"Batting eighth, pitcher, Kamishiro."
Rinichi adjusted his helt.
You Shunshin looked anything but relaxed.
Here it cos—the No. 8 batter who hits like a cleanup slugger.
Rinichi stepped into the batter's box and took his stance.
He swung at the very first pitch.
"Foul ball!"
A borderline outside pitch just barely in the strike zone.
"Foul ball!"
"Foul ball!"
He tightened his grip on the bat. Ti for a high junk pitch, huh?
The ball reflected clearly in his eyes.
With a small smirk, Rinichi swung hard.
Too bad. He didn't connect cleanly. If he had, it might've been a ho run.
"Safe!"
A double was still pretty good.
The next batter, Furuya, struck out.
And now the lineup reset.
Kuramochi entered the batter's box.
If Rinichi got on base, how could he not?
That was Kuramochi's mindset.
"Foul ball!"
"Foul ball!"
Shunshin was aggressively pitching inside. Judging by the pattern, the next one would likely be outside.
But as the ball ca, Kuramochi's expression changed.
Crap!
"Strike! Batter out!"
Another inside pitch.
Rinichi adjusted his cap and looked toward the mound.
This guy's presence… it felt heavier than before.
He couldn't help but wonder if Kominato-senpai would make it to base.
It felt like his own double didn't matter at all.
Ryosuke hit several foul balls in a row, and finally sent one flying—but before it even hit the ground, Akikawa's defense caught it.
The shadow from his cap brim obscured Rinichi's eyes.
He stood at second for a mont, then finally turned back.
He clenched his jaw.
If we don't score, it's aningless.
From the very beginning, he hadn't scored a single run.
Being this low in the batting order, if he didn't hit a hor, there was basically no chance to score…
anwhile, Akikawa's dugout erupted in cheers after shutting Seidou down.
Seriously? They haven't scored a single run and they're cheering?
Rinichi's eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his cap, turned icy.
He didn't even know how many tis this had happened—getting on base, only for no one to bring him ho.
Rinichi changed his helt, picked up his glove, and headed back to the mound.
The brim shadowed his face, hiding his emotions.
Tch… seriously annoying.
And right on cue, leading off this inning was You Shunshin.
The pitch ca—Shunshin gritted his teeth and swung.
"Strike!"
Another nasty falling forkball!
"Strike!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
The pace was relentless.
Miyuki glanced at Rinichi standing on the mound.
So far, his velocity hadn't dropped—in fact, his pitches were sharper, staying low and brushing the strike zone.
He had already improved his control noticeably in just a few innings.
This kind of talent was frightening.
In the stands, Ichidaisan players watched with serious expressions.
"That first-year ace from Seidou even replaced their forr ace, Tanba."
"Yeah, the guy who ca in during that ga mid-tournant. Once he was on the mound, the montum swung completely."
"In the Kanto Tournant, he started the first two innings, right? They must've already planned to make him the ace."
"And he's got the hitting power of a cleanup batter, too."
"Nearly every batter has gone down on three pitches…"
"Well, that's also because Akikawa's lineup is weak."
"Strike! Batter out!"
Rinichi breezed through the inning.
Akikawa's dugout had grown tense and quiet.
"There's no way to hit that kind of pitch!"
"We can't even touch the ball…"
Seidou already had a two-run lead.
The pressure of those two runs, combined with their inability to make contact, was wearing them down.
You Shunshin sat with a towel draped over his neck, clenching his jaw.
Isn't there any way to get past that pitcher? No—even just making contact would be good…
So this is what it's like… the kind of skill it takes to surpass the third-years and beco ace right away.
Bottom of the sixth. Still no runs. They stalled again at Shirasu's at-bat.
Next inning would start with Rinichi again.
Top of the seventh—Rinichi still hadn't allowed a single run. The defense behind him looked completely at ease.
Since the very first inning, Akikawa hadn't had a single player reach base.
This was the first ti Akikawa truly felt the despair of not being able to score even one run.
"Wow… Seidou's first-year ace hasn't allowed a single base hit."
"Still, this kind of ga is kind of boring."
"Maybe it'll be more interesting when they face Ichidaisan. Akikawa's batters can't even touch Seidou's ace."
"Seidou's gonna win for sure."
The crowd buzzed.
"Batting eighth, pitcher, Kamishiro."
Rinichi stepped into the batter's box, bat in hand.
Whatever it takes… I need to get on base.
But this inning wasn't going to be easy for Rinichi to get on base.
It seed like the opposing battery had figured out what kinds of pitches were easier for him to hit.
"Foul ball!"
Rinichi let out a breath.
