The game began, and it was intense.
The starting pitcher for the Seidou High School baseball team wasn't the originally planned Furuya, but instead, first-year student Nishiyama.
This decision by Coach Kataoka surprised the team. After their previous disaster of a game due to arrogance and underestimating the opponent, why would Coach Kataoka make the same mistake again?
His decision was deemed very dangerous, even by the members of the Seidou team.
This was quite obvious since Nishiyama was just a first-year student.
Regardless of his actual strength, the players on the field didn't have much trust in him either.
However, Coach Kataoka's attitude was firm; he made this decision unilaterally, without consulting anyone.
At the start, the Fukuoka High School baseball players saw that Seidou High School had sent out a first-year pitcher.
They felt both relieved and angry.
They were relieved that Seidou High School was so arrogant, and they saw a glimmer of hope in a match they initially had no chance of winning.
But they were angry that Seidou High School dared to underestimate them so much, not even taking them seriously.
If they had just shown a little caution, Seidou would have sent their Ace, Sawamura Eijun, or at least a stronger pitcher.
But now they had sent out a first-year pitcher who knew nothing about the game.
It was simply arrogance to the extreme.
Or, it could be said, that Seidou High School didn't care about Fukuoka High School at all.
Fukuoka High School's players were furious! The consequences would be serious!!
The game began with Fukuoka High School at bat.
They were determined to give Nishiyama a hard lesson.
They wanted to show this arrogant player that high school baseball wasn't as simple as he thought.
Despite their ambition, Nishiyama's performance on the mound was very calm.
It has to be said that a person's experience greatly influences them.
Take Nishiyama as an example: as a first-year pitcher representing the powerful Seidou High School baseball team in the important Summer Tournament, any normal person would be a little nervous.
But Nishiyama showed no signs of nervousness.
He appeared completely at ease, unaffected by the tense atmosphere around him.
Even after allowing a hit, he remained unchanged.
Ping!
Nishiyama gave up a hit right at the start, against Fukuoka High School's strongest batter, who was adjusted to bat first.
From this move, Fukuoka High School showed practicality. They probably realized that the number of hits they would get off Seidou High School's pitchers would be very limited.
So, they made this arrangement early on.
The goal was to get their fourth batter on the batting box as much as possible.
The fourth batter of Fukuoka High School was quite strong.
Seizing the opportunity when Nishiyama was still settling in, they made contact and hit the ball in the outfield.
The ball landed in the gap in the defense, resulting in a clean hit.
Catcher Miyuki watched with a furrowed brow.
The response from Fukuoka High's fourth batter exceeded his expectations.
He had thought the opponent's strength was average and not worth worrying about.
But when they faced off, they gave him a surprise he didn't anticipate.
'This opponent seems harder to deal with than I thought!' Miyuki silently assessed.
Miyuki wasn't really surprised, though. He had predicted this outcome.
West Tokyo is currently the most fiercely contested region in the country, known as the "Death Field."
This title wasn't just because of the top teams.
Most teams in West Tokyo were strong, especially those who made it to the third and fourth rounds.
Many of these teams were as strong as those in Koshien.
'Then, let's play and have some fun!' Miyuki thought to himself.
At the same time, his hands weren't idle, as he quickly signaled to his teammates.
The four pitchers for Seidou High School each had their own distinct style.
The other three didn't have the strength or experience of their Ace, Sawamura Eijun.
Naturally, they didn't mesh as well as he did with Sawamura.
However, Miyuki didn't mind this feeling. On the contrary, he loved it. He enjoyed working with different pitchers and the satisfaction it brought.
'Let's go!'
Seeing the signal from Miyuki, Nishiyama nodded firmly.
Nishiyama had a good partner back in middle school, and they had worked together for many years. He always thought that only when he worked with his usual partner would he experience this perfect chemistry.
But now, with Miyuki, he felt the same comfort.
And Miyuki's Mitt, like a black hole, constantly drew him in to throw the ball.
This feeling was new to Nishiyama, one he had never experienced in practice games or regular training.
