Chapter 292 – Episode 290. Game 4 of the Semi-Playoffs. (2)

2 outs, 1st and 3rd bases. One hit and the score is tied. Like yesterday’s game, they hit a home run in the first inning to increase the score, but seeing that they were overtaken in the very next inning, I had a strong feeling that today’s game would not be easy either. But even so, a chance like this did not come easily, so I erased all the distracting thoughts in my mind and focused on the at-bat.

The pitcher is Park Hee-min, Hancheol’s fifth starter. He was the new pitcher from the top of the second inning. And this guy was also one of the pitchers who had a meal together in the Asian Games.

‘A left-hander in the mid-140s. The flats ball isn’t that good, but the vertical slider in the low 130s is powerful, and you used a forkball and curveball, right? First, there’s no way he’ll throw a curve, so ignore it…’

‘The first pitch is a slider.’

‘Is it really Sly Dungeon? Okay.’

Due to the nature of the slider thrown by a left-handed pitcher, even if it is a vertical slider, it basically bends toward my body, so there was little chance of it hitting the strike zone. That’s why Chogu made up his mind and waited for the guy’s ball.

“Ball.”

After all, the first pitch is a ball. As his slider goes one-bound, Lee Yong-gi catches the ball with difficulty. I signaled the runner on third base to stop and checked Lee Yong-gi’s condition. I couldn’t see his expression, but looking at his momentum, I could feel that Lee Yong-gi was approaching the game as cautiously as possible. There was one base left to spare, so he was probably thinking about a walk, right?

‘Fastball.’

‘They won’t give you a good ball, right?’

‘Well, that’s okay.’

I was waiting for his fastball, but the direction the ball was heading was towards first base, not my direction.

“Safe!”

A check on weather stocks that have no intention of moving. After that, two more checks were thrown, and the second ball thrown to me was declared a ball.

‘Have you decided to skip it at this level? The next batter is Choi Jin-cheol, with one out count remaining. I’m also anxious. It’s not an intentional mistake, so he’s willing to compete if the situation arises…’

After quickly assessing the situation, I decided to create a situation where I had no choice but to win.

‘Let’s take it to two strikes.’

Although he did it a few times during the season, Lee Yong-gi was a catcher who was quick to notice, so it was necessary to keep him from noticing as much as possible. Because if they find out that I want to win, they will filter me out right away.

‘It’s a forkball.’

‘Okay.’

Even in the choice of forkball, you can feel the determination not to give an easy ball. And a flying forkball. I took a big swing at the forkball that fell toward my ankle.

“Strike!”

“Ah! Fuck!”

‘I guess the swearing wasn’t obvious, right?’

I took a quick look at his reaction, and it seemed like he didn’t notice. I let out a sigh of relief and this time I took a big swing at the outside ball.

“Strike!”

“Fuck, that doesn’t fucking fit!”

“Wow, it’s cool. Would that make people fly?”

“Oh, kinda!”

Now the count is two strikes, two balls. What choice will the battery make here? Shall we compete right away? Or one more time? I held my breath and waited for his ball.

‘Forkball.’

‘Forkball again?’

Although it was two forkballs in a row, I could have struck out if I tried to force it here, so I decided to wait unless I hit a stray throw.

“Ball.”

And Park Hee-min’s ball was a one-bound ball.

‘I can’t believe you throw a forkball like this with a runner on third base. I guess it means that he believes in Lee Yong-gi. Come to think of it, Yonggi said he would be a free agent next season, right? I’m sorry Jeong Yun-cheol, but can’t I buy it next year? I’m old…’

Two national teams and several head-to-head matches. Lee Yong-gi was a highly desirable catcher. While he was thinking that, he exchanged autographs before he knew it, and Rossby told him the pitch was a fastball.

‘Fastball at full count? This means entering the strike zone.’

When I thought about hitting like that and waited for his pitch,

‘… Huh?’

The trajectory of the pitch flew quite high. High fastball that induces swings and misses! I tightened my wrists and held back the bat.

‘Fuck, I think I read it?’

“Base on balls!”

“Kabi.”

Lee Yong-gi’s voice doesn’t seem to be a waste at all. It seemed like my idea of ​​inducing a strike through a missed swing was completely read. This unpleasant feeling, like I lost even though I got a walk.

