By the time realization hit, it was already too late.
Hyuga swung instinctively, but his rhythm had been completely destroyed. The bat sliced through empty air as the baseball slammed cleanly into Miyuki's mitt.
Pop!
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!!"
The umpire's call echoed across the field.
The stadium erupted.
Seihou's third and fourth batters—struck out back-to-back.
For a team already trailing by four runs, it was a devastating blow.
Those two batters had been Seihou's last hope to tear open Kanzaki's pitching and revive their offense. Instead, their chances shrank even further, and the pressure on the rest of the lineup grew suffocating.
The Seihou players understood this clearly.
It was already the seventh inning.
Under Kanzaki Ryou's absolute suppression, their batting order had failed to create any meaningful chances. Time was slipping away, inning by inning, and if they couldn't get runners on base soon, their core batters wouldn't even get another turn at the plate.
In stark contrast to the silence spreading among Seihou's supporters, Seidou's stands were alive with excitement.
Some fans had already pulled out flags emblazoned with the word "CHAMPIONS", waving them high in the sunlight. The fluttering banners were dazzling—almost cruelly so.
To the Seihou players, it felt like mockery.
They clenched their fists, silently swearing that they wouldn't give up—not here, not now.
Seihou's fifth batter stepped into the box.
Then—
An unexpected move.
No one anticipated it.
He suddenly squared to bunt, softly tapping Kanzaki's pitch between third base and shortstop. With Seidou's infield positioned deep, the defense couldn't make the play in time.
Safe.
"Hmph… they're really desperate now."
Kanzaki exhaled quietly.
He saw through it immediately—not just trying to get on base, but pushing the lineup forward, desperately hoping to give their core batters another chance.
In the Koshien finals, no one surrendered easily.
The closer the game came to its end, the more ferocious the counterattack would become.
Seidou couldn't afford even a moment of carelessness.
Seihou's sixth batter followed with the same intention.
But Kanzaki showed no mercy.
Three pitches.
Strikeout.
The top of the seventh inning ended.
Kanzaki returned to the dugout calmly and began rehydrating. The sun hung mercilessly overhead—the hottest point of the day.
"Senpai, let's add another run!" Kanzaki said to Araki Keita as he prepared to head out.
"I'll give it everything I've got," Araki replied with a grin.
In the bottom of the seventh, Araki Keita worked the count carefully before swinging on the third pitch, sending the ball into play and reaching first base.
Next up, Yoshikawa Junpei also made contact—but the hit landed right in front of the shortstop.
The ball was relayed to second.
Force out.
Then—snap back to first.
Pop!
"Out!"
Double play.
Both Araki and Yoshikawa could only shrug helplessly as they returned to the dugout. Kuzuyama's pitches weren't fast, but the variety and control made solid contact extremely difficult.
Miyuki stepped up next.
Three swings.
Three misses.
Strikeout.
The Seidou dugout collectively rolled their eyes.
Seriously… when there's no one on base, this guy's batting drops below sixty percent.
Kanzaki shook his head.
Miyuki still needs to fix that weakness.
His batting relied too heavily on pitch prediction rather than raw fundamentals—swing speed, precision, and tracking. To fix that flaw, there was only one solution.
Strength training.
The game moved into the eighth inning.
Seihou's seventh batter attempted another bunt, but Miyuki was ready this time. The runner was thrown out cleanly.
The next two batters—including Kotaro Kuzuyama—were completely shut down.
One strikeout.
One ground out.
Bottom of the eighth.
Seidou continued pressing the advantage.
Shida Shota reached base with an infield hit, then coordinated with Kominato Ryosuke on a hit-and-run.
Shida advanced to second.
Kominato was forced out.
And once again—
Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box.
The stadium seemed to hold its breath.
Yuki swung.
Bang—!!
The white baseball soared into the sky like a dove, flying straight toward the center-field stands.
"HOME RUN!!"
Yuki Tetsuya's second home run at Koshien!
Two runs scored!
6–0!
"OHHHH!!"
"YUKI!!"
"SEIDOU!!"
The cheers shook the entire stadium.
Yuki pumped his fist, roaring toward the stands as the crowd answered him with thunderous applause.
In Seihou's dugout, Kotaro Kuzuyama stood frozen, his face pale after surrendering another crushing blow.
The Seihou coach immediately stepped out and signaled.
Substitution.
From left field, Nakae Yuta returned to the mound.
The game had reached its final phase.
And Seidou stood firmly at the brink of victory.