The moment Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box, the atmosphere immediately became lively.
In the duels before, Mukai had demonstrated his strength.
His skills were definitely challenging.
But his opponent was even more challenging.
That was the great Koshien player Sawamura Eijun, who was not only the winning Ace but also a record-breaking batter.
Such a matchup naturally drew everyone's attention.
Sawamura's promise to avenge Kuramochi was not just talk; he genuinely intended to do so.
With his bat held high, Sawamura Eijun assumed his stance, pulling it wide.
Behind the plate, Inui constantly recalled information about Sawamura.
'Sawamura's batting record was very unique. It seemed he could hit almost any pitch, and his batting was highly variable.'
'He was especially skilled at hitting pitches with less power.'
'It wasn't a guarantee of always hitting the ball, but it was close to certain.'
According to his coach, Sawamura might even have the ability to read the pitcher's mind.
"In other words, he could know what kind of pitch was coming."
"That's impossible!"
When Inui first heard this from his Coach, he was highly skeptical.
In his long time in high school baseball, the old Coach had also never encountered such an opponent, let alone a first.
"I'm not entirely convinced this information is accurate. But if it isn't true, it would be impossible to explain Sawamura's achievements. Given his swinging form, he shouldn't be able to hit so many hits and home runs."
For the seasoned veteran Okamoto, a quick glance at a batter's swing usually gave him a good idea of their hitting power.
Sawamura's swing was decent, but it clearly wasn't on the same level as Todoroki Raichi or Yuuki Tatsuya.
Yet his performance at the plate seemed to be on par with these top batters.
'It didn't make sense.'
The only reasonable explanation was that Sawamura Eijun was reading the pitcher's pitches, allowing him to achieve such results with a less-than-perfect swing.
Recalling Sawamura's previous feats, Kengo Inui focused intently and prepared himself for the challenge.
'Here it comes!'
The first pitch was a high inside ball.
Whoosh!
The white ball shot in, almost as if aiming at Sawamura's head.
Facing this pitch aimed at his face, Sawamura instinctively tilted his head back to avoid the ball.
Snap!
"BALL!"
Sawamura's expression turned cold.
"Sorry, I seemed to have slipped," Mukai said in a sincere tone from the mound.
Sawamura cracked a smile and said, "No problem!"
The pitch was off by about five centimeters(2 in.), so even if he hadn't dodged, it wouldn't have hit him.
'That little punk, really daring!'
A five-centimeter difference could have hit him square in the face.
How confident must you be to pitch like that?
That guy!
Sawamura's eyes narrowed dangerously as he raised his bat again.
An air of unfriendly determination emanated from him suddenly.
Sawamura was furious!
Although Mukai didn't actually intend to hit him in the face, such a provocation was unacceptable to Sawamura.
Sawamura's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared directly at Mukai Taiyou.
His bat kept swaying slightly as if preparing for a powerful swing at any moment.
'Bring it on!'
'Bring it on!!!'
'If you have the courage, throw the ball.'
'Don't be a chicken now. If you walk me on Four Balls, I'll have no respect for you.'
Though Sawamura didn't say a word, his every movement conveyed his challenge clearly.
'Who's being a chicken?'
Mukai, equally unwilling to back down, took his stance and pitched the ball.
The pitch was a well-placed Strike on the outside corner.
'You little shit!'
Facing this extreme corner pitch, Sawamura didn't hold back and swung his bat with precision.
Ping!
The white ball was struck with such force that it shot off at incredible speed.
The third baseman from Teito High scrambled to catch it, but it was too fast. He could only watch as the ball landed and then ricocheted away.
"FOUL!"
The ball veered off by several centimeters, landing out of bounds.
"Phew~"
Sawamura exhaled deeply and lifted his bat again.
Despite the foul ball, he was now behind with one Strike against him.
But in terms of momentum, he was now putting pressure on Mukai.
His batting was so fierce that even Teito's solid defense might struggle to contain it if the ball was in play.
"You must be kidding!"
The third baseman of Teito stared disbelievingly at Sawamura in the Batter's Box.
He was a left-handed batter, and from his angle, it seemed like Mukai's pitch was coming from behind him.
Yet Sawamura managed to pinpoint the ball accurately and hit it with such accuracy.
'It was almost unfair!'
"Is not just pitching, but even his hitting is so terrifying?"
This realization left Teito's third baseman astounded.
For Teito's players, this was a significant intimidation factor.
However, clearly, defeating Teito's battery would require more than just such batting prowess.
Behind the plate, Inui calmly observed.
'It was time to use your strengths and finish off the opponent.'
Unfazed, he signaled to Taiyou on the mound.
Mukai Taiyou gave a barely perceptible nod.
He and his partner seemed to be thinking in sync at this moment.
Their performance left even Fujio, who was watching the game, quite surprised.
'Teito's battery remained completely unshaken by Sawamura-kun's sharp hit.'
It was almost unbelievable.
'Not only were they unfazed, but they also seemed to have developed a clear strategy to deal with Sawamura.'
Mukai on the mound's eyes flashed with a different kind of intensity.
Facing the prepared Sawamura, he took his stance and threw the ball.
In his field of vision, the strike zone had a strange transformation.
As mentioned earlier, truly skilled control pitchers don't just see the strike zone as a square, they can divide it into nine zones and even more complex shapes.
To Mukai, the strike zone wasn't just a flat square but a three-dimensional space extending into a diamond shape.
In other words, to him, the strike zone was a 3D box.
The pitch he threw passed through the 3D box of the strike zone and then brushed through the bottom side of the 3D box.
Whoosh!
The ball flew like a laser beam.
Sawamura, with his head slightly raised, was in the left Batting Box. For him, the ball looked like it was coming from behind.
As a result, the ball's approach time seemed incredibly brief, giving him little time to prepare.
Fortunately, with his experience, Sawamura had learned to use his peripheral vision to detect Mukai's every move.
He could clearly see that the ball was coming in at a low course.
Sawamura cracked a slight smile. He took a step toward the zone and swung his bat.
'Hitting a low and away ball like this is easy.'
Ping!
The white ball soared high after being struck.
Sawamura looked at his hands in surprise.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but it felt like he didn't make contact with the sweet spot of the ball.
If he didn't hit the sweet spot, it meant the ball had more rebound force than usual.
Sawamura's sense was that the ball felt heavier than expected!
The ball continued to fly, heading towards the outfield.
Ultimately, it landed in the outfielder's mitt.
Snap!
"Out!"
Earlier, when Sawamura was pitching, he had given up a hit, whether by coincidence or due to weather conditions.
But Mukai's first appearance had led to a three-up and three-down against Seidou High.
In their first encounter, the mighty Sawamura was even outdone by his opponent.
"This guy!"
Sawamura frowned.
He felt like something was missing, something he hadn't noticed.
Sawamura walked away from the batter's box, puzzled.
"Great job, Taiyou!"
"Finish off the opponent like that!"
"Even the champions is nothing with your pitching!"
"The mighty one was easily solved with by you…"
Teito High's players were thrilled, cheering on their Ace.
Kuramochi looked at Sawamura as he walked off, casting a sidelong glance.
"Is this how you avenge me?"
Sawamura awkwardly shrugged.
"Do we really need to jab each other like this?"
...