The Old Baseball Player System

Since they were in middle school, and every year the older players graduated and left the team, last year\'s Tokyo tournament champion title wasn\'t enough to define Kasuga as a powerhouse this year. But from what Shun knew, most of Kasuga\'s best players last year were second-year students, so it was expected that they would be even stronger this year.

Shun wasn\'t the only one paying close attention to Kasuga\'s players. Ren and Kenta were also very focused. They knew well how strong a team had to be to qualify for the Kanto tournament, and if Kasuga were their opponent in the sixth round, this was a great opportunity to prepare and analyze the opponent.

As soon as the first batter of the opposing team stepped into the box, Kasuga\'s ace, Shota Imai, positioned himself on the mound. Shun observed with a critical eye, noting Imai\'s intense focus. Shota Imai was a third-year right-handed pitcher, and the number one on his back along with his confident stance radiated an aura of an ace that the entire stadium could feel.

Shun watched as Imai pitched with a quick, controlled motion, a high four-seam fastball in the zone.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced as the batter swung and missed, clearly late on the fastball\'s timing.

"That Imai is good..." - Kenta murmured after watching Imai\'s fastball. The ball was reaching almost 135 km/h on the stadium\'s speed monitor.

"Yeah..." - Shun agreed, his eyes still fixed on the field, for some reason, he felt that speed wasn\'t Imai\'s strongest point.

The following sequence of pitches reinforced Shun\'s analysis. Imai threw a cutter that slightly cut inside the strike zone, confusing the batter, who tried to make contact but only managed a slight touch, sending the ball into foul territory. Imai then threw a curveball, which dropped abruptly, leading the batter to swing and miss.

"Strikeout!" - The umpire declared.

"This guy doesn\'t waste time! Three strikes, and the batter didn\'t even see the ball properly." - Ren said, impressed.

"Those... were three different pitches, right?" - Shimizu looked at Kenta, confused, and asked. She had only become Shoto\'s team assistant because of Kenta, and she was still learning about baseball. Plus, watching from the stands made it hard for her to identify Imai\'s different pitches.

"Yes, it was a four-seam, a cutter, and then a curveball." - Kenta nodded, explaining gently to her.

The game continued, and as the innings advanced, it became clear that Kasuga was a far superior team, especially on defense. The ace Shota Imai struck out the opposing batters with ease, effectively using his four-seam, cutter, and curveball.

Shun couldn\'t help but admire the boy\'s pitching, besides having good movement and speed, he used the corners of the strike zone well, almost always taking the lead in the count in his duels with batters.

In the third inning, Kasuga finally opened the scoring. With a sequence of precise and well-calculated hits, they brought two runners home, securing a 2-0 lead. Their fans exploded in applause, but Shun remained impassive, closely observing every movement of the players and the coach on Kasuga\'s bench.

"It\'s a different style. They don\'t hit hard like us, but they have irritating accuracy." - Ren shook his head, Kasuga\'s batters were the exact opposite of the power hitters from Tenshi they had just faced.

"It\'s a good strategy for their team. They know their strength is in defense and pitching. So any runs they manage to score already give them a lead in the game." - Shun explained with a serious face, he couldn\'t deny it would be tough facing batters who were so patient at the plate.

As the innings progressed, Kasuga increased their lead, reaching a score of 4-0 with timely hits and a few tactical runs. There were no big hits or unexpected runs, but their precision in putting the ball in play at the right moment was impressive.

When the game reached the seventh inning, Kasuga made a change on the mound, surprising Shun. Shota Imai had controlled the game masterfully, allowing only three hits, yet the Kasuga coach took him out of the game. Takumi Ueda took the mound, a second-year pitcher who caught Shun\'s attention because he threw left-handed like him.

"Let\'s see how he does." - Shun leaned forward, watching the field with heightened attention.

Takumi Ueda took his position calmly on the mound and, with a fluid motion, threw a low sinker. The opposing batter hesitated for a moment before swinging, but it was too late.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced.

"This kid\'s a lefty with a sinker? That could be a problem." - Kenta said, impressed. As a left-handed batter himself, he didn\'t like the idea of facing a left-handed pitcher, especially one with a pitch like the sinker.

Takumi followed up with a varied sequence of pitches, using his circle changeup and slider with precision, keeping the opposing batter on edge. His sinker dropped at the last second, while the slider broke away, almost mesmerizing the batter, who ended up swinging and missing.

"Another out..." - Ren said as he watched Takumi\'s surprising performance on the mound.

"Slider, circle changeup, and sinker... He definitely has a different arsenal for a left-handed second-year in middle school. Looks like we\'ll have to watch out for him too." - Shun said in a serious tone. After all, he, Ren, and Kenta, the three best hitters on the team, were all left-handed batters and would naturally be at a disadvantage against Takumi\'s pitches.