"What? Only Fastball?"
Akikawa's coaches were stunned.
They had studied Seido's previous games carefully, yet the pitching pattern they expected never appeared.
As Akikawa's ace pitcher, You Shunshin understood this situation clearly.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was no longer the same player from two years ago.
Now, he was a true two-way player.
His pitching mechanics were textbook-perfect, and he possessed five different pitch types.
In high school baseball, that level of versatility was almost divine.
And that wasn't all.
Ushijima's batting ability was also extremely dangerous.
His batting average was frighteningly high, placing immense pressure on opposing pitchers.
A player who could dominate both on the mound and at the plate—
That kind of two-way player was terrifying.
You Shunshin himself was also a two-way player, serving as both the ace pitcher and the fifth batter for Akikawa.
This was common in high school baseball.
Unlike professional leagues, high school baseball does not use the designated hitter (DH) rule.
The DH position in professional baseball exists to reduce the burden on pitchers by allowing another player to bat in their place.
But since high school baseball doesn't use that rule, pitchers must still step up to the plate.
As a result, many high school aces are also strong hitters.
Second Batter: Hashimoto
"Second batter, second baseman—Hashimoto."
The stadium announcer's voice echoed across the field.
Hashimoto stepped into the right-handed batter's box.
"Alright… watch me," he muttered to himself.
On the mound, Ushijima remained silent.
He simply bent slightly forward, holding the baseball behind his back.
His fingers casually rotated the ball.
However, when he did this, he unconsciously shifted through different grips.
Behind him stood second baseman Kominato Ryosuke and shortstop Kuramochi Yoichi.
The two had long noticed this habit.
Whenever there was no runner on second base, Ushijima would briefly hide the ball behind his back before Miyuki set the target.
During that moment, his fingers would naturally form different grips.
They recognized the standard ones immediately:
Four-seam fastball
Two-seam fastball
Cutter
Sinker
Shooto
Even though they weren't pitchers, most baseball players were familiar with these grips.
Batters studied them constantly in order to understand how different pitches moved.
But recently—
They noticed something strange.
Ushijima sometimes used two additional grips they had never seen before.
In other words—
Instead of five grips…
He now had seven.
Kuramochi's eyes narrowed.
"Could it be…"
A flash of realization crossed his mind.
Kominato had clearly noticed it too.
Since second base and shortstop were positioned diagonally behind the mound, they had the perfect view of Ushijima's hidden hand movements.
The first and third basemen couldn't see it.
The outfielders had no chance of noticing either.
Only a runner standing on second base might spot it—
But Ushijima rarely allowed runners to reach second in the early innings.
In the previous two games, the few runners who reached second base had only done so because Ushijima was deliberately experimenting with different pitches.
Although Kuramochi and Kominato had their suspicions, neither of them said anything.
They both understood Ushijima's personality well.
Even if he hadn't mastered the pitches yet—
He was definitely learning them.
Developing them.
That thought alone made them feel strangely reassured.
Kuramochi grinned.
"Seriously… this guy."
Back to the Game
Behind home plate, Miyuki Kazuya set the target.
Ushijima raised his arms.
His left leg lifted high.
Then—
His body rotated.
His right arm snapped forward.
The baseball shot toward home plate.
"So fast!"
Hashimoto wasn't surprised.
"But… not as fast as the previous one."
He tracked the ball carefully and swung.
"Bang!"
"Smack!"
The bat connected, but the ball shot into foul territory.
"Foul ball!" the umpire announced, quickly stepping aside.
Hashimoto clenched his teeth.
"Why isn't it inside?"
He quickly recalled the previous at-bat.
"Ninomiya's first pitch was low and outside."
"And now mine was outside too."
"Our scouting reports said Seido's pitcher-catcher duo likes to attack aggressively with inside pitches."
"Sinkers, shootballs, two-seams…"
"All of them start outside and cut sharply inside."
"And the cutter breaks toward the inside as well."
"So why…"
"Are they starting everything on the outside corner today?"
Hashimoto felt uneasy.
On the mound, Ushijima had already thrown the second pitch.
"Whoosh!"
"SMACK!"
Hashimoto didn't swing.
Instead, he instinctively leaned backward.
The ball slammed straight into Miyuki's glove.
"Strike!"
The umpire called it immediately.
Hashimoto gritted his teeth.
"Damn it!"
"After an outside pitch…"
"They immediately threw a chest-high inside fastball!"
"That was a four-seam."
He replayed the pitch sequence in his head.
In the 3×3 strike zone grid:
First pitch: Position 3 (outside high)
Second pitch: Position 1 (inside high)
The sudden shift in trajectory completely disrupted his timing.
"There's no turning back now…"
"I'm betting everything on the next pitch."
Hashimoto stared intensely at Ushijima.
Behind the plate, Miyuki gave a secret sign.
Then he set his glove.
On the mound, Ushijima began his motion again.
Step.
Turn.
Throw.
The ball exploded from his hand.
"WHOOSH!"
The third pitch screamed toward the plate—
Faster than before.