episode_0291

Thud—Ouch!

“Nice!”

Cheers ringing out from the first inning. The atmosphere started to heat up as Kim Suho hit a solo home run.

“Senior, how’s the ball?”

“Seems tense, doesn’t it? It was a close call.”

In response to my question about the pitch, Kim Suho mentioned that Na Seungyoon seemed tense. Observing the mound after his answer, he indeed appeared somewhat frozen.

“Will this game be easier than expected?”

Han Cheol’s fourth starter, Na Seungyoon. Having faced him several times during the season and even practiced against him in the Asian Games national team, he wasn’t a particularly challenging opponent. Na Seungyoon, a right-handed orthodox pitcher with a fastball in the mid-140s and a variety of breaking balls like sliders, curves, and splitters, made for a fairly decent matchup with me.

“If Senior Sangju can get on base, it seems like a good outcome is possible, but…”

Watching Na Seungyoon’s pitches from the on-deck circle, they seemed a bit messy.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

“Strike!”

“Ball.”

“Bases loaded on balls.”

Perhaps shocked by Kim Suho’s home run, the pitches weren’t finding the strike zone, ultimately resulting in a walk to Gisangju.

-Jimaengho! Jimaengho! Jimaengho! Jimaengho!

-Jimaengho~! Jimaengho~! Ohhh! Thunder’s Jimaengho! Send it flying to the ends of the sky!

And the echoing voices of the fans. Everyone was cheering me on with one heart and mind.

“All right, let’s go all out here.”

Assessing Na Seungyoon’s condition, it was clear that if he crumbled here, he wouldn’t recover.

“Hello.”

“….”

Whether Yiyonggi realized the seriousness of the situation or not, he didn’t respond to my greeting.

“Ross B, what’s the first pitch?”

“A splitter.”

A first-pitch splitter? With a runner on first base and considering my speed, there was little risk of hitting into a double play. However, I decided to lay off the first pitch since there was no need to chase a falling ball to create a groundout.

“Ball.”

And as Na Seungyoon wavered, he failed to place the ball in the strike zone.

“Seungyoon, come down! Come down!”

Encouraging the shaking Na Seungyoon, Yiyonggi tossed the ball. Na Seungyoon received it from Yiyonggi and wiped the sweat flowing down his uniform. This much sweat in the first inning. There was nothing more to think about now. His condition was far from normal.

“Let’s try to select the best pitch possible.”

Avoiding all the balls aimed at the corners of the strike zone, I aimed for a big hit.

“Here we go!”

—

“Sigh, stay calm. Stay calm.”

Han Cheol’s fourth starter, Na Seungyoon, wiped the sweat off his face and regulated his breathing. However, the more he tried to catch his breath, the faster it became, and only the worst scenarios came to mind.

“Darn it, the batting lineup is tough. Kim Suho, Gisangju, and… Jimaengho.”

Especially the image of making an out against the current batter was fading. The pressure of fall baseball was consuming Na Seungyoon.

While Na Seungyoon had been performing well enough this season to be selected for the Asian Games as Han Cheol’s fourth starter, looking at it differently meant he was still a young player. And despite his strong performance this season, being selected for the Asian Games also meant that he was relatively inexperienced. Moreover, rotating through the starting rotation at a young age and playing through the season was a first for him this year.

“I used to come up a lot even in bullpen situations. Why does the home plate look so far away today?”

The pressure of not seeing the catcher’s mitt clearly. Despite having experience as a fourth-year pitcher on a strong team like Han Cheol in fall baseball, this was his first time taking the mound as the team’s ace pitcher in fall baseball. Furthermore, facing the possibility of the team falling apart with just one loss was also a first, making Na Seungyoon’s heart beat even faster.

Na Seung-yoon tightly shut his eyes and, after opening them again, glanced back at the home plate to see the sign sent by Lee Yong-gi. However, all Na Seung-yoon could see in front of him was Ji Maeng-ho standing at the batter’s box. Feeling as if Ji Maeng-ho’s large body was completely blocking the strike zone, cold sweat started trickling down Na Seung-yoon’s back once again.

“Damn, I don’t know.”

With no view of the catcher’s sign and the strike zone obscured from the batter, Na Seung-yoon selected the pitch he had thrown the most and felt most confident about.

[Na Seung-yoon throws the second pitch!]

The ball he threw maintained almost a straight path as it flew towards the strike zone.

“Damn! I asked for a slider!”

And Lee Yong-gi, who had requested a slider, cursed inwardly as he adjusted his mitt to receive Na Seung-yoon’s fastball. It was a risky situation where if a different pitch came than what the catcher demanded, his fingers could get hurt. However, Lee Yong-gi did not suffer any injury.

Thud!

Before the ball could reach the mitt, Ji Maeng-ho’s bat made contact with Na Seung-yoon’s pitch first. The sound of the ball splitting was heard as Lee Yong-gi involuntarily stood up.

“This hit is over the fence! Over the fence! Over the fence! It’s a home run for Ji Maeng-ho once again! Ji Maeng-ho’s hitting sense remains sharp! 3-0! AT Thunders pulling ahead by three runs in one go!”

After his signature taunting ceremony, Ji Maeng-ho tossed his bat and walked away.

“He always does a ceremony that makes you want to hit him. Should I just bean him?”

Though Lee Yong-gi furrowed his brows at the ceremony, he quickly brushed off the thought and returned to the mound.

“Seung-yoon! Na Seung-yoon! Get yourself together.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Sigh… Let’s stick to the signs. Just the signs. Okay? If you follow the signs, even if you get hit, hyung will take responsibility.”

