Watching Sawamura break record after record right before their eyes, the atmosphere at Koshien Stadium had been completely ignited.
At this moment, everyone was watching Sawamura, watching his pitches. They hoped he would continue to break records.
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura could certainly feel the intense emotions of the audience.
Humans are very greedy; they never know what it means to be satisfied.
Earlier, when Sawamura was forced into a bunt situation, people's thoughts were quite simple — as long as Sawamura could break the record, that would be enough.
But now…
Even though Sawamura had already broken the record, the audience was no longer satisfied.
What they now expected, what they hoped for, was not just the record.
They hoped Sawamura could perform even more, and achieve more incredible feats.
Not only surpassing those who came before him but also making it impossible for anyone in the future to catch up.
The audience's expectations became both a motivation and pressure for him.
And this pressure, Sawamura couldn't bear.
If he focused solely on fulfilling the audience's expectations, sooner or later, such thoughts would destroy him.
The fifth batter of the Kanetsu-Norin High School baseball team had already assumed a bunt stance.
They weren't like Inashiro and Yakushi, with no intention of helping Sawamura.
At this point, although it wasn't impossible for Sawamura to force a Strikeout, the risks weren't small either.
Showing off was possible, but continuing to show off like this, would be strange if something didn't go wrong.
Sawamura was very clear about this.
He gave up on that impractical approach, choosing to play it safe, using defense to get Outs.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
Three Outs, sides changed.
Of course, the audience was somewhat dissatisfied with Sawamura's decision.
However, their dissatisfaction didn't affect their overall evaluation of him.
Moreover, once they got used to such things, they would just accept it.
They would naturally think, this was the style of the great devil, Sawamura.
When it was time to show off, he would.
When it wasn't time, he could control himself.
Though they were probably disappointed at that moment, after some time had passed, when they reflected on it, they had to admit that Sawamura's choice was undoubtedly the right one.
Unconsciously, the game had entered the 9th inning, the final inning of the match.
In the previous inning, Coach Kataoka had sent in a pinch hitter, hoping to gain some advantage from the opposing team.
But things didn't go as planned.
Had Furuya and Masashi not learned any beneficial lessons from that confrontation, but instead had their confidence destroyed, the Seidou High School baseball team would have truly suffered a loss.
Fortunately, that tragedy didn't actually happen. How much they gained from the recent confrontation is still unclear.
But at least they hadn't lost confidence because of Hoshitaru's strength.
As long as they could do that, the experience from this confrontation would become the most valuable asset for the two of them in the future.
But that's a story for later.
Even though it was the top of the ninth inning and the victory had already been secured, Seidou was not satisfied.
The first batter up, Kuramochi, took a stance, eager to make an attempt.
No matter what, he had to get on base again.
On the pitcher's mound, Hoshitaru, who had already lost hope of winning, and who had just been struck out by Sawamura, had forgotten all about the game's outcome.
He was now simply enjoying the confrontation with Seidou High School's skilled players.
Even though Hoshitaru had dealt with Kuramochi twice before, he wasn't taking any chances.
He threw the pitch with determination, using all his strength.
The moment Kuramochi saw the pitch, he felt his brow twitch.
'This guy is really crazy!!'
Though Seidou had not gotten many hits in the game, their strength ensured that Hoshitaru couldn't just easily get them out.
Throughout the game, Seidou had caused Hoshitaru to throw a fair amount of pitches.
By now, Hoshitaru had already thrown more than 110 pitches.
Generally speaking, such numbers indicated that a pitcher's first and second peaks were already over.
Even if a pitcher could still stay on the mound, their pitching power and overall threat would be greatly diminished.
This rule was very reliable.
Most pitchers couldn't escape it.
But Hoshitaru was clearly not like most pitchers.
Up until now, his performance had remained strong.
Though he hadn't hit the baseball with a bat, Kuramochi had a feeling that even if he did, it would be hard to overpower Hoshitaru's pitch.
The final result, 70-80% of the time, would be him getting struck out.
Now that they were in the 9th inning, there wasn't much time to waste.
That was too risky!
Kuramochi's eyes shifted, and he decided to try another approach.
