The players of the Seidou High School baseball team, after finishing their match, did not immediately leave the Jingu Stadium.
This was because the next semi-final was about to start on the same field.
The two teams in this match were one of the original "big three" schools in West Tokyo, Sankou, and the rapidly rising Yakushi High School, which had shown impressive growth in the past year.
Due to the large number of teams in West Tokyo, the competition was rather packed, and the schedule was bound to have some flaws.
For example, the semi-finals and finals were just one day apart.
The teams that won in today's semi-finals would face each other in battle tomorrow.
For the Seidou High School baseball team, who had already made it to the finals, their most important task now was to study their upcoming opponent.
With time being so tight, it would be difficult for Watanabe to gather the data and return in time.
It would be better to let all the players watch the game live, as it would leave a stronger impression.
"Think about it—if you were standing on the field, how would you handle these two opponents in front of you?"
Kataoka's coaching philosophy has always been "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
To put it plainly, instead of directly giving someone a fish, it's better to teach them how to fish.
In baseball, rather than telling his players what to do directly, Kataoka believed it's more effective to teach them to think for themselves about what they should do.
This was also why, despite being the Coach of Seidou High's baseball team for five years, he had not led the team to Koshien or brought glory to the school, but he had still nurtured many excellent players.
In the words of Sawamura, while Kataoka may not be the Coach with the best results, he was absolutely the best Coach.
Not everyone has the intention to teach players how to think for themselves.
From the standpoint of a high school Coach, their main concern is for the players to perform well over the next two or three years.
As for what happens to the players after they leave, that's not their concern.
Some extreme Coaches, who don't care about the incomplete physical development of high school students, relentlessly push their players' potential.
A great teacher produces great students. Although it might not be immediately visible, Seidou's baseball team definitely has many great talents hidden within.
Many of these players are beginning to learn how to think for themselves.
"Who do you think will win?"
At the back of the group, Asou scratched his head while discussing with his teammates.
"The strong will prevail!" Maezono said simply.
It sounded quite sophisticated, but in reality, it was like saying nothing at all.
Asou clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
He never knew what their vice-captain was always thinking, but it seemed like he could come out with such unarguable statements at any time.
"Of course, I know that," Asou thought, "but that didn't answer anything!"
Behind them, Sawamura and Miyuki, who were walking ahead, overheard the conversation.
"What do you think?" Sawamura quietly asked.
Miyuki didn't directly answer Sawamura's question but instead nodded toward the stands.
"Take a look for yourself!"
Since the Seidou High School baseball team's match had already ended, Sawamura's fan clubs had already left.
Speaking of which, Sawamura couldn't help but feel helpless.
He couldn't tell if these people were real baseball fans. If they were, how come they didn't seem interested in any other matches except for Sawamura's own?
After every Seidou High match, they would leave the stadium.
The few people remaining were only about a hundred or so.
This number didn't seem too small, but in a crowd of thousands, it was less than 10%.
It was quite frustrating.
Looking at the other fan sections, whether it was Seidou's supporters or those from Inashiro Industrial High School, they had large numbers staying behind.
These people accounted for about half of the original crowd.
Now this was the true reaction of regular fans, right?
They had cleared their schedules to come to the game, so of course, they'd want to watch as much as they could.
Especially with the next match also being full of exciting points.
Yakushi and Sankou were definite rivals.
One was a former powerhouse of West Tokyo, and the other had risen as a newcomer. Not only were they quite famous in Tokyo, but they were also well-known across the country.
Sankou had deep roots. In last year's spring, they represented Tokyo in the Spring Koshien and even made it to the top eight, showcasing their strong strength.
Not to mention their past achievements!
Yakushi High, on the other hand, had risen rapidly. Over the past year, they have stunned many teams with their powerful performances.
Just last summer, they had played against many national powerhouses and racked up several victories, making them the most formidable underdog.
They even managed to hold their ground against Inashiro Industrial High School in a match.
Becoming a legendary Dark Horse, they drew a lot of attention.
This spring, they joined Seidou and Inashiro in the Spring Koshien and made it to the top eight.
One team was from last year's Spring Koshien top eight, and the other was from this year's Spring Koshien top eight. Both teams hailed from West Tokyo.
This was already a big topic of conversation.
And to top it off, Yakushi's rise was marked by two consecutive wins against Sankou...
In short, the feud between these two teams was so strong that it would take three to four hundred pages in the manga to fully capture it.
This was a match full of emotional tension and incredible skill, drawing considerable attention.
As soon as the two fan groups left, a large number of fans flooded in.
Compared to Sawamura's rather "eccentric" fans, these were the real deal—fans of all ages.
They were excited about this match, with many supporting Sankou and others rooting for Yakushi.
The reason they came in later wasn't that they had timed it perfectly—it was just that they had hoped to watch the Seidou vs Inashiro match too. Some even came specifically for the earlier match.
But because Sawamura's fans were too much, and the Seidou and Inashiro fans were so enthusiastic, there were no empty seats left in the tens of thousands of seats.
As a result, these new fans had to wait in a long line until Sawamura's fan groups finally left.
Finally, they were able to enter and watch the match.
By the time they entered, the game was about to start.
Once they settled, they immediately began cheering for their respective teams.