“Yes, …yes.”

“I’m screwed today. Ugh….”

Lee Yong-gi inwardly sighed at Na Seung-yoon’s uncertain response. Despite being quite experienced in fall baseball, this state of mind was unexpected. Lee Yong-gi tried to console Na Seung-yoon and return to the home plate, but there was no sign of improvement in Na Seung-yoon’s condition.

“Na Seung-yoon gives a walk to Choi Jin-cheol!”

“Woo Kwan-hyung’s hit! Now it’s one out, runners on first and second!”

“Coach, we can’t continue like this.”

Finally, Lee Yong-gi made a decision. While there was a possibility of regaining composure in the next inning, it was the postseason now. With a three-run difference, it was crucial not to give up any more points.

“Pitcher change!”

Coach Han Cheol, aware of the situation, quickly ordered a pitcher change. It was regrettable that the starter faltered, but such situations were anticipated, so the pitcher change was swift.

“A new pitcher takes the mound for Han Cheol. The new pitcher is left-handed pitcher Han Dong-gyun. This season… Out! That’s two outs! …He gets three outs!”

Fortunately, the pitcher change worked, and Han Dong-gyun secured the remaining two outs, ending the long first inning. Despite being a young player with considerable experience in fall baseball, the pressure of fall baseball was beyond imagination for Na Seung-yoon.

“Phew, I just need to do well. Just me. It’s a three-run difference, right? I can do it. Jun-hyung! We can do it!”

Experiencing the same pressure was Park Jun-hyung, an 8-year veteran pitcher facing it this year. Unlike the three starters before him, Park Jun-hyung was entirely new to the postseason, intensifying the pressure.

Krongss was a pitcher who never felt pressure in the KBA league and had been on a Major League postseason roster. Jang Yoon, a UG alumnus, had more fall baseball experience than all other AT players combined.

The pressure that weighed down the pitcher in the midst of autumn baseball was about as heavy as Bellingham. Bellingham, originally a mercenary pitcher, stood a cut above Park Junhyung in skill.

“Hmm, how did the bullpen guys pitch from this mound?”

Having been a die-hard AT fan since childhood, Park Junhyung had been the most beloved pitcher among fans for the past few years. Aware of this fact, he felt a heavy burden weighing on his shoulders.

Stepping onto the autumn baseball stage for the first time, Park Junhyung, who wanted to show a better performance than anyone else and repay the fans, found himself shouldering that burden, putting more tension on his shoulders than usual.

Thud!

[A clean double! Hanchul immediately strikes back. Leadoff hitter Kim Dongjin’s double brings a scoring opportunity.]

And in baseball, such pressure doesn’t often lead to good results. While he managed to ground out the second batter, Kim Junghyun, Park Junhyung’s ordeal was far from over.

[Now, Hanchul’s third batter, Joo Seungcheol, steps up to the plate.]

“During the Jun Playoffs, while AT’s player Jimangho has been showing tremendous hitting prowess leading the team, the reason the series is so tight is because of Joo Seungcheol, right?”

If Jimangho was with AT, then in Hanchul, there was Joo Seungcheol. Batting .400, with 60 home runs, Joo Seungcheol was a player who recorded stats that were hard to come by again. And there were few players in the KBA who could be compared to Jimangho.

However, even amidst such public opinion, Joo Seungcheol was one of the few players allowed to be compared to Jimangho. Just before Jimangho’s appearance, Joo Seungcheol, who was gradually approaching the best hitter in the KBA league, was not a batter to be pitied against a shaky pitcher.

Crack!

“Joo Seungcheol! Joo Seungcheol hits high! This ball hits the wall! It’s over!”

“If Jimangho hits, Joo Seungcheol hits too. Haha. Watching the performances of these two batters during the Jun Playoffs is quite exciting.”

Crack!

“Yonggi’s back-to-back home run! The game is tied in an instant! It’s the 4th game of the Jun Playoffs turning into a hitting battle from the 1st inning!”

Thud!

“With two outs, An Sihun’s hit! Hanchul succeeds in a sudden reversal!”

Joo Seungcheol and Yonggi’s back-to-back home runs. And consecutive hits. Hanchul Grizzlies added one more point to the stolen three points, reversing the situation in an instant, and Park Junhyung finished the inning with a pale face.

“What? How did I pitch the ball?”

Although he couldn’t remember how he pitched the ball, the first inning ended suddenly, and a pitching coach approached him.

“Junhyung! Junhyung, are you okay? How do you want to handle the 2nd inning?”

The pitching coach asked if he was going to step down from the mound, looking at him clearly.

“Yes? Yes. I’m fine. I’ll pitch.”

Regaining his composure at the question, Park Junhyung answered that he would take responsibility.

“I can’t end my first autumn baseball like this. Not for myself. Not for the fans.”

He needed to repay the fans who had always supported him in a situation where the team’s record was not coming through.

“Please, just let us turn it around once. I’ll keep it this time!”

Park Junhyung firmly resolved and started cheering on the batters loudly.

“Fight! Juyeobi hyung! Give us one!”

Thud!

“Out.”

“Damn… No, this isn’t the time.”

“Kim Suho, fight! Hyung, just one!”

And perhaps thanks to Park Junhyung’s prayers reaching the heavens, AT’s batters began to slowly fill the bases.

“A warning track hit pierces the outfield and escapes. With this, AT has runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs! Now stepping up to bat is Jimangho! Currently the hottest hitter showcasing remarkable hitting prowess.”

“Please, Mangho! Please, just this once!”