Back in the dugout, Kanzaki Ryou noticed that Tanba was already wearing his glove, standing beside Coach Kataoka with barely concealed eagerness.
Bottom of the fifth inning—Sagara High was up to bat.
Coach Kataoka requested a substitution.
First-year pitcher Kanzaki Ryou moved to left field, while second-year pitcher Tanba Koichiro took over the mound.
"Tanba."
Just before he stepped onto the field, Coach Kataoka suddenly called out.
Tanba flinched instinctively and turned around, nervousness flashing across his face.
"Do well. You can do it," Coach Kataoka said simply.
Though Tanba's timid personality often worried the coach, his pitching ability was undeniable. As long as he performed normally and trusted the defense behind him, even a powerhouse like Sagara High wouldn't find it easy to score.
"Yes, Coach!" Tanba roared.
The nine Seidou players took the field, with Kanzaki settling into the left-field position.
He wasn't pulled from the game—first, because his batting was still needed, and second, because if anything unexpected happened, he could always return to the mound.
On the pitcher's mound, Tanba adjusted his breathing. Under Miyuki's guidance, he threw his first pitch—a four-seam fastball.
Bang!
The batter made contact, sending an infield grounder toward first base. Yuki took two steps forward, fielded the ball cleanly, and stepped on the bag.
After that, Sagara High's seventh and eighth batters were dispatched—one by strikeout, the other by a routine ground out.
Tanba's curveball and vertical curveball proved extremely troublesome, preventing any solid contact.
"Tanba!!"
Three up, three down.
The crowd applauded loudly. Tanba's face flushed as he lowered his head, tugged down the brim of his cap, and jogged back to the dugout.
"Well done. Keep it up."
Coach Kataoka's brief praise hit Tanba like a shot of adrenaline.
The game moved into the sixth inning, Seidou on offense.
This inning, however, Seidou failed to score.
Araki Keita, the eighth batter, was struck out. Kanzaki Ryou, batting in place of ninth batter Yoshikawa Junpei, made contact—but the hit lacked power and was easily handled by Sagara High's defense.
"You two aren't cutting it. Watch me," Shida Shota joked as Kanzaki returned.
Stepping into the batter's box, Shida swung at the very first pitch—a slider—and sent it slicing down the left-field foul line, slipping past third base.
"Safe!"
A clean single.
Seidou's detonator was back at work.
"Hey, he actually got on base," Kanzaki said with a smile.
"He is the detonator. His turn to shine."
"Shida, nice hit!"
As the chatter continued, Kominato Ryosuke stepped into the batter's box.
With his trademark narrowed eyes, he locked in. He had already contributed to Seidou's scoring this game, and with another opportunity before him, he had no intention of letting it slip.
One pitch.
Two pitches.
Three pitches…
Seven pitches.
He fought stubbornly, draining the pitcher's stamina—but in the end—
"Out!"
Despite the long at-bat, Kominato failed to advance the runner.
Top of the sixth inning over.
Score: Seidou 4 — Sagara High 0
Bottom of the sixth inning.
Tanba returned to the mound.
He retired the ninth batter cleanly—but then allowed a hit to the leadoff batter.
The second batter followed up with a perfectly placed bunt, advancing the runner to Second before being thrown out himself.
Two outs. Runner on second.
Stepping into the batter's box—
Sagara High's third batter, Maya Yamato.
Behind the plate, Miyuki's mind raced.
Tanba-san's weapons are the curveball and vertical curveball—both vertical breakers. His velocity isn't overwhelming. To get Maya Yamato out, we have to work the corners, force weak contact, and rely on the defense.
First—an outside fastball.
Miyuki gave the sign, while also signaling the fielders to play deeper to guard against a long hit.
On the mound, Tanba's palms were slick with sweat.
The pressure emanating from Maya Yamato felt overwhelming.
Come on, Tanba… don't hesitate. If you back down now, it's over.
But—
Tanba shook his head.
Miyuki frowned.
Not a fastball?
He changed the sign.
Curveball.
Tanba shook his head again.
Vertical curveball.
Still no.
What—are you planning to walk him?!
Miyuki stared at him in disbelief.
Walking the third batter would mean runners on first and third—and the next batter was their cleanup hitter, Shunsuke Furukawa!
What are you thinking?!
The pitcher continued shaking his head, rejecting every call.
Miyuki felt irritation rise.
Kanzaki never shook his head like this…
Damn it, Tanba-san!
Miyuki absolutely disagreed with walking him. As long as Tanba could hit his spots, there was still a strong chance to induce weak contact.
In the batter's box, Maya Yamato was also confused.
What's he hesitating for? Does he have some hidden weapon?
"Throw it!"
Miyuki forcefully set his glove.
He didn't notice that Tanba's expression had grown unnaturally stiff.
Tanba took a deep breath, trying to calm himself—but the pressure from Maya Yamato and Miyuki's insistence tangled together, causing his hands to tremble uncontrollably.
Finally, Tanba forced himself to throw.
The ball left his hand—
And slammed into the dirt.
A wild pitch.
The stadium went silent—then erupted in laughter.
Tanba's face burned red.
Miyuki immediately realized something was wrong and called timeout, sprinting to the mound.
"Tanba-san! Relax—we can get him out!"
Tanba squeezed his eyes shut.
"Walk him."
"Are you sure?" Miyuki frowned.
"With a runner on third already, if you lose control again—"
"I'm sure," Tanba nodded.
He didn't know why—but facing this batter, his nerves simply wouldn't settle.
"…Alright," Miyuki said quietly.
"Then reset your mindset and focus on the next batter."
He returned to home plate.
Tanba took several deep breaths, then threw four consecutive balls.
Maya Yamato was walked.
In the Seidou dugout, Ota grew visibly anxious.
"There's a runner on third… we're not going to give up a run, are we?"
"It's fine," Kanzaki Ryou said calmly with a smile.
"Even if we do, it's just one run."
Ota instinctively looked toward Coach Kataoka.
The coach stood silently, eyes fixed on the field—
Saying nothing.