The first batter stepped into the batter's box. Ren watched the pitcher closely, and as soon as Haruto began his windup, Ren took off.
"Steal!" - shouted the first baseman.
The batter saw a fastball coming right down the middle of the zone and smiled, confident that he would send the pitch flying.
WOOSH
DING
The ball suddenly moved just before making contact with the bat. The hit that was supposed to go to the outfield went straight into the shortstop's glove, resulting in an out.
"Out!"
At the same moment, the shortstop quickly threw to second base.
"Out!"
Kenta returned to the dugout frustrated after being eliminated in the double play.
"It's a cutter!" - Kenta realized and told his teammates.
"Looks like he was saving that pitch" - said Captain Kazuki, concerned. Haruto was already a tough pitcher to face with just his curveball and fastball, and the addition of the cutter would make it even harder for the team to score runs.
The second batter was eliminated with a fly ball to the third baseman, ending the top of the third inning. The bottom of the third inning was tough for Sora. After giving up a double to the ninth batter and walking the leadoff batter, the second batter hit deep into left field, driving in a run and leaving runners on second and third. The third batter hit a sacrifice fly that Shun easily caught, but he couldn't prevent the runner on third from scoring. With one out and a runner on second, the fourth hitter hit a two-run home run, bringing the score to 5 X 1. The fifth and sixth batters were retired with fly balls to the outfield, ending the third inning.
The fourth inning flew by. In the top half, Kenta and Kazuki were eliminated with groundouts off the cutter, while the fifth batter was struck out. In the bottom half, Sora managed to retire the last three batters of the order.
The fifth inning began with the sixth batter striking out, and the seventh batter, Sora, being eliminated with a grounder to the third baseman. This brought Shun up to bat. After ten pitches, he earned a walk, and on the first pitch to Ren, he successfully stole second base.
The young samurai had received Shun's signal to wait, but he smiled when Haruto threw the second pitch of the duel. Perhaps the catcher thought Ren would simply wait for Shun to steal third like last time, or maybe he was annoyed by the runner stealing bases as if no one could stop him. Ren didn't know the reason, but he saw a fastball right down the middle, the perfect pitch to hit.
WOOSH
DOOONG
Shun, who was running towards third base, was surprised by the sound of the hit. He looked up to see the ball flying quickly towards left field. He saw the left fielder run a bit before giving up.
A two-run home run, samurai style! Shun reached home plate and waited for his friend, who was rounding the bases with a grin from ear to ear.
* Clap *
The two high-fived as they returned to the dugout. Ren was greeted with cheers from his teammates.
"Nice homer, samurai!" - Kenta hugged his friend, his smile showing that he was just as happy as Ren. Kenta knew his friend's potential, so he was thrilled to see Ren's hard work paying off.
"Hehe, you better watch out, Kenta. If I keep hitting amazing home runs like this, Mio might end up ditching you and falling for me, hahaha!" - Ren joked, but unfortunately for him, Kenta didn't find it very funny.
"Huh? What did you just say, Ren?" - Kenta took advantage of his arm around Ren's shoulders, pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie while asking with a cold smile.
"Nothing! I didn't say anything! I'm sorry! Please let me go!" - Ren was nearly in tears from regret.
"Hahahahahahahaha!!" - Shun couldn't stop laughing, clutching his stomach as he watched the pathetic scene of a young samurai getting punished right after hitting a two-run homer.
Haruto, furious after giving up the home run, quickly struck out the first batter, ending the top of the fifth inning. The top of the order would bat in the bottom of the fifth, so Coach Yamada made a decision. He walked out of the dugout and announced a pitching change.
Out goes pitcher Sora Okamoto, and in comes pitcher Jiro Fukuoka.
"Hey Jiro, shut them down!" - Shun lightly tapped his glove against the boy's chest before running to right field.
"Yes, Senpai!" - Jiro responded determinedly, he wouldn't betray his Senpai's expectations.
The first batter stepped into the batter's box. Captain Kazuki positioned his glove in the middle of the zone and gave a signal. Jiro delivered the pitch.
"Too easy!" - The batter smiled as he watched the fastball down the middle.
WOOSH
DING
"Huh?" - The batter was confused as to why he didn't make solid contact. He sprinted toward first base, but unfortunately for him, Kenta had already thrown the ball to first.
"Out!"
The first batter returned to the dugout while the second batter stepped into the batter's box, but not before giving a warning to the third batter, who was on deck.
"Be careful, that pitch looked like a fastball but dropped when it got to the plate."
Meanwhile, the second batter met the same fate as his teammate.
WOOSH
DING
He swung, thinking it was an easy fastball down the middle, but ended up grounding out to the third baseman.
"Out!"
"It dropped again, huh?" - the third batter thought as he walked to the batter's box.
He watched Jiro closely as he pitched. The batter clearly saw a fastball right down the middle.
"Trying to get me out with the same pitch you used on the other two? I'll end your arrogance!" - the batter thought as he adjusted his swing, lowering it slightly, expecting the ball to drop so he could send it flying.
WOOSH
DING
Unfortunately for him, this pitch didn't drop like the others. It was just a regular fastball, and because of his adjustment, the ball popped up, making it easy for Captain Kazuki to catch.
"Out! 3 outs, changeover!"
Thus, the bottom of the fifth inning ended with just three pitches.
"Crap, Jiro! 3 pitches and 3 outs, you're amazing!" - Shun said excitedly, patting the young pitcher on the back.
"Haha, that's the way, kid! Great job!" - Ren couldn't help but praise him.
"Good pitching! Keep it up." - Kenta also complimented, though he was a bit more reserved than the other two idiots.
"Thank you, Senpais!" - The boy was thrilled to be praised by his seniors and thanked them with a smile.
Now it was the start of the sixth inning, with the second batter leading off. The score was 5 X 3 in favor of Hoshizora Junior High, it was time for a comeback!