Boom!
The pitch, resembling an anti-aircraft shell, left the batters of Nihon Shouno High School helpless.
In the Nihon Shouno High School dugout.
The Superintendent of Nihon Shouno High School was distinguished by a notably round and plump appearance like a big teddy bear.
His expression was solemn, clearly taken aback by the strategic move by Seidou High School.
Initially, they had expected Seidou to send their Ace, Sawamura.
They had prepared extensively for that scenario.
However, their opponents threw them off by sending out Furuya instead.
With insufficient information on hand, they found themselves unprepared for this new threat.
'This is a serious problem!'
Repeated strikeouts had disastrous consequences.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
The batters of Nihon Shouno were powerless against Furuya's fastballs.
"Damn it!"
The Superintendent struck the bench forcefully, yet his teddy bear-like appearance rendered the action somewhat comical.
"When the batters move closer to the inside corner, the pitcher's control is mediocre. You can use this tactic to counter his momentum and aim for Walks."
Despite his appearance, the Superintendent of Nihon Shouno High School had a solid level of expertise.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have the position at one of the top national schools.
In just one inning, the plump Superintendent came up with a counter-strategy.
Whether this strategy would prove effective or not would only be revealed after testing it.
Next up, it was Seidou's turn to bat.
The pitcher of Nihon Shouno was exceptionally talented, standing tall and slim, with a specialization in sliders.
The significant drop in his pitches made it hard for Seidou High School's batters to find their rhythm.
They barely managed to make contact, but it didn't produce the desired results.
Ping!
"OUT!"
"OUT!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Quickly, it was three up, three down.
The game continued in a back-and-forth stalemate.
By the end of the third inning, neither side had scored a hit.
The score remained 0:0!
The game progressed to the fourth inning.
Shouno's batters gradually adjusted to Furuya's pitch speed, managing to make contact with the ball.
Ping!
After hitting the baseball, Shouno batter's face turned pale, as if he had received very bad news.
'It is too heavy!'
His arms felt as if they had been run over by a car; his bones felt like they were going to break.
His hands were numb, barely able to grip the bat.
With such overwhelming force, how could they possibly hit well?
The baseball soared high, turning into an infield pop-up.
Haruichi easily caught the ball in his mitt.
Snap!
"OUT!"
The subsequent batters faced similar fates.
Although they were edging close to the inside corner, Furuya began throwing some balls to the outside corner.
Yet, even with the batters' focus on the outer corner, they remained utterly powerless.
Outer corner pitches were far and heavy to begin with, and coming from Furuya, they were even more so.
Hitting well under those conditions was nearly impossible for them.
Another clean and efficient three up, three down.
Furuya's spectacular performance drew waves of excitement from the spectators.
At the home of Yui Kaoru.
While preparing dinner, Yui's mother looked curiously at the TV screen.
"This kid's pitching is even better than the one from yesterday. Why is he wearing number 11?"
Even an outsider like Yui's mother knew that the ace pitcher usually wears number 1.
Yui Kaoru smiled and explained.
"Pitching isn't solely judged by speed."
'However, to go further, having a pitcher like Furuya is also essential.'
The game continued.
By the fourth inning, both teams went up and down for several innings.
Ultimately, no one managed to score.
The score remained 0:0 as the game moved into the fifth inning.
In this inning, Furuya threw a Four-Ball.
Given his current control level, it was quite rare for him to throw four balls in this situation, after several innings of accurate pitching.
Yet, with the help of his teammates, the Walk didn't cause significant harm.
He still managed to record three Outs smoothly.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
"Fourth batter, catcher, Miyuki-kun."
In the fifth inning, Seidou's starting batter was Miyuki.
Nihon Shouno High School's pitcher and catcher were not lacking in confidence, having previously dealt with Miyuki.
Moreover, the pitch they used was not difficult to hit.
Perhaps in Shouno battery's minds, Miyuki was not as scary as they thought.
They felt they could handle him easily.
And now, they were throwing a more challenging pitch.
The ball flew toward Miyuki in an instant.
Facing the sudden pitch, Miyuki was unfazed.
'Bring it on!'
He had been eager to face the opponent's decisive pitch. Last time, the opponent ignored his stance and position and threw a standard fastball, causing Miyuki's schemes to fail.
He had mistaken a hittable fastball for a breaking ball.
The result was naturally disappointing.
Now, the opponent was finally cooperating.
They threw the winning shot.
And hitting the opponent's winning shot was exactly Miyuki's specialty.
'Thank you!'
He confidently swung his bat, aiming at the incoming pitch and striking decisively.
Ping!
The ball was struck cleanly and drew a beautiful arc.
It landed in the gap in the outfield.
A long hit, and an outfield hit at that.
After four innings of analyzing and adjusting, Seidou High School's offense finally started.
It was their fourth batter, Miyuki Kazuya, who led the charge.
With no Outs and a runner on second base.
In this situation, Seidou High School's fifth batter was up next.
Today, Seidou High School's fifth batter was Furuya.
With Sawamura not in the lineup, Shiratsu, the original fifth batter, was moved up to third.
Given that the opponent was also a top national team if the situation worsened, Sawamura might be brought in.
Thus, the fifth batter's role couldn't be too weak, so Coach Kataoka arranged for Furuya in that spot.
