PUUNNGG!!!
The small ball flew cleanly out of the field.
In the Batter's Box, Sawamura raised his fist excitedly.
He can now fight power with power!
He had finally overcome his weakness in batting power, though there were still various minor issues with his hit.
But those are not insurmountable.
As long as there is a good start, Sawamura believes that things will only get smoother from here.
For the supporters of the Seidou High School baseball team and fans of Sawamura himself, this scene was enough to make them cheer.
Previously, Sawamura had been harassed repeatedly, and even their supporters could hardly stand it. How could the Maou Sawamura endure it?
Of course, he couldn't.
He had to regain his dignity on the field.
Through his actions, Sawamura delivered a heavy blow to his opponent.
Most fans were more than happy with this outcome; it felt like releasing a pent-up breath.
Sawamura and Kuramochi ran back to home plate and into the dugout.
The atmosphere in the Seidou High School dugout was as lively as a festival.
With Sawamura's recent hit, they felt they had already secured victory.
Before this game, the players in Seidou High School's baseball club hadn't taken their opponent, Bunkyo High School, seriously.
But after today's match, their perspective had changed dramatically.
It turned out the opponent was this strong!
No wonder the previously formidable Sensen had been completely crushed.
Bunkyo fought evenly with Seidou for a full five innings, only for the winner to be decided in the sixth inning.
With such a hard-won victory, they certainly had reason to celebrate.
On the other side, the players from Bunkyo High also realized their situation was dire.
Let alone the fact that Sawamura was on the pitcher's mound for Seidou High; even if a backup pitcher took his place, it would be difficult for them to score at least five runs against this team.
"Wow, they're really strong!"
Aoki looked at Seidou High with admiration.
He was thoroughly impressed.
Despite having four strong exchange students, the gap between them and Seidou High remained vast.
If it weren't for Jack April and the others, Bunkyo High probably wouldn't even qualify to face Seidou's elite.
"Thinking about it like this is really disheartening!"
"Isn't it too early to despair? The game isn't over yet!"
At first base, Emil said angrily.
He couldn't stand his teammates' attitudes, which resembled that of defeated roosters.
Seidou hadn't made the final Out yet; why should they be so defeated?
After all, he was starting the offensive in the seventh inning.
He had not given up on his duel with Sawamura.
Under Emil's lead, the players from Bunkyo High quickly regained their fighting spirit.
For most players, just being able to compete seriously against Seidou was thrilling enough.
The opponent was a National Champion for two consecutive Tournaments.
Not every team has the honor of facing the National Champions head-on.
With that in mind, their previous defeats didn't seem so significant.
After restoring their fighting spirit, they immediately began to reorganize their defensive lineup.
"Isn't it said that top students tend to overthink? I can't see it at all."
Next up to the Batter's Box was Miyuki.
He was also eager to take on his opponent, looking forward to defeating this formidable enemy in one fell swoop.
But it didn't seem that easy.
Jack April's pitches hadn't weakened in the slightest; they were still extremely powerful.
Miyuki tangled with him for a few pitches before cleanly sending the ball flying.
Ping!
After making contact, the ball arced beautifully, falling between left field and center field.
"IT WENT THROUGH!"
"BEAUTIFUL!"
"CAPTAIN!!"
After two missed attempts, Seidou's Captain, Miyuki Kazuya, finally stepped up. He hit the ball splendidly, achieving a long drive.
He dashed to second base just as the opposing outfielder picked up the ball and prepared to throw.
There was still a chance!
Several exchange students from Bunkyo High were concentrated in the infield, while two of the outfielders were their original players.
If an exchange student had picked up the ball, Miyuki might have hesitated.
But the one who did was not an exchange student.
No wonder he felt confident.
Miyuki stepped over second base and sprinted toward third base.
By the time the ball returned, he had firmly reached third base.
"SAFE!!!"
"TRIPLE HIT!!"
This stunning performance dazzled the audience.
Especially given the current situation, this triple was even more crucial.
One Out, runner on third base.
Under such circumstances, Seidou could devise numerous scoring strategies, if not a whole basket.
In Seidou High's dugout,
Coach Kataoka decisively signaled the players on the field with a neck touch!
