Sawamura is Out.
The Seidou High School baseball team suffered a loss in this inning.
Originally, the situation wasn't very favorable for them, but an unexpected event occurred, giving the Seidou High School baseball team a huge advantage.
The second baseman, who was a key defensive player for the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team, was injured after making a tough catch from Sawamura's hit and had to leave the game.
As a result, the Kanetsu-Norin High School team had to make a substitution.
With the second baseman out, a gap had appeared.
Following right after, Miyuki, the Seidou batter, was ready to target that spot and strike.
'You could see it on his face—he was nervous.'
'If the ball went to his position, the chances of him missing it were very high.'
Miyuki thought so and planned to act accordingly.
But when he actually did it, Miyuki was surprised to find that he had underestimated the situation.
Naturally, that was his plan, but the battery of Kanetsu-Norin was well aware of his weaknesses.
How could he allow Miyuki to casually send the ball to the second baseman's spot?
'Outside corner!'
'Outside corner!'
'Outside corner!'
In the ensuing confrontation, Kanetsu-Norin's Ace pitcher, Hoshitaru, went for the outside corner.
He threw three consecutive pitches, all targeting the outside corner.
This pitcher was already impressive.
Even Sawamura couldn't pull the ball.
Now Miyuki was facing the same dilemma—he wanted to hit the ball toward the second baseman's area, but he couldn't get the ball to go that way.
The ball was too heavy, like a meteor falling from the sky.
When the third outside pitch came, Miyuki had no choice but to Foul it off.
At the same time, he realized another unique characteristic of Hoshitaru.
This guy was a bit stubborn—once he decided on something, it seemed like he wouldn't stop until he achieved it.
It reminded Miyuki of how most good pitchers had this single-minded personality.
'Is this the nature of pitchers?' Miyuki muttered to himself.
Then he thought of his own partner.
Not all pitchers were like this, at least not his partner, who was reliable most of the time.
Sometimes, he could be a little stubborn, but he had his reasons and wasn't just acting on impulse.
Shaking his head, Miyuki pushed those thoughts aside and patiently waited for the next pitch.
Hoshitaru's stubbornness worked in Miyuki's favor. He only needed to focus on handling the outside fastball.
To be honest, Hoshitaru's strength made Miyuki take a second look.
Miyuki had known Hoshitaru was strong, but he had never imagined that Hoshitaru could rely solely on his fastball to be so powerful.
No wonder Hoshitaru had shut out Seijitsu even without showing any new breaking balls.
His fastball, once it's on, was like the Seidou High School Ace, Sawamura. Nothing could stop it.
Hoshitaru didn't make Miyuki wait, quickly releasing the ball in his usual rhythm.
Facing the incoming baseball, Miyuki was already prepared.
This was the fourth pitch, and his eyes had adjusted to the speed.
'Now!'
Miyuki timed his swing perfectly, his eyes wide as he spun his body with the bat.
Shuuuuuuuu!!!
The huge force of his swing caused the bat to create a loud whooshing sound as it cut through the air.
It looked like, with just the right contact, the ball would fly a long distance.
But unfortunately, the bat didn't make contact with the ball.
The two missed each other.
Miyuki's face turned slightly awkward.
'Wha…?!'
He thought his opponent was straightforward, but Hoshitaru turned out to be far more cunning than he had expected.
Hoshitaru didn't throw a fastball this time but used his trademark, meteor-like breaking ball.
'He Got Me…'
Normally, he wouldn't even be able to hit a regular fastball, let alone a breaking ball like that.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
Miyuki, the captain of the Seidou High School team and regarded as one of the top batters in high school, was struck out.
With consecutive Out of both Sawamura and Miyuki, especially after their second baseman was injured and out of the game, the momentum of the Kanetsu-Norin team had skyrocketed!
In the Seidou High School dugout, Ochiai looked pensive.
"They are channeling their desperation quite well!"
The loss of their second baseman didn't hinder the Kanetsu-Norin players at all; it only made them more united and determined to fight harder.
'This is not good…'
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Although Hoshitaru didn't have as many strikeouts as Sawamura, against Seidou High School, he had already struck out a staggering number of batters.
"So far, it's been a total of eight!" Miyuki remarked.
In the fourth inning, out of the twelve Outs, Hoshitaru had struck out eight of Seidou's batters.
"Are you still going to complain? You, the fourth batter, even gave them a strikeout on purpose. What's wrong, feeling sorry for your opponent and trying to pad their stats?"
"Shut up!" Miyuki replied, irritated.
Miyuki considered himself to have a pretty calm mind.
With his sly nature, he was usually the one teasing others, not the other way around.
He rarely got angry, even when people messed with him.
But Sawamura had a way of getting under his skin.
What kind of karma had he accumulated to end up with such a teammate?
"No joking around! The other side is too strong; we can't show weakness!" Miyuki said.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kanetsu-Norin's turn to attack began.
As Sawamura, who was about to pitch, was preparing, he grinned devilishly.
"Of course!"
He wasn't a saint, and since the opponent had already challenged his team, it would be rude not to fight back.
The first batter to face him was Okawa.
In the previous round, Okawa had made a huge mistake.
He didn't even have time to swing his bat before Sawamura cleanly struck him out.
