In the top of the second inning, Seidou High School's three batters went down in order.
Two were struck Out, and one hit a pop-up.
Kanetsu-Norin High School's Ace pitcher Hoshitaru displayed unparalleled pitching ability.
After his success in the first inning, Hoshitaru's pitching became even stronger and sharper, catching Seidou's batters off guard.
The once confident Seidou High School was greatly pushed back.
Now, they could only focus on defense.
In the bottom of the second inning, it was Kanetsu-Norin High School's turn to bat.
The first batter to step into the Batter's Box was Hoshitaru, Kanetsu-Norin High School's Ace.
Not only was he the team's Ace pitcher, but he was also their strongest batter.
In the previous two games, he had collected numerous hits.
He was a formidable opponent, and even Sawamura had to be cautious.
In the two games before, Hoshitaru had stepped up to bat 11 times, collecting 10 hits.
Although he didn't hit a home run, which was a bit of a regret, he had secured 6 extra-base hits and 4 infield hits.
His batting power was among the best in this Koshien.
Facing such an opponent, even Sawamura didn't dare to relax.
After exchanging a silent glance with Miyuki, he took his stance and prepared to pitch.
Hoshitaru was also watching Sawamura.
Hoshitaru was Kanetsu-Norin High School's spiritual leader, and his performance directly affected how his teammates would approach Sawamura.
In this situation, Hoshitaru had a heavy burden.
He couldn't afford to be easily out. It was best if he could use his strength to hit Sawamura's pitch.
Even if he couldn't get a hit right away, it didn't matter.
At the very least, he had to make contact.
He had to show his teammates that even Sawamura wasn't invincible.
They had no reason to be afraid.
At the very least, he had to make contact with the ball! If he could hit it out for a hit, that would be even better!
With that thought, Hoshitaru widened his eyes and focused on Sawamura on the mound.
As soon as he made a move, Hoshitaru was ready to swing.
His positive attitude successfully caught Miyuki's attention.
'The guy had potential.'
After seeing Sawamura's pitching, he still had the courage and confidence to face him.
Miyuki couldn't decide whether to admire his courage or be surprised at his fearless attitude.
It didn't matter. For them, it was ideal if their opponent wanted to swing actively.
'Bring it!'
Miyuki signaled the Change-up.
It was time to unlock Sawamura's Change-up.
Sawamura had been enjoying pitching fastballs, but now he had to switch to his Change-up, which he wasn't too eager about.
But he had no choice. It was his partner's suggestion.
He took his stance and threw the ball with full force.
Whoosh!
The baseball shot toward Hoshitaru.
Originally determined to swing at a good pitch, Hoshitaru stood frozen in the Batter's Box.
His surprised expression was a stark contrast to his previously confident attitude.
Miyuki couldn't help but laugh silently.
Did Kanetsu-Norin have any other strengths? He really couldn't tell.
But now he understood one thing.
Kanetsu-Norin High School was good, at least they had great goals.
But their actual ability wasn't quite up to par.
He had been too cautious.
When you think about it, this was only the first time they had seen Sawamura pitch.
How could they possibly hit it?
Not to mention the Change-up, even the unusual pitching form was enough to confuse the opponents.
Because they couldn't see the release point, Sawamura's pitch was terrifyingly fast from the Batter's Box.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Including Hoshitaru, all the batters for Kanetsu-Norin High School in the second inning were struck out in order.
Many of them didn't even realize what had happened on the field.
Sawamura had taken 6 strikeouts in a row.
The match had reached the top half of the third inning, and Kanemaru was quickly Out.
Although he had the potential to thrive in large-scale events, the bigger the stage, the better his performance seemed to be.
However, it was evident that this 'Quirk' had limits, and when he faced Hoshitaru, the effect was noticeably diminished.
In the end, he didn't even manage to touch the ball and was Out.
When he returned to the bench, the young man looked very dejected.
"You don't need to be upset. The other guy has staked his entire life on this final year of high school. But even that has a limit, so just focus and you will hit him in no time!"
Kanemaru was embarrassed at what Sawamura said.
Although the two of them had a decent relationship privately, Sawamura rarely comforted him like this.
Sawamura's usual way of cheering him up was more like a reprimand.