The chances of Seidou scoring were incredibly high.
"Fifth batter, outfielder, Shiratsu-kun."
The steady-hitter Shiratsu stepped into the Batter's Box.
As soon as he entered, he assumed a bunt stance.
'Trying to force a run?'
Aoki cast a deep glance toward Seidou High's dugout.
There, he could only see Coach Kataoka wearing sunglasses.
'They really know how to put pressure on us!'
Seidou's methodical approach was indeed applying immense pressure on them.
But there was no choice; they had to respond.
Thinking this, Aoki signaled his teammates to move up and defend.
With a four-run deficit, Bunkyo High hadn't given up the game and had no plans to throw in the towel.
Instead, they were actively thinking of ways to fight back.
Such calm responses stabilized their morale to some extent.
The game still had to be played.
Whrroosh!
Jack April threw a sharply inside pitch.
Shiratsu, who had been in a bunt stance, suddenly withdrew his bat and swung with force.
After two rounds of adjustment, Shiratsu had gradually mastered the timing of his swing.
Coach Kataoka's signal to wipe his neck didn't mean for him to take a bunt walk.
Rather, he was ordering him to cut their heads.
'…NOW!'
Ping!
When the bat made contact with the small ball, Shiratsu felt his arms sink sharply.
'What a weight!'
For a moment, he felt as though his arms were no longer his own.
'It was hard to imagine how Sawamura managed to hit home runs with such heavy balls.'
'And he had done it twice.'
'Incredible!'
Resisting the shock in his arms, Shiratsu launched the ball into the air.
The ball bounced directly in front of the pitcher.
Damn!
With such bad luck, Shiratsu was caught off guard. Fortunately, his mission was accomplished; Miyuki had started running early, hadn't he?
With a four-run lead, Miyuki was also sprinting.
Seeing Shiratsu preparing to swing, he didn't think twice and started running.
So even though Shiratsu didn't connect perfectly, he still had a chance to reach home plate.
"Dream on!"
From the pitcher's position, April watched the ball fly toward him, while Miyuki was nearing home plate.
April snatched the ball directly into his hand, ignoring first base entirely, and passed it directly to home plate.
To him, it made no difference whether there was someone on first base or not.
'The most important thing was to prevent Seidou High from scoring again…'
'So ruthless!'
This move by the opponent stunned Miyuki Kazuya, who was stealing home.
He knew he was only about ten meters from home plate.
The pitcher was returning the ball to home plate.
Every second counted!
Miyuki used all his strength to sprint, desperately flying toward home plate.
Snap!
But Aoki caught the ball just ahead of him.
"Go to hell!"
After catching the ball, Aoki seemed to have turned red with fury.
He couldn't care about anything else and directly used his Mitt to tag Miyuki!
Miyuki dove horizontally, transforming himself into a javelin and aiming for home plate.
It was truly a razor-thin margin. Before the Mitt touched Miyuki, he had already reached home plate with his hand.
"SAFE!!"
Seidou High scored their fifth point!
The score changed to 5:0.
"SEIDOU!"
"KING SEIDOU!"
"SEIDOU!!"
"MIYUKI!"
"MIYUKI!!!!"
The atmosphere in the stadium reached a climax once again.
In the Seidou High dugout, Kuramochi pouted in dissatisfaction.
Due to the continuous excellent performances of Sawamura and Miyuki, everyone seemed to have forgotten about his own outstanding play.
He had contributed significantly to this score, hadn't he?
Not only did I get on base, but I also returned beautifully to home plate…
"SAFE!"
And it wasn't over yet; Shiratsu had also made it safely to first base.
This allowed Seidou High's offensive momentum to continue.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!"
Ping!
After two consecutive Strikes, Maezono hit the ball high.
Snap!
Ultimately, the ball was caught by Bunkyo High's outfielder.
"OUT!"
Next, Toujou hit an infield grounder.
He was also called Out.
Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged.
The game moved to the seventh inning.
If the first five innings had been evenly matched, in the sixth inning, Seidou High suddenly scored four runs.
This had completely altered the dynamics of the game.
Of course, Seidou High's opponent hadn't given up, so the game was far from over.
...