Chapter 28: Safe

The game continued, and after Seidou High School scored their second run, Sankou High School was determined not to fall behind.

Kousei successfully got Shiratsu to hit an infield grounder, resulting in a double play.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Sankou High School went on the offensive.

It was their second time facing Sawamura's pitching.

According to their prior information, Sawamura generally focused on his Moving balls in the second round, accompanied by other breaking balls.

Batters would be expected to swing aggressively after seeing such pitches.

This was the perfect opportunity for Sawamura to use his Moving balls pitch.

Sanball players, having learned Sawamura's routine, now targeted his quirky pitch.

Based on their prior data, as long as they swung with full force using a larger bat, they had a good chance of hitting Sawamura's Moving ball.

However, they did not expect that Sawamura would completely change his approach.

Sawamura indeed altered his pitching rhythm, but instead of using his quirky pitch, he focused on the Straight ball and Straight-Fastballs.

Whoosh!

The powerful Straight ball shot through like a cold arrow from the shadows, landing precisely where Sankou's batters struggled most.

Ping!

Due to the increase in velocity, Sawamura's already amazing fastballs became even more astonishing, the batters could only manage a weak and incomplete swing.

Naturally, such a swing could not connect perfectly with Sawamura's powerful straight ball.

All they could manage was to make contact with the ball.

The ball landed in front of the third baseman.

In this game, Higasa, who had just returned to the starting lineup, fielded the ball and threw it to first base.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

One Out, no runners on base.

Ping!

"OUT!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"

Almost identically, Sawamura used a straight ball to suppress the first three batters of Sankou. Making them go three up and three down.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange!

In the Sankou High School dugout, the Coach looked extremely grim.

They had thought they had figured out some of Seidou's patterns and could target them specifically, but instead, they were outwitted by the opponent.

Sawamura!

Miyuki!!!

'The battery of these two is truly formidable.'

Fortunately, Sankou's Ace pitcher also performed admirably, displaying excellent pitching.

Despite a control error resulting in a four-ball situation, he managed to prevent Seidou High's batters from taking advantage, achieving three outs smoothly.

Thus, the fierce pitching duel continued through the bottom of the fifth inning.

The score remained 2:0.

Sankou High's players were still very active in their offense, showing no intention of retreating.

However, Sawamura's performance was too dominant, leaving them no chance to reach base.

The Sankou High coach also noticed the formidable obstacle before them.

'The previously prepared information had been rendered useless by this battery's tacit coordination.'

'We can't continue like this.'

So far, Sankou High had not even managed a single effective hit, let alone reaching base.

'What to do?'

Just when the Sankou coach was at a loss, Seidou High School's offense began again.

In the top of the sixth inning, Seidou High School went on the attack.

At this point, Seidou High's lineup had just completed two rounds.

Although the score was 2-0, Amahisa Kousei's performance was still commendable.

So far, he had given up relatively few hits.

Including the four balls, he had allowed only four base runners.

Most of Seidou High's batters had been unable to make much of an impact against him.

This was why the morale of Sankou players hadn't dropped despite being behind. Their Ace pitcher was performing exceptionally well, even to the extent that he was not inferior to Sawamura.

The main reason for their current deficit was their weak offense.

The giants are strong!

But Sankou had finished five innings without scoring or even getting a hit.

This was the fundamental reason for their lagging behind.

Thus, their current focus was solely on how to close the gap in the score, without much consideration for other aspects.

Facing Kuramochi, who was now in the Batter's Box, the Sankou High players remained calm.

They simply took a few steps forward, adopting a forward-defense stance.

As long as they could block Kuramochi's bunt, Kousei could take care of the rest. There was nothing to fear.

'Do you underestimate me?'

Seeing the opponent's nonchalant defensive posture, Kuramochi felt his temper flaring.

It was downright insulting.

'Well, since you think I can only bunt, then I'll just fulfill your expectation.'

'I'll use a bunt!'

Facing the incoming baseball, Kuramochi maintained his composure.

With a decisive bunt, he sent the white ball rolling.

Ping!

The ball hit the bat and rolled to the ground.

'Perfect!'

The ball rolled precisely to the spot between the pitcher and the first baseman.

The only minor issue was that the ball rolled a bit too quickly.

But that's alright. As the direction is the target.

When Amahisa and Hoshida saw the ball, they hesitated for a moment, for who should catch it and who should cover the first base.

With Kuramochi's speed, this small hesitation is fatal.

After the ball was bunted, Kuramochi discarded the bat and sprinted off like a hunting cheetah.

Fast!

In an instant, he reached first base.

By the time the Sankou first baseman picked up the ball and threw it to first base, Kuramochi was already firmly on base.

"Cheetah-sama!"

"He's on fire!"

"Outstanding play!!!"

Such a thrilling display of speed set off a frenzy in the stadium.

The audience clapped enthusiastically and cheered Kuramochi's name.

They loved watching this kind of game—Seidou's relentless attacks completely overwhelming their opponents.

A middle-aged man in the stands looked at Lee Hyun with curiosity.

"His speed?"

Clearly, one in the tourist group was also astonished by Kuramochi's speed.

Lee Hyun nodded. "He's quite fast. Among everyone I've met, his speed should rank in the top three."

"How do you compare to him?"

"As of now, if it's purely a speed comparison, I can do better," Lee Hyun said confidently.

The group had no doubts about this. They had previously conducted tests with Lee Hyun, who had clearly broken the speed record for his peers.

At that time, the management of the program thought he should join the track and field team instead of baseball, in the end, they left it for him to decide.

The game continued.

After Kuramochi reached base, Seidou's offensive rhythm completely changed.

Next up was Kominato Haruichi.

Seeing an opportunity, Kuramochi stole second base.

Despite the Sankou High catcher's efforts to prevent him, he was unsuccessful.

Kuramochi advanced smoothly to second base.

No Outs, runner on second base.

It was then that, Coach Kataoka chose the safe approach.

Paak!

In this situation, Kominato executed a bunt.

He successfully advanced Kuramochi to third base.

One Out, runner on third base!

"Third batter, pitcher, Sawamura-kun."

…

T/N: Well, that's it for now.

Thank you all for reading!! And I hope you all have a good day!

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