The battle for supremacy between the Seidou High School baseball team and the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team was in full swing.
From the start of the game, the Seidou High School team launched an aggressive offense.
The players of Seidou High School were extremely enthusiastic about attacking.
At this point, they wanted to crush their opponents thoroughly.
However, as the game progressed, things didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped.
The powerful representatives of Seidou High School's baseball team, Kuramochi, and Kominato Haruichi, had shown remarkable improvement in this year's Koshien tournament.
What were once just well-known players have now become actual star players.
In terms of popularity, even when compared to top star players, Sawamura could hold his ground.
With the growth of these two players, the batting lineup of Seidou High School's baseball team has become increasingly strong.
Originally, the offense had always been a weak point for Seidou High School's baseball team.
It seemed that apart from the combination of Sawamura and Miyuki, the team didn't have many other consistent scoring threats.
But with the growth of those two, and the steady improvement of players like Furuya, the strength behind them has also risen.
What was once a questionable offense for Seidou High School's team is now becoming more reliable.
Expectations for them have steadily risen as well.
Now, facing the prestigious Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team, their opponent was a first-year miracle rookie, Morishita.
This was a rare opportunity!
The opponent had some strength but wasn't a top-tier star pitcher.
This was the perfect moment to test if Seidou High School's offense had improved.
The fans of Seidou High School, including many casual spectators at the scene, were eagerly hoping that Seidou's team would make a stunning statement.
Unexpectedly, in this situation, Seidou High School's baseball team was rebelled back by a first-year rookie.
Although both of them hit the ball firmly, Osaka Kiryu High School's defense, with its brilliant skills, managed to catch both balls.
If this had only happened once, they could still claim that it was just luck for Osaka Kiryu High School.
But now, this had happened twice.
It was impossible to attribute all the issues to mere luck!
What kind of coincidence could result in two stunning defensive plays back-to-back?
Once it happens twice, and consecutively no less, it's no longer a coincidence!
Although the players of Seidou High School's baseball team hadn't figured out yet exactly what kind of skills the opponent possessed, they were certain of one thing: the first-year pitcher, Morishita, was no ordinary player.
On the stands, the loyal fans of Seidou High School, who had been cheering them on, were now oddly silent.
They didn't even know what kind of response they should give. Should they cheer for the opponent?
That would just be asking for trouble, right?
As for encouraging their own players, that seemed ridiculous.
After all, they were the mighty Seidou High School baseball team.
Did they really need to encourage themselves to beat a rookie first-year?
Shouldn't it be a walk in the park?
On the other side, the fans of Osaka Kiryu High School were completely different.
They were genuinely excited, even shaking with excitement.
Although Osaka Kiryu High School was traditionally a powerful team, the past two years had been tough for them.
Meanwhile, their old rivals, Seidou High School, had seen a complete rise in power.
With the all-around rise of "Demon King" Sawamura Eijun, Seidou High School was now seen as an invincible force.
It seemed like there was no opponent they couldn't defeat.
In this situation, when their team faced off against Seidou, the fans of Osaka Kiryu, although they cheered for their team with all their hearts, were still a little uneasy.
Even though their team had added some solid new players, could they really compete with Seidou's strength?
Honestly, they weren't sure.
This unease was partly due to the overwhelming image of Seidou's baseball team in the past few years.
In the last couple of years, Seidou High School has truly become synonymous with invincibility.
No matter who the opponent was, it seemed like the outcome of their match was already decided: defeat.
As the fans of Osaka Kiryu High School watched nervously, the game began!
They were surprised to see that their team, in this match, didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.
It was amazing!
The opponents were Seidou's star players, yet they were still handling them quite well.
This gave the fans great confidence.
"The mighty Seidou High School baseball team isn't so impressive after all!"
"Let's take them down in one go!"
"Beat the Demon King!"
"Osaka Kiryu's glory is about to return!!"
The supporters became more and more excited.
Their cheers grew louder and louder.
The supporters of Seidou High School, hearing their rival's chants, didn't react angrily. They just gave them a condescending look.
"These clueless country bumpkins!"
"Just because they managed to suppress Kuramochi and Kominato at the beginning, did they really think they stood a chance?"
"How naive!"
"The game had just begun. Seidou's players were still in the warm-up phase."
"Soon, his majesty the Demon King would show them what true terror looked like."
By then, all these naive fans would surely stop celebrating so prematurely.
Next up, Sawamura stepped up to bat.
The opponent had successfully dealt with both Kuramochi and Kominato, showing impressive skill.
Originally, everyone thought that even the Demon King Sawamura would need time to study his opponent's pitches.
It would be safer to observe two pitches first.
But to everyone's surprise, Sawamura had no such intention. As soon as the first pitch came, he swung his bat with all his might.
PAAAAKKK!
The bat made solid contact with the baseball, sending it flying.
The moment the ball left the bat, Sawamura raised his hand in victory.
He was confident!
This ball was definitely going out of the park.
Sure enough, the ball soared high into the air, landing in the left-field stands.
The Osaka Kiryu players, who had just shown some signs of hope, were immediately crushed by the "Demon King" Sawamura.
As for the opponents, the players of Osaka Kiryu High School, they stood there stunned.
The game had changed too quickly, and Sawamura's reply had come too fast.
They hadn't even had time to react before they were completely crushed.
The small baseball flew over the center field stands.
The Great Demon King, Sawamura, hit a clean home run.
He raised his arm high and then clenched his fist.
This was his unique celebration gesture.
The fan groups of Sawamura were particularly excited at this moment.
As loyal fans of Sawamura, they knew better than anyone else the statistics and records Sawamura had achieved.
7 home runs!
Before Sawamura, he had tied the previous record in the Koshien tournament.
The highest number of home runs in a single Koshien tournament was seven.
In the previous spring Koshien, Sawamura had tied that number.
The only regret was that he was unable to break that record.
But he was still a first-year officially so he still broke the record for first-year players.
This time, he pressed forward and tied the previous record once again.
Now, the semifinals had just begun, and there were still the finals to go.
Unquestionably, the possibility of the Great Demon King breaking the single Koshien record had risen dramatically.
A new, shining record was about to be born on the Koshien field.
Thinking of this, Sawamura's fans were all incredibly excited.
"Lifetime regret for being a fan of Sawamura."
They once again felt this sentiment.
Being a fan of Sawamura was truly a stroke of luck!
Watching their star break through one challenge after another, surpassing record after record.
They felt as if their own lives were filled with boundless excitement.
Especially for those who loved or played baseball.
They saw things in Sawamura that they had never thought of or felt before.
Now, Sawamura had already established his own style and techniques.
Whether it was his pitching or his hitting.
Countless people were imitating him!
Especially those aspiring to join the professional baseball league.
They had set Sawamura as their primary goal.
In the previous games, the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team, who had not fallen behind, suddenly seemed to realize who their opponents really were.
Too strong!
The game continued.
With Sawamura hitting a home run, the Seidou High School baseball team led the opponent by one point.
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