As the saying goes.
"Those who co in peace rarely strike first, and those who strike first rarely co in peace."
After those two forceful, intimidating fastballs that completely shut down Kuramochi—
Even Miyuki's expression had turned serious in the dugout.
"…So this brat Sawamura's already going all-out in the first inning, huh?"
He muttered under his breath.
"Batting second, right fielder—Shirasu-kun."
It's worth noting that, after a discussion between Coach Kataoka and Ochiai, the starting lineup had been slightly adjusted due to Eijun pitching for the backup team.
Shirasu had been moved up to the number two spot in the order.
anwhile, Haruichi was promoted to the crucial third spot—serving as the team's main cleanup hitter for this scrimmage. That decision was part of a bigger goal set by the coaches.
Throughout the Autumn Tournant so far,
Haruichi's performance at the plate had been excellent.
Coach Kataoka and Ochiai wanted to use this match to explore whether Haruichi had even greater potential to be drawn out—and, by extension, apply the sa lens to the rest of the team.
So putting Shirasu in the #2 slot made perfect sense.
Compared to Haruichi's eye-catching results,
Shirasu's numbers weren't quite as dazzling.
Naturally, in a test lineup, Haruichi would rank ahead of him.
Ochiai may have had different thoughts about it—
But since this was just an intra-squad match, he didn't push back.
...
"Shirasu-senpai is a contact hitter. Most of the ti, he's looking to jump on fastballs early in the count."
"Ordinarily, opening with a breaking ball would be the safest choice against him. But—"
On the mound—
Eijun's eyes glead, his lips curling with determination.
This is a rare opportunity. I'm not wasting it.
First pitch—inside fastball. Again.
Eijun had already committed to hamring in his dominance with a relentless fastball barrage today.
Behind the plate, Ono didn't object.
He set up his glove with full understanding of Eijun's intent.
"Whoosh!"
A blinding streak of light erupted from the mound.
Once again, propelled by Eijun's explosive delivery—
A fastball ca roaring in.
Sure enough—
The instant that burning light streaked toward the zone—
At the plate—
Shirasu's pupils lit up.
A split-second later, his front foot stepped forward.
His bat whipped through the zone.
The crack of contact—
"Wham!!"
A fierce blast echoed across the field.
The jolt that shot up his bat—
The impact—
It caught Shirasu off guard, his expression shifting instantly.
His hands gripped tighter on instinct.
He tried to press down, control the ball's path—
"Fwoop—"
"Thud!"
"Foul ball!"
He was a hair late.
In the batter's box, Shirasu narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
Sure, he'd faced Eijun's pitches in simulations before—
But this was their first formal matchup.
And yeah…
These weird, twitchy pitches of Sawamura's weren't easy to deal with.
Shirasu clenched his jaw, quietly reassessing.
And then ca the second pitch—
"FWOOOSH!"
Eijun's arm launched upward again.
This ti, Eijun capitalized on the angle he established with his inside fastball—and threw a changeup instead.
"Whoosh!"
The previous batter had swung too early.
This ti, the swing ca a split second too late.
"Clang!"
Relying purely on instinct and grit, Shirasu barely made contact.
But unfortunately—
The timing and angle were way off.
"Fwoosh!"
"Thunk!"
"Third base!"
Eijun snapped his head around and shouted toward third base.
Just as the ball skipped off the dirt—
Shoji was already on the move. With a quick side-step, he intercepted the grounder and scooped it into his glove with a clean flick of his left hand.
"Whip!"
A seamless transfer and throw to first base.
Yamaguchi caught it without a hitch, securing the second out of the inning.
...
"Ohhhhh! Two outs already!"
"A relentless inside pitch assault—Sawamura's bringing the heat today!"
"Four pitches, two outs... damn, that's our ace for you!"
"Even the starting lineup's gonna struggle to score on him, huh?"
"Hey, did anyone else think his pitch speed looks a little faster today?"
"Huh? You think so? I didn't really notice."
"Hard to say without a radar gun."
The crowd was visibly impressed by Eijun's performance.
Especially with how he stuck to his assertive, overpowering style—even when facing the team's best hitters.
The fans were fired up.
With a pitcher like this as their ace, another two wins this fall didn't seem like an impossible dream at all.
...
"Batting third, second baseman—Kominato-kun."
Heh, going with a tal bat, huh?
Eijun stood tall on the mound, narrowing his eyes at Haruichi Kominato—who was holding a tal bat in an official match for the first ti.
"A tal bat?"
"Kominato?"
Even among the spectators, Haruichi's tal bat was stirring up a bit of a buzz.
Coach Kataoka, watching from the third-base dugout, raised an eyebrow before relaxing again.
A tal bat—paired with Haruichi's natural feel for the ball and elite-level technique—was no joke.
To be honest—
From a pure numbers perspective, Eijun believed Haruichi could get more power out of a tal bat at this stage.
Not that Haruichi was weak, per se—
But compared to true power hitters, he was at a bit of a disadvantage when using wood.
Still, Haruichi had such a refined feel for the ball—his ability to control and ti his swing was top-tier.
Even with a wooden bat, he remained a threat at the plate.
But—
If he fully adapted to the tal bat, his offensive impact could jump to another level.
That was sothing both Eijun and Ochiai agreed on.
And once Haruichi built up more raw power, going back to the wooden bat might make him even more dangerous.
But of course—
All of that had to be Haruichi's decision. No one could force it on him.
...
"Alright, ti to have a little fun with you, Haruichi."
A smirk danced on Eijun's lips as he lightly patted his right arm with his left hand.
Behind the plate, Ono nodded and set up the target—inside again.
Another aggressive first pitch, sa strategy.
Even Miyuki, watching from the dugout, narrowed his eyes slightly at the bold call.
"Fwoosh!"
Eijun's arm rose.
The flash of light streaked toward the plate.
Haruichi, serious as ever, his pink irises barely visible beneath his bangs, locked onto the pitch's trajectory.
He shifted his right leg into position—
"Boom!"
His upper body lunged forward.
"Swoosh!"
In one fluid motion, his bat swept out, aiming squarely for the inside corner.
The sound was piercing.
"Ping!"
A shriek of tal-on-ball echoed across the stadium.
"Fwoosh!"
The ball shot up, soaring toward the gap between first and second base.
"Thud!"
Midair, Kijima made a diving play—
Snagging the ball cleanly in one stunning leap.
At the sa mont, Haruichi had just released the bat and started sprinting toward first.
Kijima wasted no ti and fired the ball to first base.
"Pop!"
Caught cleanly by Yamaguchi once again.
As the glove snapped shut—
"Out! That's three! Change sides!"
-------------------
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