But,
in such a dire situation, all cheers were inaudible.
"I'm willing to sacrifice my arm at Koshien if it means we can win! Just let us win!" Uchida prayed silently.
Fingers resting on the side of the ball, he lifted his leg.
At the moment his foot hit the ground, his arms pulled back to form a horizontal line, like a drawn bow.
When he threw the ball, his middle finger flicked downwards on the side!
Goda concentrated on a single hit.
The ball flew over the catcher's head, seeming like a purposely bad pitch.
No, that's not right!
If one ignored the movement before and after, the ball seemed to spin in place.
It was a curveball!
It would turn into the strike zone at the very last moment in an arc!
"Uchida's curveballs tend to drop a bit at the end," the coach's words flashed through his mind, and without thinking, he swung the bat.
"Bang!"
"It's a foul! The ball is rolling out!"
