On the pitcher's mound, Kanzaki Ryou couldn't stop smiling as the new pitch had such a good effect. Now, seeing Miyuki call for a Straight ball, he pouted a little, feeling unwilling; he still wanted to throw a cutter slider.
Don't be unhappy, just pitch quickly.
Miyuki gave him a look, and Kanzaki Ryou understood instantly.
Whoosh!
The baseball was thrown.
Shinkawa Kenichi truly just swung at whatever came his way, locking his gaze on the baseball and swinging his bat with great force.
Thwack!
"Strike!"
This was a Four-seam fastball, but Shinkawa Kenichi failed to time his swing correctly.
Damn it!
Shinkawa Kenichi was annoyed. Even though he had decided not to think about that strange pitch, his batting was clearly affected. This influence was uncontrollable; as long as that pitch was still in his mind, Kanzaki Ryou's already difficult-to-hit Straight ball would become even harder to deal with.
With one Straight ball, Miyuki secured a Niceball count, smiling as he looked up at Shinkawa Kenichi. Keep thinking, think more. The more you care and guard against Kanzaki's cutter slider, the worse you'll hit the Straight ball.
This was the effect Miyuki wanted. Kanzaki Ryou's cutter slider wasn't very stable yet, so the less he threw it, the better. This was also why he called for this pitch so early—to take advantage of Kanzaki's current strength and good condition, so that throwing it would intimidate everyone.
It seemed the effect was good.
Off the field, Coach Kataoka clearly understood Miyuki's thoughts. At this moment, the corners of his mouth curved up, and the long-standing frustration of being suppressed by Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Third High vanished completely.
It truly is heaven's blessing for Seido. Miyuki, Kanzaki Ryou—these two together are enough to bring Seido a glorious three years.
On the pitcher's mound, Kanzaki Ryou threw the second pitch.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
A Two-seam fastball made Shinkawa Kenichi swing and miss again.
Two consecutive pitches were Straight balls, and Shinkawa Kenichi gritted his teeth, almost crushing the bat in his hand.
"Swing at whatever comes, swing at whatever comes," Shinkawa Kenichi kept brainwashing himself, but the more he thought that, the more that pitch frequently appeared in his mind.
It's time to throw it, isn't it?
Shinkawa Kenichi subconsciously looked back at Miyuki, then met Miyuki's smiling, seemingly harmless face.
Disgusting! Shinkawa Kenichi didn't know why, logically, he shouldn't be so serious with a first-year junior, but now, looking at Miyuki's face, he felt inexplicably annoyed.
With a cold snort, Shinkawa Kenichi turned his head and focused on preparing to bat.
Hehe, Miyuki chuckled to himself, and quickly gave the signal for the third pitch.
The baseball was thrown. Shinkawa Kenichi yelled, "Haa!" as if venting his emotions, and swung his bat down.
Thump!
The baseball was slammed hard onto the ground.
Thump, thump, thump! Shinkawa Kenichi threw his bat and rushed towards first base.
The baseball bounced towards third base. Azuma Kiyokuni quickly stepped forward to scoop up the baseball, and with a flick of his thick arm, the baseball quickly caught up with Shinkawa Kenichi.
"Out!!"
Shinkawa Kenichi rounded first base and looked back unwillingly at first baseman Yuki Tetsuya. Yuki shrugged and showed him the baseball in his hand.
At this moment, after striking out Inajitsu's third and fourth batters consecutively, the spectators in the stands erupted again.
"Next! Next!"
Seido fans shouted towards Inajitsu's stands, even with a hint of provocation.
Inajitsu's 5th batter, catcher Harada Masatoshi, walked to the batting box, listening to these sounds.
Similarly, he also looked at Miyuki. This guy's pitch calls were always unpredictable. He used a strange pitch against Hada Kazuki, but then three Straight balls against Shinkawa Kenichi.
So what about him? Will he call for that pitch?
Harada Masatoshi rubbed his eyes hard. This was really troublesome.
Ultimately, Harada Masatoshi adopted the same strategy as Shinkawa Kenichi: only swing at Straight balls, completely disregarding the others.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
Three consecutive fastballs, each exceeding 151 km/h. Harada Masatoshi's swing couldn't keep up, and he was simply struck out.
Three up, three down. Inajitsu's core lineup appeared very vulnerable at this moment, ending the half-inning with almost no resistance.
Amidst cheers, Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki high-fived, then returned to the dugout with their teammates.
"That pitch was very good. Inajitsu's players are very wary of it," Miyuki said.
"Should I call for it again? I still want to pitch, I feel like I'm in great form!" Kanzaki Ryou stared intently at Miyuki.
Miyuki smiled: "We'll see."
"Tch."
Taking off his glove and picking up his bat, Kanzaki Ryou turned to look towards Inajitsu. Narumiya Mei was also looking this way.
Kanzaki Ryou smiled and made a throat-slitting gesture, instantly infuriating Narumiya Mei.
He's provoking me! Narumiya Mei walked out of the dugout, fuming.
Bottom of the 7th inning, Seido's offense.
Inajitsu's players were already in position. Kanzaki Ryou walked slowly onto the field with his bat resting on his shoulder.
"Home run! Home run!"
"Blast it out!!"
"Go, Kanzaki!"
"Ah~~!"
In the stands, many spectators shouted like this, interspersed with the cheers of young girls.
Clearly, Seido's supporters firmly believed that as long as Kanzaki Ryou stepped into the batting box, the Seido baseball team had a very high probability of launching an offensive and scoring runs. Such things had happened more than once in previous games.
Facing such a batter, Harada Masatoshi was extremely focused at this moment. He had to give it his all, and not just him, Narumiya Mei as well.
Kanzaki Ryou stepped into the batting box, smiling and nodding at Harada Masatoshi, who also forced a smile in return.
Then, Kanzaki Ryou raised an eyebrow at Narumiya Mei on the pitcher's mound.
That damned Chestnut Hair Monster!
Narumiya Mei couldn't hide his emotions and immediately widened his eyes, glaring fiercely.
Hehe, Kanzaki Ryou smiled and got ready to bat.
Seeing Narumiya Mei easily provoked by Kanzaki, Harada Masatoshi sighed. "This foolish child, they've already started psychological warfare, and you're still just glaring."
Soon, Harada Masatoshi gave the signal for the first pitch. Narumiya Mei instantly composed his expression and became serious.
Seeing this, Kanzaki Ryou also didn't dare to be careless. So far, among the pitchers he had faced, only Narumiya Mei had made him feel pressure.
Narumiya Mei threw the baseball with all his might. The pitch was very fast, almost instantly arriving in front of home plate. Kanzaki Ryou didn't move, letting the baseball enter Harada Masatoshi's glove.
"Strike!"
He didn't swing? Harada Masatoshi was a bit surprised. Was his target not the Straight ball? In that case, let's try a different pitch.
Throwing the ball back, Harada Masatoshi immediately gave the signal for the second pitch, a Forkball.