Carlos missed the first pitch and immediately adjusted his position in the batter's box.
He stepped slightly deeper, intending to let the ball travel farther before committing to his swing. That would give him more time to react.
Whoosh!
Kanzaki Ryou raised his arm high before driving forward.
The baseball exploded from his fingertips and raced toward home plate.
Outside corner!
Carlos' eyes sharpened.
His body twisted violently, and his bat cut through the air.
CRACK!
At the last moment, the baseball darted farther outside the strike zone.
The tip of Carlos' bat barely managed to graze it.
"Foul!"
The ball spun into foul territory and bounced harmlessly away.
Tsk.
Miyuki clicked his tongue.
That guy's reach is ridiculous.
Even a pitch that far outside had nearly been put into play.
For the third pitch, Miyuki called for a low inside Forkball.
Carlos swung.
WHIFF!
"Strike Three!"
"Batter out!"
The dangerous leadoff hitter was retired.
After that came Shirakawa Katsuyuki.
As one of Inashiro's most disciplined hitters, Shirakawa excelled at drawing walks and forcing pitchers into difficult counts.
Against most batters, Miyuki would have tried to outsmart him.
This time, however, he chose a far simpler strategy.
Attack.
If he wanted to hit it, let him hit it.
The problem was—
He couldn't hit it well.
Kanzaki's velocity and pitch quality weren't something a batter could casually square up.
On the first pitch, Shirakawa chopped a grounder into the infield and was retired comfortably.
The third batter followed shortly afterward.
Three up.
Three down.
The battery of Kanzaki and Miyuki once again gave Inashiro's lineup a headache.
—
Top of the second inning.
Seido's offense.
As expected, the moment Kanzaki stepped into the batter's box, Inashiro chose the safest option.
Intentional walk.
There was no hesitation whatsoever.
Their game plan was crystal clear.
Do not allow runners to reach base ahead of Kanzaki.
As long as the bases weren't occupied, they could simply put him on and reduce Seido's offensive firepower.
Standing on first base, Kanzaki could only shrug helplessly.
Then he turned his attention toward Shirasu.
"Come on, Shirasu!"
"Get a hit!"
"Send him home!"
The cheers echoed throughout the stadium.
Unfortunately, enthusiasm alone couldn't change reality.
Facing Narumiya Mei, Shirasu attacked the very first pitch.
CRACK!
The contact wasn't clean.
The ball rolled weakly between first and second.
Inashiro quickly turned it into a double play.
Kanzaki was erased at second.
Shirasu was thrown out at first.
Double play.
The stadium erupted.
Inashiro's supporters nearly blew the roof off with their cheers.
"Tsk."
Miyuki pouted.
"They're taking this way too seriously. It's not like they're even ahead."
Kanzaki had just returned to the dugout when he heard that.
Without hesitation, he reached out and pinched Miyuki hard.
"Ouch!"
"If you had gotten on base in the first inning, I wouldn't have been walked."
"That's not necessarily true."
Miyuki rubbed the sore spot.
"I think they'd still walk you."
"He's right."
Shirasu glanced toward Inashiro's dugout.
"You should prepare yourself mentally."
"If there aren't already runners on base, they're probably walking you every time."
Kanzaki looked devastated.
Then he slowly turned toward Seido's first three batters.
The pressure in his eyes was overwhelming.
"You three."
"You'd better find a way to get on base."
Miyuki was speechless.
Kuramochi coughed awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Haruichi answered honestly.
"Yes!"
What a good kid.
Everyone sighed.
"Aniki!"
Sawamura suddenly jumped forward.
"You can't bully Haruichi like that!"
Then he puffed out his chest proudly.
"If getting on base is so important, let me play!"
"Get lost."
"You're not in today's lineup."
The rejection was immediate.
—
Soon afterward, Maezono hit a fly ball and was retired.
The inning ended.
Bottom of the second.
Inashiro's cleanup hitter stepped into the batter's box.
Narumiya Mei.
Kanzaki narrowed his eyes.
Little Blondie had grown much faster than expected.
His pitching had improved.
His batting had improved.
Now he was batting cleanup.
Narumiya stared back confidently.
Come on, Ryou.
I'm not the same player I used to be.
Sooner or later, I'm sending one of your pitches over the fence.
Seeing the challenge in his eyes, Kanzaki turned toward Miyuki.
The look said everything.
No way.
Miyuki nearly laughed.
Are we really doing this?
Kanzaki nodded eagerly.
Absolutely.
Miyuki sighed.
This was the finals.
And yet...
Fine.
Let's do it.
—
Ball.
Ball.
Ball.
Ball.
"Ball Four!"
"Batter awarded first base!"
The entire stadium fell silent.
Who smiles while intentionally walking the opposing cleanup hitter?
And why did he look so happy doing it?
Narumiya stared at Kanzaki's grinning face.
His teeth nearly cracked.
"Coward!"
"Idiot!"
"Bastard!"
"Baka!"
He cursed the entire way to first base.
When he looked over, he saw Kanzaki happily waving at him.
As if greeting an old friend.
The veins on Narumiya's forehead bulged.
Who are you waving at?!
The intentional walk served two purposes.
First—
Revenge.
Since Narumiya's side had intentionally walked Kanzaki earlier, it was only fair.
Second—
To disrupt Inashiro's momentum.
Their offense was building pressure.
Interrupting that rhythm now would be like stopping someone right before the climax of a song.
The discomfort would linger.
—
The fifth batter, Yamaoka Riku, stepped up.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
But not refined enough.
By carefully attacking the edges of the strike zone, Kanzaki quickly struck him out.
The sixth batter followed.
Strikeout.
The seventh batter followed.
Strikeout.
Three consecutive outs.
The inning ended.
Narumiya never advanced beyond first base.
—
The third inning passed quickly.
Neither side could generate offense.
After three complete innings, the score remained:
0-0.
The deadlock continued.
—
In the fourth inning, Haruichi reached base after a fielder's choice.
Miyuki finally managed to collect Seido's first clean hit against Narumiya.
The crowd erupted.
For a brief moment, hope appeared.
Then Kanzaki was intentionally walked again.
Shirasu grounded out.
Maezono struck out.
Opportunity gone.
The score remained unchanged.
—
The game entered the late innings.
Top of the eighth.
Finally—
Seido created a chance.
Kuramochi bunted his way onto first.
Haruichi laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance him.
Miyuki fought off a Changeup and pushed it into right field.
Kuramochi advanced all the way to third.
Two outs.
Runner on third.
The entire Seido cheering section rose to its feet.
At last.
A scoring opportunity.
Kanzaki Ryou stepped toward the batter's box.
For seven innings, Inashiro had avoided him whenever possible.
Now they couldn't.
The game was nearing its conclusion.
One run.
Just one run might decide everything.
Kanzaki exhaled slowly.
This chance absolutely had to be converted.
On the mound, Narumiya Mei felt the pressure as well.
For seven innings, he had successfully controlled Kuramochi.
The moment Kuramochi reached base, however, everything changed.
A player like him created chaos.
And behind him stood Haruichi and Miyuki, two batters willing to sacrifice themselves to move a runner into scoring position.
Now the result was inevitable.
Kanzaki Ryou stood in the batter's box.
Waiting.
Watching.
Smiling faintly.
Narumiya tightened his grip on the baseball.
This time—
An intentional walk was no longer an option.
The showdown they had both been waiting for had finally arrived.