Whoosh!
Thwack!
"Strike!"
The batter swung and missed, then stared at Sawamura in disbelief.
"Yahahaha! Watching these guys get fooled by Sawamura's pitching never gets old," Kuramochi Yoichi laughed loudly.
A pitcher with an invisible release point always catches batters off guard the first time—they call it a first-sight kill.
With the first pitch working, Miyuki immediately gave the next signal: a low outside fastball.
After months of practice, Sawamura's control over the nine-grid zone still wasn't perfect, but Miyuki didn't demand precision. As long as it wasn't an obvious ball, it would serve its purpose in setting up the next pitch.
Sawamura nodded and delivered.
As expected, the pitch missed the intended spot slightly—about half a ball off—but Sensen's leadoff batter didn't have the eye to let it go.
Swish!
The bat barely grazed the ball, sending it spinning foul down the third-base line.
"Foul!"
"Nice!"
"Two strikes!"
"Sawamura, you're on fire today!"
"Let them hit!"
Hearing his teammates' encouragement, Sawamura couldn't help but grin.
"Hey! Don't zone out!"
"Y-Yes!"
Miyuki sighed helplessly before refocusing on the batter.
Two outside pitches in a row—time to go inside.
Jam him.
Sawamura took a deep breath. The inside pitch aimed near the chest always thrilled him—it was dangerous, but effective.
Whoosh!
A sharp inside fastball cut diagonally across the plate.
The batter swung hard—missed!
The ball snapped cleanly into Miyuki's mitt.
"Strikeout!"
"Yeahhh!!"
Cheers erupted from the stands.
Among them, Sawamura's friends jumped up excitedly.
"Amazing! That's our guy!"
"I'm so proud, I'm tearing up!"
While the others shouted and cried, Wakana simply smiled softly, her gaze steady and full of warmth.
On such a big stage, under this pressure, Sawamura had delivered a strikeout.
She couldn't have been prouder.
After retiring the leadoff batter, Sawamura only got better.
Even when hits slipped through and runners reached base, he held firm and shut down the inning.
"Nice work, kid."
Kanzaki Ryou jogged over, having just thrown out a reckless runner at third with a laser throw from left field.
"Yahahaha! Aniki, I'm in great shape today!" Sawamura said proudly.
Smiling, Kanzaki reached out and ruffled his hair before pulling him back.
"Hey… look over there."
"Huh?"
Sawamura followed his gaze—and froze.
Behind Seido's dugout stood several familiar faces, waving excitedly. Among them, a girl sat hugging her knees. The moment their eyes met, her face turned bright red.
"Eh?!"
"Wakana!!"
"And everyone else?!"
Sawamura's eyes widened, his whole body trembling.
"Alright, that's enough. You know they're here."
Kanzaki gave him a light shove toward the dugout.
"Aniki, I—"
"Focus on the game," Kanzaki said with a teasing grin. "Save the talking for later. Don't embarrass yourself in front of your hometown friends… or your childhood sweetheart."
Sawamura froze—then exploded.
"You bastard Aniki!! You're just as annoying as that idiot Miyuki!"
"Hey, why am I getting dragged into this?" Miyuki laughed from the side.
Kanzaki chuckled. "Yahahaha."
Messing with Sawamura was unexpectedly fun.
Then his expression turned serious.
"I'm doing this on purpose. If you lose your composure just because someone you care about is watching, then you've still got a long way to go."
Sawamura tilted his head. "Really?"
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?"
After thinking about it, Sawamura nodded.
…He actually hadn't.
Unlike a certain someone.
Everyone nearby silently facepalmed.
This guy is way too easy to fool…
Top of the second inning, Seido on offense.
Shirasu, batting eighth, remained calm and disciplined. He refused to chase bad pitches, working the count full.
Maki Yosuke clenched his teeth.
Even the eighth batter was pushing him this far?!
Frustrated, he fired off a curveball—
Too high!
Sensen's coach, Ukai Ichirou, frowned immediately.
He's getting impatient…
Crack!
Shirasu connected cleanly, sending the ball past third base.
He sprinted to second without hesitation.
"Nice!"
"Beautiful double!"
Raising his fist, Shirasu nodded toward Sawamura.
Sawamura didn't quite get it—but nodded back anyway before stepping up to bat.
Seeing Sawamura in Seido's uniform, Maki Yosuke's resentment surged.
"Tch… that guy looks furious," Isashiki Jun muttered.
"Yeah… feels like he's got a personal grudge or something."
"When I was batting, it felt like he wanted to kill me," Arima Kazusa added.
"Hahaha…"
Kanzaki laughed.
"Want to hear a rumor?"
Everyone leaned in.
"Apparently, Maki's been a Seido fan since he was a kid. His dream was to join our baseball team."
"…What?"
"But he never got an invitation after junior high. So he went to Sensen instead—and ever since, he's been determined to prove Seido wrong."
The group fell silent.
"That's… kinda messed up," Isashiki said bluntly.
"Couldn't he have just taken the entrance exam?" Kominato added.
"Yeah, that's on him."
Kanzaki shrugged.
"Either way, he's using this game to prove himself."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Which is why…"
"We absolutely can't let him succeed."