One Out, a runner on second base.
After scoring three runs in the previous inning, the Seidou High School baseball team's offense was still going strong.
At this point, Yakushi High School quickly made a decisive adjustment.
They brought in their Ace pitcher, Sanada.
Based on previous information, Sanada's condition wasn't exactly great.
However, looking at Yakushi High School's attitude, it didn't matter how Sanada was feeling; they were determined to send their Ace to the mound.
Only with Sanada on the field could the Yakushi team ignite even a small spark of fighting spirit.
Without him, Yakushi High's baseball team would truly be finished.
The five-run lead was secondary; their players couldn't even imagine how they would score, or how they would continue the game. Even if Sanada took the mound, their minds were completely blank.
But, as soon as they saw Sanada on the mound, the Yakushi High players suddenly seemed energized.
They appeared to have regained their confidence in the game.
It almost felt like Sanada on the mound had some sort of magical power.
As long as he was there, everything would change.
And for Shiratsu, standing in the Batter's Box, this feeling was the most intense.
'This guy!'
He carefully examined Sanada on the mound, his heart pounding.
An unpleasant feeling filled Shiratsu's mind.
He couldn't quite explain what it was, but it was extremely uncomfortable—very, very uncomfortable.
It was an oddly awkward feeling.
Shiratsu shook his head and pushed aside these unrealistic thoughts.
They had known Sanada for a long time, and they were completely aware of his abilities.
Now, there was one Out, and a runner was on second.
Considering Sanada's abilities, Seidou's chances of scoring weren't low.
Even if he was possibly injured, even if Sanada was at full strength, Seidou High still had ways to handle him.
Forget others—Shiratsu and Toujou, for example, had a great chance of hitting the ball out.
As Yakushi's Ace, Sanada wasn't as terrifying as everyone imagined.
He wasn't like Sawamura Eijun or Narumiya Mei, where facing them would be like drawing two kings and four twos in a game of poker—impossible to win.
Though Sanada's "cards" were quite impressive, they weren't unbeatable.
Of course, hitting his ball wasn't easy.
Sanada's style had some similarities with Sawamura Eijun's—he is also a Moving pitcher.
But in the past, Sanada's delivery was more refined compared to Sawamura's early days. Now, Sawamura had caught up to him and surpassed him in terms of uniqueness.
Even so, Sanada's slight changes in his cutter still remained an incredibly sharp weapon when he was in form.
Shiratsu was cautious. He didn't expect to hit Sanada's pitch out of the park or even hit it very far.
His goal was simple: just make contact with the ball and send it somewhere.
If everything went smoothly and they worked well together, scoring was possible. Even if they didn't score directly, advancing the batter to third base was acceptable.
Shiratsu understood well the significance of scoring this one run for Seidou High.
On the surface, Seidou already had a five-run lead. Even if Yakushi had a chance to make a comeback, they couldn't possibly overcome this gap.
So, it seemed like scoring one more run wouldn't matter much.
However, that wasn't the case.
With a five-run lead and Yakushi having just switched to their Ace pitcher, if Seidou could score again, it would deal a massive blow to Yakushi's morale.
Additionally, if Seidou could score another point, they would be one step closer to reaching the run margin needed to end the game early.
That too was a huge blow to Yakushi High.
If Yakushi stopped this point, Seidou would have a hard time finding another opportunity like this again.
In the rest of the game, there will undoubtedly be many more twists and turns.
Though the outcome of the game wouldn't be affected, the process would still be frustrating for Seidou.
Shiratsu didn't want to accept that.
So he hoped he could just hit this ball.
'Here it comes!'
Sanada's pitch came with the usual speed, not giving the opponent any chance to react. The small baseball screamed toward the batter.
Shiratsu clenched his teeth and didn't swing too early.
From his own observation, this ball was unlikely to land in the strike zone.
Snap!
"BALL!"
It was exactly as Shiratsu had predicted.
This successful prediction boosted Shiratsu's confidence.
For some unknown reason, Sanada's pitching wasn't quite as sharp.
'In other words, his state was a bit unstable.'
This wasn't good news for Yakushi, but for Seidou, it was a welcome sign.
It seemed that today's game might end earlier than expected.
When Sanada threw the second ball, Shiratsu swung with precision.
PANG!
The bat made solid contact with the ball, sending it flying.
Shiratsu released the bat and started running toward first base.
Maezono, synchronized with him, sprinted toward third.
"SAFE!"
"SAFE!!"
Both runners safely reached their respective bases.
The situation now was one Out, with runners on first and third.
The game was starting to feel more intense.
Seidou's offense was relentless, showing no signs of stopping.
Right now, they had an excellent scoring opportunity.
And standing in the Batter's Box was Toujou.
Toujou was one of Seidou's best hitters.
With runners on first and third, Seidou had many possible strategies.
It seemed like scoring this point would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Originally, Seidou's players expected that Yakushi would make a move to stop them.
They wouldn't just sit there and wait to lose, right?
If they made a move, they would certainly reveal some weaknesses.
But to their surprise, Yakushi didn't hesitate and threw the pitch directly.
Whrroosh!
'So fast!'
The speed of the ball didn't even give Toujou time to prepare or think.
He instinctively swung his bat.
Ping!
At the moment of contact, Toujou's face changed.
The ball swerved unexpectedly as it neared his bat.
Because of this sudden curve, the ball, which had almost been sent flying high, dropped instead and bounced on the ground.
It's going through!
Fortunately, the ball landed in an empty spot in the defense.
Just as the ball was about to take off, a figure suddenly appeared.
The figure darted out like a swordfish leaping from the water and crouched to grab the ball.
'How could he be there?'
Toujou's eyes widened in disbelief.
He clearly hadn't expected this and was left stunned.
Still, Toujou's body moved before his mind did.
He ran toward first base as fast as he could.
Although he knew he was too late, he hoped that the ball would be thrown to first base.
If that happened, he could cover Maezono's stolen base to third.
But Toujou didn't expect the defense to ignore first base entirely.
Instead, the ball was thrown to second.
Snap!
The shortstop caught the ball, stepped firmly on second base, and then threw it to first.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
"OUT!!!"
With that double play, Yakushi had secured three Outs.
After a long battle, they finally managed to stop Seidou's attack.
Although the rest of the game seemed less important now, Yakushi's players still had a strong fighting spirit.
They didn't look like a team that was losing.
This was something Seidou found particularly awkward.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Yakushi's offense began.
With a big lead and the upcoming Koshien tournament, Coach Kataoka briefly hesitated about whether to send someone in to get used to the atmosphere.
This moment was important.
Whoever went up would be the new core player, besides Sawamura.
But before that thought could fully take shape, he dismissed it.
Yakushi's team seemed to be out of chances, but they didn't give up yet.
If Seidou switched pitchers now and things got complicated, they would be losing out.
On the mound, Sawamura continued to show his exceptional pitching.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Three Outs and the sides switched.
Up until this point, Yakushi had stuck to their strategy of swinging hard at every pitch.
They were almost giving up on Sawamura completely.
…