"Junior high school?!"

"What do you mean, senior?" Tetsu Nishino was still a little confused.

"Literally, your opponent today is the junior high school baseball team of Baishan High School."

Vice Minister Gochi Iwata explained to them word for word.

"No? Junior high school?!"

"Then we won't win for sure."

"It's not good to bully the juniors."

"Then get a few points less, otherwise the younger generation will cry."

Some first-year students in the second army breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that their opponent was the junior high school baseball team. They all felt that winning the game would not be a big problem, so they joked with each other.

However, Tetsu Nishino felt that things were not that simple. He believed that the strength of the junior high school baseball team should not be underestimated. After all, most of their second team members were new to baseball and had little practical experience.

Iwata Gochi couldn't help but sneered inwardly when he heard their joking words.

In fact, there is a reason why the baseball club arranges such an opponent for the first-year students. Among the new members recruited every year, not many have played baseball before, usually only four or five. Most of them find it fun, like Tetsu Nishino

It's not uncommon for people to change clubs when they reach high school.

Therefore, it is impossible for the Second Army, which has only been trained for a month, to take shape at once. The personal abilities of a few people alone cannot support a starting team.

Baseball is a team sport!

They must be made deeply aware of this, and the junior high school baseball team, which has been together for three years, has a tacit understanding of cooperation, and is skilled in technical and tactical play, is a good opponent.

It is precisely to take advantage of the senior players' sense of superiority and contempt for their opponents to teach them a lesson. A disorganized team cannot even win against its juniors.

In previous years, the newly formed Second Army was even beaten by the junior high school baseball team by a double-digit score difference. They lost one person so badly that they did not dare to be lazy in future training.

Gochi Iwata is also in a state of looking forward to a good show. It is best for the second team, Nishino Tetsu and others to be beaten by double-digit points by their juniors, so that their future training may become more active.

After changing into team uniforms and putting on their respective equipment, Tetsu Nishino took them on the field to do some passing and catching exercises to warm up a little.

"call out"

"Crack!"

"Good shot, Tatsuki-san, good shot."

Tetsu Nishino, who was squatting behind home plate, received a ball from Teruaki Tatsuki, their second-place starting pitcher, stood up, threw the ball to him, and shouted to him.

By throwing, catching, passing and catching before the game, you can not only warm up the pitcher, but also observe the pitcher's condition, which is an important task for the catcher.

...

After playing some passes and catches with other players who were not starting, and after warming up a little, Nishino Kazuya sat boredly in the awning on their first base side, tossing a baseball to himself.

"Hello, Kazuya-senpai!"

Nishino Kazuya followed the voice and looked at the person coming.

I saw a thin player, about 1.6 meters tall, bowing to Kazuya Nishino respectfully and saying hello.

"Oh, it's Junzai. Are you starting today?"

Nishino Kazuya obviously knew the person coming and asked familiarly.

The visitor is none other than Toshiya Itaguchi, the ace pitcher of the junior high school baseball team!

When he learned that he was going to play a training match with the Second Army of the High School Division today, Itaguchi Shunya made up his mind to let senior Kazuya Nishino see his determination, so he came here specifically to find senior Kazuya Nishino and pay homage to him whom he respected.

Senior, please ask.

After all, the regrets of their junior high school last summer are still in their minds.

...

last summer.

Their junior high school baseball team finally reached the semifinals of the county conference.

In the second half of the ninth inning, Baishan led 2:1.

"Crack!"

"Bad ball!"

"Four bad balls!"

Following the umpire's decision, the opponent's batter once again reached base with a four-ball hit. Kazuya Nishino had already thrown two consecutive four-ball balls in this inning and walked two batters.

Nishino Kazuya stood on the pitcher's mound, his face flushed by the scorching sun. The large drops of sweat and long breathing all pointed to a fact.

He can no longer cast.

This is a fact that everyone on the court can see, including opponents, teammates, and even Nishino Kazuya himself.

"Is Baishan still not sure about changing the pitcher?" the commentator said in the live broadcast.

"Player Kazuya Nishino is obviously exhausted and can't pitch anymore, but it seems that Hakusan's other third-year pitcher Teruaki Tatsumi has been replaced in this game and cannot play again. How does Hakusan's supervisor make the decision?

"

Ohmae Ichi, the supervisor of the junior high school at Hakusan High School, also found it difficult to make a decision and kept weighing things up.

He continued to let the team's ace pitcher Kazuya Nishino pitch.

Or should he be replaced with second-year pitcher Toshiya Itaguchi?

Seeing Kazuya Nishino who was obviously out of shape on the pitcher's mound and did not dare to throw the ball into the strike zone, the reason in the supervisor Ohmae's heart finally defeated his impulse.

Kazuya shouldn't burn out here!

"Oh, Director Omaechi changed pitching at the last moment. Out of the principle of protecting young pitchers, after all, Kazuya Nishino has already pitched in the entire preliminaries."

On the pitcher's mound, Kazuya Nishino looked at Toshiya Itaguchi who came up and breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that his current state would only burden the team's defense.

"Leave it to you, Junzai!"

Nishino Kazuya put the baseball in his hand into the glove of his junior, Toshiya Itaguchi, whom he had always trusted and encouraged.

"Senior, I will defend with all my strength!"

Itaguchi Toshiya has been shorter than his peers since he was a child, has a slimmer figure, and has a baby face, so people around him always treat him as a child and don't believe in his abilities at all.

Moreover, Toshiya Itaguchi, as a right-hand pitcher, lacks pitching power and the ball speed is not particularly fast. He is only in the early 120 kilometers. Even if he practices in the third year of high school, he may not be able to break through 140 kilometers, so some people often think that he is a pitcher.

There is no future, the ball speed is too slow and the tail power is not enough to carry the ball.

Kazuya Nishino, as the ace pitcher of the junior high school baseball team, has always encouraged and supported this junior, telling him that he can take the route of controlling the ball and use a change ball as the winning ball.

I want to respond to the expectations of my seniors!

Itaguchi Toshiya took the baseball handed to him by his respected senior and nodded solemnly.

I must protect the efforts of my seniors!

Toshiya Itaguchi made a vow on the pitcher's mound.

...

"Sayunala!!!"

"The game is over!!!"

“After resolving three at-bats with a changeup, second-year Hakusan pitcher Toshiya Itaguchi’s line drive was caught by the opponent’s fourth pitch and he hit a walk-off home run!!!”

The narrator's voice is loud and high-pitched.

"Three-point shot!!!"

"Hakusan lost the game 2:4!"

The moment the baseball was thrown out, Toshiya Itaguchi on the pitcher's mound knew that he had missed the shot. Looking at the baseball flying high in the sky, he longed for the baseball to fly slower.

His face gradually turned pale.

Senior's summer.

He was buried by my own hands...

...

"Well, I'm going to start today, senior."

Itaguchi Toshiya answered respectfully to Nishino Kazuya.

"Senior, do you still remember what you said to me when you retired last year?" Toshiya Itaguchi asked seriously.

Seeing the determination revealed in Itaguchi Toshiya's words, Nishino Kazuya understood that his junior had grown up, both technically and mentally.

He then said in a tone of approval: "Well, of course you remember, then show me your growth in this game."

"Thank you, senior."

Although the senior didn't blame himself after that game, instead he kept comforting himself.

However, I want to let my seniors see my growth. This belief is extremely strong in Itaguchi Toshiya's heart.

On the way back to warm up, Toshiya Itaguchi silently recited the words he had engraved in his heart from that day on.
Chapter completed!