‘… Should I ask Soyoung to buy it for me?’

“What are you doing? You’re not walking.”

“Did you know bro?”

“What?”

‘… I knew it too.’

Maybe he’s not talking about it because he’s thinking about the next at-bat. I walked to first base with regret.

‘Anyway, since the bases are loaded, I have no choice but to trust senior Jincheol.’

Choi Jin-cheol’s condition didn’t look very good during the postseason, but he had no choice but to believe for now. I watched Choi Jin-cheol’s at-bat with a bit of resignation,

Dang!

I heard an ominous sound and the bat headed towards me.

‘Ah! Jincheol hyung!’

A strange thing happened when he ran to second base while cursing Jin-cheol Choi after hitting a ground ball to first base that bounced on the floor.

“… Huh?!”

Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball bounced greatly in front of the first baseman.

“Run! Run!”

Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball was already well over the height of the first baseman, so there was no need to look further, and Ki Ki-ju, who had stepped on third base, was heading home. Seeing that, I ran all the way to third base.

“Meng Hao! Sliding! It’s third base!”

The third base coach waves his arm and instructs sliding.

‘Where?’

‘Go in head first.’

Kim Jung-hyun’s arm was also pretty good, so it seemed like he threw the ball straight to third base. When the third base came into range, I threw myself as instructed by the third base coach.

“Safe!”

And the glove goes over my body. It would have been dangerous if we had been just a little bit late.

“Wow, this is missing.”

“Meng Hao, you ran well.”

“Well, this is the basics.”

‘Wow, this is baseball.’

He spoke calmly to the coach, but he couldn’t control his joy, so he gave him a slight uppercut, and when he looked at first base, Choi Jin-cheol was also celebrating while looking at the fans. He seemed quite happy with the lucky hit that came at a time when he was doing poorly.

‘I hope Jincheol can survive through this… By the way, Kwan-hyung is a senior here…’

Woo Kwan-hyung’s current condition seemed to be the same as usual. He seemed very nervous around the first game, but he was in good shape now, as I saw in training, and he tended to hit one hit every game. And if it was Woo Gwan-hyung, he felt like he would hit something at a time like this.

-Woo Kwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung!

-Invincible A! T! Woo Gwan-hyung! Whoa, whoa!

And the fans also welcome Woo Kwan-hyung, the team’s best franchise star, louder than ever. My cheering song has gotten louder these days, but Woo Gwan-hyung’s cheering song that I heard today seemed to be twice as loud as my cheering song.

‘Do you think you will do it? ‘Do you think you will?’

When I heard that loud cheering song, I felt like my heart was beating faster as well.

Perfect!

Woo Kwan-hyung’s first pitch was foul. He was ahead by 1 point, but considering the condition of starting pitcher Park Jun-hyung, the mediocre lead was dangerous.

‘Please, senior Gwanhyeong… !’

“Ball.”

Contrary to my eagerness, Woo Kwan-hyung looked quite calm as he picked the ball. Seeing that, I also felt a little calm. And the third ball was thrown.

Ta – Aak!

Woo Gwan-hyeong’s batted ball flew quickly through right-center field at an ideal angle. A home run may be impossible, but in Jamsil, a double is definitely a hit!

“Nice!”

While watching the batted ball, I slowly hit the groove. The next batter, Yoon Seong-tae, came up to me and shouted in a loud voice.

“Nice!”

Match! A strong high five where you can feel each other’s happiness at scoring a goal.

“Seongtae hyung! “I need to hit you too!”

When I was about to return to the dugout after giving encouragement to the next batter, Seongtae Yoon,

“Ahh!”

A scream was heard from the ground.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

My head and Yoon Seong-tae turned towards the ground at the same time, and where our eyes were directed, Woo Kwan-hyung was lying down, holding his thigh. Just looking at Woo Kwan-hyung, lying down in front of the second base, looked serious.

“Senior Gwan-hyung!”

“Are you okay?”

We wanted to run straight to Woo Kwan-hyung, but the game was still in progress, so we had no choice but to stop there. And Hancheol’s second baseman tagged Woo Kwan-hyung with a worried look.

“Out.”

It was a meaningless out that didn’t go well with a double-base hit, but right now I was more worried about Woo Gwan-hyeong’s condition than anything else.

