"OUT!"
To the spectators outside the field, the small baseball seemed to return to first base almost simultaneously with Kuramochi.
From their perspective, it was even hard to tell which came a fraction of a second earlier. However, from the position of the first base umpire, it wasn't difficult to determine the outcome.
The baseball clearly reached the player's mitt a step ahead of Kuramochi.
Kuramochi is Out, without any doubt.
Even so, the first base umpire found it truly astonishing.
The third baseman had dived for the ball, which was nearly 30 meters away from them.
It wouldn't have been difficult if they were just standing. But when they dived for the ball, in a half-squatting, awkward posture, and managed to throw it back so quickly, and with such precision, the umpire had never seen anything like it in real life!
They had only seen such plays in highlight reels of professional baseball matches before.
This was the first time they had witnessed a live performance like that.
Yuuta.
He was originally the first baseman, the strongest batter, and the cleanup hitter for Osaka Kiryu High's baseball team.
Now, he's playing third base.
To their surprise, his performance was equally impressive.
Although first and third base defense shares some similarities, his ability to perform this well made it seem like it wasn't his first time at third base.
Could it be that Osaka Kiryu High's baseball team had already prepared and adjusted their lineup in advance?
In the Seidou High baseball team's dugout, everyone was somewhat bewildered by their opponent's performance.
Osaka Kiryu High's baseball team had really become a completely unfamiliar team to them.
Previously, even though the Seidou High team could feel the strength of their opponent, they still believed that dealing with them wouldn't be too difficult.
It should be an easy task.
As long as they played to their true potential, eliminating Osaka Kiryu High shouldn't be a problem, right?
But now it seems things weren't so simple.
"I've heard people say that a great pitcher can bring about a huge transformation for a team. I had my doubts, but now, I'm starting to believe it's true," said a Seidou High baseball fan from the stands.
This fan had watched every single one of Seidou High's games in Koshien.
Because he had watched all those games, he could make such a statement.
Whether it was the previous match against Kanetsu-Norin or now with Osaka Kiryu, theoretically, both teams were unlikely to pose a significant threat to Seidou High.
The mighty Seidou High team's strength overwhelmingly crushed them.
But now, with the addition of excellent pitchers, both teams have shown extraordinary strength.
In their matches against Seidou High, they displayed the ability to contend with them.
Kanetsu-Norin had been slightly weaker, although their pitchers were powerful, their other players were clearly lacking in strength.
With some targeted adjustments, Seidou High's players could have easily dealt with them.
But Osaka Kiryu was different.
In this regard, Fujio Mine, an experienced journalist from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, summed it up perfectly.
"Osaka Kiryu High's baseball team is fundamentally different from Kanetsu-Norin, whom Seidou High faced before. Kanetsu-Norin's team was a one-man team, even though their other players trained well, their style was deeply ingrained in them, and they didn't change. That's why, once their Ace collapsed, the other players couldn't carry the team. In contrast, Osaka Kiryu is different. They are a powerhouse…"
"Any powerhouse baseball team maintains strong competitiveness in major tournaments. Even during Seidou High's weaker years, they still had a significant presence in West Tokyo. Other powerhouses could be unexpectedly eliminated by them."
That's the nature of a powerhouse!
Even when they appear weak, they still have the potential to soar.
How good are Morishita and Hakumatsu?
No one can say for sure.
But it's evident that, with their addition, Osaka Kiryu High's baseball team now has the potential to soar.
They are the wings that enable the team to evolve.
With wings in place, even other aspects of the team evolved along with it.
That's where Osaka Kiryu's excellent performance comes from.
Of course, there's a prerequisite.
To soar, you must first have the potential to soar.
For example, if you are an eagle chick, once you learn to fly, you can soar for miles.
But if you're just a chicken, even if you have eagle wings, you won't fly very high.
"Clearly, Osaka Kiryu High is now in this situation."
With the addition of outstanding pitchers and catchers, they have undergone a complete transformation.
Now, even facing Seidou High, they have the potential to compete head-to-head.
"So, does this mean Osaka Kiryu High might actually defeat Seidou High today?" asked Akiko, with reluctance.
She was a Seidou High fan, and since Baseball Kingdom's headquarters were in Tokyo, both her personal stance and the company's stance were clear.
She certainly didn't want Seidou High's journey to legendary status to be obstructed.
But now, it really seemed like that might happen.
"Not necessarily! Don't forget, their opponent is Sawamura-kun," replied another voice.
In theory, in baseball, as long as you don't allow runs, your side won't lose.
This highlights the importance of defense.
But the problem is, you won't win if you don't score either!
With the addition of excellent pitchers and catchers, Osaka Kiryu High's defense had greatly improved.
