After the freshmen's self-introductions, a new day of formal training began, with the freshmen primarily focusing on adaptive training.
Furuya Satoru ran with the main group of freshmen. For him, his current physical stamina was a weakness, and he couldn't rush it; he had to proceed step by step.
He didn't want to constantly injure himself by being too hasty.
Look at Chris, he was once a genius, but later got injured because he was too eager, although he seemed to have fully recovered in his last year.
But once he reached the professional league, his old injury quickly recurred, and he announced his retirement after just five years.
This was followed by simple batting and catching practice, primarily aimed at helping some freshmen adapt to hardball training.
Just like Sawamura, all the games he had participated in before used softballs.
Speaking of Sawamura, he ran from morning until the end of the morning training, making Furuya very envious of his stamina.
Training ended.
Everyone went together to the baseball club's exclusive dining hall.
Many people were there for the first time, and the brightly lit wooden sign next to the serving counter that read "You must eat at least three large bowls of rice" stunned many.
Although it wasn't the first time he had seen it, Furuya already felt nauseous before he even started eating.
Eat, eat bite by bite, you must eat.
For stamina!
Furuya Satoru kept hypnotizing himself, his mouth never daring to stop, fearing that if he paused even for a moment, he wouldn't be able to eat anymore.
After eating, everyone reassembled on the field.
After a simple warm-up, the loudspeaker on the side of the field announced: "First-year freshmen, gather at Field B for the entrance test."
Seido High School Baseball Club currently has two outdoor fields and one indoor field, plus additional batting practice areas, a bullpen for pitcher practice, a equipment area, and dormitories, making the area truly vast.
To facilitate gathering players, the team had installed special loudspeakers in the corners of many areas.
The freshman entrance test was arranged for Field B.
The test was simple, focusing on baseball fundamentals: pitching, base running, and batting tests.
Based on the results, the Coach team would give corresponding scores, which served as the initial assessment for joining the team.
Subsequently, combining the players' personal wishes, the team would roughly determine the players' future defensive positions on the team.
Of course, the suggestions given by the Coach team were usually just thatâsuggestions. The final defensive position was still chosen by the player themselves, and whether they could play in games depended on their performance during training.
During the test, if a player was sufficiently impressive, they might even be directly recommended to join the first team for training, becoming a strong contender for a spot on the "Eighteen-Man Roster" as a main substitute.
After the freshmen gathered, they instinctively lined up in a row and began the test under the guidance of two assistant coaches.
Standing nearby was Vice-Captain Takashima Rei of the Coach team, who was responsible for recording the test scores.
"The first item is the pitching test. Players whose names are called will come forward one by one to take the test. Each person gets three pitches, and the farthest throw will be recorded as the result."
As the test began, the murmuring never stopped.
Some players were marveling at the high skill of others, while some were already starting to worry about competitors for the same position.
After most players completed their tests, the best result came from Toujou, who had a background in youth baseball.
As the legitimate pitcher for his original team, he had achieved a top-four national ranking, demonstrating his pitching prowess.
His result was ninety-two meters.
"Next, Furuya Satoru."
Finally, it was his turn, the fourth from last.
"Do I need to give it my all?"
He remembered in his previous life, he had thrown past the marked line. Now, with more skillful use of power, it would likely go even farther.
Furuya looked back at Takashima Rei, who was standing nearby, responsible for recording.
Without much thought, Takashima Rei gestured for him to pitch with all his might.
Seido High School's pitching test scale was 120 meters. Theoretically, it was impossible for recently graduated middle school students to throw that far.
Leaning forward, engaging his hips, stepping firmly, twisting his body, and whipping his arm.
The moment the baseball left his hand, it was like a laser, tearing through the air and flying straight into the distance.
"Boom!"
The baseball flew directly along the marked line, making the assistant Coach momentarily feel as if "the baseball had already disappeared from sight."
Then, without the slightest hint of dropping, it flew past the end of the 120-meter mark.
A super long throw, full of power.
One pitch silenced the field.
This was the charm of Furuya Satoru's pitch.
A golden light flashed in Takashima Rei's eyes.
"Alright, prepare for the base running test."
She then wrote down Furuya Satoru's pitching result in her notebook.
120+!
Potential: S
Recommendation: Ace pitcher candidate.
Since Furuya was the fourth from last, the pitching test quickly concluded, and the base running test began.
The base running test was divided into two parts: a 100-meter dash and a 28-meter dash between bases.
The results of those who tested before were generally ordinary; the only standout was still Toujou.
100 meters in 12.37 seconds, 28 meters between bases in 3.41 seconds.
Furuya Satoru was still the fourth from last to appear. His 100-meter time was 12.30 seconds, not far from Toujou's.
But in the base-to-base run, he was quite impressive, achieving a time of 3.2 seconds.
Again, base running combines explosive power and stride adjustment, and having been coached more scientifically, he had a good grasp of it.
After the two tests, everyone relaxed their bodies slightly, and then moved on to the final item.
Batting test!
Seido High School has always been recognized as one of the strong hitting baseball teams. Even after many years of not reaching Koshien, players are still recruited by many universities after graduation, and some are even drafted by professional teams, thanks to this reputation.
The batting test was divided into two rounds.
The first round used a pitching machine that threw ordinary Straight balls at 130 km/h.
An infield hit scored one point, an outfield hit scored two points, and a home run scored three points.
Players with outfield hitting ability would proceed to the second round, where a reserve pitcher from the team's second string, Tajima, would pitch.
Points were scored the same as above.
For Furuya, hitting pitches from a soulless pitching machine was easy. With a fixed position, he could just swing with full power.
And, it was only a 130 km/h pitch.
Yes, just.
Furuya had seen too many monster pitchers in the Major League; a 130 km/h pitch, and a regular Straight ball at that, was truly a slow pitch for him.
Without surprise, it was a direct home run.
Three points in hand, moving on to the next round.
In the second round, facing Furuya, Tajima seemed to suddenly perk up, full of fighting spirit.
Was it competition as fellow pitchers?
Or, was it an arrangement from the Coach team?
It didn't matter.
Tajima's pitch speed was also around 130 km/h, and his pitches didn't have much tailing action, nor were his entry angles tricky enough.
Such pitches posed no threat to him.
For a pitcher like Tajima, finding the right timing to swing with full power was all that was needed, even for a Changeup.
"It flew, it flew out!"
Furuya hit the ball out with one swing, gaining another three points, for a total of six points.
Takashima Rei looked at the notebook in her hand.
Name: Furuya Satoru
Overall Evaluation: S+
Pitching: S
Base running: S
Batting: S+
Recommendation: Recruit into the first team, can become an Ace pitcher candidate.
After the test, this report quickly reached Coach Kataoka's hands.
After reading the report, Kataoka's brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes revealed a hint of indecision. His lips were pursed, as if he was internally weighing the pros and cons, contemplating his next move.
The surrounding environment was also exceptionally quiet, with only the rustling sound of leaves blown by the wind.
Should he bring Furuya directly into the first team? But the lack of actual middle school records was also a fact.
Time passed minute by minute, and Kataoka tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"He still needs to get used to the pace of high school games first. Stamina is also an issue."
Looking at the calendar standing on his desk, one date was circled in red, with "Freshman Red and White Game" written below it.
"No rush, no rush, there's still time."
Muttering, Kataoka got up and left the tactical meeting room.