“If it’s a thigh, it’s a hamstring…”

“Don’t say anything sinister.”

Seongtae Yoon responded to my self-talk, but his voice seemed weak, as if he was thinking the same thing. Because the ground could become crowded for no reason, we went into the dugout, and the trainer who was checking Woo Gwan-hyung’s condition helped him out and brought him in.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“Okay, just get some rest and you’ll get better. “Don’t make a fuss, you bastards.”

Woo Kwan-hyung sat on the bench and swore something he didn’t usually say. That swear word speaks volumes about Woo Gwan-hyeong’s condition.

‘… ‘It must be difficult, right?’

Wu Gwan-hyung could not have fallen on the ground in mild discomfort, so his condition must have been serious. I hope not, but if it’s a hamstring injury, at least 4 weeks. Considering Woo Gwan-hyung’s age…

“Oh my, the old man just stopped at first base and ran like that.”

Choi Jin-cheol spoke to Woo Gwan-hyeong in a grumbling tone, but his tone contained concern. Not only Choi Jeon-cheol, but also Jeong Yun-cheol, who had spent his youth with Woo Gwan-hyung, approached and looked at Woo Gwan-hyung with a worried expression.

“22 years? “I could have endured this much.”

Woo Kwan-hyung’s calm tone of voice. But because I was calm, I became sadder. After all, it must be in very bad condition, right?

“Hyung Kwan. Are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

Director Lee Soo-hyun’s words after speaking with the trainer somehow sounded like a death sentence. An injury like this could be the end to the fall baseball season that Woo Gwan-hyung so desperately wanted. I felt like crying a little.

“I’m sorry for leaving work first since I became a senior. Anyway, let’s end Junple with today’s game. Now! Do your best until the end today!”

“…”

“Look at the voice. Invincible!”

“… AT!”

Woo Gwan-hyeong, who encouraged the players, walks to the back of the dugout with the support of the manager. The back looked so lonely.

“Now. Concentrate, focus. Kwanhyung said it was just an inconvenience. Let’s win and deliver the news in a bright light. “Understand, right?”

“… Yes!”

“I understand!”

“Good voice. It’s still the second inning, so let’s focus and finish the game. Okay? Then let’s go on defense.”

‘Okay, worrying won’t change anything and I have to focus on the game now. It may not be as serious as you think. As you get older, even a little pain can feel like a lot of pain.’

When I was about to head to the field with positive thoughts after hearing the manager’s words, starting pitcher Park Jun-hyung was muttering to himself with a mesmerized expression.

“… Because of me…, Even if I didn’t give away the points…”

“Junhyung hyung.”

“Uh, huh?”

Write, have you lost your mentality? When I saw Park Jun-hyung’s expression, I thought this couldn’t go on like this.

Match! Along with the cheerful sound, I felt the touch of my cheek in my palm. Although it was unpleasant to be touched by a man’s skin, I couldn’t help it because I felt like I couldn’t stand it without cumming.

“Evil! Hey! What are you doing?”

“Come to your senses and win today’s game. “If I lose a game like this, you won’t treat me like an older brother from now on?”

“… What are you saying? You fell behind after the game. “How dare you slap your senior?”

Fortunately, Park Jun-hyung, who was hit in the face, seemed to have returned to his usual self. He seemed to be relaxed because he was smiling and joking.

“You seem to have come to your senses.”

“Come to your senses, you cheap bastard… Under… Good! Let’s go!”

Park Jun-hyung shouted loudly and climbed onto the mound. And in the bottom of the second inning, Park Joon-hyung threw the ball as usual, and although he put two batters on base, he ended the inning with no runs and saved our extra runs.

‘Baby, because you got spanked, you throw it like a human. If I had thrown it like this in the first place… Tsk, from now on, if he’s not in a good condition, I’ll have to hit him sometimes.’

The other players also began to focus after Woo Kwan-hyeong’s injury, perhaps feeling something. We added 1 run in the 3rd inning and ended the bottom of the 3rd inning with no runs. And then, in the top of the 4th inning,

Taaak!

“Nice! Sangju senior is great!”

Ki Ki-joo created a hit, putting Park Hee-min in a tough spot, and gave me my third at-bat of the game.