In the previous game against Teito, Narumiya Mei didn't throw a single Forkball, but now he's using it on only the second pitch.
Araki Keita gripped his bat, ready to swing again. His previous miss was mainly due to being unprepared; otherwise, he was sure he could have hit it.
"As expected, he was still affected by that last pitch," Miyuki sighed.
"Why are you sighing? What's so strange about not hitting that?"
Kanzaki Ryou couldn't understand it at all. Isn't it normal to miss a Forkball? Who would have thought Narumiya Mei and Harada Masakatsu would use that pitch so quickly? Plus, Araki Keita had just seen a 145 km/h inside Four-seam fastball. It's not surprising he was fooled by the Forkball when he was expecting something else.
Miyuki gave a helpless, bitter smile. "No, he wasn't affected by that pitch. He was affected by you."
"By me? Are you kidding me? You're blaming me for this?" Kanzaki Ryou almost lost his temper.
At this moment, Chris, who was sitting, closed his notebook and then said, "What Miyuki said might be right."
"Huh? Chris-senpai, why are you saying that too?" Kanzaki Ryou turned to look at Chris in surprise.
Hearing their conversation, the other players also curiously shifted some of their attention, and even Coach Kataoka, standing in front, twitched his ear.
"Just possibly," Chris chuckled. "Araki's swing just now was very decisive. It was clearly aimed at a Straight ball, and his expression was too obvious."
"So?" Kanzaki Ryou asked, confused.
Chris frowned, organized his thoughts, and said, "Narumiya Mei's ball speed isn't as fast as yours. After seeing the first pitch, Araki, who has been suppressed by your pitching for a long time, might have felt, 'I can hit this speed.' That's why his second swing was so quick and decisive."
"Yes, it's like he got competitive, but Mei didn't throw a Straight ball," Miyuki added from the side.
After hearing their analysis, Kanzaki Ryou was speechless. He turned to look at the field, where the struck-out Araki Keita was already walking back towards them, looking dejected.
Returning to the dugout, Araki Keita saw his teammates looking at him with strange expressions, and he still didn't understand what was going on.
"Araki," Coach Kataoka suddenly called out.
Araki Keita quickly turned around. "Coach."
"What were you thinking when you swung the bat?" Coach Kataoka asked sternly.
If he had just missed the ball, there would be nothing to say; it would be normal.
But Araki Keita's swing just now was clearly problematic, like he was swinging wildly without thinking.
Araki Keita's face turned pale, and he didn't dare to say a word.
Only he knew best what was going through his mind when he was standing in the batter's box.
Seeing Araki Keita's expression, Coach Kataoka didn't continue to criticize him but turned to the players behind him and said, "When you step onto the field, you must give it your all. You must never underestimate your opponent just because he's a first-year or because his ball speed isn't as fast as Kanzaki's!"
Underestimate Narumiya Mei?
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but wipe a bead of sweat.
Including the second and third-year students, not a single person underestimated Narumiya Mei. If it were in the past, perhaps someone might not have taken a first-year seriously, no matter how famous he was in middle school.
But fundamentally, middle school baseball and high school baseball are two completely different worlds.
However, now, with Kanzaki Ryou as an example, they would no longer have such thoughts. Moreover, Narumiya Mei's strength was clearly visible: a top speed of 145 km/h, excellent control, and mastery of two highly developed breaking balls.
While they were talking in the Seidou dugout, Narumiya Mei on the field struck out another batter, sending Yanagiya Ikki, the 8th batter and Koshien, out of the batter's box.
"Amazing, truly lives up to his reputation."
"Mei!!"
"One more pitch!"
"Strike him out!"
"Little brother!"
Inajitsu's supporters, seeing their rookie's fierce performance, roared as if they were pumped up.
Narumiya Mei did not disappoint his fans and quickly struck out Yoshikawa Junpei, Seidou's ninth batter.
After getting three consecutive outs, Narumiya Mei smugly looked towards Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki's position in the Seidou dugout, only to see them whispering to each other, not looking at him at all.
!!
Hmph!
Forget about Chestnut Hair Monster, even Kazuya is doing this!
This is too annoying!
Why aren't you looking at me?
Like his favorite toy had been snatched away, Narumiya Mei was a little dejected.
"Did he look?"
"He didn't."
Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki secretly watched Narumiya Mei on the field out of the corner of their eyes, seeing him stomping off the field like an angry crab.
"Why was he looking at you? Is there something going on?" Kanzaki Ryou asked.
Miyuki chuckled coldly, "I know him too well. With such a good pitching performance, he'll definitely try to provoke us. As long as you don't look at him, he'll get mad at himself."
Kanzaki Ryou's mouth twitched. What was this, the unspoken understanding between old lovers?
"Let's go, it's our turn," Miyuki said.
Top of the seventh inning, the announcement sounded again.
"Seidou High School is changing pitchers. catcher Tanaka Wataru, number 12, and pitcher Tanba Koichiro, number 10, are leaving the field; catcher Miyuki Kazuya, number 19, and pitcher Kanzaki Ryou, number 20, are entering the field!"
As soon as the announcement fell, faint whispers erupted in the stadium.
"Changing pitchers again so soon?"
"What is Seidou doing?"
"Tanba's performance was quite good; is he really leaving?"
"Who is Kanzaki Ryou?"
"Damn, you don't know Kanzaki? He's Seidou's super first-year!"
Someone spontaneously introduced him to those around who didn't recognize Kanzaki Ryou.
A few seconds later, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted in the stands. Seidou's supporters, cheering squad, cheerleaders, and brass band all moved at that moment!
"You, this won't happen every time you go on the field, will it? It's too high-profile," Miyuki, who had just stepped out of the dugout, was startled and said helplessly.
Kanzaki Ryou walked at the front of the team, smiling and waving to the audience around him, completely ignoring him.
"This kid, he's too annoying," Isashiki Jun puffed out his cheeks and glared. There were so many of them, why were they only shouting Kanzaki Ryou's name?
Hearing Isashiki Jun's complaint, Yuki Tetsuya smiled and patted his shoulder. "Hit a home run, and you can do the same."
"Huh?" Isashiki Jun looked at him with an expression that said, 'Are you kidding me?'
Can a home run be hit just by talking about it?
The others ignored Isashiki Jun's grumbling and followed Kanzaki Ryou onto the field.
Standing on the pitcher's mound, the cheers behind him were still deafening. As before, Kanzaki Ryou lowered his head, raised one hand, and then sharply brought it down, and the entire stadium fell silent.
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