Chapter 656 - 656: Huge Improvement II

"Seido! Seido!!"

Koichiro Tanba's performance on the pitcher's mound made the supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team in the stands feel as if their bones had lightened by several pounds.

So much so that they all started chanting slogans.

To chant slogans specifically for Koichiro Tanba, to be honest, the supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team weren't that thick-skinned yet.

They were also afraid of being humiliated later.

At this moment, it was the onlookers and the opponents of Seido High School Baseball Team who saw more clearly because they were standing from an observer's perspective.

"He's really improved!"

This isn't to say that the previous Tanba never had good performances.

Who doesn't have a good day?

Even if Tanba was controversial before, since he could become the Ace of Seido High School Baseball Team, he naturally had his outstanding qualities.

Otherwise, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff of Seido High School Baseball Team wouldn't be crazy enough to promote him to the team's Ace.

But even when Koichiro Tanba performed excellently before, the feeling he gave wasn't like this.

At that time, his excellent performances always seemed to carry a hint of peril.

But now, in this performance, he exuded a sense of being in control of everything.

Whether it was the no-look pickoff move or the subsequent perfect pitch and pitch selection, everything proved this point.

At the same time, there was another point that made Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team wary.

Although Coach Kunitomo clearly saw Tanba's improvement, at the end of this inning, he didn't focus his attention on Tanba.

Instead, he focused on another player who seemed to have shown nothing.

Miyuki Kazuya.

The catcher for Seido High School Baseball Team in today's game.

During the recent confrontation, the reason Tanba was able to successfully throw such an accurate pickoff move without looking back, almost tagging out the runner from Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, had less to do with Tanba himself.

Koichiro Tanba's excellent acting skills naturally go without saying, but the real credit for the pickoff probably goes to Miyuki Kazuya.

Tanba's precise no-look pickoff was certainly not because he actually had a pair of eyes on the back of his head.

It was Miyuki's silent signal.

It not only mobilized Tanba but also directed the Second Baseman to quietly return to Second Base.

This kind of keen observation and control over the game are essential skills for an excellent catcher.

Although Miyuki, who became the team's main catcher as a freshman last year, gained widespread fame, he was called the savior of Seido High School Baseball Team.

But from Coach Kunitomo's perspective, he could still see many immature aspects in Miyuki.

He was like an unpolished raw gem, showing potential and having some value.

But to say he was priceless was probably too early.

But now, he was no longer a half-polished raw gem that showed some luster.

He had been polished and meticulously carved, and was beginning to emit a brilliant radiance.

With such a catcher at the helm, Seido High School Baseball Team would likely be a formidable opponent for Inashiro Industrial, not only this year but also for the next two years.

Coach Kunitomo rotated his neck, making it crackle.

Before the players took the field, he gave Narumiya Mei a look.

Narumiya Mei's fighting spirit was already soaring.

As a true pitcher, he couldn't stand to see other pitchers showing off on the pitcher's mound. Whether it was a teammate or an opponent, it was all the same.

At this moment, receiving the Coach's instruction, he no longer needed to hold back his strength and could fully control the game.

Narumiya Mei felt as if all the shackles binding him had been released.

"Finally, I can unleash everything!"

"Take it easy, the game has just started, it's only the second inning."

"You underestimate me too much, senior. I've been saving my stamina to pitch the entire game today."

Narumiya Mei was very unappreciative of Harada's good intentions.

From others' perspectives, Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's path to advancement earlier might have faced some challenges.

But for the players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team themselves, they were actually very clear that those games seemed thrilling only because they were making adjustments.

Since the Spring Koshien ended, this team had never gone all out.

How much did they gain from the Spring Koshien? How much did the players improve?

Even the players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team themselves weren't sure.

Fortunately, this uncertainty wouldn't last much longer.

They were about to find out.

"Whoosh!"

The white baseball arrived in front of Miyuki Kazuya in the blink of an eye.

Miyuki had been observing Narumiya Mei's pitch the entire time, and he hadn't been idle in the dugout, watching every single pitch.

According to his previous judgment, although Narumiya Mei's Fastball was very fast, as long as it wasn't a breaking ball, if it was a Fastball, he should still be able to hit it.

This pitch now was a Fastball...

But Miyuki suddenly realized that when facing this Fastball, he didn't even have time to swing his bat.

He watched the baseball fly past him with wide eyes, unable to react at all.

What's going on?

"Snap!"

"Strike!"

Miyuki looked up at the giant electronic display on the field.

"151 kilometers!"

This wasn't his imagination; Narumiya Mei's pitch speed was indeed faster than before.

This guy seemed to have been stimulated by Tanba's pitching earlier, feeling like he was full of gunpowder.

The pitch speed was terrifyingly fast, and the momentum was even more terrifying.

"Strike!"

"Strike!!"

"Strikeout!!!"

One of Seido High School Baseball Team's star players, Miyuki, who was excellent in all aspects, couldn't even make contact with the ball when facing Narumiya Mei's Fastball.

Seido High School Baseball Team, whose morale had been high due to their Ace Pitcher's excellent performance, now felt as if they had been dealt a head-on blow, and the smiles on their faces could no longer be seen at all.

As for today's game, holding the opponent scoreless was not enough.

They had to score more runs at the batter's box.

The Commentator passionately offered his insight.

"The team that manages to score first will likely ride that momentum to win this game."

This wasn't just his thought; many fans at the stadium, including players from other teams who came to watch and scout, had similar feelings.

In this evenly matched confrontation, whoever scored first had a relatively high probability of winning the game.

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