Chapter 31: Overloaded

"Seidou!"

"Seidou!!!"

"Miyuki!"

"Miyuki!!!"

The supporters of Seidou High School in the stands were going absolutely wild.

When Sawamura was on the field, his brilliance was so overwhelming that everyone was naturally drawn to him, inadvertently neglecting the other players.

Now that Sawamura isn't on the field, the atmosphere is completely different. Seidou High School seems like an entirely new team—active, proactive, and with a true elite presence.

The fierce battle has definitely spiked the audience's adrenaline.

They were all mesmerized, unable to look away.

On the mound, Umemiya's face was stiff. Clearly, he hadn't expected Seidou's strength to remain this high even without Sawamura.

'Especially Miyuki!'

Initially thought to be just excellent, but in reality, his power is monstrous.

What's even scarier is not just his overwhelming skill and technique, but also his leadership.

'No wonder he became the team Captain after the third-year players retired. He really has talent.'

As Umemiya struggled, his teammates rallied around him.

"One Out!"

"Let them hit it, Ume-chan."

"We'll back you up!"

Unlike other teams, Ugumori's players remained calm and collected during the crisis, their faces still showing smiles.

Miyuki, who had just hit a home run, didn't keep his smile for long and quickly composed himself.

His teammates came forward to praise him, but he only smiled and nodded, showing little joy.

This scene left Maezono stunned.

'Hitting a home run and still staying so calm—only Miyuki could manage that.'

Maezono tightened his grip on his bat, his eyes showing a determined glare.

He had overthought it; Miyuki's lack of excitement was mainly due to the atmosphere at Ugumori, which felt quite unfavorable.

Despite the severe blow, their Ace pitcher was nearly breaking down, yet Ugumori's players showed no sign of despair.

'This was very unusual.'

Based on Miyuki's experience, such irregularities usually have a reason.

"Could the opponents have some hidden cards?" Miyuki hesitated.

"Obviously, yes! But we can't tell what is it from the data we gathered. We only have information from their three qualifying games and the first round. Ugumori hasn't faced a tough opponent, so it's hard to tell what are they hiding.

But if the score gap widens, even if they have hidden cards, it won't matter!" Sawamura, speaking through his large mask, said with a buzzing voice.

Miyuki nodded.

He agreed with Sawamura's view.

'Even if the opponents have hidden cards, they would be revealed under our relentless attacks. As long as they control the score, victory will always be in our favor.'

After Miyuki's three-run homer, Maezono stepped into the batter's box.

Ping!

The small white ball was hit far away.

"Nice!"

Maezono felt good about the hit, thinking it would fall into a gap in the outfield.

He charged toward first base like a wild boar.

Unfortunately, Ugumori's center outfielder displayed impressive speed.

He dashed to where the ball was falling and caught it before it fell.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Nice! Dai-chan!!!"

"Dai-chan! That was so cool!"

This spectacular defense from Kondou Daiki greatly boosted Ugumori's morale.

In Seidou's dugout, teammates looked at each other and discussed the player's capability.

"I was trying to hit the ball away from his area to avoid his speed but to think he was that good," Haruichi said in surprise.

"He also stopped my hit early, if it wasn't for his save we could have scored with my hit before Miyuki's Homerun." Shiratsu was also a bit annoyed that he didn't get the RBI because of this player.

"For now let's avoid sending hits in his direction," Miyuki concluded thinking that Kondou's style is similar to Carlos from Inashiro and Mima from Hakuryu.

"That guy who looks like he hasn't woken up is surprisingly capable," Kuramochi said with a frown.

Despite different positions, Kuramochi noticed many similarities in style between him and his opponent.

Kuramochi inevitably paid more attention to Kondou Daiki. Although his speed wasn't as fast as Kuramochi's, there was much to learn.

Two Outs, no one on base.

"Sixth Batter, pitcher, Furuya-kun."

Furuya's turn to bat was highly anticipated. Despite being a substitute, he was second only to Sawamura in home runs during his time at Seidou High.

His swing was still a sight to behold.

The downside was his swing lacked precision, being either very effective or a total embarrassment.

Today was one of those embarrassing moments.

After a foul ball and a strike, he swung at a ball outside the strike zone and missed.

Snap!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"

As expected, he was struck out.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged.

The game moved to the top of the fourth inning.

Kondou's perfect defense earlier had remarkably boosted Ugumori's morale once again.

Now it was their fifth batter, Inubushi.

Inubushi's appearance was quite frightening—sharp features and large teeth.

Despite his unfortunate look, he was a top hitter of Ugumori, second only to Umemiya.

Against Furuya's fastballs over 150 km/h, he could keep up.

After several pitches, he seized an opportunity and hit the ball.

Ping!

The baseball, already fast, sped up even more after being hit.

'Wha…!!'

It flew past Seidou's defense, catching everyone off guard.

"Yoshiaaa!"

Inubushi clenched his fist in excitement and ran to first base.

Miyuki could only smile bitterly.

'It was different now!'

'When Furuya first debuted, his speed alone could overwhelm opponents.'

But as he gained fame, opponents started training to handle his fastballs, and more talented players could match his speed.

This was evident in his decreasing number of strikeouts.

Future opponents would only get stronger, and relying solely on speed would be difficult for Furuya.

Player skills are like this—moving forward is like rowing against the current; without progress, one falls behind and gets crushed.

That's why continuous improvement was necessary.

Having already reached first base, Inubushi Kotaro was naturally unwilling to play it safe. He positioned himself far from the base, ready to attempt a steal at any cost.

Given this distance, Furuya couldn't afford to be careless and quickly threw a pick-off attempt to keep Inubushi in check.

