Fate always seemed to repeat itself.
The Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team gave up a run in the first inning. At the time, there were two outs, a runner on second base, and the fourth batter, Azuma Kiyokuni, stepped up to the plate.
Now, in the third inning, the exact same situation had happened again.
Two outs. A runner on second. Azuma Kiyokuni at bat.
Even the Inashiro Industrial players themselves felt conflicted.
Was their luck really this bad?
In the stands, Inashiro's die-hard supporters were already throwing out desperate ideas.
"If it won't work, just walk him!"
Azuma Kiyokuni's previous swing had left too deep an impression. They couldn't forget it, no matter how hard they tried. To be honest, if Nishimonji had to face Azuma again, they wouldn't have much confidence either.
Rather than risk it, wouldn't it be better to issue an intentional walk? First base was still empty. There was no need to fight him head-on.
As for whether walking him would be embarrassing?
There was no reason to worry. Azuma Kiyokuni was Tokyo's number one batter. Walking someone like that was only natural. What was there to be ashamed of?
But Nishimonji on the pitcher's mound didn't choose that option.
Instead, he took a stance that clearly said he would fight Azuma to the end. His pitches were tricky, but they still entered the strike zone.
The Inashiro supporters were full of doubt, but they continued cheering with everything they had. Even with their nerves stretched tight, their morale didn't waver.
On the other side, Seido High School's supporters were even louder, their voices rising a full octave above the rest.
"Seido! Seido!!"
"Azuma Kiyokuni! Azuma Kiyokuni!"
"Aim and hit it! It's all up to you!!!"
It wasn't just chanting. Some fans even hummed hitting songs.
In that atmosphere, Seido's fourth batter swung with everything he had.
"Ping!"
The ball flew deep into the outfield, bounced once, and slammed into the fence.
Although Seido High School hadn't hit a home run yet, they had already produced four or five massive hits like that. Nearly every ball they connected with carried frightening distance.
Nishimonji wasn't a purely technical pitcher. His power and speed were respectable. But in front of Seido's lineup, he couldn't stir up even a ripple. He was being beaten cleanly.
If this continued, it was only a matter of time before Seido sent one out of the park.
Even without a home run, Seido's offense didn't slow down. In the bottom of the third inning, they added another run. Their cleanup hitter, Azuma Kiyokuni, recorded consecutive hits and drove in consecutive runs.
The score became three to zero.
At this point, the game wasn't over, and the Inashiro players didn't think they had no chance at all.
But in reality, the opportunities left to them were already few.
Especially with Seido's ace, Hidezawa, on the mound. His condition today was even better than when he faced Ichidai San yesterday. Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for Inashiro to get hits, let alone runs.
Scoring was already hard enough. Closing a three-run gap, or even overtaking it, felt even more distant.
Seeing this, many loyal Inashiro fans were furious. The situation had been obvious, and Azuma Kiyokuni's performance overwhelming.
Shouldn't they have walked him?
Not just ordinary fans thought so. Many reporters shared the same opinion.
"It would've been better to walk Azuma-kun!"
"When you think about it, Inashiro was actually lucky. They didn't give up a home run. If Seido had gone up by four runs…"
If that pitch had been sent over the fence, the gap would have been four.
Even though the game had just started, Inashiro's chances would have been nearly nonexistent.
Three runs was a threshold. As long as it wasn't the late stages of the game, it didn't completely crush hope.
But four runs were different. That gap was too large. One or two chances wouldn't be enough to make it up.
"You and I both understand this. Don't Coach Kunimoto and the Inashiro players understand it too?"
"Of course they do! Then why didn't they walk him?"
As soon as the question was asked, the people around them fell silent.
Before it was mentioned, no one had thought about it too deeply. Now that it was said out loud, it felt strange.
"Why didn't they walk him?"
After thinking it over, the only reasonable explanation seemed to be pride.
Fujio listened quietly for a long time. In the end, he couldn't hold back anymore.
"It's not that Inashiro's battery didn't want to walk him," he said. "It's that they couldn't."
They couldn't?
That statement immediately drew everyone's attention. They all turned toward Fujio, waiting for the answer.
"If they walked Azuma Kiyokuni, what would the next scene look like?"
Two outs. Runners on first and second.
In that situation, they'd have to face Yuuki Tetsuya directly. That might not be any better than what they were dealing with now.
Even if Inashiro didn't care about pride at all, and then chose to walk Yuuki as well, Zhang Han would be next. Although Zhang Han had been dealt with once before, he was no less dangerous than Azuma or Yuuki.
Compared to that high-risk chain of decisions, facing Azuma head-on didn't actually reduce the overall threat.
For Inashiro, Azuma's danger level… wasn't as unbearable as it seemed.
That was what Fujio meant.
Seido High School's batting lineup was already known as the strongest in West Tokyo, if not all of Tokyo. They didn't rely on Azuma Kiyokuni alone.
Azuma, Yuuki, and Zhang Han formed the core, but even the batters around them could create chances.
In contrast, Inashiro's lineup was too balanced. Everyone was solid, but there was no true leader. Their core lacked weight.
Fujio's gaze shifted toward Seido's dugout.
Hidezawa.
As long as that pitcher didn't falter, today's game might bring a massive surprise.
"Ping!"
Just then, Yuuki stepped up and swung decisively.
This time, though, luck wasn't on his side. The ball dropped in front of the shortstop and was cleanly fielded by Inashiro's shortstop.
"Thwack!"
"Out!"
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