Sawamura had an impression of this opponent.
Now facing him again, Sawamura didn't dare to be careless.
Okawa had made such a huge mistake in the previous round.
By common sense, when they met again, Okawa should have a strong desire to get revenge or prove himself.
His fighting spirit should have been high.
But it wasn't.
Okawa seemed very calm, almost as though he was facing a pitching machine.
His expression made Sawamura uneasy, and it even made him more cautious.
When things are abnormal, there's something fishy going on.
'What was Okawa really trying to do?'
Sawamura didn't have the ability to read his opponent's mind, so he couldn't figure it out.
In this case, to be safe, the best approach was to use powerful pitching to completely deal with him.
No matter what he was thinking, Sawamura wouldn't give him a chance to act on it.
'Since you're aiming for a breaking ball, let's see if you can hit it!'
Even knowing that his opponent might be aiming for his breaking ball, Sawamura threw it anyway.
If his breaking ball was really as easy to hit as Kanetsu-Norin's players had thought, then were the other star batters from top-tier teams just playing around?
Why didn't they aim for Sawamura's breaking ball instead of his Fastball or regular Moving balls?
The answer was simple.
Because they didn't have the confidence to hit it.
Star batters from top teams didn't have that confidence, so what confidence did the players from Kanetsu-Norin have?
Okawa, now at the Batter's Box, was no longer as surprised by Sawamura's pitch as he had been at the beginning.
He gradually regained his composure, calmly observing the approaching ball.
Fastball? Or breaking ball?
Their strategy was set before the game, but now, Kanetsu-Norin had no choice but to change their strategy.
There was no choice.
Sawamura was too unpredictable; they couldn't guess what kind of pitch he was going to throw next.
And the most terrifying part was that even after Sawamura started his motion, you couldn't tell from his pitching form what kind of pitch he was going to throw.
By the time the batter could see the baseball coming, it would be just fractions of a second before it reached them.
From the time the image entered the eyes until the brain processes it and sends signals to the body to swing, the time to react was incredibly short.
Okawa, seeing the ball, immediately wanted to swing his bat!
At first glance, it looked like a perfect strike.
As a competent batter, there was no reason to ignore such a pitch.
But, no!
Just as Okawa was about to swing, a sudden realization struck him, sending a chill down his spine.
He had been so eager for the hit that he almost forgot who was standing in front of him.
It was the Champion Ace, Sawamura. Would he really make such a wild pitch?
No matter if others believed it or not, Okawa didn't believe it.
He managed to restrain himself and didn't swing.
Instead, he watched in horror as the baseball, just before reaching him, suddenly dropped sharply.
'Forkball!'
'A forkball with such speed!'
Okawa nearly wet himself.
It had been such a close call!
The ball dropped quickly, but the drop wasn't that wide.
Had he swung for a fastball, the result would have likely been a ground ball.
With Seidou's defensive capabilities, he would have been Out for sure!
Too scary!!
Did facing the national champion mean he had to be on edge like this every second?
Okawa felt bitter inside. He thought he couldn't take it much longer.
It was like torture!
Such torment—Okawa didn't want to endure it for even a minute, let alone a second.
But, no!
He couldn't put all the pressure on Hoshitaru alone.
Facing the mighty Seidou team's lineup, Hoshitaru already had a huge burden!
Whether as a teammate or a childhood friend, Okawa felt it was his duty to share some of that pressure with Hoshitaru.
He had to fight!
And he had to hit it out!!
Just as Okawa made up his mind, Sawamura's second pitch came.
This pitch looked even faster than the first one.
'A fastball!'
At that moment, Okawa's brain quickly made a judgment.
He had a faint feeling that their pre-planned hitting strategy might have been wrong.
So many top teams, when facing Seidou and Sawamura, had chosen to focus on fastballs and regular Moving.
At first, Okawa thought it was just because of their play style, but now, he realized he had been too naive.
It wasn't just their play style.
It was the result of careful consideration.
Compared to the breaking ball, aiming for the fastball or regular Moving ball had a higher chance of success.
That's why those top-tier star batters made that choice.
Okawa finally understood, but it was a little too late.
Before he could even swing his bat, the baseball had already crossed the strike zone and landed firmly in Miyuki's Mitt.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!!"
Everyone at the scene was stunned.
Especially the players from Kanetsu-Norin.
Their spiritual leader, Hoshitaru, furrowed his brow deeply.
"We're behind by so much!"
Though Okawa had swung at the pitch, by the time he swung, the baseball had already passed him by.
He was too late!
The result was that the bat never touched the ball at all.
Hoshitaru had always believed strongly in his friend's abilities.
When he had brought Okawa into Kanetsu-Norin, despite not making it to Koshien for two years, Hoshitaru had been upset.
He regretted that if Okawa hadn't joined him at Kanetsu-Norin, with his abilities, he would have been a main player at a top-tier team.
But because of Hoshitaru, Okawa's career had been delayed.
This small detail showed just how much Hoshitaru trusted Okawa's abilities.
And now...
Okawa had swung too late, and the bat hadn't even brushed the ball.
That said a lot.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Not only Okawa, but the next two batters also couldn't escape the fate of strikeouts.
…