In the top of the eighth inning, Ugumori High School was on offense.
With no Outs and a runner on first base.
This sudden turn of events piqued the audience's curiosity. The game, which had seemed like a deadlock, now appeared to be changing.
Ugumori, which had been on the brink of collapse, now seemed to be clinging to a lifeline.
Although Ugumori's chances of a comeback were slim, they now had an opportunity.
Next up was Ugumori's fifth batter, the powerful Inubushi Kouta.
True to his scary appearance, Inubushi was a formidable opponent and not to be underestimated.
From behind the plate, Miyuki suddenly spoke: "Sorry! It was my fault in calling the pitches."
In reality, it wasn't the pitch calling or the pitcher's fault. Umemiya's hit was due to his extreme tenacity and skills.
Miyuki took the blame to avoid affecting Kawakami's morale. After all, Kawakami had just come on, and being hit immediately by a hit was never a good feeling.
Umemiya, now on base, looked eager and ready to steal.
Inubushi was also very active, making fierce swings with his bat, putting pressure on the pitcher.
'The opponents are just making a desperate struggle. Don't let it bother you.'
Miyuki maintained a relaxed demeanor, showing no sign of panic. If even he, the catcher, got flustered, how would the pitcher cope?
Kawakami was once a key reliever for Seidou, the national champions. His mental toughness was solid, and he wasn't shaken by Umemiya's hit.
He remained sharp on the mound.
Umemiya, who had initially seemed eager to steal, didn't rush out recklessly.
Indeed!
Ugumori's previous aggressive tactics were meant to find opportunities. Now, with fewer chances, they wouldn't waste their outs recklessly.
Miyuki, calm and composed, focused entirely on getting the current batter Out.
Ping!
As he expected, Inubushi Kouta didn't engage in a prolonged battle but rather took advantage of a good pitch and hit the ball hard.
The ball landed and bounced.
From his position, Miyuki calculated.
'No problem, we should be able to get a double play.'
"Throw to second base!"
He decisively issued the command.
Kanemaru caught the ball and threw it to second base.
At the same time, Umemiya had reached second base.
Kuramochi, seeing the situation, noticed something was off.
'Umemiya's speed was unusually fast; how could he have already reached second base?'
But the fact was, Umemiya had indeed reached second base.
As Kuramochi received the ball, Umemiya's hand was already on the base.
"Safe!"
The double play failed!
Kuramochi had no choice but to throw to first base, but due to the slight delay, it was too late.
Just before the baseball reached Maezono's mitt, Inubushi managed to reach first base.
No Outs, with runners on first and second!
The seemingly guaranteed double play was lost, and they even missed an out.
Ugumori, which had nearly fallen into a bottomless abyss, was now miraculously climbing back, eventually reaching the edge of the cliff again.
This miraculous scene left the spectators stunned.
Many had already started supporting Ugumori.
As the game continued, the number of supporters grew, with about a third of the crowd now cheering for Ugumori. Their unified cheers reverberated through the stadium.
Seidou's fans, unwilling to be outdone, responded immediately.
Not only did the audience feel their blood pumping, but even some baseball professionals were excited to watch it.
Ugumori's performance was so astonishing that even Fujio was at a loss for words.
But the atmosphere on the field was now odd, with the situation inevitably shifting in Ugumori's favor.
"It's about time!"
Fujio thoughtfully looked toward Seidou's bench.
Such a critical situation called for the Ace pitcher to step in and turn the tide.
However, once Sawamura Eijun took the mound, the psychological edge they had built up would vanish, meaning Seidou would need to go all out to face the opponent.
If Eijun came in and couldn't stop Ugumori's momentum, the game could swing to the other extreme.
Many shared this thought, and even Ochiai felt it was no time to hold back.
High school baseball offers no second chances; a loss means everything is lost.
Yet Coach Kataoka remained unshaken.
"Up to now, everything has been due to coincidences. The players' performance hasn't been a major issue. At this point, we must trust them."
Umemiya's advancement to base and the failed double play weren't Kawakami's fault. Normally, Seidou's players would have secured a double play.
Coach Kataoka felt it was inappropriate to replace Kawakami just because they missed a double play, as this would be irresponsible to the players.
A crisis can also be an opportunity. If Kawakami can overcome this crisis, his skills will improve even further.
For the better development of the players, Coach Kataoka was willing to take risks.
The coach's strong will also influences the players.
"Let them hit!"
"We'll stop them!"
"Let's finish them off in one breath."
The teammates cheered Kawakami on.
'Don't be nervous; we all believe in you. Let's finish off the opponent right here!'
Miyuki also encouraged Kawakami.
He believed in Kawakami's ability to overcome the current challenge.
"Whew!!"
Kawakami took a deep breath, reflecting on his previous pitches.
Umemiya's hit was nearly unavoidable. Despite their exhaustion, Ugumori managed to hit the ball, and Kawakami couldn't fault himself for that.
On the following pitch, he had actually handled the batter well.
'The failed double play was due to a tactical error.'
After processing everything, Kawakami finally calmed down.
