In the rest area of the Seidou High School baseball team.
The team members were absolutely praising the performance of Furuya on the mound today.
Perhaps due to the presence of Sawamura, the Seidou High School baseball team often feels that the most reliable man on the mound is still Sawamura. When others are on the mound, they can't help but feel a bit uneasy in their hearts.
Whether it's Kawakami or Furuya.
The team doesn't doubt their abilities, but compared to Sawamura Eijun, there's always a feeling that they're just a bit lacking.
They can't be 100% at ease.
Perhaps it's for this reason that the others' abilities, when compared, always seem to be underestimated.
They're aware that Kawakami is a strong pitcher.
And if Furuya wasn't on the same team as Sawamura, he would already be the undisputed Ace of the team.
But still, there's always this nagging feeling that these two guys' abilities seem a bit unreliable.
Their skill level just isn't quite up to par.
When they stand on the mound, it's hard to trust them completely.
But now, watching Furuya dominate on the mound, the team was nothing short of shocked.
Incredible, just incredible!
That's Nanami Haruka, in earlier years, his reputation was just as prestigious as Narumiya Mei.
And yet, this guy was easily taken down by Furuya?
The whole Hoshiryu High School team might not have a particularly strong player!
At least, there's no terrifying presence like Sawamura.
This is also why Coach Kataoka dared to boldly rotate Furuya into the lineup.
If the opposing team had a player like Sawamura, even if it was reluctantly, Coach Kataoka wouldn't have easily pulled Eijun from the mound.
At most, he would give him a few innings of rest after gaining an absolute advantage.
It's impossible for him to leave him out for the entire game.
Though Hoshiryu High School doesn't have a player of such caliber, underestimating them would be a big mistake.
Because when it comes to raw skill, their players are top-tier, selected from thousands, or even tens of thousands, of baseball players.
They are the golden generation of Nagano Prefecture!
They've even earned national runner-up titles in the past.
This alone proves that their natural talent is extraordinary.
And with Hoshiryu High, a team full of ambition, and under the guidance of Coach Hoshio Ryuji, there's no reason to believe their players are weak.
They are strong!
Extremely strong!
Any pitcher facing such a team wouldn't dare be careless.
Even Sawamura isn't an exception.
Given this situation and facing such an opponent, Furuya's performance is enough to make everyone see him in a new light.
This guy is amazing!
So incredibly amazing!
The Seidou High School teammates now have to reassess their teammates with a different perspective.
He may be far stronger than they imagined, far stronger indeed.
As everyone was admiring Furuya's performance, the bottom of the second inning began.
Seidou High School's offense.
Furuya, who was pitching, wasn't just the starting pitcher for Seidou High School in this game.
He was also the team's fifth batter!
Through this arrangement, it's clear that Coach Kataoka has high expectations for Furuya.
His expectations aren't limited to his pitching abilities.
He also has high hopes for Furuya's batting prowess.
Although his hitting is sometimes erratic, when it's on, he can hit home runs. When it's off, he might get struck Out even against weaker pitchers.
Despite that, Coach Kataoka still placed him in the fifth spot.
Part of this is due to his recognition of Furuya's efforts in recent times. Another reason is that Coach Kataoka believes Furuya's style might be just what's needed to counter Nanami's pitching.
Coach Kataoka's thoughts on this aren't unfounded.
Nanami Haruka's most powerful pitch is his hidden breaking ball mixed with his fastball.
From what Coach Kataoka sees, aside from Sawamura, no one has ever fully deciphered Nanami Haruka's breaking ball.
Even when someone does manage to hit it, they usually rely purely on strength or luck.
Only Sawamura has managed to read Haruka's pitch, and with his eyes, hit it solidly.
Given this, Seidou High School's teammates know that defeating such an opponent requires a little strategy.
So Coach Kataoka decided to give Furuya a chance.
At the very least, his hitting power is first-rate.
When he connects with the sweet spot, there's no need to explain the result.
With Furuya's swing, even if he doesn't hit the ball perfectly, his sheer strength can still send the ball flying.
He has that kind of power!
A powerful pitcher with a strong bat!
For others, this might just be a concept, a nice idea.
But for Furuya, it's not just an idea—it's something he can absolutely do, and very likely to do.
That's why Coach Kataoka has high hopes for him.
You'd be kidding if you said Coach Kataoka wasn't at all hopeful.
He had worked so hard to get to this point.
How could he not have a bit of ambition and expectation?
He was eager for Furuya to step up and hit a home run in this moment.
But unfortunately, this would remain just Coach Kataoka's hope.
In the next showdown, Nanami Haruka perfectly demonstrated the difference in skill levels.
Whoosh!
He drew back, forcefully throwing the baseball from his hand.
As he pitched, he could feel his power surging up.
It was an exhilarating sensation, enough to make him feel on top of the world.
Nanami Haruka felt like he was in a state like never before, where he could defeat anyone, and face any challenge.
His blood was rushing through his veins.
He had never felt more alive.
At this moment, he was ready to face anyone and defeat them.
With this determination and confidence, Nanami Haruka's eyes widened as he pitched the baseball.
Furuya had struck him out earlier, and now he was going to strike back, eye for an eye.
The ball soared through the air, its speed rising steadily.
Normally calm, Furuya was momentarily stunned when he saw the ball.
'Fast!'
Previously, Nanami's pitches only reached slightly over 140 km/h, fast for sure, but not overwhelming.
However, on the field of Seidou High School, this speed wasn't much of a challenge.
Everyone, including Furuya, could handle such speeds.
On paper, if Nanami tried to overwhelm Furuya with speed alone, it would be impossible.
But now, after seeing the pitch, Furuya was shocked!
Though his face showed no emotion, his heart was racing.
This ball was faster than it seemed.
It reached him in the blink of an eye.
Furuya trusted his instincts and swung.
But his bat missed the ball entirely.
The baseball whizzed past him, untouched.
"STRIKE!"
This pitcher, who had led his team to national runner-up in his elementary school days, revealed his fangs.
Every pitch he threw was filled with his very essence.
In this dazzling display of pitching, even Seidou High School's teammates were helpless.
Furuya swung his bat, again and again, desperately hoping to hit that baseball.
"STRIKE!!"
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make contact.
It was like a curse, following him around, impossible to break.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
Just like Furuya had struck him out earlier, Nanami Haruka, after switching positions, took his revenge and struck out Furuya.
And the entire field was left stunned!
…