"It's Flying Out!!!"
"A HOME RUUUUUN!!!!"
The moment the baseball soared into the sky, the scene erupted into a frenzy.
"SEIDOU!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"MIYUKI!"
"MIYUKI!!!"
The fans screamed the names of their school and Miyuki, letting their emotions pour out in a torrent.
"AMAZING!"
"From The First Inning!!"
As expected from the powerhouse Seidou High School baseball team's golden batting lineup.
Starting with the leadoff batter, Kuramochi, the team's offense had been flawless.
Kominato sent Kuramochi home, and when it came to Sawamura, the Minori Shigeru players didn't even dare to face him head-on.
They were forced to Walk him with four Balls.
Facing Seidou High School's team, they immediately surrendered.
While this thrilled the fans, there was still some regret.
If only Sawamura had been allowed to bat normally, maybe Seidou's score wouldn't just be one point.
But what they didn't expect was that things were not at all what they thought!
After walking Sawamura, with no Outs and players on first and second bases, the team's captain, the cleanup hitter, Miyuki Kazuya, stepped into the Batter's Box.
Although he was the team's fourth batter, Hanayama didn't give up on facing him.
Perhaps it was because of his pride, or maybe because he thought he could win...
For some reason, Hanayama directly challenged Miyuki.
This, of course, was within Miyuki's expectations.
Not only did he anticipate this, but he had also prepared for it, setting a trap for Hanayama's pitching.
And that's how he hit a resounding home run, scoring three more runs for Seidou High School.
In one blow, the score was rewritten to 4-0.
Seidou High School's baseball team was firmly in control of the game.
Now that Sawamura was on the mound, there was no way for Minori Shigeru to catch up. Even if they managed to score just one run, it would be a monumental task.
Let alone four runs!
Even if Minori Shigeru's players were all replaced by top-tier, elite athletes from across the country, they would likely still be unable to turn this situation around.
At home plate.
Haruichi, Sawamura, and Miyuki high-fived in celebration.
For them, this score was more than enough.
Enough to crush their opponent's spirit and enough to secure their own victory.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sawamura glanced at Minori Shigeru's catcher.
As expected, the player named Tekuno looked miserable.
Before the game, he probably never imagined encountering such a crisis right from the start.
Sawamura wasn't surprised by what was happening.
As an opponent, he couldn't afford to worry about them.
"Well done!"
On his way back to the dugout, Sawamura gave Miyuki a thumbs-up.
This score alone was enough to shatter the opponent's confidence.
Enough to secure the victory!
"We still can't let our guard down. Hanayama isn't the type to just collapse easily," Miyuki remarked.
Sawamura didn't argue with that.
Although his encounters with Hanayama had been brief, he could already sense something about the other's character.
With that kind of personality, it would be very difficult for him to admit defeat.
Some people are like that; they won't back down even after hitting a brick wall.
Hanayama seemed to have that kind of determination.
Maybe it was exactly because of this stubborn nature that he had led Minori Shigeru's players to rebuild themselves after being banned for a year.
Their spirit was admirable.
Even Sawamura, after hearing their story, was deeply moved.
But the reality was harsh.
Just because you work hard doesn't mean you will be rewarded.
Not to mention that Minori Shigeru wasn't the only team putting in the effort.
The Seidou High School baseball team had also worked hard.
In the end, strength spoke for itself.
Minori Shigeru was admirable, but it wouldn't change the outcome.
With no Outs and no players on base, the game seemed to return to square one. The only difference was that Seidou High School had already scored four runs.
"It won't stop here!"
At this moment, as if challenging the mountains, Maezono stood in the Batter's Box.
For today's crucial opening match, he was once again batting fifth.
He had been placed in the key role of a core batter.
The first four batters performed exceptionally, just as expected from Seidou High School's golden lineup!
As the newly promoted fifth batter, Maezono felt he couldn't fall behind.
He had to hit the ball!
He wanted to prove to Coach Kataoka that his decision to promote him was the right one.
So far, no professional team has come to scout Maezono.
Maezono, who dreamed of joining the professional league, certainly couldn't accept that!
He swore to perform well in this tournament, not only for himself but to show the scouts that he was more than capable.
He would prove that he, Maezono, was not someone to be underestimated.
'Bring it on!'
No matter what kind of pitch it was, he had to hit it.
Whoosh!
The ball flew to the outside corner!
Hanayama had clearly done his homework, knowing that Maezono was good at hitting inside pitches, so he focused on the outside corner to decide the outcome.