Although it's hard to say yet whether they can completely suppress Seidou High's baseball team, it was clear that they now had that potential.
This meant they had the qualification to face Seidou High head-on.
But merely having this qualification isn't enough.
If Osaka Kiryu High really wants to defeat Seidou High and achieve greater goals, simply suppressing Seidou High's defense won't be enough.
They have to figure out how to score off of Sawamura Eijun.
Only by scoring off the "Great Demon King" Sawamura can Osaka Kiryu High truly have the potential for transformation.
They would only have a chance to gain the upper hand and win in the following matches if they could achieve that.
If they fail to do this, even if the Osaka Kiryu High players temporarily suppress Seidou High's offense, it wouldn't mean they have the advantage in the game.
It's still too early to make such a judgment.
Moreover, so far, they've only dealt with Kuramochi.
Seidou High's truly terrifying batters have yet to take their turn.
Just as Akiko and Fujio were discussing, there was a new development in the game.
Paak!
Kominato Haruichi, the second batter, after a few Fouls, finally hit the ball.
The ball he hit was sharp and landed in a gap in the defense.
"Nice hit!"
"Run, hurry!!"
The Seidou High baseball team, which had been a little down before, suddenly came to life.
The players were all fired up, and if it weren't for the fact that they knew it wasn't possible, they'd have wanted to rush out and help Kominato themselves.
If the ball landed, Kominato Haruichi would almost certainly make it to first base.
Just then, a nimble figure suddenly dashed out.
The figure was so fast that many didn't notice until he had already arrived.
They all naturally thought the ball was a hit.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
But unexpectedly, someone came out of nowhere and made a spectacular stop.
The player managed to catch the ball, leaving Seidou High's players speechless.
Could someone explain to them what had just happened?
Why did Osaka Kiryu's shortstop suddenly rush out to catch the ball?
And the most crucial part, he actually caught it.
You couldn't be more infuriating, right?
The catch was made.
In just under 5 minutes from the start, Osaka Kiryu's baseball players had already gotten two Outs.
Both were clean and swift Outs.
As Sawamura was about to step up to bat, he asked Kuramochi and Haruichi, who had just been Out, how they assessed the opponent.
After hearing their answers, Sawamura didn't feel any clearer. In fact, he was even more confused.
Both of them had said a lot, and although they were taken Out during batting, they had done well at gathering information on the opponent.
But strangely, their conclusions were completely opposite.
Kuramochi was convinced that the opponent's pitch was a breaking ball.
Though the movement wasn't big, its effect was top-notch.
Haruichi acknowledged the slight changes in the ball but didn't think it was a breaking ball. He thought it was a fastball, but one with something extra he couldn't quite understand, making it seem like a breaking ball.
"If it's a fastball, where's the complexity?"
"Didn't you see Sawamura's pitches? Isn't it the same?"
Bringing up Sawamura's pitches only complicated matters. Sawamura's pitching had long surpassed ordinary comprehension.
With this confusion, Sawamura stood on the opposite side of the field.
He entered the Batter's Box, eyes shining, sizing up his opponent.
Morishita!
According to Yui's description, this kid was low-key and hadn't made any noticeable achievements, so people tended to overlook him.
But in reality, his strength was no less than anyone else's.
Players from the same generation who had faced Morishita rated him highly.
He was a highly talented player, with strength reaching a certain level.
How strong exactly?
That was still an unknown.
But considering how Osaka Kiryu, a powerhouse, had chosen to start him in such a critical match, his strength clearly wasn't lacking.
Based on Kuramochi and Haruichi's descriptions, this kid's ability seemed rather unusual.
Although the details weren't clear, from how they got Out, Sawamura could more or less guess the situation.
Sawamura could tell this was someone worth giving his full effort against.
This was a rare opponent.
Although the opponent was a year younger, Sawamura wouldn't underestimate his ability.
In fact, back when he was in Seidou High, Sawamura had faced similar challenges before.
'The tide always changes, new talents emerge each generation. This is natural.'
On the baseball field, generations replacing each other is the norm.
Especially for someone like Sawamura, even if he had goals ahead of him, with his current effort and perseverance, he believed that one day, he would catch up.
But for those chasing from behind, it's different.
No matter how fast you run in front, you can always feel the footsteps of those catching up.
That kept Eijun from relaxing.
He knew that if someone caught up to him, it would be much harder to widen the gap again.
His natural talent limited him.
Age also limited him!
So, when facing challengers, Sawamura didn't hold back at all.
He took this seriously.
And he was putting everything he had into the match.
He had to deal with this opponent.
'Let me take a good look at what kind of ability you have, little one.'
Although it seemed like Osaka Kiryu's defense was the main reason for the Outs, and their pitcher had only been lucky enough to avoid Seidou High's attacks time and time again...
…