On the pitcher's mound, Suzuki Yu's face was grim, his expression stiff.
The bases were still loaded, and the difficult second batter was up next; even if he managed to get him out, it would only be two outs, and then he would immediately have to face Seido's core lineup.
Suzuki Yu's palms were sweating; if he made even a slight mistake, it wouldn't be a matter of one or two runs, but very likely the entire game would be decided right here.
No matter how frustrated Suzuki Yu was, the game had to continue. Kominato Ryosuke, after stepping up to the plate, didn't get entangled with Suzuki Yu this time. With his first swing, he hit a single that pierced through the infield defense, helping Araki Keita on third base return to home plate.
The score was 3:1, and the bases were still loaded.
Then, the third batter, Yuki, following the Coach's Kataoka instructions, chose to hit a Fast Forkball. After a long hit, Kanzaki Ryou returned to home plate to score.
The score was 4:1. And the bases were still loaded.
After that, Azuma Kiyokuni hit the ball into the right field's no-man's-land. Because the bases were loaded and he was facing the fourth batter, Takasaki High was afraid of Azuma Kiyokuni hitting a long ball, so the outfield defense played deeper, causing the ball to land where no one could reach in time.
By the time the right fielder threw the ball back, Shida Shota safely returned to home plate, adding another run for Seido.
At this point, the score became 5:1, bases loaded, one out.
In the Takasaki High dugout, Coach Kudo looked serious. Objectively speaking, Suzuki Yu's pitching performance was not bad, but Seido's lineup was stronger!
What made Coach Kudo even more helpless was that Seido's players consistently showed a certain level of skill when batting; almost no at-bat became a weak link. Their offensive continuity was excellent — steadily advancing runners and scoring. This was something Takasaki High simply couldn't do.
Among their team members, there was a significant difference in batting ability, especially the lower order, which had almost no resistance against Nanjo Taishi.
It's up to you, Suzuki. You must hold on!
Coach Kudo had no intention of making a change. The pitchers currently on the team had a clear gap in strength compared to Suzuki Yu. If he was struggling this much, the others would likely collapse even faster.
When Seido's fifth batter, Tanaka Wataru, stepped into the batter's box, the expression on his face was very strange. He had never batted twice in the same half-inning.
Not to mention Tanaka Wataru—Suzuki Yu hadn't encountered this either! The batting order had already gone through once, and he had only gotten one out. What exactly went wrong?
Suzuki Yu's face darkened. With this poor pitching performance, the Takasaki High fans had already begun booing.
He had to get an out quickly. He absolutely couldn't let the batting order cycle back to the ninth batter.
After giving himself a pep talk, Suzuki Yu pitched again. This time, Tanaka Wataru failed to get on base. Under pressure, Suzuki Yu's pitches became sharper. He then used a dropping Curveball to force Isashiki into a ground ball, ending the inning.
Wiping his forehead, Suzuki Yu walked off the mound to loud cheers from the Takasaki High dugout, and even applause from the stands.
To be able to persevere under that kind of pressure and still challenge the batters head-on — the crowd respected that mentality.
Seeing this, Kanzaki Ryou also admired him. Suzuki Yu's mental toughness was no joke.
If Tanba were in that situation, he would've exploded already…
In the top of the fifth inning, Nanjo Taishi struck out Takasaki High's 8th and 9th batters, then faced Kundi Galka again.
Knowing his batting power was lacking, Kundi Galka bunted. The ball rolled toward third base, and using his incredible speed, he almost made it to base, startling Nanjo Taishi.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Seido was on offense. It was Kanzaki Ryou's turn again. He hit a fly ball that was caught, and Shida Shota and Kominato Ryosuke also failed to get on base.
After the fifth inning ended, Kanzaki Ryou was substituted out for rest, and Yoshikawa Junpei replaced him in left field.
Pitcher Nanjo Taishi and catcher Tanaka Wataru were also replaced by Tanba Koichiro and Miyuki Kazuya.
"Go for it," Kanzaki Ryou said, high-fiving Miyuki.
Miyuki smirked. "I thought we'd end the game in five innings today. Now… maybe seven?"
"You got this. Hit a home run later," Kanzaki Ryou grinned.
Miyuki chuckled and headed onto the field.
In the top of the sixth inning, Takasaki High attacked. Miyuki and Tanba faced the core lineup. After quickly retiring the second and third batters, Ishihi Yohei stepped up. Tanba's Curveball didn't work on this monster. On the second pitch, Ishihi lashed out a hit and got on base.
With only a runner on first, Miyuki and Tanba weren't worried. Baseball isn't a one-man sport. No matter how strong Ishihi was, if his teammates couldn't continue the offense, it was meaningless.
And soon enough, they shut down the sixth batter, stranding Ishihi again.
Ishihi Yohei sighed. He was happy to meet Azuma Kiyokuni in an official match…
But Takasaki High was being completely overpowered by Seido — and this wasn't even Seido's Ace on the mound.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, after Yuki Tetsuya was out, Azuma Kiyokuni blasted his 40th home run, sending the ball deep into the left field stands.
The stadium erupted. His fans held up a massive banner — a huge "40".
"Ya ha ha ha!!"
A triumphant Azuma Kiyokuni ran back to home plate.
"Well done," Coach Kataoka said with a thumbs-up.
Instantly serious, Azuma Kiyokuni bowed. "Thank you, Coach!"
After him, Miyuki and Isashiki couldn't continue the offense. Suzuki Yu prevented further scoring.
In the top of the seventh inning, Takasaki High started from the seventh batter. They swung aggressively, even getting someone to third base. But Miyuki and Tanba shut them down again.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Seido failed to score, unable to end the game early. The match went the full nine innings.
The final score:
9 : 1 — Seido wins!