Maezono stood in the Batter's Box, his gaze sharp as he watched the ball coming in.
Yes, in the past, outside pitches had always been his weak point.
But that didn't mean they still were.
During the spring of Koshien, he had been targeted many times.
He had reflected on it!
To address this, he had specifically trained to improve his ability to hit outside pitches.
Now was the time to show everyone Maezono's true ability.
"Ha!"
BUZZZZ!!!!
With a loud shout, Maezono swung his bat at the incoming baseball.
In the process of swinging, his upper body moved, but his lower body remained mostly steady.
PIIINNGGG!!!
Purely using the strength of his arms, he forcefully sent the ball flying.
The baseball shot off with even more speed than it had come, crossing over 30 meters in an instant.
It flew past the outfielders and out of bounds.
"It's through!"
"A Long Hit!!"
Seeing this, the Seidou dugout erupted with excitement.
With a continuous stream of hits, this offensive was truly exhilarating.
Judging by the momentum, the Seidou High School baseball team's attack was far from over.
On the stands, the second and third-string players were also incredibly excited.
For many players, Maezono was a source of inspiration.
They genuinely hoped that Maezono could go further.
Five consecutive hits!
At this point, things were spiraling out of control.
Seidou High School's offensive seemed unstoppable.
At least, Minori Shigeru found it incredibly difficult to block.
The tense atmosphere filled the entire stadium.
The game had barely started in the first inning, and Minori Shigeru was already facing a do-or-die moment.
In the dugout.
The mood on the Seidou side was remarkably relaxed.
For them, although the game wasn't over, the outcome was already decided.
"If we score six or more runs in the first inning, we'll switch pitchers to Kawakami in the next inning," Coach Kataoka said, clearly showing some favoritism toward the third-year pitcher.
After all, his time with the team was running out, and if given the chance to make his appeal to scouts, Coach Kataoka didn't mind sending him out.
As for Sawamura,
He wanted to put the least burden on Sawamura as much as possible.
"Good luck, Nori-senpai!" Sawamura turned to Kawakami and smiled.
Kawakami gratefully looked at Coach Kataoka before heading to warm up.
In the next inning, he would take the mound and absolutely couldn't let the Coach's expectations go to waste.
"Could this be a bit rash?" Coach Ochiai muttered as he stroked his small chin beard.
"If they can't beat a team like this, I'd feel sorry for all the efforts they had put in!" Coach Kataoka said with complete confidence in his players.
Ping!
Shiratsu followed up with another hit.
The situation now was no Outs, runners on first and third.
Next up to bat was Toujou.
None of the first six batters had made a mistake. All of them had gotten hits.
Such a spectacular scene got Toujou's blood pumping.
At the same time, he didn't want to fall behind.
After a few pitches, he zeroed in on a hittable ball.
Toujou swung his bat.
Ping!
The ball was hit well, but Minori Shigeru's outfielders were from all the balls coming their way.
They rushed to intercept the ball's landing spot, ready to catch it.
Snap!
The baseball was about to land in the mitt, and Seidou High School's offensive looked ready to stop.
Then, an unexpected event occurred.
The baseball that had entered the mitt suddenly slipped out.
It was as if, in some mysterious way, Luck was in Seidou High School stands.
The opposing defenders couldn't stop the ball, and it flew out.
Maezono, on third base, dashed toward home plate.
Shiratsu wasn't far behind, rushing past second base and leaping toward third.
Originally, he intended to stop at third, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Minori Shigeru's fielder had recovered the ball.
"GO!!"
But Ono, the third-base coach, signaled him to continue.
Without looking back, Shiratsu trusted his teammate's judgment and ran toward home plate!
The outfield also had a ball thrown toward home plate.
The throw was too far and lacked precision.
In such circumstances, there was no way to stop Seidou's offensive.
"SAFE!!"
Two more runs!
Seidou High School's players seemed to be putting on a show.
They had racked up seven hits from Minori Shigeru.
Six runs in total.
Not a single Out had been made yet.
And the offensive still showed no signs of stopping.
"This Is Madness!!"
"NO! This! Is! SEIDOU!!!"
"YEAAAAHHH!!!!"
"SEIDOUUU!"
"SEIDOUUU!!!"
The crowd went wild.
Previously, they had thought Minori Shigeru was a strong team.
But now, it was clear they couldn't even get an Out.
As expected, Seidou High School was unbeatable!
…
T/N: Well, That's it for today!
As always, Thank you all for reading!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +170 Chapters there.