Another inside pitch barely clipping the strike zone, and low—it was impossible to lift it.
"Ball!"
Another pitch low in the zone.
"Foul ball!"
As expected, they weren't throwing anything high anymore.
"Foul ball!"
"Foul ball!"
"Foul ball!"
All outside pitches. They didn't dare go high, and only threw inside once.
Outside again, huh…
Rinichi smirked.
But as the pitch ca, his smile froze. His eyes widened in surprise.
A high outside pitch!
He swung and made contact, imdiately tossing the bat and sprinting to first.
"Safe!"
Just barely made it—almost got out.
He didn't hit it cleanly. After all, it was an unexpected pitch.
"Seidou High School is substituting players. Number 18, Furuya, will co out. Pinch hitter: Kominato Haruichi."
The announcent ca over the speakers.
Not only Akikawa was surprised—Rinichi was too.
If he rembered correctly, Kominato was a strong hitter.
Akikawa's catcher glanced at Haruichi with a serious look.
This guy… he's already so close to ho…
Rinichi raised a fist. "Hit it out!"
Haruichi gave a shy smile.
The upperclassn: "…"
That was rare—Rinichi actually encouraging soone. Well, sort of.
Though he still wasn't thrilled about not scoring.
You Shunshin set for the pitch.
In a world where aluminum bats are standard in high school, Haruichi chose to hit with a wooden bat. Clearly, he had confidence in his ability.
An inside pitch.
Pointless! Even if it connects, it'll just be a foul ball!
That's what Shunshin thought.
But Kominato hit it—a grounder to the left side.
Rinichi advanced to third, Haruichi made it to second.
Now there were runners on second and third.
On base, Haruichi's face was beet red.
"Nice hit!" Rinichi called out with a grin.
Kuramochi was about to step up when Coach Kataoka called him over and said sothing.
"Listen carefully. Later in the ga, their defense is going to be under heavy pressure. Whatever you do, don't pop it up. Just chop it to the right side." That's what Kataoka had told him.
The cheering from the stands was louder than ever.
"Kuramochi! Don't try to swing big!"
"If Kamishiro doesn't score this ti, he's gonna cry like a little girl!"
The upperclassn in the dugout shouted.
Rinichi, hearing that: "…"
Who the hell is gonna cry?!
Kuramochi grinned, stepped into the batter's box, and swung at the first pitch.
Just like the coach said—he pulled an outside pitch to the right.
And Akikawa's defense made an error.
Kuramochi reached first, Rinichi scored, and Haruichi moved to third.
As the pitch was released, Kuramochi stole second as well—sliding like a fish in water.
"Ti out!" Akikawa's coach called.
Everyone gathered at the mound.
Rinichi removed his helt and looked over.
After a short discussion, they returned to their positions.
"Play!"
As Shunshin wound up, Kuramochi took off again.
And second batter Ryousuke looked absolutely determined to bring in a run.
Maybe it was the pressure, but the pitch missed its mark.
The catcher lunged to grab it. Ryousuke swung with everything he had and made contact—ground ball.
He reached first, Kuramochi made it to third, and Haruichi scored.
Shunshin had been completely distracted by Kuramochi's steal.
He threw again, and Kuramochi stole ho.
"Safe!"
Three runs scored this inning. The crowd was roaring.
"Three runs!"
"What insane sliding speed!"
"That's just unfairly fast!"
Akikawa's defense was in total disarray.
Ryousuke advanced to second.
And next ca the heart of Seidou's lineup.
"Feels like we're gonna score a ton this inning," Rinichi muttered.
The crowd chants were thunderous.
"Seidou!"
"Seidou!"
Bottom of the seventh—Seidou scored six runs in total, making it 8–0.
With that kind of lead and Rinichi's pitching, the ga was as good as won.
Even Akikawa seed to just be playing for pride now, no longer caring about the outco.
"Strike! Batter out! Ga over!"
The upperclassn rushed to the mound—so throwing arms around Rinichi's neck, others giving him playful punches to the head.
"Great pitching, Kamishiro!"
In any case, everyone was praising him.
Akikawa failed to score a single run.
With a final score of 8–0, Seidou claid victory.
The Akikawa players left the field in tears. When they faced the cheers of the spectators along the path out, they cried even harder—
"Seidou!"
"Coach Kataoka!"
"Kamishiro!"
"Captain Yuki!"
"You guys have to make it to Koshien this year!"
"We'll be back to cheer for you!"
Rinichi stood in line with his upperclassn and shouted in unison, "Thank you for cheering for us!"
They bowed together. "Thank you!"
—Seidou High School advanced to the quarterfinals.
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