With the score at 3-0 for Hokuto Junior High and 2 outs, the leadoff hitter Toru Okada stepped into the batter's box.
"Damn it!" - Jiro clenched his fists, standing on the mound, looking at the scoreboard with a mix of frustration and anger. He didn't want to have given up that run.
"Jiro!" - Kazuki shouted from behind ho plate, standing up and throwing the ball to Jiro on the mound with force.
PAH
Jiro caught the ball with surprise on his face, not expecting such a strong throw. For a mont, he thought his captain was angry with him for allowing a run, but that thought quickly disappeared when he heard his captain shout again.
"2 outs!" - Kazuki shouted while signaling two with his fingers, smiling at the young pitcher on the mound before crouching down, ready to receive.
"2 outs, Jiro!"
"2 outs!"
The Shoto players followed their captain's example and began shouting loudly to motivate the nerdy boy on the mound. In that situation, the team had no more pitchers to use, so everyone had to rely on young Jiro.
At that mont, Jiro felt an imnse strength fill his body, the hope of his senpais, the adrenaline of pitching in a tough situation, the feeling of standing on the highest point of the field... For the first ti in his life, Jiro Fukuoka felt an unshakable confidence, and he wanted more of that feeling.
The first pitch ca.
WOOSH
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"Strike!"
A fastball at the top of the zone that Toru failed to make contact with. The second pitch ca.
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"Strike!"
"Huh?" - Toru was surprised. Jiro's fastball had gone right to the low outside corner of the strike zone, and he had assud it would be a ball, so he didn't swing. With 2 strikes and 0 balls, Toru didn't have ti to think when he saw the third pitch flying towards him.
"It's in the zone!" - Toru decided to swing when he saw another fastball in the lower part of the zone.
WOOSH
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"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!"
"Fuck!" - Toru cursed loudly as the fastball dropped just before reaching the plate, causing him to miss and swing at nothing.
"Yeeaahhh!!" - Jiro roared from the mound after striking out the batter and closing the inning, surprising everyone who knew the boy.
"Yeaaaaahhhh! Nice pitches, Jiro!"
"Let's turn this ga around!"
The surprise of the Shoto players didn't last long, as it was quickly replaced by excitent for closing the inning. Even though they had given up 3 runs, Jiro's pitching and fighting spirit energized the entire team.
"That kid is really good." - Kenshin said in the stands, surprising everyone present. For one of Japan's greatest pitchers to praise a young, unknown pitcher, it was truly unexpected.
None of the young players, nor the girls or his wife who were there, fully understood the aning of this complint. They simply thought that the young pitcher had good pitches and that Kenshin had noticed his potential, but in truth, Jiro's current pitches weren't anything special, at least not enough to impress a legend like Kenshin.
What Kenshin saw was sothing much rarer than good pitches, he saw the potential for a great ace in Jiro. With brave pitching even in a tough situation, despite being inexperienced and able to boost his team's morale with his throws, these were the qualities of an ace.
Unaware of all this, poor Jiro was in the dugout, being shaken by a young samurai.
"Hahaha man, that was incredible! And what was that roar at the end? Have you been hiding a victory roar all this ti? Hahaha, I didn't know you had that in you, Jiro!" - Ren was holding Jiro's shoulders, shaking him non-stop as he spoke excitedly.
"Senpai... stop... please..." - Poor Jiro didn't know how to react, speaking with difficulty, but it didn't seem to help as Ren kept going.
"You idiot, let him go!" - Kenta kicked Ren and said angrily.
"Huh? What's your problem?! You want to fight—" - Ren stood up, angry, but before he could go after Kenta, he heard his captain.
"Hehe, I'm up!" - Kazuki said with a smile as he climbed the dugout steps, bat in hand.
"Good luck, Captain!"
"Take them down, Captain!"
"Hit a big one, Captain!"
The team mbers started cheering excitedly as they watched their captain walk towards the batter's box. Jiro was also cheering when he felt a light tap on his back.
"Hey, nice job out there! Keep it up!" - Shun said with a smile, placing a hand on the nerdy boy's shoulder.
"Yes, Senpai!" - Jiro replied enthusiastically, clearly motivated by Shun's praise. The boy then silently promised to give his all in this ga, he wanted to win and keep playing with this team.
Kazuki stepped into the batter's box, determined to get a hit and start the coback for his team. Unfortunately for him, Sugawara and Kohei had no plans to give up any runs.
PAH
"Strike!"
*Gulp* - Kazuki swallowed hard after seeing the fastball land in the catcher's glove in an instant. This was probably the fastest pitch he had ever faced in his life.
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"Strike!"
"Damn it!" - Kazuki gripped his bat tightly, he couldn't keep watching these monstrous pitches anymore, he needed to swing.
"Hehe, it's useless." - Sugawara chuckled lightly behind ho plate. He didn't even bother signaling to Kohei, just positioning his glove right in the center of the zone. The pitch ca.
WOOSH
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"Strikeout!"
"Shit!" - Kazuki cursed in frustration. He hesitated a bit before regaining his composure and started walking back to the dugout.
"My bad! I'm counting on you!" - On his way, he said to the fifth batter, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hm." - The fifth batter nodded, his gaze more determined than ever.
"I already said it's useless... today, all of you are going to be destroyed, hahaha!" - Sugawara laughed maniacally behind ho plate, once again positioning his glove in the center of the zone with a confident smile.
WOOSH
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"Strikeout!"
WOOSH
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"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!"
With just 9 pitches, 9 fastballs, and 9 strikes, the fourth, fifth, and sixth batters of Shoto Junior High were struck out. And just like that, the bottom of the second inning ended in an instant.
Shoto Junior High 0 X 3 Hokuto Junior High
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