"I'm sorry, Sanada… but I have to rely on you now."
After giving up seven runs, Todoroki Raizō knew the situation was already extremely difficult.
Even if Yakushi managed to score against Ushijima Wakatoshi, overcoming a seven-run deficit would be nearly impossible.
Unless another miracle happened—like in their previous game.
Sanada stepped forward silently.
But Wakatoshi only sneered from the field.
"Too late."
Yakushi's trump card had finally appeared, but only after they had already fallen seven runs behind.
"Damn it… I'm still not satisfied."
"Huh?"
Eijun Sawamura blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean? How are they looking down on you?"
Satoru Furuya also looked puzzled.
"They brought out their ace. Isn't that respect?"
But Haruichi Kominato thought more carefully.
"Maybe their coach believes…"
"Even if Yakushi is seven runs behind, once their ace takes the mound, they can still suppress Seido's lineup."
"In other words, they think their offense can score those seven runs back—even against Ushijima."
Haruichi's explanation instantly made the Seido starters frown.
That confidence from Yakushi felt extremely irritating.
"Hey, Kuramochi."
Wakatoshi spoke coldly.
"Don't waste yesterday's red-vs-white practice."
Youichi Kuramochi shuddered.
Angering Wakatoshi was definitely not a good idea.
"To be honest… I didn't expect to bat twice in the first inning."
Kuramochi stepped into the batter's box and looked at the pitcher on the mound.
Shunpei Sanada.
Cutter and shootball…
Combined with an aggressive inside fastball.
A very typical Yakushi pitching style.
Sanada grinned at Kuramochi.
"Impressive."
"You forced me to come out in the first inning."
"But now that I'm here—"
"You can forget about scoring again!"
He immediately fired the first pitch.
Inside corner.
A fierce attack.
Seeing the ball rushing toward him, Kuramochi shouted internally.
Even if you're aggressive—
You can't be scarier than our junior!
He swung hard.
CLANG!
But the moment the bat connected—
Kuramochi realized something was wrong.
"A cutter?!"
He had expected a fastball.
His swing timing collapsed instantly.
The bat only clipped the ball weakly.
The grounder rolled toward the infield.
Kuramochi dropped his bat and sprinted toward first base.
But the second baseman had already picked up the ball.
SMACK!
The throw reached first easily.
"Out!"
The umpire signaled.
"Side retired!"
Sanada had ended the inning with one pitch.
Yakushi's players finally relaxed.
Their earlier tension disappeared.
"Damn it…"
Kuramochi jogged back to the dugout.
Wakatoshi asked calmly:
"How was the cutter?"
"Sharp."
That was Kuramochi's simple answer.
Still—
Seido had already scored seven runs in the first inning.
That alone was a huge advantage.
Top of the Second Inning
Yakushi came up to bat again.
On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi returned the favor.
Against the fourth batter, he threw a cutter on the very first pitch.
It was almost identical to the pitch Sanada had used to retire Kuramochi.
"That brat…!"
Sanada's eyes burned with excitement.
But Wakatoshi completely suppressed Yakushi's offense.
In truth, Yakushi's strongest hitters were already at the top of the lineup.
Raichi Todoroki
Yuuta Mishima
Kazuma Akiba
Shunpei Sanada
Those four were the core of Yakushi's offense.
The rest of the lineup was much weaker.
For a pitcher like Wakatoshi—who threw batting practice to Seido's hitters every day—
Facing batters at that level barely created pressure.
Against the fifth and sixth hitters, Wakatoshi used his signature fastball to attack the corners.
Inside.
Outside.
His crossfire pitching was incredibly sharp.
Of course, pitching like that required tremendous confidence.
Once again—
Yakushi went down three up, three down.
"Tch…"
Raizō clicked his tongue in frustration.
Wakatoshi's strength far exceeded his expectations.
Bottom of the Second Inning
Seido attacked again.
Ryosuke Kominato stepped up to bat.
CLANG!
Sanada's fastball came in sharply.
Kominato fouled it off.
Sharper than I expected…
But still different from Ushijima's inside pitch.
Ushijima's four-seam fastball inside could reach 145 km/h.
Sometimes even 149 km/h, though those often missed the zone.
Compared to that—
Sanada's pitch was still manageable.
CLANG!
Another foul ball.
"Outside pitches won't work either."
Kominato kept battling.
His goal was simple—
Force Sanada to throw more pitches and exhaust him.
Sanada gritted his teeth and threw his decisive pitch.
The cutter.
Seeing the pitch, Kominato swung quickly.
But just before contact—
The ball cut sharply inward.
CLANG!
The hit was weak.
Kominato ran toward first base but was easily thrown out.
As he returned to the dugout, Kuramochi asked:
"Kominato-senpai?"
Kominato removed his batting gloves and looked toward Sanada.
"His cutter…"
"…is completely different from Ushijima's."
"Different?"
Miyuki Kazuya asked.
Even Tetsuya Yūki and Masuko Tooru looked curious.
"Yes. Completely different."
Kominato sounded troubled.
"I thought it was just my imagination at first."
Kuramochi nodded.
"I felt the same thing earlier."
During his second at-bat in the first inning, Sanada had also thrown a cutter.
The moment Kuramochi hit it—
He felt something strange.
It was hard to describe.
But the sensation was clearly different from Wakatoshi's cutter.