Although Sankou was a traditional powerhouse, with several hundred supporters from their school showing up to cheer them on, the cheerleading groups for both teams seemed pretty balanced.
There were many supporters cheering for Yakushi too, and their cheering section matched Sankou's in terms of energy.
In one corner of the stands, Fujio, the senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom magazine, hadn't left yet.
He had just finished interviewing Coach Kunitomo and was still mulling over the report he would write.
Of course, before making that decision, he had other matters to attend to.
Given the limited staff at Baseball Kingdom, they couldn't send two teams to cover both semi-finals. So, in addition to the Seidou vs Inashiro game, Fujio was also covering this match.
After seeing the two teams' cheerleading sections, Fujio began to think.
With Seidou High School's baseball team performing better and better, placing them among West Tokyo's top three powerhouses seemed a bit restrictive.
At this point, someone had proposed the "One King, Three Giants" propaganda.
The "One King" naturally referred to the rapidly rising Seidou High School baseball team.
As for the "Three Giants," with Seidou's rise, the team replacing them in the ranks was Yakushi High School's baseball team.
If nothing else, just looking at the popularity of this game, Yakushi High School was no less than a giant team.
In terms of strength, it's possible that Yakushi High School even had the upper hand.
Whether it was last summer or last fall, when the traditional giant Sankou faced Yakushi, they were defeated twice by Yakushi.
Yakushi High School now seemed to be Sankou's nemesis.
Under these circumstances, the two teams were meeting for the third time.
Although the game hadn't officially started, many spectators had already made up their minds.
The vast majority of people didn't support the traditional giant, Sankou, but instead leaned towards the rising Yakushi High School.
With this atmosphere, the official game began.
The first team to strike was Yakushi High School's baseball team.
The first batter to step up to the plate was Yakushi's catcher, Akiba Kazuma.
Compared to talents like Miyuki, Akiba often didn't shine as much.
In the course of the game, it was rare to see him stand out.
But to say he wasn't a good catcher would be a misunderstanding.
Though his skills weren't exceptional, his role as a catcher was quite valuable.
He could effectively support the pitcher and maximize the pitcher's potential.
He was the kind of supportive catcher.
Besides that, his batting was also quite impressive.
Even before he joined Yakushi High School's baseball team, he had already been receiving guidance from Coach Raizou.
His batting abilities were exceptional.
He served as Yakushi's leadoff batter and often managed to hit key singles, helping his team take the initiative in critical situations.
Now, as he stepped up to bat, he hoped to help his team open the game and gain the upper hand.
But unfortunately, his hopes were about to be dashed.
Standing on the pitcher's mound was a man who seemed like a roaring cannon, ready to burn everything that came close.
"STRIKE!"
Ping!
"FOUL!!"
SNAP!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Akiba, struck out, clearly couldn't accept the situation.
Especially with the final pitch from Amahisa – a sudden drop from high in the air, a breaking ball that disappeared without warning.
It truly caught him off guard.
Despite watching the replay many times, he still couldn't adapt when he saw it live.
He couldn't even see the ball, let alone hit it. He was struck out.
Akiba wasn't the only one out. The second and third batters followed suit.
One struck out, and the other hit a high pop-up caught by the infield.
Three up, three down!
From the very start, Amahisa overcame his usual shaky beginning and went full throttle.
Yajushi's batters were eagerly running up to the plate only to walk off with their heads hung low.
Especially Mishima.
As Yakushi's third batter, a strong hitter with some national recognition.
When Mishima first stepped up to bat, his attitude was overly cocky.
He was practically daring Amahisa to throw at him.
No, no, he was really shouting "GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!!" at Amahisa.
It seemed like he was going to hit a home run, pointing his bat against Amahisa as though he was certain he'd take him out.
But in the end, Mishima left the plate, dejected and full of shame.
After hitting a pop-up that was caught, what could he say?
The once confident Yakushi team now seemed deflated.
On the pitcher's mound, Amahisa Kosei appeared incredibly strong.
He stood tall, looking overwhelmingly strong.
Before the game, there had been a lot of chatter online saying that Sankou was done for, having severely tarnished the reputation of the West Tokyo giants.
Look at Seidou and Inashiro.
Now, in the combined online rankings, they were ranked either first or second.
And that is among the top teams in the nation.
But look at Sankou, who had been so embarrassing over the past year.
They were also supposed to be a giant from West Tokyo, yet the gap was huge.
This was still somewhat understandable since Seidou had also gone through many years of struggle, failing to make it to Koshien for several years.
But then there's Yakushi!
They had defeated national giants in practice games, and in the spring Koshien, they also advanced with ease.
Their reputation was growing fast across the nation.
Sankou was finished!
Now, in West Tokyo, besides Inashiro and Seidou, Yakushi had to be taken into account!
Reading all this, Amahisa Kosei couldn't help but feel a great deal of anger bubbling inside.
He was determined to show everyone through this match that:
"Giants aren't vegetables! You can't just replace a giant like Sankou with a few performances."
"That's simply a dream!"
"Yakushi still has a long way to go."
This wasn't just Amahisa's stance, but the resolve of nearly every player from Sankou.
This once tragic giant of the past year was determined to rise again!
…