This allowed Sawamura and Miyuki to continue their connection.
In addition to this reason, there was also another reason related to Furuya.
Although he was somewhat inconsistent, his hitting power was quite impressive.
Coach Kataoka placed him in the fifth spot, anticipating his performance in the batter's box.
With no Outs and a runner on second base, the battery of Nihon Shouno stared with wide eyes.
They simply couldn't imagine how Miyuki, who had struggled to hit even a fastball before, could now target the pitcher's deciding pitch.
"Hehe!"
At second base, Miyuki was smiling brightly.
There was no helping it; that was just his style.
In the Seidou High School dugout,
Coach Ochiai couldn't help but smile, "The Captain really loves hitting the opponent's winning shot!"
"Unstable performance is still Miyuki's biggest weakness,"
Superintendent Kataoka said with a candid tone.
Despite being reliable in critical situations, Miyuki's overall stability had improved significantly since the graduation of the previous third-years.
'However, the inherent weaknesses remained.'
He still has high hopes for Miyuki to improve more and be no less than Yuuki Tatsuya.
Back in the field, the fifth batter Furuya launched the ball with a powerful swing.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and immediately soared over a hundred meters, landing in the outfield stands.
Furuya, expressionless, dropped his bat and calmly began running the bases.
"Home run!"
"Wow!"
"Oh man, this substitute powerhouse is incredible."
"Isn't he amazing? Can he really replace the powerhouse?"
"I didn't expect such a monster to be hidden in Seidou apart from Sawamura."
The stands erupted with waves of astonishment.
The scene was simply unbelievable to the spectators.
Seidou had many famous players, with Furuya being one of them.
But his fame came primarily from his nationwide top pitching speed, not his powerful hitting.
To break the deadlock after five innings of pitching battles with a clean, decisive two-run home run was astonishing to everyone.
The score was now 2:0.
Furuya completed his lap around the field and returned to the dugout.
"You little rascal!"
"That was fantastic!"
"So cool!!"
His teammates welcomed him as if he were a hero.
Furuya's performance certainly deserved it.
"Ha, all the spotlight's been stolen." Miyuki, who had already returned to home plate, muttered with a wry smile.
"Are you jealous or something?" Kuramochi asked with a grin.
Miyuki rolled his eyes.
"At least I got a hit. There's no reason to be jealous."
A metaphorical arrow stuck Kuramochi at that comment.
'That jerk!'
Kuramochi's expression darkened immediately.
It was clear that Miyuki's comment was a jab at him.
At this point, they couldn't hold back any longer.
They absolutely had to make a stand.
The Seidou High players, who were determined to make a difference, were quickly dealt with.
Nihon Shouno High School was not a weak team but one of the nation's top powerhouses.
Even Seidou High found it challenging to defeat them.
Unconsciously, the game reached the sixth inning.
Furuya allowed a hit but thankfully didn't give up any Runs.
Kuramochi and Kominato's rock-solid defense saved him in a critical moment.
They stopped a ball that was about to fly out.
Seidou High was also a powerhouse, with strong, ironclad defense.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Seidou High was on offense.
Asou hit a fly ball to the outfield, which was caught by the opponent.
Asou's performance in this Koshien was still commendable.
He secured a hit and an RBI.
As the ninth batter of the team, no one expected him to do much more.
Today, he was also eager to show his worth.
Unfortunately, the opponent gave him no chance.
His weaknesses were well-researched, and the opposing team didn't give him any space to do anything else.
They quickly tagged him Out in a sly play.
With one Out and no runners on base, Seidou's batting lineup moved to the first batter.
Facing the first batter, Kuramochi, Nihon Shouno High School reacted decisively.
Their entire infield defense moved forward.
Even though Kuramochi hadn't yet attempted a bunt, they advanced their defense.
They didn't give Kuramochi any chance for a bunt.
If Kuramochi got on base, he would become extremely troublesome.
But as long as he was just a batter, his skills weren't outstanding.
Nihon Shouno High's pitcher was very confident.
His pitching was decisively intimidating.
Whoosh!
The white ball zipped through like a streak of light, instantly appearing above the home plate.
'I'm not just a bunter.'
Kuramochi, unwilling to be outdone, took a decisive swing on the first pitch.
During his intense training sessions, Kuramochi had practiced hitting decisively.
He swung his bat at least 800 times a day.
Although he knew his strength was speed, he also understood that without improvement in hitting, even the best speed wouldn't make a difference.
So, he worked hard on this aspect.
No sweat is wasted, and Kuramochi's sweat was no exception.
Ping!
The white ball was struck and flew into the outfield.
Nihon Shouno's outfielder sprinted back with all his might.
Unfortunately, he didn't make it in time.
"Hyaa-ha-haa!"
Like a blue lightning flash, Kuramochi smoothly reached first base, and then quickly advanced to second base.
At this point, Nihon Shouno's outfielder had already positioned himself and retrieved the ball.
"Idiot!"
Seeing Kuramochi rashly head for second base, the outfielder threw the ball with no hesitation.
He was fast, but Kuramochi was faster.
Before the ball could reach the shortstop's glove, Kuramochi had already stepped onto second base.
"SAFE!"
One Out, runner on second base.
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