Inajitsu's game had just begun, and news also arrived from a game taking place at another venue.
"Ichidai Third High won!"
"They won by a large margin, ending the game early in the 7th inning!"
"Ichidai Third High sent out their first-year pitcher, Amahisa Kousei, from the fourth inning onwards."
Hearing the news, the Seido team nodded slightly, not paying too much attention; their real focus at the moment was Inajitsu.
In the subsequent games, the state Inajitsu displayed—from their defense to their batting lineup—put a lot of pressure on Seido. Facing an opponent also in the top 8, Inajitsu actually hit four home runs in this game! One of them was even hit by Narumiya Mei.
On the pitcher's mound, Ace Matsumoto Takumi and first-year Narumiya Mei took turns completely suppressing the opponent, not giving up a single run.
"This kid's pitching has evolved again."
"It feels sharper than during the Kanto Tournament, and his control is more precise."
"He's tough to deal with. Senior Azuma, are you confident?"
Hearing his teammate's question, Azuma Kiyokuni frowned, looking at the Inajitsu team celebrating their victory on the field.
Beside him, Kanzaki Ryou also felt heavy-hearted at this moment. Narumiya Mei's pitching had become even more terrifying after months of growth. If he remembered correctly, in the original story, during the next matchup between Seido and Inajitsu, Seido's batting lineup was completely suppressed by Narumiya Mei, with only Azuma Kiyokuni getting a single hit.
However, over the past few months, as long as it wasn't a rest day, Kanzaki Ryou had consistently thrown live pitches for the first-string members during batting practice. Seido's batting lineup had improved tremendously. If they faced Inajitsu again, there was no way they would be completely shut down like before.
"I can hit it!" Azuma Kiyokuni said decisively. As the Captain and cleanup hitter, he absolutely could not show weakness at this time.
He was confident he could hit both Matsumoto Takumi's and Narumiya Mei's pitches. What he worried about were his teammates; if they couldn't get hits to connect the offense, even if he reached base, it would be meaningless.
"Yuki, how about you?"
Yuki Tetsuya nodded faintly.
"I can do it."
His thoughts were identical to Azuma's. As the third batter, he understood his responsibilities.
After Inajitsu's game ended, the Seido group returned to school. The semifinals were in two days. These two days were not only for rest and recovery but also for Coach Kataoka and Chris to analyze Inajitsu's lineup.
That night, at Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Club.
Coach Kunitomo gathered all first-string members in the conference room for an important strategy meeting regarding the upcoming match against Seido.
Since the beginning of the preliminary rounds, Inashiro had been analyzing Seido. Their data on Seido's lineup was constantly updated. With two days left, holding a meeting now made the next targeted training more effective.
In West Tokyo, the three major powerhouses—Seido, Ichidai Third, and Inajitsu—were like massive boulders blocking the path of other schools. Even nationwide, these three teams were well-known and at the top of Japanese high school baseball.
Thus, the three schools were constantly wary of each other, competing fiercely year after year for the single Koshien ticket. Their rivalry was deep-rooted.
And now, Inajitsu harbored resentment towards Seido—they had already lost twice this year: once in the Spring Metropolitan Tournament and once in the Kanto Tournament.
Now, in the Summer Preliminary semifinals—a game a hundred times more important—they vowed revenge.
Coach Kunitomo's analysis was comprehensive, starting with Seido's first-string data: their probable batting order, formation patterns, tactics, and potential pitching changes.
Most of it was familiar. Inajitsu's players understood Seido perhaps even better than Seido understood themselves.
Halfway through the meeting, the focus shifted entirely to two names:
Azuma Kiyokuni
and
Kanzaki Ryou
One was a third-year monster batter.
The other was a first-year genius Ace pitcher.
Facing Azuma Kiyokuni, both Ace Matsumoto Takumi and genius Narumiya Mei had to find a way to suppress him.
"Hmph, I will never let Senior Azuma hit my pitch!" Narumiya Mei declared arrogantly.
"Mei."
"Do not underestimate Azuma Kiyokuni," Harada Masatoshi warned.
Narumiya puffed out his cheeks.
"Senior Harada, it's called strategically looking down on your opponent. You wouldn't understand."
Harada sighed. Mei was good in every way, but his childishness was problematic.
Compared to Mei, Ace Matsumoto Takumi understood Azuma far better. They had faced off many times with mixed results. Matsumoto wasn't confident he could fully suppress Azuma.
If they wanted to accomplish that…
His only hope was Narumiya Mei.
Though Mei was inexperienced, Matsumoto had to admit one thing: in pure technique, Mei's pitching surpassed his own. As long as the kid remained calm and focused, suppressing Seido's lineup was entirely possible.
After nearly twenty minutes analyzing Azuma's batting tendencies, Coach Kunitomo wrote another name on the blackboard:
Kanzaki Ryou
The room instantly grew heavy.
This hateful first-year.
Yes—Inajitsu saw Kanzaki Ryou as a villain.
A detestable monster.
Their last two losses could essentially be traced back to him.
"Kanzaki Ryou's greatest strength is his ball speed. For the next two days, set the pitching machine to 155 km/h for batting practice."
Everyone nodded.
Kunitomo continued:
"Since the Spring Tournament, Kanzaki Ryou has only shown two types of pitches: the four-seam fastball and the two-seam fastball. Not once has he used a breaking ball. Therefore, I suspect Kanzaki Ryou has never used his full strength."
"Be extremely careful during the game."
The room fell into silence.
A pitcher who had reached this far using only straight balls—without allowing a single run—was monstrous.
It was too exaggerated.
But thinking about Miyuki's pitch-calling and Kanzaki Ryou's insane control, it was finally understandable.
Still…
Facing him again, even Inajitsu felt fear tightening in their chests.