The night before, Seido had already researched Osaka Kiryuu High School, and among their player roster, their pitcher was the most noteworthy.
Their Ace, Tachi Hiromi, had an extremely difficult name to pronounce.
Tachi Hiromi is a left-handed pitcher whose Straight ball speed exceeds 140. He likes to confront batters head-on with his Straight ball. The combination of his cutter and sinker easily disrupts a batter's rhythm. In addition, he has mastered a vertical breaking Curveball, making him a very capable pitcher.
As for the other players of Osaka Kiryuu High School, there wasn't much else worth paying attention to. Although the addition of Coach Takahiro Matsumoto brought Osaka Kiryuu some attention, the strength of a team cannot be improved by a Coach alone.
Perfect facilities and excellent prospects are absolute necessities, and Osaka Kiryuu High School had neither.
Finding a Tachi Hiromi was already a stroke of luck for Osaka Kiryuu.
After learning about this team's information, Kanzaki Ryou thought of Kokushikan High as a similar school.
Of course, Osaka Kiryuu was still a bit inferior compared to Kokushikan. Their overall team quality was not as good, and while their Ace's ability was decent, he still had a gap compared to Zaizen. They were like a low-spec version of Kokushikan.
Hachioji Stadium, Seido High School, first base dugout.
Kanzaki Ryou was the starting pitcher today. In Coach Kataoka's words, it was to get a feel for the game, as the upcoming semi-final would definitely be a tough battle.
Not only Kanzaki Ryou, but Miyuki also became the starting catcher today, the purpose being to allow them both to adjust their condition during the game. Currently, among Seido's catchers, Miyuki was the one with the best chemistry with Kanzaki Ryou.
"Get your spirits up, it's time to go!" Coach Kataoka shouted.
"OHHHH!!!"
The team members shouted in unison like wolf cubs.
At 10 AM, the game began.
Osaka Kiryuu High School was first to bat.
Seido's players, led by Kanzaki Ryou, walked onto the field.
"Seido!"
"Kanzaki Ryou!!"
Uniform shouts rang out.
On the third base side, Osaka Kiryuu's players were also in high spirits, not intimidated by their opponent being Seido. They had already reached the quarterfinals, having fought their way through round after round to get here.
Even if there was a gap in their paper strength, a game is a game, and anything can happen.
The first to step into the batter's box was Osaka Kiryuu's shortstop. Listening to the shouts from the audience for Kanzaki Ryou, Shimaya Taro was not overwhelmed by the momentum. Instead, he stared at Kanzaki Ryou with some excitement.
On the pitcher's mound, Kanzaki Ryou made his usual motion, his fist dropping, and the sounds fading.
Seeing this, Shimaya Taro became even more hot-blooded. This was the kind of guy he wanted; it was fun to play against someone like him.
Feeling the opposing batter's gaze, Kanzaki Ryou curled his lips and looked at Miyuki.
Miyuki also smiled and gave the signal: a Straight ball on the outside corner. A catcher usually wouldn't call for such a tricky pitch at the start of a game; they would typically call for a relatively safer location to confirm the pitcher's condition for the day.
However, Miyuki did just that. He believed Kanzaki Ryou could throw it into that tricky spot.
Kanzaki Ryou nodded slightly, his left leg also lifted in sync, and the baseball in his hand shot out like a white laser in the next second.
Whoosh!!
The moment the baseball left his hand, Shimaya Taro in the batter's box knew he was wrong. All that talk of hot-bloodedness and fun only applied when the difference in skill was not significant.
Facing this baseball, which was like a cannonball, Shimaya Taro couldn't react at all, watching helplessly as the baseball flew past him.
"Pop!"
"Niceball!"
After catching the ball, a glint flashed in Miyuki's eyes. How did this ball feel even heavier than before?
He hadn't felt this way during yesterday's practice. This guy had actually evolved again right at the start of the game. Was it because he had been pent up from not pitching in the previous two games?
Returning the ball to Kanzaki Ryou, Miyuki couldn't help but feel a little excited. He immediately called for another Two-seam fastball tight on the inside corner of the strike zone.
"Niceball!"
Failing to swing again, Shimaya Taro's hands, gripping the bat, were already soaked with sweat. He hadn't done anything, yet he felt a bit weak all over, more tired than after training.
Then, for the third pitch, Kanzaki Ryou threw a Straight ball directly into the center of the strike zone.
Shimaya Taro roared and swung with all his might, but just as his bat came down, the baseball was already in Miyuki's glove.
"Niceball!"
"Strikeout!"
The first batter was easily dispatched, and a cheer immediately erupted from the stands. Kanzaki Ryou glanced at the Seido dugout; his teammates were relatively calm. They were already used to such scenes. It would be surprising if Kanzaki Ryou were to give up a hit right at the start of a game.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
...
The two batters who came up next also failed to put up any resistance, each being easily dealt with by three Straight balls.
The game had just begun, and Kanzaki Ryou's powerful pitching delivered a strong opening statement to Osaka Kiryuu High School.
"Kanzaki Ryou! Kanzaki Ryou!"
"Miyuki!"
Amidst the cheers, Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki walked off the field together.
The Ace pitcher and the genius catcher, the perfect performance of Seido's twin stars, gave the audience a feast for their eyes, leaving them thoroughly satisfied.
At the very top of the stands, the Inashiro Industrial team members looked grim as they saw Kanzaki Ryou's pitching condition.
"This guy looks to be in too good of shape."
"Not being on the pitcher's mound for the first two games allowed him to conserve his stamina well."
"Kazuya and him working together will be tough to deal with," Narumiya Mei said.
"Hmm? Mei, you actually say something like that."
"Huh? What do you mean? Do you think I'm childish?!"
"Aren't you?"
The Inajitsu team members were playfully bickering in the stands. On the field, Seido's leadoff hitter, Kuramochi Yoichi, had already reached first base.
Tachi Hiromi faced Kuramochi, a first-year, but he didn't underestimate him. He focused intently and threw an inside Straight ball, but Kuramochi somehow managed to hit it through the infield defense with a lucky swing.
"This kid has good luck."
"He must have stepped in dog poop."
"Maybe today is his lucky day."
Seido's teammates all complained. Even they could tell that Kuramochi's hit was a fluke. It was not hard to imagine how frustrated Tachi Hiromi on the pitcher's mound must have been.
As they thought, Tachi Hiromi grumbled as he looked at Kuramochi on base, clearly very frustrated.
Next, the second batter, Kominato Ryosuke, stepped up.
Tachi Hiromi used a combination of his cutter and sinker, quickly getting two Strike. Then, he entered Kominato Ryosuke's area of entanglement.
After being tied up for two pitches, Tachi Hiromi used a low inside sinker to induce a weak ground ball from Kominato Ryosuke.
"Out!"