"If you can't even hit that kind of pitch, don't bother coming back."
That was the typical cheering style of Sawamura.
'Could it be that someone else is pretending to be him?'
Kanemaru is actually a very proud person at heart.
He had been part of the Seidou High School baseball team for a year and a half.
At this point, the issue of whether he was a newcomer or not, or his grade level, didn't matter anymore.
If you couldn't make it at this stage, it meant your level was already set.
As a friend, Sawamura couldn't just stand by and watch Kanemaru like this.
In fact, Kanemaru had made quite a bit of progress recently, though his improvement was slightly slower compared to other Seidou players.
"Trust me, your progress isn't slow. You just haven't had your breakthrough yet, like how Kuramochi-senpai and Zono-san once struggled. But now, they've transformed completely. As long as you keep working hard and take steady steps, your future is limitless."
Kanemaru was left dazed and impressed by what Sawamura said.
'Okay, I will do it!'
The game continued, and Kuramochi, leading off as the first batter, stood in the Batter's Box again. He still vividly remembered his first encounter with Hoshitaru and the fact that he hadn't even touched the ball!
That feeling had been incredibly frustrating!
Now, looking at his opponent, his gaze couldn't help but show a bit of hostility.
"Scary!"
Even Hoshitaru couldn't stay completely calm under Kuramochi's fierce glare. He returned a cold look and began to think of a solution.
Roaar!
In just a few seconds of thought, Hoshitaru was already ready to pitch.
His pitching stance, momentum, and the ball's speed seemed unchanged from before.
Kuramochi wasn't going to be careless.
This time, he absolutely couldn't let himself look foolish again.
He had to hit the ball and send it flying with all his might.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Kuramochi felt the ball coming at him was slower than the last one.
The last time, he had truly been slow to react.
But this time felt different.
The ball still flew fast, but Kuramochi felt confident he could hit it.
The chance was here, and he wasn't going to miss it.
Finally, the ball came toward him, and he decisively swung his bat.
The first pitch, he swung!
Despite missing every pitch in the previous encounter, Kuramochi was determined this time. He trusted his instincts and believed this time would be different.
Ping!
Kuramochi's intuition was right. This time, he really did hit the ball.
The bat struck the baseball, sending it flying.
With a smile still on his face, Kuramochi tossed the bat aside and sprinted to first base.
However, the ball didn't fall to the ground.
Instead, it flew high, heading toward the outfield.
The outfielder from Kanetsu-Norin High School was already prepared for the ball.
He had been waiting at the spot where the ball would land and caught it easily.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
Kuramochi's long-awaited hit was quickly snuffed out.
In the Seidou High School dugout, his teammates were left stunned by the turn of events.
Miyuki glanced at Sawamura, seeking confirmation.
He had a vague guess in his mind, but he wasn't sure if it was correct.
Sawamura subtly nodded he too guessed the same thing.
Indeed, Miyuki's guess was correct.
Everything had been planned in advance.
Kuramochi hadn't really hit Hoshitaru's ball. Instead, Hoshitaru had intentionally let him hit it.
From the very beginning, Hoshitaru had decided to use his defense to rack up Outs.
In other words, as Sawamura and Miyuki would say, Hoshitaru was clearly trying to "bait" them.
"I thought that guy's new breaking would be the most troublesome thing, but it turns out he's a pitcher who can mix both Contact pitching and Strikeouts," Miyuki commented with a sigh.
Hoshitaru's performance was truly impressive.
With his sharp breaking balls, excellent pitching rhythm, and a blend of Contact pitching and Strikeouts tactics…
How many of the opponents the Seidou team had faced before were defeated by Sawamura using similar tactics?
Probably countless.
Now, Hoshitaru seemed to be a pitcher with the same flair as Sawamura back then.
Even though he was only as strong as Sawamura six months ago, he was still on a different level.
Before the match, none of Seidou's players had predicted Hoshitaru would be such a tough opponent.
Two Outs, no one on base.
Now it was Kominato Haruichi's turn to bat. He too had been eliminated by a high fly ball earlier.
After him would be Sawamura.
Paak!
When Haruichi hit the ball, he felt like his arms jammed, his whole body was numb.
'Was this guy a monster?'