Unfortunately, Furuya lacked the pick-off skills of Sawamura, and his exaggerated motion gave Inubushi the chance to return safely.

"SAFE!"

Before reaching first base, Inubushi had already returned ahead of time.

'Ignore the runner, focus solely on the batter.'

Miyuki, the catcher, signaled to Furuya.

Unlike Sawamura, Furuya couldn't handle both runners and batters simultaneously. This required a high level of basic pitching skills, which Furuya lacked. Diverting too much attention to the runner would only disrupt his pitching.

At this point, Miyuki didn't expect Furuya to handle the runner on his own; he only needed to focus on pitching.

Miyuki opened his Mitt, waiting for Furuya's pitch.

Furuya complied, trusting Miyuki's advice to ignore the runner.

Based on past experience, following Miyuki's instructions was always the right choice.

Roaar!

Furuya made his stride and pitched. Almost simultaneously, Inubushi, who had been far from the first base, started advancing toward the second base.

BooM!

Miyuki caught the ball and quickly threw it to second base. Shortstop Kuramochi was already waiting at second, having anticipated Inubushi's attempt to steal. It was almost as if it was all planned; Kuramochi caught the ball and tagged Out Inubushi.

"OUT!"

Thus, Ugumori's attempt to advance was thwarted.

In the stands, Owada Akiko frowned and commented, "The players from Ugumori are really putting in a lot of effort."

Fujio nodded, "If such a steal were successful, it would definitely boost morale. But facing Miyuki makes things far from simple. Repeated aggressive attempts have all failed, which must be a significant blow to Ugumori."

Fujio was correct!

A successful steal would inevitably disrupt Seidou. A chaotic situation would present Ugumori with their chance. However, in a direct contest of might, Ugumori High School was no match for Seidou High School.

Even with third-year players gone, Seidou's remaining players were elites who trained rigorously and systemically. Their overall skill was superior to Ugumori's.

In pure strength contests, Ugumori had almost no chance. Their survival was due to team spirit and drive. They had relied on their Ace to challenge Seidou High School.

Unfortunately, their Ace, Umemiya, had been thoroughly analyzed. Seidou's players have enough experience against high-class pitchers, making it easy for them to find Umemiya's pitching rhythm.

This left Ugumori with few chances.

Fujio looked up at Seidou's bench with approval.

'Their team's strategy was impressive!'

'Most of their focus was on Inashiro, yet they had thoroughly studied Ugumori. It was truly remarkable.'

After Inubushi was out, Ugumori seemed to lose all their energy and quickly lost three Outs. The only consolation was that they had earned a walk, which advanced their lineup and used up more of Furuya's pitches.

With three Outs, the teams switched roles. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Seidou High School began their offensive.

Now, Seidou's lower batting lineup was up. Umemiya Seiichi, determined and undeterred by past setbacks, faced the seventh batter, Toujou.

Despite having been hit for a home run earlier, he showed no signs of frustration. His eyes were still bright, and his pitching was strong.

Umemiya started with two successful Straight balls, though one was fouled off by Toujou.

But Umemiya was satisfied as he had a two Strikes lead.

Whoosh!

Umemiya seemed to pour all his strength into the pitch.

'It looked impressive, but it was a curveball, not a Straight.'

Toujou, anticipating the curve, swung confidently.

'Despite the pitch's tricky nature, its speed was average. As long as I remained calm and swung steadily, I will make contact.'

Ping!

As expected, the baseball was struck cleanly. And Toujou reached first base.

No Outs, runner at first base!

"Eighth batter, outfielder, Asou-kun."

Asou felt it was surreal facing Umemiya.

'The fastball, over 140 km/h, and the slow curve, under 100 km/h, created a speed difference of 40 km/h.'

Such a difference was intimidating,

'The Straight ball is very sharp, and the curved ball is also very tricky…'

'Such an opponent, the guys in the team can actually hit him like nothing.'

This feeling is very unreal.

'But if I wanted to be a key player on the team, I had to step up.'

After a few pitches, Asou targeted the Straight ball and hit it hard.

Ping!

The baseball flew into the gap in the defense. Asou reached first base, and Toujou advanced to third base in one continuous motion.

No Outs, runners at first and third base!

By the time Seidou's lower lineup faced Umemiya again, they had started their offensive strategy confidently.

In the dugout, Coach Kataoka issued instructions.

"Asou, steal bases when the opportunity arises. Toujou, score if you get a chance! Kanemaru, help the runner get home when needed."

The three players nodded and followed the coach's instructions.

As Umemiya pitched the first ball, Asou stole second base.

The catcher, initially ready to catch and throw to second base, quickly realized something was different…

Asou wasn't the only one stealing; Toujou was also heading to third base!

The Ugumori High School catcher, unfamiliar with this tactic, was confused. But it was too late!

Ping!

The ball didn't reach the catcher's glove; it was intercepted by a bat that appeared mid-flight.

It was Kanemaru!

Without much experience in bunting, Kanemaru managed a perfect bunt.

The ball bounced toward the front of the field.

With Toujou's speed, he reached home plate successfully.

Forced scoring!

On the other side, Asou advanced to second base.

"Damn it!"

Umemiya picked up the ball and could only throw to first base, tagging out Kanemaru.

"Out!"

'Fortunately, it worked!'

Although he was Out of the game, Kanemaru looked relieved.

Only he knows how much pressure he felt in his heart when he just adopted the forced scoring tactic, while he had no experience in bunting in the previous official game.

With this crucial point scored by the lower lineup, Seidou High School extended their lead to three runs.

The score became 6-3, giving Seidou High School a substantial advantage.

This point was pivotal in changing the game's dynamics. Ugumori High School, like a camel overloaded with weight, was now just a straw away from a complete breakdown.

…