"Yeah"

In the lounge, the first graders roared with joy.

No one is out, there's someone on second base!

Great chance to score!

Stepping on the second base bag, Tetsuya Nishino pumped his fist in excitement, then took off his protective gear and gloves and handed them to his teammates who came up to help take them back.

What a fluke. Tetsu Nishino thought to himself.

In fact, after he started practicing as a catcher, sometimes he would unconsciously enter the mind of a catcher and guess what the next pitch would be.

For the ball just now, Tetsu Nishino had a vague hunch that Hiroki-senpai would probably distribute the ball diagonally and hit a high straight ball from the inside corner.

So he decided to give it a try.

Before the ball was released, he quietly adjusted the position of his hands holding the bat, sacrificing the bat's striking length to improve control accuracy.

result.

The straight ball from the inside corner arrived as expected!

Tetsu Nishino, who was well prepared, took advantage of the situation and hit the ball. The baseball was just knocked away and landed behind the left fielder, third-year senior Tao Ito, who was slightly forward and had no time to retreat. Tetsu Nishino also safely climbed to second base.

, stopped and did not continue to rush to third base.

But this situation gave Tetsu Nishino a strange feeling.

Before, he firmly believed that it was impossible to blindly hit, but today he relied on continuous guessing. Fortunately, he bit the center of the ball and hit a double.

Nishino Tetsuya didn't know what words to use to describe his inconsistent mentality.

Catcher Hiroki behind the plate was a little depressed. He was given a few laps by his opponent at the start of the game, which was not easy to handle.

"Second bat, shortstop, Tamura-kun."

In this half-inning, the first-year second hitter, Naohiko Tamura, stepped into the batter's box. Seeing Tetsu Nishino on second base touching the brim of his batting helmet, he nodded and prepared to implement the discussed tactics.

Naohiko Tamura put on a batting posture and cooperated with Tetsu Nishino who left the base significantly.

The obvious sacrifice bunt tactic is to send Tetsu Nishino, who is a fast runner, to third base.

Hiroki saw the first-year team's attitude and decided to warn them not to underestimate the defense of their seniors.

"paly ball!"

After Hiroki called the signal, Yamamoto Sakuya on the pitcher's mound nodded understandingly.

Holding the baseball in his right hand and putting it inside his glove, Yamamoto Sakuya pretended to adjust his posture, but in fact he didn't lift his feet at all.

Suddenly, Yamamoto Sakuya turned around!

Pitched a baseball!

"not good!"

Tetsu Nishino quickly threw himself back to second base.

"Crack!"

"despair!"

The glove catching the baseball touched Nishino Tetsu's arm, and Nishino Tetsu's arm was touching the second base bag.

"Fortunately, I returned to base in time..."

Tetsu Nishino stood up with his second base bag on his back and patted the dirt on his body.

In order to touch the base bag just now, he threw himself on the dirt in the infield and slipped hard. Now the originally white uniform has been stained with a thick layer of mud, and the original style cannot be seen clearly.

What just happened was so sudden that Nishino Tetsu felt that his heart was about to skip a beat.

The pitcher's mound is too close to the base.

As long as Nishino Tetsu's return to touch base was slower, second baseman Kawa Yuichiro who caught the ball could have hit him.

Unable to successfully strike out Tetsu Nishino, pitcher Sakuya Yamamoto secretly said it was a pity.

Having someone at second base can be said to be a situation that pitchers hate.

Because the second base bag is just behind the pitcher's mound and out of the pitcher's field of vision, the runner can clearly see how the pitcher adjusts his fingers to hold the ball.

After seeing that the containment had no effect, Yamamoto Sakuya turned around.

Tetsu Nishino seemed to have a long memory and continued to stay a long distance away from the base, ready to steal the base at any time.

Sudden!

Yamamoto Sakuya turned around and made another diversionary ball!

Huh?! Still coming?!

Tetsu Nishino made another quick dash to return the base, and his hand quickly touched the base bag before being hit.

Lying on the ground again, Tetsu Nishino could only silently endure the warmth and coolness of the soil.

After being restrained twice, Tetsu-kun should not dare to be too arrogant. Yamamoto Sakuya thought, preparing to continue reading Hiroki's code.

"Be careful of stolen bases."

However, the reminder from his teammates behind him made Yamamoto Sakuya frown.

So annoying.

At this time, Hiroki at home plate signaled, "Leave the runner to me."

Now Yamamoto Sakuya can only ignore Nishino Tetsu's interference, concentrate on dealing with the batter, and leave Nishino Tetsu to catcher Hiroki to deal with it.

First goal.

Fast outside angle straight ball.

The missed distance made it impossible for the hitter Naohiko Tamura to even make a contact.

"Crack!"

After the baseball entered the catcher's glove, Hiroki dodged and avoided Tamura Naohiko's obstruction, using his shoulders and waist to throw the baseball.

The tacit understanding of the movements made Yamamoto Sakuya lower his waist in time.

Come back!? Nishino Tetsu complained in his heart.

"So fast!"

Baseball came much faster than Tetsu Nishino imagined.

"despair."

Tetsu Nishino, who once again returned the bases, added an extra layer of dirt to his uniform.

Standing up with a wry smile, Nishino Tetsu already understood what Hiroki-senpai meant.

If you dare, steal a base and see!

Three deaths in a row.

Three consecutive restraints left Tetsu Nishino in a state of disarray. Especially the restraint of catcher Hiroki-senpai had given a clear signal.

As long as he dares to steal a base, even if the batter Naohiko Tamura is allowed to get on base, Tetsu Nishino will be caught between second base and third base.

Tetsu Nishino could only pat the dirt on his body, step on the second base bag obediently, and only pretend to be a few steps away from the base.

Faced with the attention his seniors paid to him, Tetsu Nishino didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He just wanted to steal a base, so why should he be so wary of him?

After all the fuss, it turned out to be just a shot.

0 good goals and 1 bad goals.

Second ball.

Hong Shu typed the code.

Yamamoto Sakuya secretly changed the grip of the baseball with his right hand.

The moment he lifted his left foot and stepped forward.

"Steal a base!"

Second baseman Yuichiro Kawa shouted hurriedly.

"Oops!"

When Yamamoto Sakuya heard the reminder from his teammates, his entire pitching action had been completed, and his arm was swinging to the position where the baseball was released.

It’s too late, we can’t change the ball type!

Slow curveball!

In conjunction with Tetsu Nishino's running, Naohiko Tamura on the right batting area swung the bat with all his strength, trying to interfere with catcher Hiroki's catch and pass.

"hateful!"

The batter happened to block the direction of the ball to third base, so Hiroki had to move away first after receiving the ball.
To be continued...