Top of the third inning. Akikawa Academy was on offense.
Two outs. Runners on first and second.
The batter: sixth hitter, Tsushima.
"Strike!"
Snap!
"Strike three! Batter out!"
Under the steady guidance of Miyuki Kazuya, Furuya Satoru managed to escape the jam.
"Damn it, what a shame!"
"If only we'd gotten one more hit!"
"But his pitches really aren't easy to deal with."
"As long as we hold on, another chance will come. Let's keep our spirits up."
"Alright! Let's go!"
"It's fine, Shunshin! Just keep fighting!"
Despite missing a great opportunity, Akikawa Academy remained full of energy. The intense battle in the first inning had completely fired them up.
Bottom of the third inning.
Facing You Shunshin's outstanding pitching, Seidou's ninth batter—Furuya Satoru—was completely helpless and quickly retired.
Now it was Kuramochi Youichi's turn at bat.
Kuramochi tightened his grip on the bat.
If I don't get a good pitch and can't walk, then I'll just have to swing aggressively.
The moment You Shunshin released the first pitch, Kuramochi swung.
Clang!
The ball shot toward first base.
Kunimi rushed forward to field it.
The instant he made contact, Kuramochi exploded into motion like a cheetah, sprinting toward first base at astonishing speed.
The ball struck Kunimi's glove—but slipped right through.
He couldn't catch it.
"It's not too late, Kunimi! Calm down!" You Shunshin reacted instantly, sprinting to first base to cover while encouraging his teammate.
I have to create an opportunity! Kuramochi urged himself as he pushed his speed even further.
Although Kunimi had missed the ball, the impact against his glove slowed it down enough that it didn't roll far.
"Shunshin!"
Kunimi quickly grabbed the ball and threw it to first.
Snap!
Kuramochi and the ball arrived almost at the same time.
"Out!"
The first-base umpire made the call.
The flawless teamwork immediately boosted Akikawa Academy's morale.
"Nice throw, Kunimi!"
"Well done, Shunshin!"
"That's two outs!"
Sawamura Eijun watched Kuramochi bent over near first base, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
Even though Kuramochi often bullied him, he was still a senior who took care of him.
"Don't mind—"
"Don't tell me not to mind!" Kuramochi snapped, turning around angrily. "Speaking English only makes it more annoying!"
Sawamura froze awkwardly.
"It's Akikawa Academy's beautiful defense again. Seidou still can't create any scoring opportunities," Owada Akiko commented.
"Yes. The roles of Seidou's first and second batters have been completely neutralized so far," Mine Fujio added.
"Strike!"
Snap!
Here it came again.
The borderline pitch that blurred the edge of the strike zone.
If those count as strikes, we'll have to swing at the corners too…
Kominato Ryosuke chose not to swing once again when faced with another extremely delicate pitch from You Shunshin.
But You Shunshin didn't give him any breathing room.
The next pitch came immediately.
With no other choice, Ryosuke swung, trying to foul it off.
But just before the bat connected—
The ball shifted slightly.
A breaking pitch designed to force a swing.
Clang!
The bat made contact, but the ball flew straight back toward the mound.
You Shunshin didn't even move his feet.
He simply opened his glove.
Snap.
Out.
Akikawa's dugout erupted again.
"Nice one, Shunshin!"
"Another three up, three down!"
"Seidou's lineup is completely suppressed!"
Coach Ogata watched the field thoughtfully.
It's all because of Shunshin.
His pitching was inspiring the entire team. Against a powerhouse like Seidou, Akikawa's players weren't stiff or intimidated at all.
If we can keep this momentum… maybe…
On the mound, You Shunshin had his own thoughts.
That breaking ball… Kominato fought hard to make contact.
As expected of a prestigious school. Every batter swings decisively.
His eyes shifted toward Seidou's pitcher.
Furuya Satoru.
We need another run.
Just one more run… and we can push them to the brink.
In the Stands — Yakushi High School
"Hahaha! That's amazing! So amazing!"
Todoroki Raichi jumped up excitedly.
"I want to hit it! I want to hit the ball that glasses guy throws!"
He immediately tried to rush down toward the field.
"Hey, Raichi! This is a game! Do you want to get kicked out?!" Mishima Yuta and Akiba Kazuma grabbed him desperately.
Even together, they could barely hold him back.
"Raichi," Kitamura Kou said lazily, "if you get thrown out now, you won't be able to hit Ichidaisan's ace later."
That worked instantly.
Raichi froze.
Although he was still shouting about blasting both Glasses Guy and Manaka Kaname's pitches out of the park, he stopped trying to charge down.
Eventually the commotion died down.
"Kou, what do you think of this pitcher, You Shunshin?" Akaishi Osamu asked.
Kou watched the field calmly.
"He has excellent control, high baseball IQ, strong defense, and he can hit well too. He's a very good pitcher."
He paused slightly.
"But he has one fatal weakness."
"Oh? Now that's interesting," Sanada Shunpei said. "Let's hear it."
"His raw pitching talent—specifically, his velocity—isn't enough to dominate Seidou's lineup forever."
Kou continued analyzing.
"He can suppress them for one or two rounds. But by the third time through the lineup, it'll be very difficult."
He shrugged.
"Still, what he's doing is impressive. Maintaining this level of control with a fastball around 130 km/h is already excellent."
"If he could push that up to 140 km/h while keeping this control…"
Kou's eyes gleamed slightly.
"Then he'd be a very troublesome pitcher."
"With the rest of Akikawa's roster being weaker overall," Kou concluded, "Seidou will probably win this game."
"Ah, what a shame," Todoroki Raizo said lazily. "If Akikawa won, things would be much easier for us."
"Impossible," Mishima Yuta said seriously.
"With Coach's luck, something that convenient would never happen."
The Yakushi players burst into laughter.
Despite their next game being against Ichidaisan High School, not a single one of them looked nervous.