Chapter 66: Kawakami's Mental Victory Method

Huangqian Yangyi stole a glance at Coach Kataoka standing on the sidelines; the other party had a poker face, revealing not a shred of emotion.

After Kuramochi, the one who stepped up to bat was Maezono Kenta; after three pitches, he had achieved nothing, yet his forehead was covered in sweat when he walked off.

In the end, Kuramochi died on base.

"Out, three outs, switch sides!"

"Kawakami, take the mound!"

Coach Kataoka took the opportunity to swap in a First Year pitcher, then followed up by sending in several more First Years, including the Catcher Ono Hiroshi.

5 innings passed, the score was 32:0.

Under such circumstances, Coach Kataoka really wanted to see how the First Years sent onto the field would handle it, especially at the Pitcher position.

As a former ace pitcher for Seido, Coach Kataoka had an astonishing obsession with traditional orthodox ace pitchers, but as a coach, Kataoka was clear that a player like Huangqian Yangyi, who possessed such high pitch speeds, would very likely suffer irreversible injuries if he pitched too much while his body was not yet fully developed.

Therefore, although the arrival of Huangqian Yangyi surprised him, Coach Kataoka was also urgently looking to cultivate a pitcher who could help share the pressure for Huangqian Yangyi in the future; such a person would ideally be from the same class.

Seeing Kawakami take the mound, Huangqian Yangyi immediately became much more spirited.

As a pitcher, Kawakami's actual ability was quite good; if he could avoid the psychological shadow caused by throwing a Hit by Pitch in the future and steadily improve his strength, he would absolutely be a pitcher capable of serving as a stable core player at any school.

At this moment, on the Pitcher's Mound.

Kawakami gripped the ball and glanced at the scoreboard, then felt his heart turn to ash; this gap was just too large.

He looked again at the upperclassman standing in the Batter's box, who was staring at the baseball in Kawakami's hand like a demon.

The pressure was so intense!

Kawakami kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Think fast, think fast, what did Huangqian-san say to do when nervous??

And so, everyone saw Kawakami close his eyes, muttering something incessantly.

"The batter is a scrub, I am the coolest, the batter is trash, I am the strongest... I can do it, I am super amazing..."

Whew~~

After finishing his mental preparation, when Kawakami opened his eyes again, he found his breathing had steadied and his hands were no longer shaking.

It really worked! Kawakami was pleasantly surprised; as expected of the Brainwashing Secret Technique tailored for me by Huangqian-san.

Without anyone knowing, Kawakami had achieved the feat of deceiving himself.

Two consecutive pitches, under the pitch calling of Ono Hiroshi.

One Slider, one Sinker, successfully making the batter swing and miss.

Bang!

The third pitch was hit by the upperclassman and went through the infield.

"Whew~"

"Don't panic, it's just reaching base, it won't kill anyone..."

"Every pitch is a new beginning, yes, it's only just starting now, no one on base!"

Self-consolation, activated!

Hm? This kid, his mentality is pretty good.

Noticing that Kawakami had adjusted his state so quickly, even Coach Kataoka was somewhat surprised.

On the B-side Field, Huangqian Yangyi, who had been watching Kawakami the whole time, felt the muscles in his face about to cramp.

Good grief, does this thing actually work?

I was just spouting nonsense!

Are innocent kids really this ruthless when it comes to deceiving themselves?

On the Pitcher's Mound, Kawakami seemed to have divine help, only giving up two runs after defending this inning.

One of those runs was caused by the terrible defense behind him.

This performance could be said to have exceeded everyone's expectations; Department Head Ota was shedding tears of old age on the sidelines.

However, as the game progressed, the runs given up increased, and Kawakami's Mental Victory Method gradually stopped working in the face of stronger ability and pressure; it wasn't until he was pulled off the field by Coach Kataoka that Kawakami realized he was soaked in sweat from head to toe.

In the First Year Dugout, Kawakami's performance had not changed their slump; having not scored a single point so far made them increasingly irritable.

"That run just now could have been defended, what a waste!"

"You have the nerve to talk to me? You went up to bat three times, a full 9 pitches, and didn't even touch the ball!"

"What are you looking at, and you too, you even messed up the direction of the throw!"

"Eight of them! What did you say!"

Bang!

Just as they were complaining to each other in the dugout, the sound of a bat hitting a baseball came from the field.

Everyone turned their heads to look, and a figure that no one was very familiar with was sprinting toward First Base.

"Who is that?"

"Don't know."

"Haven't really seen him."

"Seems like his name is Shirasu? Should be."

Poor Shirasu hit an Extra-base Hit, yet hardly anyone knew his name.

"Shirasu?"

Coach Kataoka felt he had made an unexpected discovery; he had an impression of this player, who was usually inactive during training and rarely interacted with others.

Silently memorizing Shirasu's face, Coach Kataoka wrote his name down in his little notebook.

After Shirasu, the one who stood in the Batter's box was a player with a very sturdy build, Maezono Kenta.

After three swings full of power, Maezono Kenta was struck out.

The burly man's face flushed red as he left the field, muttering, "Don't look at me, don't look at me."

As the game progressed, the score gap widened, yet even so, there were still those among the First Year who seized the opportunity to showcase themselves; talent will never be buried, no matter the time.

After the 8th inning ended, the score was 47:0.

"That's enough, everyone, assemble!"

Kataoka took off his cap and shouted, yet the upperclassmen of the Second String stood where they were, unmoved; only a scattered few First Years walked toward the director.

It was an old routine; they all knew what would happen next.

Every year during the Newcomer Match, the First Years would always have their spirits crushed by the upperclassmen; near the end, Kataoka would first criticize the First Years to make them feel ashamed, followed by an inspiring pep talk to ignite their fighting spirit.

"Eh?"

"The game isn't over yet, is it?"

"Damn it, has the director completely given up on us?"

Looking at the unwilling expressions of the First Years, Kataoka desperately hoped someone would stand up and express their dissatisfaction, otherwise, he would have to put on a show himself.

"Why!"

Here it comes!

"Director, the game isn't over yet, why stop it?"

Kataoka looked at Kuramochi Yoichi; it was within his expectations that this kid with surprisingly fast foot speed would jump out at this moment.

"If we continue, the score gap will only grow larger; there is no meaning in it."

"However, if all the First Year players want to continue playing, then I will give you one more inning; how about it?"

Ah, it's the same tactic as always, Director.

The upperclassmen grumbled to themselves; last year, the situation they faced was almost exactly the same, and it was Chris who had stood up to object back then.

After hearing the director's words, the First Years were silent for a moment, then one after another, they shouted that they wanted to continue.

Losing wasn't scary, but ending the game early was an even greater disregard for them; they were 15 or 16 years old, right in the middle of adolescence, where face was more important than anything—they weren't fighting for bread, they were fighting for their pride.

Moreover, since the director had given them a choice, it meant he still held expectations for them.

"The spirit is good, but why do you only have this determination now? High school baseball has no 'next time'," Kataoka said in a deep voice.

Everyone fell silent again; Kataoka turned around, his back to the crowd, and after a long while, said, "Continue."