Aoyama High School did not collapse after falling behind on the scoreboard.
Instead, they completely let loose.
When they first faced Seido High School Baseball Team, Aoyama's players had been extremely cautious. But now, trailing in the score, they seemed to throw caution to the wind and act with reckless abandon.
Whether on offense or defense, they became bold and aggressive.
From Seido's perspective, if their only goal was a stable victory, then at this moment they absolutely should not have followed Aoyama's rhythm.
For Aoyama, however, there was only one option left. They had to turn the game chaotic and try to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Only by stirring up disorder could they create even the slightest chance of a comeback.
As for Seido, as long as they maintained their current advantage, victory was essentially within reach. Under such circumstances, there was no need to match Aoyama's recklessness.
Yet Seido High School did not choose the safest approach.
Or rather, they had no way to choose it.
If the opponent were Ichidai Third High School or Inashiro Industrial, Seido could use any tactic they wanted, as long as they won in the end. But against a lesser-known team, a powerhouse could not afford to do that.
They could not bring themselves to use overly cautious or "cowardly" tactics against a grassroots team.
So they had to attack. They had no choice but to fight head-on.
The audience quickly noticed that the pace of the game had accelerated.
In the top of the third inning, Hidezawa struck out two batters and forced Aoyama's eighth batter to hit a ground ball. His condition remained excellent.
Immediately afterward, Aoyama High School refused to be outdone.
They stopped hiding their strength. Nishi Kaze Retsu and Kujo worked in tandem and also retired Seido's batters three up, three down.
For a time, the two sides were evenly matched.
If the game continued at this pace, it would become a pure test of endurance for both pitchers—to see who could last longer.
In the dugout, Coach Kataoka glanced toward Ichidai Third High School in the stands and made adjustments to the lineup.
The flawlessly performing ace pitcher, Hidezawa, was taken off the mound and reassigned to the outfield, replacing Isashiki Jun.
The new pitcher was Tanba.
Isashiki Jun, with his little beard, was a million times unwilling in his heart.
Among the three players who had just joined the First-string and received main player numbers, Miyuki Kazuya had already firmly secured his position as Seido's starting catcher.
When Chris was first injured, many people had favored third-year Masuda or second-year Miyauchi. They believed that no matter how things played out, it wouldn't be a first-year rookie's turn.
But now, almost no one mentioned Masuda anymore.
Everyone unanimously supported Miyuki.
Another rookie, Zhang Han, had already recorded two home runs, two hits, and one walk so far, driving in a total of six runs.
His offensive contribution was second only to cleanup hitter Azuma Kiyokuni, and had even surpassed fifth batter Yuuki.
As for Isashiki Jun himself…
So far, his performance in both hitting and defense had been mediocre.
Although he did have hits and moments of solid play, compared to the other two rookies, the gap was frighteningly large.
If this continued, he might struggle to secure his position as a main player.
Coach Kataoka's arrangement made this painfully clear.
To preserve Hidezawa's strength, Kataoka removed him from the mound. The player replaced was Isashiki Jun, not someone like Kou Shunmin.
That spoke volumes.
To put it bluntly, didn't this mean that in Kataoka's eyes, Isashiki Jun had become the weakest link in the team?
Ichidai Third High School understood Kataoka's deeper meaning as well.
In fact, at this point, Kataoka was already quite certain that Seido would win this game. His thoughts had moved past the current match entirely.
His gaze was already fixed on the next opponent.
Ichidai Third High School.
That was Seido High School Baseball Team's true formidable enemy.
Ichidai Third High School did not leave just because Seido began preserving its strength.
They had already gained plenty from watching this game.
Hidezawa's condition. Zhang Han's batting.
Both had delivered significant surprises.
Discovering these before facing Seido was undoubtedly a stroke of luck for Ichidai Third High School. Otherwise, if they encountered Seido without this information, Director Tahara wasn't confident he could lead his team to the end.
Under such circumstances, they naturally hoped to gather even more intelligence.
They also sincerely hoped that Aoyama High School could apply greater pressure—to push Seido even harder.
Ideally, Seido would stumble right here.
That would be perfect.
Unfortunately, Aoyama High School was destined to be unable to fulfill Ichidai Third High School's wish.
When the game reached the fourth inning, Aoyama finally mounted a small surge.
As Seido changed pitchers and Tanba had not yet fully adapted to the rhythm of the game, Nijo managed to get on base.
No outs. Runner on first.
With Miyuki's guidance, Tanba quickly adjusted and successfully retired Aoyama's second and third batters.
The situation became two outs, runner on second. Nijo had taken advantage of the moment to advance.
The lineup turned to the fourth batter.
Nishi Kaze Retsu.
Carrying the hopes of Aoyama High School's entire team, Nishi Kaze raised his focus to the absolute limit.
After fouling off two pitches, he finally waited for Tanba's straight fastball on the third pitch.
He swung decisively.
"Ping!"
The white ball flew over Zhang Han's head and into the outfield.
Hidezawa, who had just replaced Isashiki Jun, couldn't stop it in time. He could only watch the ball pass through.
"It went through!!"
Aoyama High School's players erupted in celebration, as if it were New Year's Day.
Nijo sprinted home from second base, scoring Aoyama's first run.
The score became 2–1.
Aoyama High School's performance could not be described as anything less than outstanding.
Even Seido's supporters applauded their resilience.
The umpire even allowed about ten seconds for celebration before resuming the game.
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
Aoyama's players were deeply encouraged. They had no intention of giving up.
Yet it was precisely in this atmosphere that Aoyama's sadness became even more apparent.
Even at 2–1. Even after playing Seido neck and neck.
Except for Nishi Kaze Retsu, not a single Aoyama player truly believed they could win.
In truth, even Nishi Kaze himself understood how large the gap between the two teams was.
The reason he refused to give up had nothing to do with rational judgment.
It was simply who he was.
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