1 ball, 2 strikes.
The fifth pitch, the baseball's trajectory was straight and true, indistinguishable from a normal fastball before reaching the home plate zone—however, as an experienced slugger, Ishijima Gen keenly sensed something amiss and ultimately resisted the urge to swing, letting the ball pass.
Sure enough, the baseball lost its upward force just as it entered the home plate and abruptly dropped outside the strike zone, falling straight until it landed in Uesugi Yasuyuki's glove.
"Ugh—" Ishijima Gen, startled into a cold sweat by the pitch, felt relieved. Luckily, he hadn't swung, otherwise, the game would have ended right there.
2 balls, 2 strikes.
The sixth pitch, with the increase in batting attempts, Ishijima Gen gradually adjusted to the pitches, once again pulling the ball foul.
The seventh, eighth, ninth pitch;
Foul, foul, foul!