First, he posed in a stance ready for a decisive battle, raising his bat high.
It looked like, once the baseball came, he was determined to swing at it.
Seeing this, Kanetsu-Norin's players were certain.
Kuramochi was ready for a head-on confrontation.
They had full confidence in Hoshitaru's strength and believed he wouldn't disappoint them.
They were certain he could deal with this opponent.
Roaar!
The baseball roared toward him.
As the ball was thrown, Kuramochi, who had been in a normal batting stance, suddenly pulled his bat back and switched to a bunt.
Kanetsu-Norin's players were stunned by this sudden change.
It caught them completely off guard.
Before they could process what had happened, Kuramochi had already made contact with the ball.
Ping!
"Good!"
Although the ball's position and speed weren't ideal, Kanetsu-Norin's players didn't react in time.
For Kuramochi, as long as the opponent didn't react immediately, it was already enough.
He dashed toward first base like a blur.
He was fast, but Kanetsu-Norin's first baseman wasn't slow either.
The first baseman, Okawa, rushed forward and grabbed the ball.
Without looking back, he immediately threw the ball to first base.
There, Hoshitaru was waiting.
As Kuramochi was just two meters from the base, Hoshitaru arrived in time and covered the first base.
Snap!
Hoshitaru caught the ball, stopping Kuramochi from stealing the base.
"OUT!!"
One Out, and no one on base.
"At all costs, we can't back down!"
Kuramochi's replacement, Kominato Haruichi, muttered as he stepped into the Batter's Box.
With a firm resolve, Haruichi tightly clung to Hoshitaru.
He tangled for seven or eight pitches, reaching a full count.
But even so, Kominato Haruichi wasn't struck out.
His eyes were fixed on the pitcher's mound.
As soon as a pitch came, he didn't swing for a direct confrontation.
Instead, he slightly adjusted his bat to let the ball either fly foul or behind the catcher.
"FOUL!!"
"FOUL!!"
By the eighth pitch, the catcher for Kanetsu-Norin High School couldn't help himself.
'This was too troublesome!'
Though he understood that the players from Seidou High School weren't easy to handle, the reason Hoshitaru hadn't been hit was mainly because of his outstanding skills.
But, honestly, there was another reason he couldn't ignore — luck.
Although luck hadn't always been on their side, it had helped them out during their defense.
Hoshitaru's balls were never hit out!
However, all the balls hit were caught by their defense.
This situation, while owing to their strong defense, definitely had some luck on their side.
Seidou High School's players couldn't control where the baseball would land.
But that didn't mean every pitch would fall into Kanetsu-Norin High's players' defensive range.
That's two different things — they couldn't be confused.
In this situation, they caught every ball. Wasn't that luck helping out?
Now, their opponents weren't willing to leave their batting to luck and chose an all-out war.
They were powerless against that.
Kuchiki, the catcher, felt uneasy.
If the next pitch was outside the strike zone, they'd probably have to walk the batter!
As Kuchiki watched with anxiety, his guess quickly became reality.
Boom!
"BALL!"
"WALK TO BASE!"
Kominato Haruichi was Walked.
The players of Kanetsu-Norin High were naturally furious.
And they had never seen a batter like Haruichi before.
He managed to Foul every single pitch!
How finely honed did his batting technique need to be to do that?
In the Seidou High School dugout, the teammates were thrilled by the sight.
The current Kominato Haruichi resembled another figure in their minds.
The Legendary Devil Brother, Kominato Ryosuke!
Last year, during the Koshien, Kominato Ryosuke made a name for himself by continuously getting Walked with excellent batting skills.
As the younger brother of the Devil Brother, Kominato Haruichi's batting instinct and skills were even superior to his older brother's.
However, in order not to follow in his brother's shadow, he had never been willing to adopt his brother's fighting style.
This time, Kominato Haruichi let go of his reservations.
He had perfectly inherited his brother's skills.
This was very significant for Seidou High.
If Kominato Haruichi truly inherited his brother's style perfectly, then he'd be added to the big weapon list of Seidou.
He would become an important force to match with Miyuki and Sawamura.
