you lose."

"I know."

Yukinoshita Yukino also thinks so.

"No, you don't."

Kitahara Tsutomu shook his finger.

Obviously, Yukinoshita Yukino still hasn't figured out what her problem is.

"You two, there are other teams that will compete next. Please leave."

Just as Kitahara Takashi was about to speak, a staff member stepped forward and interrupted him.

"Let's talk as we walk."

"it is good."

The two nodded apologetically to the staff and walked towards the entrance of the passage.

"When our ace pitcher dislocated his arm, I took the mound for him. There was a lot of anxiety, panic, and confusion in our team."

"You should know how much of a blow it is to team morale when the ace pitcher is injured and leaves the field."

Baseball, after all, is a game of pitching and hitting.

If the key to offense lies in the ability of the batter, then the leader of the team's defense lies in the pitcher.

Compared to other ball games that rely on offense to win, baseball is actually more suitable for winning by defense.

A good pitcher is much more difficult to develop than a good hitter.

If Shohei Ohtani couldn't pitch, there would be no way he would have gotten a sky-high contract from the Americans.

A good pitcher can tie down a group of hitters, and a good team always thinks it lacks a good pitcher.

It can be said that the pitcher is the soul of a team.

An ace pitcher is injured, which means more than just taking one player off.

The ball you throw will be easily hit out, and the overall defense will face greater pressure.

This is why the seniors despaired when they saw Taogu about to get hurt.

"I only did three things when I got there. The first was shouting slogans and getting people excited."

Maybe in the eyes of girls, yelling and shouting slogans in sports competitions seem silly and like a show.

In fact, this is not a show, but an instinctive reaction from the body and a manifestation of stress release.