Whoosh
Pop!
"Strike! Batter out! Three outs — change of sides!"
After using his powerful curveball to corner Haruichi, Seiichi sealed the deal with an outside fastball, catching Haruichi off guard and striking him out swinging.
With that, Seidou's offense in the bottom of the third ca to an end.
Sitting in the on-deck circle, Eijun silently watched Seiichi walk off the mound with a faint smile on his face. Eijun shook his head slightly, picked up his bat, and returned to the bench.
"Damn, it's already the third inning and Seidou still hasn't scored!"
"That's honestly surprising."
"The biggest miss was the first inning, right? Such a golden opportunity, and both Eijun and Miyuki couldn't capitalize."
"Exactly! And the runner on third was Kuramochi too!"
"No, it's not that Seidou's hitting badly — we all underestimated Ugumori's ace. The way he controls the difference in pitch speeds is absolutely spot on, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I was thinking the sa thing. His control is almost on par with Kawakami's."
"He's deliberately aiming for the corners too. By the way, isn't today's umpire being pretty generous with the corners?"
"Right now, the key is who scores first. At this pace, whoever gets that first run — even just one — will be able to dictate the flow of the ga."
"That's gotta be Seidou. Furuya's pitching lights out today. Ugumori doesn't even look like they have a way to score."
"Well, you never know. Furuya's doing great so far, but we'll see how the second trip through the lineup goes."
"Good point. It's all gonna co down to how the heart of each lineup handles their second at-bats."
"Pfft, a little trouble early on doesn't change the outco. Seidou's winning this for sure."
"Uh... well..."
The colorful chatter and speculation from the stands didn't affect the players on either team.
For both Seidou and Ugumori, the current situation wasn't what either side wanted.
Both teams shared a common goal — to seize control of the ga as early as possible.
Ugumori's biggest concern was Seidou adapting to Seiichi's pitching patterns and exploding offensively once they adjusted. Seidou, on the other hand, needed to maintain their aggressive offensive approach to avoid falling into a passive rhythm.
"Furuya, the second ti through the lineup is coming up. They're definitely going to start adjusting to your pitches, so be extra careful this inning."
As he put on his catcher's gear, Miyuki spoke seriously to Furuya.
"Mm."
Furuya simply nodded, his expression unchanged.
"Even if they're stronger than we expected, the situation is still under control. Hold them down, and once we get used to that ace's pitches, we'll strike back!"
The nine Seidou starters gathered in a huddle, with Miyuki raising his fist to his chest and speaking firmly.
"Ohhhhh!!"
"Top of the fourth inning — Ugumori High School's offense. Leading off, center fielder, Kondou-kun."
150 km/h fastballs.
This ti, you're not getting off that easily.
Seiichi held his own against Seidou's fearso lineup — as his teammates, we have to step up and back him up!
Kondou, Ugumori's leadoff batter, was known in the original tiline for his exceptional speed, second only to Kuramochi.
Now, in his second at-bat after getting a feel for Furuya's fastballs, whether or not he could get on base would be crucial for Ugumori's second trip through the lineup.
From Miyuki's perspective, the ideal scenario would be shutting down Ugumori's offense within the top three batters.
Miyuki's instincts were warning him — with runners on base, especially in scoring position, facing off against Ugumori's mohawked ace would be extrely dangerous.
Keep the pitches low. Focus on control.
Miyuki's sharp eyes calmly settled on a target low in the strike zone.
Furuya, already locked in, unleashed his trademark intensity in the fourth inning.
Whoosh!
Crack!
Thud!
"Foul ball!"
One powerful pitch after another.
Even for Kondou Daiki, who was gradually adjusting to Furuya's pitches, it had to be said — if his swing timing was slightly off, or if his contact point deviated even a little, Seidou's power pitcher was still nearly impossible to handle.
That said, there were opportunities.
This pitcher… once his pitch count climbed too high, his fastballs tended to float dangerously high!
After a grueling battle of four consecutive pitches, Kondou showed a tenacity far beyond his first at-bat, where he had been quickly dispatched. His relentless persistence was starting to irritate Furuya on the mound.
In the original tiline, apart from Ugumori's ace Umiya Seiichi, Kondou was the hardest out in their lineup — and now, his true ability was finally showing.
Every swing was precise, each crack of the bat resounding loud and clear, gradually fueling Furuya's frustration.
I'm in the middle of a groove here — can't you just strike out quietly like you're supposed to?!
A faint, chilling glint flickered in Furuya's eyes.
Whoosh!
Another blazing fastball streaked toward the plate.
The mont that icy flash flew toward him, Miyuki's expression stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply.
This pitch… this trajectory… this is dangerous.
Right on cue.
In the batter's box, Kondou's eyes sharpened. His front foot stomped down firmly.
There it is! The high floater I've been waiting for!
Swish!
His bat swung with full force, slicing through the air with a cold, sharp aura.
PING!
Miyuki's brows furrowed deeply.
The bat and ball t with perfect precision. Even with Kondou's impeccable timing and ideal angle, Furuya's sheer velocity almost wrenched the bat from his hands.
Gritting his teeth, Kondou forcibly swung through, refusing to let go.
Whoosh!
The ball shot into the air.
Weighed down by Furuya's power, the hit didn't travel far.
But thanks to Kondou's perfect timing, the ball still managed to sail just over the infield.
In shallow left-center field, Eijun and Shirasu both charged in.
Unfortunately, with no way to predict the exact landing spot in advance, neither could make it in ti.
Eijun was still about two steps away when—
Plop!
The ball landed softly on the grass.
In the top of the fourth inning, as the ga entered its middle phase, Ugumori High School finally recorded their first hit of the ga.
Leadoff batter Kondou's clean single into shallow left-center allowed him to safely reach first base.
"Hell yeah! Nice hit, Kondou!"
"Daiki, you bastard! You really can deliver when it counts!"
"That was perfect! Now it's our turn to strike back!"
"Let's go! Keep it going, Miyamoto!"
"Let's score one here and take the lead!"
The Ugumori bench erupted into wild cheers, as if they had already taken the lead.
That single — and the celebration that followed — made the powerhouse pitcher standing on the mound show a rare unhappy expression.
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