The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 111: New Seishin

"It looks like Seishin isn't in our bracket..." - Shimizu said as she looked at a piece of paper. The paper was the Tokyo tournament bracket, which had two separate brackets.

Teams were randomly assigned to one of the brackets, and from that point on, each bracket functioned as a separate tournament. The Tokyo tournament granted two spots for the Kanto tournament every year, so the champion of each bracket secured a spot in Kanto.

"So we'll only face those guys in the Kanto tournament..." - Daigo said, sounding a bit relieved.

"That's if we both make it to the Kanto tournament." - Kenta replied calmly.

"I don't know about them... but we'll get there! For sure!" - Shun said with determination as he looked out at the field. No one said anything in response to Shun's words, but everyone could feel the boy's resolve.

The game began with Seishin on the mound. A short boy with a funny expression was warming up, preparing to pitch.

"Sidearm?" - Shun said, surprised, as he observed the boy's pitching style.

Typically, pitchers throw with an overhand motion, keeping their arm above their head, which places more pressure on the shoulder, resulting in a more vertical pitch trajectory.

However, sidearm pitchers, like Seishin's, extend their arms out to the side, placing more strain on the elbow and creating a more horizontal pitch trajectory. Read latest stories on m_v-l'e|-novelhall.net

This delivery makes it extremely difficult for batters, who aren't used to this kind of motion or the unusual trajectory of the ball. That's why it's very tough to hit against a good sidearm pitcher. However, finding a good sidearm pitcher, especially in middle school, is rare.

Shun watched the pitcher closely, unable to hide his surprise. The boy had only two pitches, a slider and a sinker, but these were more than enough to shut down the inning, retiring three batters with ease.

A tall, lanky boy with glasses and long arms stepped up to pitch. He wore his glove on his right hand, meaning he was a lefty. But the real surprise came with his first pitch.

"You've got to be kidding me!" - Ren shouted in disbelief after seeing the absurd pitch from the new pitcher.

"Submarine?" - Shun said, shocked, as he watched the pitcher's delivery. Technically, it was a sidearm throw, putting pressure on the elbow instead of the shoulder. However, instead of throwing with his arm extended to the side, the pitcher dropped his arm as low as possible, releasing the ball almost at ground level.

This delivery gave the pitch a vertical trajectory, but instead of dropping, the ball tended to rise as it approached the plate, making it a nightmare for batters who had spent their lives hitting pitches that dropped.

The submarine pitcher quickly retired the three opposing batters, ending the inning. It wasn't until he left the mound and returned to the dugout that the real shock hit everyone.

"Number 11? What the hell?" - Ren shouted as he noticed the boy's jersey number.

"Who the heck is Seishin's ace?!" - Kenta asked, clearly shaken after seeing two incredible pitchers, neither of whom wore the ace's number.

"Looks like Kanto won't be easy..." - Shun said with a grin. He had seen enough. Unless something unusual happened, Seishin was undoubtedly heading to the Kanto tournament.

The game didn't last much longer. Despite using the small ball strategy, the opposing team simply couldn't contain Seishin's offense. In just five innings, Seishin scored 11 runs, enough to end the game via the Mercy Rule after the submarine pitcher easily closed out the fifth inning.

After watching such an incredible team like Seishin play, even Shun found it hard to focus on the next game. But thanks to his Learning Master quirk, he managed to analyze enough of their next opponent.

The winner of the match was Suzuhara Middle School, after a long nine innings that ended with a 3-1 score. Suzuhara's pitcher was a third-year student. While he had a good fastball, that was all he had. Shun felt confident that Shoto's lineup would have no trouble hitting against this pitcher.