"It Passed Through!"
"A Long Hit!!!"
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, the small baseball flew like a precise surgical knife.
It passed through the defense of Fukuoka High School and landed at the far end of the field.
The bouncing baseball slammed heavily into the protective wall.
If not for the wall's obstruction, no one could say how far this baseball would have gone.
It crossed the entire field, covering over 100 meters in an incredibly long hit...
Even then, the power within the baseball didn't completely dissipate.
In the eyes of the crowd, the ball continued to strike the wall for quite some time before finally using up its energy and dropping to the ground.
By the time the outfielders of Fukuoka High School reacted, reached the spot, picked up the ball, and threw it back, the Seidou High School baseball team had already scored their third point.
The batter who hit this beautiful long ball, Miyuki, had already passed first and second base.
He smoothly advanced to third base.
Had it not been for his decision to avoid making things more complicated, not wanting to give the opponent any chance to take advantage of the situation, Miyuki might have even had the opportunity to run home.
However, after considering the situation, Miyuki ultimately gave up the tempting idea.
Getting this one point would not really help Seidou High School significantly.
After taking a three-point lead, the importance of adding a single point was greatly reduced.
On the other hand, if the opponent managed to get an Out, they might seize that slim opportunity.
'The one run could be temporarily discarded, as it was already in Seidou High School's pocket. Even if the point wasn't secured immediately, it was unlikely to escape.'
'But the chance to secure an Out was one that had to be denied to the opponent at all costs.'
Miyuki's meticulous thinking, even on a national level, was absolutely one of the best.
Unsurprisingly, this approach put tremendous pressure on the opponent.
Looking at Miyuki, who had already reached third base, Taiga felt like he wanted to punch someone!
Miyuki might as well have just gone straight home in one go.
That way, although the score would increase by one, the pressure on the pitcher would have been much lighter.
When the score reached a three-point difference, Taiga had clearly started to lose hope.
It wasn't that he didn't care; it was simply that he couldn't afford to care.
Surely, those professional scouts must be utterly disappointed.
No matter how highly they regarded Taiga before, he had already let in three runs in one inning.
Faced with the mighty Seidou High, he hadn't even had the chance to struggle before being crushed.
In such a situation, those scouts would have no choice but to reassess Taiga's value.
At this thought, Taiga briefly considered just throwing everything away and going all-out against Seidou High School's baseball team.
'But no, I can't!'
He knew very well that the more urgent the situation, the less he could lose his composure.
As long as those scouts were still watching, he had to perform well and try to salvage his image.
'I cannot rush; I had to get each Out, one by one.'
Taiga repeatedly reminded himself, and this kind of self-hypnosis actually started to work.
Gradually, he calmed down.
Facing Seidou High's fifth batter, Maezono, Taiga decisively threw an outside pitch.
From the intelligence they had gathered earlier, it was known that Maezono was most skilled at hitting inside pitches.
On the other hand, he was weaker when facing outside pitches.
For a pitcher, batters with such clear weaknesses are much easier to handle.
Even if the opponent knew what was coming, what could they do?
Faced with their unresolved weakness, their performance would still be ineffective.
Even though Maezono was the core fifth batter, for Fukuoka High's ace pitcher Taiga, he was not someone to fear.
First of all, Taiga's pitching style was tailored to suppress Maezono.
Additionally, Maezono had clear weaknesses.
Together, these factors made Taiga confident in his ability to handle this batter.
What truly made Taiga cautious were the two batters following Maezono.
The sixth batter, Asou, and the seventh batter, Toujou, were both skilled hitters.
He continued reminding himself that, in such a situation, he absolutely couldn't rush.
He couldn't afford to think about the scouts watching.
Most importantly, he needed to calmly secure each Out, one at a time.
Steeling himself, Taiga pitched to Maezono.
He was confident in this pitch.
To his surprise, Maezono didn't hesitate and swung his bat with full force.
Maezono knew his own weakness, and so did Taiga.
In the past few months, Maezono had focused on improving his ability to handle outside pitches.
That was exactly what he had in mind when he stepped into the Batter's Box.
He hadn't spent all that time training just for this moment, for nothing.
As Seidou High's vice-captain and a third-year player, he had to overcome his weaknesses.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have the face to represent the team.
His efforts finally paid off, as he perfectly connected with the ball.
PING!
The baseball flew high and far.
Maezono's face lit up, and he let go of his bat, sprinting toward first base.
The feel of the bat told him that he had hit the ball well.
It could even be a home run.
As expected, the ball flew toward the back of the field.
Just before it left the field, it suddenly dropped.
Fukuoka's outfielders, who had already retreated to the back, were in the perfect position to catch the ball.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Sometimes, luck is also part of strength. Though Maezono had improved, unfortunately, luck was not on his side.
Maezono was Out, but Seidou High's scoring didn't stop.
The outfielder was at least 100 meters away from home plate when he caught the ball.
Even at 130 km/h, the ball would take roughly three seconds to reach its destination.
Not to mention, the fielder had to position himself, catch the ball, turn, and throw.
This entire process would take at least five seconds, assuming no errors from the opponent.
Miyuki, casually walking from third base to home plate, could do so in under four seconds.
He leisurely returned home and helped the team score their fourth point.
"SAFE!!!!"
There was no doubt about it. Despite the first Out, Seidou had secured their fourth run.
Maezono, despite his progress, was clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.
He had hit the ball so well but still got Out…
Miyuki, on the other hand, didn't need to do anything and casually walked home to score.
To the spectators, Miyuki was the clear star of the show.
They cheered his name in thunderous waves as if it were a pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, Maezono, who had hit the ball to the back of the field, was quickly forgotten.
One Out, no one on base.
"Sixth batter, outfielder, Asou-kun."
In this game, the first-year pitcher had been designated as the starting pitcher.
The Ace pitcher, Sawamura, had not yet played.
So, Asou was placed in left field.
At first, Asou wasn't really thinking of anything he just wanted to get a hit and continue the offense.
So when he saw the good ball coming in his direction, he swung at it with everything he could.
But looks like, unlike Maezono, Asou was more fortunate…
PAAAANNNNNGGGGG!
The ball flew far and far all the way to the back of the field until it fell in the stands of the right field.
TAK!
Asou, who was running to first base, couldn't believe himself!
He was cheering while running on bases, thinking that he should confess to his crush as soon as possible.
If he was more courageous before and confessed, he might be able to tell her a cheesy line like 'I was thinking about you when I hit the homerun…'
But he could still do it! He should capitalize on this luck and confidence to go do it like a man!
Moreover, He Hit A God Damn Homerun!!!
"Home Run!!!"
"Unexpectedly, the new sixth batter of Seidou has still declared his presence with his incredible batting!!"
"Nice Batting Asou!!!"
"It should be a lucky hit, But nice batting!!"
"Asou!!"
"Asou!!!"
"Nice Batting You Bastard!!"
Asou returned to the dugout like a hero, his teammates—especially third year—were cheering like crazy.
Everyone in the crowd cheered for the home run.
Even though the game had just started, it already felt like it was over.
No one expected any further comebacks or surprises.
At the end of the first inning, Seidou High School's baseball team led 5-0.
This outcome was something no one anticipated before the game.
But as the game progressed, it was clear that Seidou might have scored even more.
…