Although Kominato wasn't good at facing power pitchers,
Kominato had certainly done some targeted practice.
In fact, he practiced very hard.
Although he couldn't turn into a power hitter, his strength was at least adequate for his needs.
He wasn't the weakest hitter in Seidou's first-string lineup anymore.
Yet, despite all this, facing Hoshitaru's pitches, he still found himself out of his depth.
With the power he currently possessed, he couldn't hit Hoshitaru's pitches.
Even when he made contact, the ball was weak and lifeless.
It was like the ball just floated lazily over to second base.
The second baseman of Kanetsu-Norin High's baseball team caught it with ease.
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
On the mound, Sawamura faced off against the lower batters of Kanetsu-Norin High's lineup.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
He made quick work of them, striking out all three batters consecutively.
Unlike the second inning, when he used a variety of pitches, in this inning, he threw nothing but fastballs.
Facing the pitches of the "Great Demon King" Sawamura for the first time, this kind of reaction was normal.
Just his unique pitching form alone was enough to throw off the batters for an inning or two.
If they didn't have the raw talent and skill to adjust, they wouldn't even get a feel for it over an entire game.
Nine consecutive strikeouts!
When the data appeared, the audience was thrilled.
They were so familiar with Sawamura's rhythm.
If the game continued like this, they could almost predict the outcome.
The Koshien single-game strikeout record was likely to be broken today.
Just five minutes after the top of the third inning, the top of the fourth began.
The first batter to step up was the Big Demon King, Sawamura.
On the Batter's Box, Sawamura was feeling relatively relaxed.
In fact, he had already been trying to observe Hoshitaru's pitching during the previous round of the game.
To be honest, this guy was quite tricky.
Once he found his rhythm, he could be extremely formidable.
Just like now—up until this point, besides Sawamura's Long Bunt, no one from Seidou High School had managed to secure a hit off his pitching.
Because of this, even Sawamura didn't dare to be careless. He had to give his all when facing this opponent.
The strength of his opponent had successfully stimulated Sawamura's focus.
The world around him started to change. The cheers of the audience grew more and more distant.
Gradually, they were almost inaudible.
All his attention was now focused on Hoshitaru on the pitcher's mound.
Every subtle movement from the guy was magnified in Sawamura's eyes.
Every detail was like this.
At this moment, the ball Hoshitaru was about to pitch was also like this.
'This feeling is great!'
It made Sawamura feel exceptionally powerful. In this situation, he had the confidence to hit the incoming ball.
No matter what kind of pitch it was.
Sawamura was confident.
'Here it comes!'
Without making Sawamura wait too long, the small baseball was already whizzing toward him.
A pitch exceeding 150 km/h might not be the fastest on Earth.
But in terms of what humans could throw, this speed was definitely top-tier.
The baseball traveled the ten-meter distance in the blink of an eye and appeared right in front of the batter.
From the view of the audience, the ball looked incredibly fast.
But in Sawamura's eyes, the ball didn't seem as fast as everyone else saw it.
Sawamura took a step forward, lowered his body, and swung his bat like an extension of his arm.
He aimed directly at the incoming baseball and struck it fiercely.
PAAK!
The bat made precise contact with the center of the baseball.
A smile appeared at the corner of Sawamura's mouth.
However,
'The ball was too heavy!'
Sawamura didn't realize it at first. When he tried to pull it, he found that he couldn't budge it.
The ball's momentum was so strong that it negated much of his own power.
'How could this be?'
How could his opponent's pitch be this heavy?
Although Sawamura knew Hoshitaru's characteristic was heavy ball force with strong movement, experiencing it firsthand felt completely different.
No wonder Kuramochi and Haruichi had those uncomfortable expressions when they were at bat.
Sawamura adjusted his wrist angle just before the ball bounced off and managed to send it flying out of bounds.
The ball flew over the boundary and into the stands.
"FOUL!"
'How could that last pitch turn into a foul ball, and such a huge foul ball?'
'This wasn't right, he must have done something!'
Though Hoshitaru couldn't figure out exactly what happened, he immediately fixed his suspicious gaze on Sawamura.
In his mind, he was certain that Sawamura must have done something to make what was supposed to be a sure-fire pitch miss.
