Koshien really is a place full of magic.
In just a few days, or even in a single game, players might experience a complete transformation.
Sawamura had experienced this kind of thing, and he'd seen it happen more with his opponents.
Now, it was Haruka Nanami's turn.
In this game today, he underwent a complete transformation.
The speed of this evolution caught Sawamura off guard.
After Furuya was taken care of.
The atmosphere in the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout became tense.
No one was a fool!
Looking at Nanami Haruka's condition, if they still didn't realize that this guy had gone berserk, their sense of danger was too weak...
After Furuya, the next batters, Shiratsu and Maezono, were both quickly and decisively dealt with.
Sawamura had initially thought that now that Nanami Haruka had awakened, he would definitely unleash his powerful pitch before anyone could react.
He'd rack up more strikeouts in one go!
And, at the same time, make a loud declaration of war against the Seidou High School baseball team.
If he really did that, it would help boost their team's morale and make Seidou's strength stand out even more.
But he didn't.
After taking care of Furuya, Nanami didn't let himself go wild.
Instead, he returned to his previous state and used his fastball and Cutter to secure outs.
This left Shiratsu and Maezono, who had been ready to face his miraculous pitch, unable to do anything.
They felt like their punches were hitting cotton—no impact at all.
Ping!!
The baseball was hit, either soaring high into the air,
Or bouncing straight to the ground.
Either it was caught, or it was immediately caught out.
In short, no one reached base.
"OUT!"
"OUT!!"
Three Outs, and the sides changed.
The game moved to the third inning.
Furuya, who had been taken out as a batter, was not greatly affected by his pitching.
He quickly took care of the opponent and secured three outs.
But there was a slight downside!
The eighth batter from Hoshiryu High School, by sheer luck, managed to make contact with Furuya's pitch.
The baseball was hit, and a strikeout was missed.
But as of now, Furuya had already secured eight strikeouts.
From the start of the game, if Sawamura were brought in, he probably wouldn't have done better than Furuya.
His performance was flawless, especially in the first round.
Perfect, almost unbelievably so!
Back in the dugout.
The team was in high spirits.
Today, Furuya was really impressive.
Seeing Haruka in such good form, the Seidou High School baseball team members were secretly worried.
They knew that although they wanted Sawamura to rest,
If the situation turned unfavorable, Sawamura would still have to pitch.
On the road to creating legends for Seidou High School's baseball team, they couldn't afford to take any risks.
Not even a little!
As long as the opponent had a chance to surpass Seidou, even if Coach Kataoka stubbornly didn't switch pitchers,
The teammates themselves wouldn't accept it.
Fortunately,
They didn't have to make that painful decision now, based on the current situation.
Their situation was still quite optimistic!
Furuya was strong, so maybe he could hold out.
As long as he could keep going and not give the opponent any chance to capitalize,
The Seidou High School baseball team could relax their worries and focus on dealing with their current opponent.
Nanami Haruka!
Although he had a dreamy name, the Seidou High team knew he was no ordinary opponent.
But based on their previous feelings, they didn't think it would be that hard to deal with him.
But now, after seeing his pitches,
They suddenly realized their mistake.
They had only assessed Nanami based on his previous performances and abilities.
They hadn't factored in his growth.
In the previous inning, Nanami Haruka showed with his actions that he truly had the talent to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Narumiya Mei, and it wasn't just a reputation.
He really had talent.
It just took longer for his talent to awaken compared to others.
Now, this talent had fully awakened.
This talent, which had awakened later than his peers, had unleashed its terrifying power.
A late starter, but one whose power was beyond compare!
Bottom of the third inning, Seidou High School at bat.
The first batter to face the pitch was Toujou, a highly skilled hitter on the Seidou team.
His performance raised the team's hopes.
He was particularly good at handling pitches with small breaks.
He is capable of adjusting his batting stance in mid-swing, and forcefully hitting a pitch that changed its direction suddenly.
In the Seidou High team, only Toujou could do something like this.
Whoosh!
With Seidou's teammates eagerly watching, Nanami threw the baseball from his hand.
The ball surged forward, swiftly arriving at Toujou's face.
As expected,
Nanami Haruka didn't fully unleash his power when facing Toujou.
He didn't use that Cutter.
It was in!
In the Seidou dugout,
Almost all of the teammates felt their eyes light up.
As long as Haruka didn't use that ball, Toujou had a high chance of hitting it.
But what happened next surprised Seidou's teammates.
The baseball near Toujou suddenly dropped.
Toujou quickly adjusted his stance, shifting from two hands to one, and lowered his bat accordingly.
He managed to meet the ball's change!
Ping!
The bat made solid contact with the baseball.
Toujou felt his arm sink.
'Heavy!'
He never expected the power behind this breaking ball to be so strong.
Although it couldn't match the fastball,
It still had about 80% of the fastball's power.
With such a heavy pitch, Toujou could never rely on just one hand to get it out.
The ball bounced up,
And the catcher, Hosho, easily caught it in his mitt.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Toujou was Out!
Seidou's teammates, all of whom were experts, didn't need an explanation from Toujou.
They had already figured out the truth in their minds.
That subtle breaking ball was Haruka's cut ball.
Not only did it have an incredibly perplexing movement,
But it also packed a tremendous amount of power!
Breaking balls and ball power are not entirely opposed,
But they are certainly closely related.
Theoretically, the sharper the breaking ball, the greater the friction with the air,
The slower the pitch speed, and the smaller its power!
Yet Nanami Haruka's breaking ball defied this logic.
Despite its sharp movement, its power didn't diminish significantly.
It was incomprehensible!
…
T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
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