Now, for the first time, it excited him.
Without hesitation, Nishiyama acted decisively.
His body fully stretched out, and with a shift in his center of gravity, he threw the ball hard.
Whoosh!
The baseball flew like an arrow directly into Miyuki's Mitt.
Snap!
"STRIKE!"
The batter had no time to react. He could only watch as the ball passed by him without a trace of emotion.
'Damn…!'
The second batter was mentally crushed. His team Captain had already reached base, but he couldn't help him advance.
He was frustrated and confused.
'Wasn't the pitcher just a first-year student?'
'How was his strength so unpredictable?'
The second batter, who had thought he could easily handle Seidou's pitcher, was now stunned by his raw power.
He began to doubt if they could easily take down Seidou's pitcher.
'Not even this first-year student.'
'It might not be as easy as they thought.'
Whoosh!
While the batter was lost in thought, the baseball came flying toward him.
With relentless speed, it felt like it would destroy everything in its path.
The batter hurriedly swung and hit the ball!
Ping!
The moment the bat made contact with the ball, the batter froze.
Although he was happy to make contact, it was a terrible hit. The ball slowly flew to the pitcher's side!
Nishiyama saw the fielders move from the corner of his eyes and calmly let the ball go.
A teammate quickly positioned himself and caught the ball.
Snap!
Without missing a beat, he passed it to second base.
"Hyaa-haa!"
Kuramochi had been waiting there, and after catching the ball, he quickly threw it to second base.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Haruichi who caught the ball sent it to first base like a clockwork!
"OUT!!!"
With no suspense, Seidou completed a double play and got two Outs in one move.
"WOW!"
"SO FAST!!"
"AMAZING!!"
Their defense was as solid as a wall, causing the spectators to scream in excitement.
It felt as if they couldn't release their pent-up energy without doing this.
A smooth and seamless double play.
The first batter of Fukuoka High School, who had originally made it to base, was also taken out at this moment.
The scene was boiling with excitement, and the audience found it absolutely exhilarating.
In baseball, the highlights aren't just home runs and Strikeouts—witnessing an exceptional defensive play firsthand is just as thrilling.
That was exactly how the fans in the stadium felt.
They enthusiastically showed their support for the Seidou High School baseball team, expressing their respect and admiration through applause.
Inside Fukuoka High School's dugout
A middle-aged man frowned slightly.
He had expected this match against Seidou High School to be tough.
But he hadn't wanted things to turn out like this.
His players hardly seemed capable of doing much. The moment they managed to gain some momentum, the opponent shut them down immediately.
And the pitcher on the mound right now wasn't even the infamous "Great Demon King."
It was just a first-year rookie!
Even if he had been a runner-up pitcher in the world tournament, he had yet to prove himself in high school baseball.
He was a complete newcomer!
Getting outplayed by such a rookie was frustrating beyond words.
"Teach him a lesson!"
Feeling unwilling to accept this, the middle-aged Coach signaled their third batter.
Two Outs. No runners on base.
Fukuoka High School's third batter unexpectedly assumed a bunt stance right from the start.
No one had seen this coming.
When they realized what was happening, everyone was stunned. They had no idea what kind of reaction to make.
"The game has just begun… Is Fukuoka High School already losing their minds?"
Owada Akiko, a reporter for Baseball Kingdom magazine, said in surprise.
Calling for a bunt with two Outs was already an extremely unusual decision.
Even more so since it was only the beginning of the game—Fukuoka High School had no reason to take such a risk.
It gave the impression that they had no confidence in hitting against Seidou's pitcher.
Usually, this strategy was used when a team had no other choice—either to disrupt the opponent's rhythm or to attempt a surprise attack.
Could it be that just one pitcher—Nishiyama—had already forced Fukuoka High School into this desperate situation?
Owada Akiko didn't believe so.
She didn't think Seidou High School's team had already backed their opponents into a corner.
But the reality was… that's exactly what Fukuoka High School had done.
On the mound, Nishiyama didn't let their move shake him.