His pitching was fine. As long as he stuck to his style, stayed calm, and didn't panic, he would be able to deal with the remaining batters.
At second base, Umemiya was ready to steal again.
At the same time, Inubushi on first base was also behaving restlessly, seemingly ready to steal as well.
Miyuki noticed their bluff and signaled Kawakami to ignore them and focus on pitching.
Kawakami nodded and decisively pitched.
Whoosh!
The baseball flew, and both Umemiya and Inubushi initiated their steals.
'Double steal!'
Miyuki frowned.
The opponent's strategy was puzzling, but he was clear about his own course of action.
With the double steal situation allowing for only one Out, he naturally chose to stop Umemiya from attempting to steal third base.
If he could calmly get Umemiya Out, Ugumori would essentially hand over an Out.
'An Out given freely should not be rejected.'
Miyuki decided to use his stunt of standing up mid-catching and throwing the ball to third base after catching it.
Just then, an unexpected event occurred.
A bat suddenly appeared in front of Miyuki.
Ping!
The small white ball was hit away.
'Hit-and-run!'
Ugumori's earlier base-stealing tactics had made Seidou accustomed to their routine, expecting their steals to be mindless and not worth much concern.
In this scenario, they had focused solely on dealing with the runners.
Unexpectedly, a hit-and-run play emerged.
Kuramochi, who had just positioned himself at second base, missed the ball's first bounce.
'Damn it!'
This speedy veteran was furious and immediately dashed toward the ball.
This, however, caused him to miss the chance to get Inubushi Out.
It was unfortunate, but unavoidable. Fortunately, his speed allowed him to catch up, though he missed intercepting Inubushi and Umemiya.
'But the batter will be Out.'
Kuramochi caught the ball and threw it to Maezono.
Due to the previous delay, the batter was almost at first base by then.
Maezono prepared to receive the ball, keeping an eye on the runners.
Kuramochi was still effective; despite missing the ball's initial drop, he managed to get the ball to first base before the batter reached first base.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Maezono sighed in relief.
'Although the situation was critical, it didn't result in catastrophic consequences.'
However, unknowingly, the situation they faced was growing increasingly severe.
Before Maezono could fully relax, he heard a loud shout from behind the plate.
"BACK!!!HOME!!!"
It was Miyuki.
Maezono turned, shocked to see Umemiya, who had just reached third base, sprinting halfway towards home plate, only a few meters from home plate.
At full speed, this distance will be covered in just two seconds.
Maezono had no time to think and threw the ball.
From hearing the shout to turning around and throwing the ball, the ball flew nearly 30 meters to Miyuki's glove.
Umemiya had reached home plate.
Miyuki could only stretch out his Mitt.
"SAFE!"
"SCORE!!!"
Thus, Ugumori, in an almost impossible scenario, stubbornly scored their fifth run.
The score was now 6:5.
The gap between the teams was down to just one run.
Ugumori's offense was far from over.
With one Out and runners on first and second, their scoring opportunities were greatly expanded.
This string of miraculous performances left the audience in a daze.
Given the opponent was Seidou, the excitement was even more intense.
"Ugumori!"
"Ugumori!!!!!!"
For a moment, the entire stadium was filled with cheers for Ugumori.
Though soon, cheers for Seidou rose up in response, creating a fierce contest of support.
Yet, this didn't change one fact.
Ugumori's players had indeed created a miracle.
At the beginning of the game, the entire crowd were Seidou fans.
In just one game, nearly half of the fans had turned their support to Ugumori.
Ugumori's charm was undeniable.
In Seidou's Bench.
Coach Ochiai stood up decisively, as he couldn't have the situation continue like this.
Before he could act, Coach Kataoka who was wearing sunglasses, suddenly turned to Sawamura and asked calmly.
"Are you ready?"
"Anytime!"
At some point, Eijun had removed his large facemask.
"Seidou High School is announcing a change in pitchers; Pitcher Kawakami-kun is replaced with, Sawamura Eijun-kun!"
"He will be Batting Sixth, Pitcher, Sawamura-kun!"
After conceding a run, Coach Kataoka decisively replaced Kawakami, who had just taken on the mound.
At this moment, there was no trace of the previous mentor's demeanor in his eyes—only the coldness of a coach.
"Coach!"
Ochiai was at a loss for words.
"Sorry for the concern!"
Coach Kataoka slightly bowed to Ochiai, who was ten years his senior.
"I do want to develop Kawakami, but I'm not so stubborn as to risk the entire team's benefit for one player."
"The upcoming task is for the Ace pitcher!"
Ochiai pondered.
'On the surface, Coach Kataoka seemed more inclined to develop pitchers and less trusting of the Ace. In other teams, having a pitcher like Sawamura Eijun would mean they would use him at every suitable opportunity.'
'Yet Kataoka-san hadn't done this. However, in reality, no one trusted the Ace's abilities more than he did. Kataoka believed that as long as Seidou remained in the lead, Sawamura could stabilize the situation.'
He believed in the Ace he chose.
"It seems I was overly worried."
…