After Sawamura Eijun secured three Outs, the players from both teams switched between offense and defense.
The players from the Seidou High School baseball team returned to the dugout, preparing for their offense.
The players from Inashiro Industrial High School put on their gear and got ready to take the field for defense.
During this break, two reporters from Baseball Kingdom Magazine shared their opinions about the just-concluded game.
First to speak was the not-so-rookie-anymore reporter, Owada Akiko.
When Akiko was young, her grandmother told her never to speak out hastily.
The first person to voice their opinion on something rarely benefits from it.
A person who speaks later seems more refined, and their words carry more weight.
If possible, Akiko hoped that her own words would hold more weight. She wanted to wait until after Fujio had shared his views before offering her own insights.
When she first partnered with Fujio, that was precisely what Akiko did.
She watched the game intently and kept quiet. Patiently, she waited for Fujio to finish sharing his opinions before adding her own comments.
However, after a while, she realized that if she didn't speak up, Fujio might not say anything at all.
Occasionally, he would offer a few comments, but she couldn't understand them.
After a few weeks, she found that she hadn't learned anything.
From then on, Akiko had an epiphany. It turned out that waiting to speak wasn't something everyone could do.
So, from then on, she boldly shared her opinions, whether right or wrong.
Whenever Akiko spoke last, Fujio would follow up with his own comments.
Gradually, Akiko found herself understanding baseball more and more.
This was clear evidence that she was improving!
What used to be incomprehensible advice from her seniors, she could now start to grasp.
Now, Akiko had a solid understanding of baseball, and her analysis was becoming increasingly professional.
"Coach Kunitomo is truly impressive. He came up with this strategy and executed it successfully. In this tight pitcher duel, it looks like Inashiro has gained the upper hand."
The matchup between Inashiro and Seidou High School was, in essence, a direct contest between Sawamura Eijun and Narumiya Mei.
In the showdown between these two top-tier national players, whichever team scores first will gain the advantage.
Consequently, the probability of the team winning increases significantly.
Fujio, hearing this analysis, nodded in agreement.
His partner, after a year of training, had improved her level significantly.
Now, she was even starting to see the flow of the game.
Though she still had areas to improve, for someone who had only been involved with baseball for less than two years, reaching this level was quite impressive.
Even Fujio himself, when faced with this kind of analysis, could find no fault in it.
It wasn't that Akiko was wrong, it was just that her analysis wasn't fully comprehensive.
Although Sawamura gave up a run in the first inning, the Seidou High School baseball team's formation didn't fall apart.
'Especially after Seidou conceded a run, Sawamura's performance.'
'He wasn't distracted at all and continued to pitch with his usual strength.'
'In this situation, would Inashiro's tricky strategy work again?'
Fujio continued to trust Sawamura's pitching.
Being a point behind wasn't an unacceptable result for Seidou High School.
The key was still their offense, especially in their first round of attacks.
In this round, whether or not they scored wasn't the most important thing.
What mattered most was showing their strength, sending a message not just to the opponent but to everyone.
That message being: that the Seidou High School baseball team has the ability to score against Narumiya Mei.
If they showed this strength and even scored,
The impact of falling behind would be minimized.
On the other hand, if they were continually suppressed by Narumiya Mei during the confrontation,
That single run could hang over the Seidou High School baseball team like a sword, potentially becoming the decisive factor in the game.
Ultimately, this was still a pitcher's duel.
The team that scores first doesn't just take the lead; they also gain control of the game.
"This pressure is intense!" Fujio could understand what was happening, but Kuramochi wasn't quite as insightful.
Nevertheless, Kuramochi was clear about what he had to do now.
His Kohai had been bullied!
And the team had conceded a Run.
As the leadoff hitter for Seidou High School, Kuramochi felt he had both a public and private obligation to help Sawamura seek revenge and help the team score.
Only by doing so could the situation on the field be turned around.
Moreover, as the offensive engine of Seidou High School's baseball team, as long as Kuramochi got on base, their chances of scoring would be very high.
This was something the audience could clearly see, especially with their loud cheering.
But the more the pressure mounted, the heavier Kuramochi felt his burden.
It was especially intimidating when facing Narumiya Mei, a pitcher with a reputation and strength equal to that of Sawamura in the Tokyo region and nationwide.
Perhaps it was because Narumiya was so similar to Sawamura that Kuramochi understood Sawamura's power so well.
'When that guy stood on the mound, he was an unstoppable pitching machine.'
Every time they practiced their pitching, even though Kuramochi knew where Sawamura would throw the ball, it was still incredibly difficult to hit.
Now, facing Narumiya, who was on par with Sawamura, Kuramochi couldn't help but feel anxious.
Inashiro's defense was also quite interesting. They moved forward at the start, not giving Kuramochi any chance to bunt.
They forced him to face Narumiya directly.
It was clear that Inashiro understood Seidou well, and they were very familiar with Kuramochi.
Their strategy was simple and effective.
Left with no choice, Kuramochi had no choice but to face Narumiya Mei head-on.
Roaar!
The first pitch from Narumiya left Kuramochi stunned.
'So fast!'
The sensation wasn't just about the pitch speed; there was something else hidden in it.
The pitch almost seemed alive, making it difficult to even comprehend.
It felt like the difference between a fixed-moving target and a real living target.
On the surface, they might look similar, but the difference was huge.
The moving target might be predictable, but the animal's movements were entirely unpredictable.
Narumiya's pitching was like that — you couldn't tell where the ball was headed.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!"
Kuramochi tried hard to catch up, but he couldn't make contact with the ball.
"STRIKE!!"
Even when he reduced his swing range and focused on making contact, he still failed.
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
After the ball and bat missed again, Kuramochi struck out.
The offensive engine for Seidou High School, a nationally known player, couldn't even make contact with Narumiya Mei's pitches, let alone get a hit.
After the final swing missed, Kuramochi gazed in disbelief at the figure on the mound.
Compared to when they faced off in spring, Narumiya had improved even further.
His pitch speed and quality had both gone up significantly.
He had made it so difficult that even Kuramochi couldn't even get a hit.
In a way, Narumiya's pitching was even more terrifying than Sawamura's.
Of course, this didn't rule out the fact that Kuramochi had gotten used to Sawamura's pitching, while Narumiya's was something he hadn't seen in six months.
Even so,
Narumiya Mei's improvement, including his current pitching,
Was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
In his final high school competition, this guy had undergone a complete transformation.
Kuramochi even had an ominous feeling: maybe Narumiya's true strength was now on par with Sawamura's, or perhaps even superior.
If that were the case, this match would be a tough one for Seidou High School.
One Out, no one on base!
Now, the batter was the second hitter, Kominato Haruichi.
…