NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: <15> Battle of the Rookies
Chapter 15: Battle of the Rookies
Municipal Baseball Stadium
"Is it starting soon? Today's game!" Sendo muttered to himself while waiting in the shadows.
A little while later...
"They're entering the field!"
It was unclear which student's parent shouted, but soon, both teams' players entered the field, bowed, and Akagi Junior High returned to the dugout.
"The first game today between Akagi Junior High and Nagano High School's middle division is about to begin. Akagi Junior High will be on offense first. Nagano's players are now entering for their defense practice!"
The broadcast officially announced the start of the game. After both teams had a twenty-minute warm-up, the game began.
"Top of the first inning, Akagi Junior High's offense! Leading off, shortstop, Ohno!"
Ohno, a good-looking player from Akagi, had a hairstyle resembling Kuramochi's and was somewhat athletic. However, this "athletic" quality only stood out in comparison to the chubby kid and the bespectacled Wakana, an infielder who had some screen time in Wakana's flashbacks.
"Is that the stadium broadcast? It really adds to the atmosphere!"
Sendo found the vibe of the game quite interesting.
Baseball is a game with long pauses between each pitch.
After every pitch, the batter can step out of the box and take a few practice swings to get their timing.
Similarly, the pitcher also takes time to adjust.
Before each inning begins, the defensive side practices their defense and pitching to warm up.
"Let's go!" Ohno shouted to pump himself up, then stepped into the batter's box.
In junior high, especially in the early rounds of regional competitions, many games are simply a battle of rookies, with pitchers' speeds often not even matching those of little league players.
The fastest pitches might only reach about 100 km/h, with some teams having even slower pitches, barely hitting 80 km/h.
Nagano was also considered a baseball-weak prefecture. Akagi's luck was neither great nor terrible—the opposing pitcher's speed was just under 100 km/h.
The first pitch—
"Strike!"
Ohno swung and missed, unable to hit the ball traveling at less than 100 km/h.
The second pitch—
"Ball!"
The third pitch—
Ping!
The bat made contact with the ball, but it didn't fly far. In fact, it barely lifted off the ground, rolling along with significant bounce between each touch of the earth. The defense reacted slowly.
Ohno managed to reach first base on an infield grounder.
"Second batter, second baseman, Kondou!" Kondou was another decent-looking guy.
"Is he going to be alright? He looks really nervous!" Sendo quipped from the sidelines.
The second batter struck out on three swings!
"That pitch was right down the middle, and so slow. My stomach hurts from laughing! Hahaha!" As expected, he lived up to Sendo's expectations.
"Third batter, catcher, Takeda!"
"This one seems even more nervous!"
But the third batter managed to get on base due to an infield error.
"Cleanup hitter, pitcher, Sawamura!"
One out, runners on first and second. A great chance for the cleanup hitter.
"Let's go!"
"Bring it!"
"Bring it!"
"So close!"
"..."
"Don't worry about it, Eijun!" someone on the field called out to console him.
"Yeah, you're right!" Sawamura quickly perked up in response.
"Hahahaha! cough cough... Hahaha, you're killing me! Ugh!"
Someone was laughing so hard that they started coughing, eventually choking a bit and even dry heaving.
After holding his head with one hand to catch his breath, the person continued laughing, saying, "The swing was smooth and had great momentum, but... hahaha!" He immediately resumed laughing.
Though Sendo acknowledged that Sawamura's swing was the smoothest he had ever seen, even better than Harada's, thanks to Sawamura's flexible body, which made his swing look like a whip in motion, it was still so amusing that it left Sendo doubled over in laughter.
"Fifth batter, center fielder, Omura!"
The game continued, not pausing for such things. After the fifth batter practiced his swings, the game resumed.
Ping! A solid hit.
The ball wasn't fast, rolling on the ground, but it made it past the infield.
Thanks to a slow return from the outfielder, a run was scored.
This team only had the first and fifth batters who somewhat resembled real baseball players.
Despite their average hitting, they seemed like casual players who didn't like practicing, just hobbyists at best.
"Sixth batter, right fielder, Aoki!"
Aoki, wearing glasses, was playing outfield, which, after all, was quite simple in junior high baseball.
In the end, Aoki's weakly hit ball was easily handled by an infielder with the skill level of a beginner little league player.
The teams switched sides, with the offensive players changing gear and the defensive team doing their practice throws and defense drills.
In junior high games, the stadium announcer would call out each player's name one by one.
Although it was a battle of rookies, Sawamura's pitch speed was noticeably faster than that of an average middle schooler.
Even when he held back, the batters still struggled to make good contact.
However, aside from Ohno and Kondou, the rest of the infield was made up of Sawamura, Wakana, and Oyama, who frequently missed catches.
The rest of the team also made frequent errors.
With such a lineup, it was no surprise that even Sawamura's impressive pitching couldn't prevent disaster.
The first batter was handled by the infield, but the second batter reached second base due to an error by the third baseman.
The third batter laid down a bunt, advancing the runner to third. The opposing team clearly saw an opportunity to score and was playing strategically.
The fourth batter was caught out by shortstop Ohno, while the fifth batter hit an infield single to score a run, and the sixth batter reached base after Wakana made an error.
With several missed catches and errors, Sawamura gave up two runs. The inning finally ended after the ninth batter.
At this point, Sendo couldn't laugh anymore.
When it comes to losing points because of defensive mistakes, no one finds it funny.
"The top of the second inning, Akagi Junior High's turn to bat! Seventh batter, third baseman, Oyama!"
This time, Oyama didn't have the same luck as before.
He hit a high fly ball to first base and was caught out.
After a full inning of play, the first-year squad of Akagi Junior High had visibly calmed down, except for one carefree guy.
Eighth batter, the chubby Takada, and ninth batter, first baseman Wakana, both failed to make an impact.
This game was clearly a battle of rookies.
Both teams were made up of amateurs who played casually, resulting in endless comedy on the field.
There were several moments where weakly hit grounders rolled between players' legs, adding to the hilarity.
On top of that, with someone's unique performance, Sendo found himself laughing so hard his stomach hurt.
By the end, he could barely stand, so he found a quiet spot and laughed while clutching his stomach.
It wasn't just him—the entire audience was filled with laughter, even some of the opposing team's parents couldn't help but smile, though they tried hard to keep cheering for their players.
Sawamura, in particular, never seemed to learn from his mistakes. His bold, empty swings left the spectators doubled over in laughter.
When it came to hitting, the entire team was the same.
The opposing pitcher was clearly off his game, throwing a lot of potential walks, yet Akagi's players swung at almost everything except for the wildly off-target pitches.
Sawamura was always swinging at pitches right down the middle, resulting in a game without a single walk.
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