In just a few seconds, the catcher thought of many things. The sound of Azuma Kiyokuni swinging his bat in the air rang in his ears, and the catcher silently extended his hand to give Suzuki Yu a signal.
Soon, Suzuki Yu pitched!
Bang!
Azuma Kiyokuni swung directly at the first ball, and the baseball flew foul.
"Niceball!"
Takasaki High got a Niceball count. Azuma Kiyokuni twisted his neck and looked at Suzuki Yu with a sneer. Although this guy's pitching was not difficult to guess, it was really hard to hit.
Then, for the second pitch, Suzuki Yu threw a Fast Forkball inside that seemed to be aimed at Azuma Kiyokuni's stomach. Azuma swung again without hesitation, and with a bang, the baseball flew high into the air.
Catch out.
Azuma Kiyokuni failed to help the two runners on base return to home plate to score in this at-bat, and he left the field with a sour face.
"Senior Azuma, your condition isn't quite right today. Are you a bit too concerned about Ishihi Yohei?" Kanzaki Ryou asked, following behind him.
"Nonsense, me, concerned about him?" Azuma Kiyokuni sneered. It was true that he and Ishihi Yohei were old friends, but during a game, he was very professional and would never let personal reasons affect the team.
"Hey, that's great. I believe Senior will definitely hit a home run today," Kanzaki Ryou said.
Azuma's current home run count was 39, just one away from joining the forty-club.
"Of course!" Azuma said. He also really wanted to hit his fortieth home run today.
But for now, the team's victory was more important.
"Nanjo! Strike him out for me!"
Nanjo Taishi was about to walk out of the dugout when Azuma Kiyokuni pressed his shoulder and instructed him.
"Okay! I won't let them get on base!" Nanjo Taishi said decisively.
In the top of the fourth inning, the first batter Nanjo Taishi faced was the cleanup hitter, Ishihi Yohei. The promise he made with Azuma before going on the field could not be fulfilled. Ishihi Yohei blasted his high-speed slider for a home run, directly scoring one run.
At this point, the score became 0–1, with Takasaki High leading!
Afterward, facing Takasaki High's lower batting order, Nanjo Taishi regrouped and got three outs in a row.
"You guy, you really are disappointing."
After Nanjo Taishi came off the field, Azuma Kiyokuni said angrily.
"It was an accident, this was an accident. Next time, watch me strike him out," Nanjo Taishi said with a smile. Although he gave up a run, he was still in a pretty good mood.
"Senior, why don't I go?" Kanzaki Ryou leaned over.
"Get out of here, you're not playing today," Nanjo Taishi said.
"Exactly," Tanba added.
"Hehehe," Miyuki chuckled.
The atmosphere in the dugout was relaxed. On the field, Tanaka Wataru had already stepped into the batter's box.
After a few practice swings, Tanaka Wataru looked at Suzuki Yu seriously. As a member of Seido's core batting lineup, he was easily struck out in the previous at-bat. This time, he had to perform well.
Fast Forkball, vertical Curveball, vertical Slider.
With these three pitches working together, it was quite difficult to hit well. Tanaka Wataru secretly wondered how the catcher would call the pitches.
After several innings of observation, Suzuki Yu threw his best Fast Forkball the most. Combining it with a Straight ball could effectively disrupt the batter's rhythm, making it difficult to find the right timing and resulting in many ground balls.
Tanaka Wataru understood this. Since that was the case, he would aim for the Fast Forkball directly.
Bang!
Suzuki Yu threw the first pitch, and it was exactly the Fast Forkball Tanaka Wataru was expecting. The opportunity came, and Tanaka scooped the ball out with one decisive swing.
"Safe!"
Successfully reaching First Base, Tanaka Wataru finally breathed a sigh of relief. That was close; he didn't hit the ball perfectly, and Takasaki High's defense reacted quickly. He barely beat the tag to First Base.
Suzuki Yu glanced at Tanaka Wataru. Had his pitching been figured out? Swinging decisively at the first pitch—he was clearly targeting the Fast Forkball.
No outs, runner on First Base.
Seido's sixth batter, Isashiki Jun, stepped up. He bowed to the umpire, then roared and glared fiercely at Suzuki Yu.
Suzuki Yu was unfazed and threw a Straight ball toward Isashiki's chest.
Bang!
The white ball was hit squarely amidst Isashiki's roar.
No outs, runners on First Base and Second Base.
In the blink of an eye, Takasaki High found themselves in a predicament. Seido was steadily attacking Suzuki Yu. Although Nanjo Taishi, the seventh batter, failed to get on base, he battled Suzuki Yu for a long time until a vertical Curveball got him after two Niceballs and two balls.
After Nanjo, the eighth batter, Araki Keita, exploded with a long drive to center field.
Even more unexpectedly, Takasaki High's center fielder fumbled the catch!
Tanaka Wataru seized the opportunity to return to home plate for a run. Isashiki advanced to Third Base, and Araki reached Second Base.
"Hehehe, it's my turn again." Kanzaki Ryou was very happy. Runners on Second and Third, one out—this was a golden scoring chance.
Although he got on base in the previous at-bat, he failed to score. This time, even if he couldn't return to home plate himself, he wanted to help bring Isashiki home.
Suzuki Yu pitched—an outside Fast Forkball.
Ping!
On the very first pitch, Kanzaki Ryou swung decisively. The ball rolled toward Second Base.
Kanzaki rushed toward First Base, while Isashiki took a few steps off Third. Takasaki High's Second Baseman threw the ball to home plate, attempting to tag out Isashiki.
But as soon as the ball left his hand—
Isashiki suddenly turned back to Third Base.
They were tricked!
The catcher looked around helplessly. Kanzaki Ryou and Isashiki were both safe, while Araki hadn't moved from Second at all.
Bases loaded!
They intended to get the runner at Third, but instead created a disaster. The Second Baseman and catcher exchanged bitter glances.
"Hahahaha, that's too stupid," Kuramochi laughed loudly from the dugout.
Isashiki's fake-out had completely fooled the opponent. Charging home on a grounder to Second Base would've been suicide—anyone could see that.
The Seido supporters in the stands erupted with laughter. On the field, Takasaki High's Second Baseman's face flushed red. If there were a hole in the ground, he'd have crawled inside.
Suzuki Yu looked back at him. What a useless teammate. Why didn't he just throw to First Base? Now there was only one out—this was adding pressure for no reason.
He sighed and focused again.
Shida Shota, who was easily handled earlier, stepped into the batter's box. This time, he intended to reclaim what he lost.
Bang!
After two Niceballs, Shida Shota swung at Suzuki Yu's Fast Forkball. Although he didn't hit it perfectly, he still drove it far enough for Isashiki Jun to return safely to home plate.
The score became 2–1, with Seido taking the lead—and the bases were still loaded.