One Out, runner on first.
Now, it was Sawamura's turn to bat.
The entire stadium erupted in excitement, cheering for Sawamura.
The players from Kanetsu-Norin High looked somewhat pitiful.
They could be completely overwhelmed by this overwhelming momentum at any moment.
In the face of this terrifying situation, Hoshitaru from Kanetsu-Norin High didn't back down.
Not only did he not back down, but the players and coach from Kanetsu-Norin High also didn't show any signs of retreat.
They seemed like the most steadfast support, standing behind Hoshitaru.
Let's face off!
Until now, Hoshitaru hadn't suffered any significant loss in his direct encounters with Seidou High players.
Even Sawamura had been dealt with before.
Their previous encounters were evenly matched.
Now facing this opponent again, Hoshitaru was determined not to retreat.
The players and coaches from Kanetsu-Norin High also hoped he could solve Sawamura in the final moments.
If they couldn't win, at least they could face Sawamura head-on.
For the players of Kanetsu-Norin High, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
In this final confrontation, Hoshitaru was particularly careful.
He didn't throw the ball at his usual fast pace.
On the Batter's Box, Sawamura, who had already given up on the Zone, was about to face Hoshitaru head-on.
Suddenly, Sawamura realized that Hoshitaru didn't seem to be throwing the ball immediately.
'This was a pleasant surprise!'
Without hesitation, Sawamura took a deep breath, clearing his mind.
He entered his magical state.
It took about 3-4 seconds.
In the past, no matter who faced Sawamura, they'd be cautious.
This allowed Sawamura to prepare calmly.
But Hoshitaru was different.
During their previous encounters, Hoshitaru's fast pitching rhythm prevented Sawamura from entering his state.
But now, with the game nearing its end, Hoshitaru was especially careful.
This gave Sawamura time to prepare.
Slowly, in Sawamura's eyes, everything around him seemed to disappear.
Even the cheering of the crowd grew distant.
In this highly focused state, the only thing he could see was Hoshitaru on the pitcher's mound.
The surrounding time seemed to slow down!
Hoshitaru's movements appeared less fluid.
Sawamura knew this was just an illusion, but it didn't matter.
In this state, he could think clearly.
With the surroundings slowing down, he was able to think normally.
Even if his own movements and speed didn't improve, Sawamura could respond more calmly to all the changes.
'It's coming!'
The baseball whistled toward him.
Even in Sawamura's current state, the ball didn't look slow.
In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him.
Fortunately, this pitch wasn't beyond his ability.
He still had confidence in hitting it.
He saw the trajectory and spin of the ball clearly.
Sawamura raised his bat high and swung with full force!
A fastball!
Hoshitaru, like a one-track mind, never used breaking balls when facing Sawamura.
It was all fastballs!
This made things simpler.
Sawamura's body moved in perfect coordination.
From his feet to his body, waist, shoulders, arms, and wrists, everything worked together in unison.
Shuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!
Then, it all exploded!
PAAAAAAKKKKK!!!!!
The bat struck the baseball solidly, sending it flying into the distance.
'So satisfying!!!'
Though his hands still ached from the impact, Sawamura felt incredibly good.
During this at-bat, it felt as though he had released all his frustrations.
It was such a good feeling, and Sawamura felt truly at ease.
"IT'S FLYING!"
"OUT OF THE PARK!!!"
The baseball soared over the left-field stands.
The players of Kanetsu-Norin High were stunned, watching as the ball flew out of the park.
To be honest, they had never seen this before.
They had never seen Hoshitaru's fastballs hit so far out of the park.
"Two runs!"
With Haruichi and Sawamura running back home plate, Seidou High had expanded their lead to 4 points.
The score was now 4:0.
Though this score didn't seem quite fitting for their reigning championship team's status, the players of Seidou were content.
After all, their opponent was truly strong.
In this game, the players of Seidou High had great respect for Hoshitaru's strength.
That guy was indeed worthy of praise.
In this match, he had made them look quite ragged.
4:0!
That was the final score of the game.
Seidou High advanced to the top eight.
Their goal of becoming legends was only three games away.
...