Kanzaki Ryou loosened his grip on the bat, shook his wrist, and let out a steady breath. Just then, on the pitcher's mound, Tachi Hiromi moved.
The next second, the baseball flew towards home plate!
Kanzaki Ryou didn't move, watching as the ball curved towards the outside corner after entering the home plate area.
It was a cutter, and the angle was extremely precise, almost pressing against the edge of the strike zone.
Withdrawing his gaze, Kanzaki Ryou reset his stance. Soon, the second ball flew over. This time, Kanzaki Ryou swung directly, the bat almost grazing the top of the baseball, drawing a line as it swung, missing the ball.
This swing and miss immediately silenced Seido's dugout.
Logically, swinging and missing is as common as eating every day, but it was only at this moment that Seido's teammates realized that since Kanzaki Ryou joined Seido and officially participated in games, he had never swung and missed. Even they had unconsciously placed too much expectation on Kanzaki Ryou's batting.
At the batter's box, Kanzaki Ryou was also stunned. This sinker, the drop was so significant!
His dynamic vision was very strong. The trajectory of this ball when it flew was even a bit high, yet it dropped so sharply when it entered the home plate area. Had this guy not shown his true strength before?
Kanzaki Ryou frowned, looking at Tachi Hiromi. This guy is interesting.
Gently swinging the bat twice, Kanzaki Ryou took a deep breath with his eyes closed, then slightly lowered his center of gravity.
The catcher looked at Kanzaki Ryou's movements and nodded to himself. Yes, that's it. That sinker just now had left a very deep impression on him. Next, let's use that ball.
The catcher immediately gave the signal. On the pitcher's mound, Tachi Hiromi curled his lips and nodded.
Soon, the third ball flew out.
Yosh, a good pitch!
Seeing the trajectory of this Curveball, the catcher secretly rejoiced in his heart.
Bang!!
A crisp sound gently awakened the catcher's heart.
The white little ball was hit by the bat and flew straight into the sky. This trajectory!
Everyone could see it; this ball was heading straight for the center field stands.
"Whoa!!"
"Oh!!"
"Home Run!!"
"Haha, this kid really, we worried for nothing." Isashiki laughed from the sidelines.
When Kanzaki Ryou swung and missed just now, they were even worried if it would affect his subsequent performance. It would be fine if only his batting was affected, but if even his pitching was affected, that would truly be a big problem.
Now seeing this Home Run, everyone relaxed. As expected, whether on the pitcher's mound or in the batter's box, this kid was still so reliable.
Amidst the cheers, Kanzaki Ryou waved to the audience while jogging back to home plate. On the way, he exchanged glances with Tachi Hiromi, whose eyes held unspoken reluctance.
Wait! I will definitely strike you out in the next at-bat! Tachi Hiromi secretly made up his mind.
Kanzaki Ryou happily returned to the dugout and was immediately surrounded by his teammates, who patted his head.
"Here, a towel." Miyuki smiled and handed over a towel.
"Hey, thanks."
At this point, Kuramochi Yoichi, who was up to bat again, failed to hit a base hit and was soon struck out.
In contrast, Kominato Ryosuke, who failed to get on base in the previous at-bat, put on a performance, chasing a bad ball and successfully hitting a base hit to get on base. Unfortunately, Yuki was then hit by a ball that bounced behind him, which was picked up by Osaka Kiryuu High School's catcher and thrown to first base for an out.
With two outs and no one on base, it was Seido's cleanup hitter, Azuma Kiyokuni's turn.
In the previous at-bat, Tachi Hiromi had given up a long hit to Azuma Kiyokuni and allowed a run. This time, he was hit again. Azuma Kiyokuni's bat swung with a buzzing sound. After swinging and missing the first pitch, he hit a high fly ball to left field on the second pitch. Unfortunately, the ball was ultimately caught.
As the game reached the fourth inning, Coach Kataoka walked out of the dugout, signaling a substitution. Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru, who had been warming up for three innings, were now eager to play.
On Osaka Kiryuu High School's side, seeing Seido replace Kanzaki Ryou so early, Tachi Hiromi, unlike his teammates' secret delight, felt a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent.
He had just been struck out, and now he didn't even have a chance for revenge.
Afterward, in the fourth and fifth innings, Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru performed steadily at their expected level. Both were veteran third-year players, and facing a team like Osaka Kiryuu High School, which was not strong overall, they would not perform poorly.
After 5 innings, Osaka Kiryuu High School had not scored a single run, while Seido had scored 5 runs in the fourth and fifth innings, changing the score to 7:0.
"It seems like today will be a 7-inning early finish," Kanzaki Ryou said while drinking a sports drink handed to him by Mita Yuka.
"It's good to finish early. Everyone can save some energy. Our opponent for the next game is Inajitsu," Mita Yuka said.
Speaking of Inajitsu, Mita Yuka always felt a bit worried, even though Seido had already beaten Inajitsu twice this year, once in the Spring Metropolitan Tournament finals and once in the Kanto Tournament semifinals.
"That's not for sure. Maybe Inajitsu will stumble today and won't even make it to the semifinals. That would be interesting," Kanzaki Ryou said with a smile.
Mita Yuka shook her head helplessly. This possibility wasn't non-existent, but it was too low. With Inajitsu's current strength, for them to be eliminated before encountering Seido or Ichidai Third High, unless half of their main players went crazy, it was unlikely.
"If Inajitsu really stumbles here, Mei will cry, right? That would be very interesting," Kanzaki Ryou turned to Miyuki and said.
Miyuki thought about that scene and said, "It would be even more interesting to defeat him ourselves and then watch him cry."
"Hehe, Kazuya, you're still so bad."
"Same to you."
As the two talked, Coach Kataoka made another substitution. Kuramochi Yoichi, the leadoff hitter, was replaced by Shida Shota. Kominato Ryosuke, the second hitter, was replaced by Yanagiya Ikki.
In the next two innings, Osaka Kiryuu High School tried their best but couldn't break through Seido's defense and score a run, while Seido's batting lineup exploded again, with Higashi Kiyokuni hitting another Home Run. The game ultimately ended early in 7 innings, with Seido High School winning 8:0 against Osaka Kiryuu High School, becoming the first school to enter the top 4.
After the game, the Seido team chatted and laughed as they put on their backpacks and went to the stands. The next game was Inajitsu's. Although Kanzaki Ryou said he hoped Inajitsu would stumble, he knew in his heart that this was impossible. Not to mention how strong Inajitsu was, from what he knew of the future, Seido was originally supposed to lose to Inajitsu in the semifinals.
I must gather information about Inajitsu well!