He went into his pitching motion and released the ball.
Whoosh!
The baseball shot out like an arrow, striking straight at the opponent's heart.
The batter had hoped to disrupt Nishiyama's focus with a bunt, but Nishiyama remained completely unfazed.
With no other option, the batter abandoned the bunt and swung normally.
Fake bunts had one advantage: they could restrict the pitcher's throwing zone.
As long as the batter showed a bunt stance, the pitcher wouldn't throw directly at the bat.
This effectively shrunk the strike zone.
All the batter had to do was aim for the lower part of the strike zone and swing!
With this thought in mind, the batter swung hard at the incoming baseball.
Ping!
He guessed correctly!
The ball indeed flew toward the lower part of the strike zone.
And his bat caught it just right, sending it flying deep into the outfield.
But Asou was already waiting in position, calmly anticipating the ball's descent.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
The crowd roared in appreciation at yet another spectacular defensive play.
No one expected Fukuoka High School's offensive push to be shut down so quickly by Seidou's players.
Even though a batter had briefly reached base, the team was ultimately retired three up, three down.
Nishiyama had given Seidou High School a strong start.
"I didn't expect this first-year pitcher to be so reliable."
Akiko praised sincerely.
Compared to Kawakami from the first game, Nishiyama seemed far more dependable.
A complete newcomer to Seidou High School's team, still in his first year…
'And yet, he was already performing at this level!'
Akiko thought to herself.
At first, she hadn't planned on voicing her thoughts.
But she couldn't help it—before she knew it, the words had slipped out.
Hearing her comment, her colleague Fujio shot her a surprised glance.
Akiko immediately felt self-conscious.
"Did I say something wrong, Senpai?"
"The real MVP here isn't the pitcher," Fujio said. "It's the catcher, Miyuki-kun. Or rather, the entire Seidou team."
His words completely threw Owada Akiko's understanding into chaos.
She had never imagined her Senpai would say such a thing—it was beyond belief!
"Why?"
After watching baseball for a year, Owada Akiko thought she had a decent grasp of the game.
But why did her perception of baseball seem so different from Fujio's?
Was she watching a different game?
Since Fujio had already started explaining, he didn't hold back.
"Who deserves the credit for getting an Out? The defense? Or the pitcher? It's not as simple as it seems."
"It's easy to assume the answer, but when you think about it deeply, there's more to it."
"Just because a fielder makes a great play doesn't mean all the credit goes to them. And just because a pitcher gives up a hit doesn't mean he's entirely at fault."
Owada Akiko was completely confused.
She understood every word Fujio was saying, but when put together, she couldn't grasp the bigger picture.
She didn't even understand what point he was trying to make.
Fujio, seeing her bewilderment, knew that simply explaining the theory wouldn't work.
The only way to help her understand was through concrete examples.
"Take that double play just now, or the pop fly."
Hearing this, Owada Akiko's interest was immediately piqued.
She really didn't fully understand either play.
"That double play wasn't a spur-of-the-moment move—it was premeditated!"
"Eh?"
At first, Owada Akiko couldn't believe it.
But as she replayed the scene in her mind, she had to admit… Fujio might be right.
The way Nishiyama pitched, the defensive positioning, the way players moved—it all seemed too precise to be coincidence.
And at the center of it all was the director of the play—Miyuki.
Baseball really isn't that simple.
Bottom of the First Inning – Seidou High School's Turn to Bat
For Seidou High School's players, they had long been itching to take their turn at bat.
They were eager to step up!
"First batter, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun!"
Stepping into the batter's box first was Seidou High School's ironclad leadoff hitter—the cheetah, Kuramochi Youichi.
His presence on the team was like an engine.
If this engine roared to life, Seidou's offense would explode with power.
But if it failed to start, their offense would also lose some of its edge.
Right now, this engine is more than ready.
Kuramochi's sharp eyes locked onto the pitcher's mound.
He was eager to test this young pitcher, someone who had already caught the attention of professional scouts.
…