"Home run!!!"
"Another home run from Seido!"
"After Teito High School attempted to intentionally walk him, Seido's catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, used a brilliant stolen base to force an at-bat opportunity for their cleanup hitter!"
"And Kanzaki Ryou answered his teammates' trust with a two-run blast!"
"This is Seido's ace!"
"This is Seido's cleanup hitter!"
"This is Seido High School's captain!!"
"Kanzaki!!!"
"Miyuki!!!"
"OHHHHHHHHH!!"
Excited cheers exploded from every corner of the stadium as Kanzaki Ryou raised his fist high while jogging back toward home plate.
"Whoo!"
Waiting there for him, Miyuki immediately stepped forward and slammed his chest against Kanzaki's in celebration.
As the two passed through the on-deck circle, Kanzaki lightly bumped fists with Arima Kazusa.
"Come on. Now's the time to keep the pressure on. Strike while the iron's hot."
"Yes!"
Arima Kazusa's eyes sharpened with determination.
After surrendering a home run, Mukai Taiyo's condition was bound to fluctuate. As Seido's fifth batter, Arima had no intention of letting that opportunity slip away.
Back in the dugout, Kanzaki and Miyuki were immediately surrounded by their teammates.
"Hahaha! Miyuki, even I didn't expect you to steal a base at that moment!" Kuramochi Yoichi laughed while smacking Miyuki on the shoulder.
As Seido's stolen-base specialist, Kuramochi understood just how difficult that play had been.
Normally, when a pitcher intentionally walks a batter, the defense becomes more alert to runners. Even though the fielders spread out, any movement on the bases is usually noticed immediately.
But this time, because Teito's entire attention was focused on intentionally walking Kanzaki—and because the crowd's boos had pressured the defense into concentrating on the mound—Miyuki had instantly sensed the opening.
And the moment he saw it, he ran without hesitation.
"You really are ridiculously observant."
"I honestly thought Kanzaki was getting intentionally walked there."
"Teito's trying way too hard. They're actually willing to walk him even with a runner on second. They're seriously scared of Kanzaki."
The teammates chatted noisily around him.
Kanzaki simply smiled before turning his attention back to the field.
Full count.
Three balls, two strikes.
Now the matchup between two first-year prodigies—Arima Kazusa and Mukai Taiyo—had once again ignited the crowd's excitement.
The sixth pitch came flying in.
Arima barely managed to make contact with Mukai's Changeup.
Thunk!
The ball bounced sharply past the mound—
—but went straight into the second baseman's glove.
"Out!"
Arima was thrown out at first.
"What a shame. That guy adjusted back pretty quickly," Miyuki commented.
"Mm. Arima got a little impatient," Kanzaki replied.
"I think it's because of what you said earlier. You put pressure on him, so he got too eager to swing," Miyuki teased with a grin.
"…My bad."
Kanzaki admitted it surprisingly easily.
Miyuki blinked.
This guy actually admitted fault voluntarily?
Though honestly, it wasn't even really his fault.
Still…
He spoils little Arima way too much, doesn't he?
"What?" Kanzaki immediately rolled his eyes after noticing Miyuki staring at him strangely.
With Arima Kazusa retired, the first inning came to an end.
Seido High School led Teito High School 2–0.
The game moved into the top of the second inning.
Stepping into the batter's box now was Teito's cleanup hitter, Inui Kengo.
Both Kanzaki and Miyuki became noticeably more serious.
This batter possessed both power and technique. He was the core of Teito's lineup and their most trusted hitter.
Outside-corner Two-Seam Fastball. Let's go, Ryou.
Kanzaki gave a slight nod.
Inui might be capable of hitting a Two-Seamer in that location, but with Kanzaki's velocity and movement, even solid contact wouldn't send it very far.
Standing in the batter's box, Inui looked every bit like a traditional slugger—tall, broad-shouldered, with muscular arms packed with power.
But despite his appearance, he was also an incredibly technical batter.
A power hitter with a meticulous mind.
Locking his eyes onto Kanzaki's glove, Inui understood one thing clearly:
He had to do something here.
After that first inning, Teito's morale had already started slipping. The momentum on the field was gradually tilting toward Seido.
If they didn't reverse it soon, the pressure would continue piling up until the game became impossible to recover.
Whoosh!
The instant Kanzaki released the ball, Inui swung decisively.
After observing Kanzaki's pitching in the previous inning, Inui had noticed something interesting.
Today, Kanzaki wasn't relying purely on velocity.
Instead, he was mixing the edges of the strike zone with a wide variety of pitches to outmaneuver hitters.
And Inui himself excelled at handling inside pitches.
That information wasn't a secret.
Which meant Seido definitely knew it too.
Without relying purely on speed, Kanzaki would most likely avoid challenging him inside.
The moment the pitch left the hand, Inui immediately recognized it as an outside pitch.
The only question was—
What kind?
Cutter-slider?
Two-Seamer?
Forkball?
Or that terrifying rising fastball?
He couldn't tell.
But his swing never hesitated.
With overwhelming force, he drove the bat toward the outer edge of the strike zone.
BANG!!
The moment the bat connected, Teito's bench erupted in excitement.
But Inui himself instantly realized something was wrong.
Not good!
It was a Two-Seam Fastball!
And it was moving away.
The ball completely missed the sweet spot. The bat barely scraped it, sending the baseball slicing foul down the left-field line.
"Foul!"
As the umpire's call echoed out, Inui flexed his numb palm slightly.
Glancing toward the speed gun, he saw the pitch had registered at 152 km/h.
Fast—but not unusually fast for Kanzaki.
The reason it felt so heavy was the spin.
"This is troublesome…"
Inui loosened his grip on the bat and rolled his wrist slightly.
Behind the plate, Miyuki pouted a little.
Even though it was only a foul ball, Inui's raw strength was terrifying. Not many batters could get around on that pitch at all.
Alright then.
One pitch at a time.
Miyuki flashed the next sign.
Kanzaki delivered immediately.
A low inside Circle Changeup.
As expected of Teito's cleanup hitter, Inui instantly recognized the off-speed pitch and forcefully adjusted his swing midway through.
Instead of a full-power swing, he converted it into a controlled push hit, barely managing to get the bat on the ball.
He tried guiding it down the left-field line—
—but failed.
The baseball popped upward and sailed over the dugout.
Another foul ball.
Two strikes.
Inui Kengo had been cornered.
The Teito supporters in the stands were so tense they barely dared to breathe.
After resetting his stance, Inui prepared himself once more.
Then Miyuki smiled.
The third sign came down.
A fastball aimed directly at Inui's chest.
Come on.
Let's beat him head-on.
Miyuki extended his glove forward and locked eyes with Kanzaki.
If this pitch landed for a strike—
then right after their ace gave up a home run, having their cleanup hitter struck out as well would deal a devastating blow to Teito High School's momentum.