YM778.TV Chapter 208 Warm-up
"Huh? Well, he was going to figure it out eventually anyway..." - Shun was distractedly looking at his phone when he heard Jiro\'s question. He simply shrugged and answered honestly, but his response wasn\'t very illuminating, especially since he himself wasn\'t entirely sure why he had told Kaito about it.
At that moment, Shun just did what he felt he should do without overthinking it. Moreover, since he knew he wouldn\'t face Kaito again in middle school, and because they were from different prefectures with little chance of facing each other in high school, Shun didn\'t see any harm in helping the boy avoid wasting time wondering how Shoto had hit him so easily.
"Alright..." - Jiro murmured, slightly dissatisfied with Shun\'s response. However, seeing that his senpai had answered honestly, he just scratched his head. He really couldn\'t grasp how Shun thought, but even so, he admired him greatly.
Shun quickly shifted his focus back to his phone, currently texting his mother. His mom, dad, and little sister had come to watch his game, but since Shun needed to stay with the team to watch Hokuto\'s upcoming game, he had told his parents to head home, promising to meet them there. Shun\'s mother had no issues with his suggestion. She sent him a photo of herself with Kenshin and Yumi, captioned with a congratulations for the victory, and reminded her son to be careful on his way home.
Shun smiled as he looked at the photo on his phone. He was deeply grateful for all the support his family gave him. He then put his phone away, a determined look appearing on his face. He would keep winning, for his family.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Shun\'s mind then began preparing for the analysis he was about to undertake, the last game of the day, the other quarterfinal match, which would decide Shoto\'s opponent in the semifinals. One of the teams playing in this game was Shoto\'s long-time rival, Hokuto Junior High School, the reigning champions of the Tokyo tournament.
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WOOSH
PAH
"StrikeOut! Three outs, game set!" - The umpire announced the end of the game.
"Yeeeeaahhh! Nice pitch, Kohei!" - Hokuto\'s players ran to the mound, praising their ace\'s dominant performance. The crowd in the stands cheered loudly, giving a standing ovation to the pitcher who had represented Japan\'s U-15 national team in last year\'s Asian Games and was poised to represent the team again in this year\'s U-15 World Cup.
"Hehe!" - Kohei grinned as he saw his teammates celebrating the victory. But inwardly, he wasn\'t impressed by his own performance. To him, this was just a warm-up, a warm-up for the real fun awaiting in tomorrow\'s game.
"You\'d better not disappoint me... Shoto!" - Kohei murmured with a smirk. He could hardly wait to take the mound in tomorrow\'s game.
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Meanwhile, in the stadium stands... Experience exclusive tales on empire
"Let\'s go. It\'s time to head back to school." - Coach Yamada stood up as Hokuto\'s game ended and spoke. All of Shoto\'s players stood up silently, following their coach toward the exit. It wasn\'t until they reached the stadium parking lot and boarded the bus that one of the players spoke.
"Shimizu, send me the videos of both Hokuto games, please." - Shun asked politely, his expression calm, though his gaze made it clear he was more serious than usual.
"Hm, sure thing. I\'ll send them to everyone as soon as I get home!" - Shimizu replied with determination. Even though she didn\'t know much about baseball, she understood that the next game against Hokuto wouldn\'t be easy. In fact, it was likely to be one of, if not the most, challenging games of Shoto Junior High\'s summer.
"Thanks." - Shun nodded in appreciation. This time, he knew he would need to study those videos as much as possible. Turning to Coach Yamada, he said: "Coach, Sho messaged me saying the games at the other stadium aren\'t over yet. He told us to go back without him, he\'ll take the bus home."
"Alright, let\'s head back then." - Coach Yamada nodded after hearing Shun\'s words. Considering that many of the games in Shoto\'s bracket had ended early due to the mercy rule, it made sense that the other bracket\'s games were still ongoing at the other stadium. Coach Yamada moved to the driver\'s seat, started the bus, and soon Shoto\'s bus was on its way back to their school\'s baseball field.
Shun sat by the window, remaining quiet for the entire ride. Gazing out distractedly, he reflected on Hokuto\'s game and the ace\'s incredible performance he had just witnessed.
The game had been called at the top of the fifth inning when the opposing team failed to score, losing via the mercy rule. The final score was 16-0, an impressive figure considering Hokuto had only batted in four innings. But what stood out most in the game was the stellar performance of Hokuto\'s left-handed ace, Kohei Sasaki. Over five innings, he had thrown a perfect game, not allowing a single batter to reach base. Out of the 15 batters he faced, 11 were struck out, further emphasizing Kohei\'s dominance.
Shun had paid close attention to the game, particularly Kohei\'s pitches. Yet, all he could conclude was just how exceptional Hokuto\'s ace was. Kohei was even better than last year, and considering he had already been the best middle school pitcher then, this spoke volumes about how outstanding he was now. His fastball, vulcan changeup, and other secondary pitches were simply phenomenal.
Unlike Kaito, Shun hadn\'t been able to spot a single tell or flaw in Kohei\'s pitches. But this didn\'t discourage Shun. On the contrary, it excited him. The true challenge of this summer, the most anticipated matchup for both teams, Shoto versus Hokuto. The Kanto tournament semifinals were about to begin!