The situation was now one Out, runner on third base.
For Sankou High, advancing to third base was a significant morale booster.
Their previously low spirits showed signs of revival.
'What incredible fighting spirit!'
Facing a seemingly indomitable Sankou, Sawamura was deeply impressed.
He was at a loss for words with this opponent.
However, having come this far, Seidou wasn't about to give up on a complete shutout.
Miyuki signaled his infield teammates to move forward and defend.
The players understood the purpose of this move and advanced forward silently, getting ready for any mishaps.
The compressed infield defense would put pressure on the opponent, making it harder for them to score.
The plan was simple.
To face Sankou's batters head-on, relying on overwhelming strength to resolve the situation cleanly.
Seidou players didn't exchange any words, but the determination in their eyes was evident.
They too didn't want to lose.
Even if they concede this point, Seidou High School will still hold an imposing five-point lead. In other words, trading one point for the number of Outs was not necessarily detrimental for Seidou.
However, Seidou didn't want to take risks.
The players didn't want to take any risks!
This is a precious chance for them to go to Koshien. Even if they have the lead now, they could lose at any moment.
The previous loss at the hand of Inajitsu taught them that. It doesn't matter if they are confident, they could still lose.
And these Runs didn't come at a discount, the players fought hard to get this lead.
So no, Seidou will not let Sankou get any advantage.
On the mound, Sawamura lifted his right foot high and then slammed it down with force.
He was like an ancient warrior swinging his treasured sword.
As his body's center of gravity shifted, Sawamura's left arm whipped like a lash as he threw the baseball with intense power.
Whoosh!
With excellent control of his rhythm, Sawamura had thrown just about 70 pitches so far.
He was still in peak form, and his pitches were incredibly sharp.
In the blink of an eye, the baseball reached the batter.
The batter Adachi could only watch in amazement as the small white ball flew by, unable to swing his bat in time.
"STRIKE!"
'So fast!'
Adachi was still struggling with Sawamura's velocity in addition to the Wall-Making Form.
A speed like this was soul-shattering.
Before the batter could react, Sawamura threw his second pitch.
Whoosh!
Another swift and sharp delivery.
But this time, the batter was prepared and managed to swing.
He forced his bat through, secretly relieved.
'I got it!'
His swing perfectly matched Sawamura's pitch speed.
This was very rare.
At least from the batter's perspective, it was a stroke of luck.
As long as he made accurate contact with the ball, he should be able to hit well.
But just as the bat was about to connect with the baseball, the small white ball dipped as it neared him.
'Wha…?!'
Today's game focused on Sawamura's Straight ball more.
Unconsciously, the Sankou players seemed to have grown accustomed to this rhythm.
They forgot they were facing a pitcher with a catalog of breaking balls.
Seeing the ball sink, the batter's hopes also sank.
Snap!
"STRIKE!"
When Sawamura started using his breaking balls, the batter was stunned.
'Damn it! What should I aim for?'
As the batter was lost in confusion, Sawamura delivered his third pitch.
Snap!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"
The batter was struck out looking!!
Now it was two Outs with a runner on third base.
The scoring opportunity that seemed almost assured was wasted by the Sankou.
What followed was straightforward: Sawamura just needed to focus on the remaining batter.
Sankou School employed a hit-and-run tactic.
But for the well-defended Seidou, such tactics were meaningless.
"OUT!"
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
And so, the game reached its final inning.
In the top of the ninth inning, Seidou went on the attack.
The lower-order batter from Seidou High School took his turn.
At the end of the game, Amahisa did not lose hope. He continued to pitch with determination, hoping for a miracle.
In the final stretch, his performance remained strong, perfectly suppressing Seidou High's lower-order batters.
Though Seidou High School scored six points today, all of them came from the top four batters.
The batters after the fourth were easily subdued by Amahisa.
"The gap between the top four and the rest is significant," Fujio concluded.
Owada Akiko frowned in dissatisfaction.
'Rather than focusing on the top four, it might be more accurate to highlight Miyuki and Sawamura?'
'All six RBIs were created by these two players.'
In today's game, Amahisa Kousei—Sankou's Ace pitcher—showed great courage by not avoiding the duel with Sawamura and Miyuki.
This was why he lost.
But it also exposed a serious issue.
Aside from Miyuki and Sawamura, Seidou High School seemed to lack other outstanding batters.
"There's no other way! There can't be too many top players like this on any team. It's a miracle that Seidou High School has two."
Nationwide, the only team that might surpass Seidou High in this regard is Inajitsu.
They have four of the nation's top players.
It's no wonder Inajitsu was able to defeat Seidou before. In terms of team strength, Inajitsu's overall power probably exceeds Seidou's.
"At least, the team will have the whole winter off-season to fix this."
"But could they do it? Could they reach the expected level?" Akiko asked with obvious skepticism.
"No one knows, that will depend on the players themselves," Fujio replied vaguely. As he has seen similar cases happen before, so he can't give a definitive answer.
As the two discussed, the game reached its final result.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Demon King, Sawamura Eijun, unleashed his full power.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
"GAME SET!!"
He finished with nine pitches and three strikeouts.
The game ended on a high note for Seidou High.
When the final Strikeout was announced, the entire stadium erupted even before the umpire announced the end of the game.
The players jumped and celebrated, having secured half of their qualification for the Senbatsu(Spring Koshien).
Everyone knew that defeating Sankou had cleared the last obstacle in their path.
They didn't worry much about the sixth place in Kanto!
Even if you invited the champion of the Kanto Tournament, they would still find it difficult to defeat Seidou High School.
Even with their previous loss to Inajitsu High School, Seidou's strength allowed them to stand above most elite teams in the country.
Not to mention compared to average teams.
"Tokyo Fall Tournament play-off, the winner is Seidou High School! The score is 6:0!!!"
As the commentator announced, tens of thousands of fans at Jingu Stadium rose to their feet, clapping and cheering for the players on the field.
Though this game had a few twists and turns, it was still a thrilling match.
At the far edge of the stands, Lee Hyun turned to the tourist guide beside him.
"This is really just an ordinary high school game, isn't it? Not a professional one?"
"While some would disagree, the best high school teams in Japan take the professional level as the expected standard. So you're right to view it as a professional-level match." The guide answered with a bit of delight due to his favorite team winning.
Lee Hyun nodded at that.
'Is it really so close to the professional level?'
...
T/N: With this the game with Sankou has ended.