On the Batter's Box, Sawamura, feeling Hoshitaru's gaze, flashed a smile that he thought was friendly.
To be honest, he was just as surprised as anyone else!
Though he knew Hoshitaru was burning his potential by throwing recklessly like this, Sawamura never expected the result to be this powerful.
Even Sawamura couldn't easily change the ball's direction.
If he couldn't even change its direction, let alone hit a home run, how could he even think of doing it?
In this situation, how could he hit that pitch out?
Simply increasing the strength of his swing probably wouldn't work.
Sawamura adjusted his mindset and also changed his grip on the bat.
He had already given up on hitting a home run. That would be too disrespectful to his opponent.
Steady and sure, he aimed for a single hit first.
Considering the reliability of his teammates, as long as Sawamura could get a double, they still had a good chance of scoring.
Against this opponent, as long as Hoshitaru's stamina didn't collapse, completely taking him down would be very difficult.
Having such delusions was unrealistic.
The safest approach now was to take one point at a time.
Using the snowball effect, he could slowly expand their advantage.
And in the end, use a crushing method to overpower the opponent.
"Whew!"
Sawamura let out a long breath and focused all his attention on his opponent.
He patiently waited for Hoshitaru to throw the ball, then prepared to hit it with full force.
On the mound, Hoshitaru clearly wasn't the type to wait around either.
He didn't think too much and quickly threw his next pitch.
The pitch was clear, and having abandoned the idea of a long hit, Sawamura chose to play it safe.
He swung his bat in a half-circle, without hesitation, and hit the ball.
The fastball was straightforward, and its angle was no problem for Sawamura.
Now, it was a battle of strength.
Sawamura had never slacked off in this area.
Though he hadn't become the top power hitter in the country yet,
He knew that no one could simply overpower him with brute strength alone.
'Got you!!!'
In the clash of strength against strength, Sawamura's power prevailed.
He used his immense strength to push the ball forward.
"I won!!"
'Even if he burned himself, so what?'
PAAAAKKKK!!!
The ball flew in the air!
Sawamura tossed his bat aside and ran to first base like an arrow from a bow.
Just when Sawamura thought he was almost guaranteed to safely reach base, an unexpected event occurred.
Even Hoshitaru was bewildered.
The second baseman used his body to block the ball that was about to fly away.
Hoshitaru's ball speed was so fast!
Sawamura hit it so hard with his bat.
With both forces combined, how fast was the ball?
How frightening was the power attached to the baseball?
Anyone who saw it would shudder in fear.
Kanetsu-Norin High School's second baseman managed to stop it with his body.
Not only did he block the ball, but he also held his body up and stubbornly passed the ball to first base.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Sawamura's certain hit was blocked like this.
In this pass, there was no error.
The first baseman, Okawa, caught the ball steadily.
Kanetsu-Norin High School successfully got the Demon King Out!
The second baseman, who had just blocked Sawamura's hit, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
He had fainted!
The scene became chaotic...
The event organizers had anticipated this kind of situation, so they had already prepared, bringing a stretcher and doctors.
Blocking such a heavy ball with his body was a high-risk move.
After the initial diagnosis, the doctor said he had fractured his ribs.
If he recovered well, he might have the chance to return to the field in the future.
If his recovery wasn't good, he might only be able to take on auxiliary roles.
Though everyone knew doctors tend to exaggerate, this preliminary diagnosis was extremely serious.
After receiving this news, the entire Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team seemed to be in a state of mourning.
The Seidou High School team members looked at each other in confusion.
Especially Sawamura, who was responsible for batting.
Though he knew very well that this incident had nothing to do with him.
It's not like baseball isn't an injury-prone sport, and the second baseman's injury was entirely his own doing.
After all, he forced himself to catch the ball with his body, didn't he?
That was the truth, but Sawamura couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
Getting out of the confrontation was frustrating enough, now with this happening, he didn't even know what to say.
No matter how Sawamura felt, the second baseman from Kanetsu-Norin High School wouldn't be able to return to the game.
They had to substitute him.
Though Kanetsu-Norin High School had more than just these nine players, these nine were their core lineup.
They had been together for years, building a strong rapport that no other teammates could match.
Losing one player suddenly made the situation feel passive.
…