"That's kind of unfair. How can someone reach base with a ground ball like that right in front of the pitcher's mound?"
"Yeah, that's ridiculous."
"It basically landed like a bunt!"
"As expected of the fastest man in Seidou."
The spectators in the stands buzzed with discussion, all because of Ushijima Wakatoshi's unbelievable infield hit.
Even Sanada, standing on the pitcher's mound, found it hard to accept.
That's ridiculous…
He actually reached base like that?
He had believed he could control Ushijima.
Yet somehow, Ushijima had managed to reach base purely through speed.
If you only judged by batting average, Ushijima wasn't particularly good at hitting breaking balls in the 130–139 km/h range.
His batting average against them wasn't high.
But that only applied when he tried to drive the ball into the outfield or through the infield.
If he simply made contact without aiming for a specific landing spot—
the ball could end up rolling weakly in the infield, almost like a bunt.
Normally, when a ball lands that close to home plate, either the catcher or the pitcher can quickly field it and throw to first.
Otherwise, it would simply be ruled a sacrifice bunt.
But Ushijima didn't worry about where the ball landed.
Even pitches above 140 km/h could be touched by him.
Then he relied on his speed and gambled.
And sometimes…
that gamble worked.
After all, his time running to first base was about 4.1 seconds.
Because of that, even if the ball didn't land perfectly, he still had a high chance of reaching base as long as it stayed in the infield.
"This guy is enough to drive any pitcher crazy," Miyuki muttered.
"Luckily we're on the same team. Otherwise I'd lose all hope."
Everyone around him nodded in agreement.
Seidou's greatest stroke of luck this year wasn't simply discovering a talented pitcher.
Their greatest luck was that Ushijima Wakatoshi had chosen Seidou instead of another school.
If he were an opponent…
they would be completely desperate.
Standing on first base, Ushijima glanced toward Sanada on the mound.
The two stared at each other from across the field.
Both of them felt a powerful fighting spirit rising.
If I let you reach first base…
you're definitely going to steal.
Sanada had already prepared himself mentally.
Ushijima's stolen base success rate was 100%.
Among Seidou's players, the two runners you absolutely could not allow on first base were:
Kuramochi
and Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Once Ushijima reached first base—
he could easily advance to third base.
With his speed, he could steal bases almost freely.
If the catcher's throw took longer than two seconds, there was almost no chance of stopping him.
Then go ahead and steal.
Sanada had already decided.
Trying to restrain him would be useless anyway.
Instead of worrying about the runner…
he would focus on the batter in front of him.
Masuko stepped into the batter's box.
He glanced briefly at Ushijima.
Ushijima shook his head slightly before raising his hand and giving a subtle signal.
Only the players from Seidou understood what it meant.
Masuko immediately focused on the pitcher again.
Sanada raised his arm.
"Come on!"
The moment Sanada began his pitching motion—
Ushijima exploded into a sprint.
He was clearly attempting to steal.
But—
Crack!
Masuko swung the moment the ball left Sanada's hand.
"What?! A hit-and-run?!" Coach Todoroki shouted in surprise from Yakushi's dugout.
Even Sanada was shocked.
He had expected Ushijima to steal.
He had assumed Masuko would not swing, allowing the steal to happen safely.
But instead—
Masuko blasted the pitch.
Bang!!!
The baseball rocketed toward center field and slammed into the wall.
By the time the ball hit the wall—
Ushijima had already passed second base.
At that moment, Yakushi's center fielder finally reached the ball.
The third-base coach quickly watched the defensive situation.
Ushijima was already approaching third base, while the center fielder had just picked up the ball.
"Go! Go home!" the coach shouted, waving his arm.
Ushijima immediately accelerated toward home plate.
"Home! Throw it home!" the catcher yelled.
The center fielder fired the ball toward home plate.
But the distance was more than 100 meters.
There was no way he could throw it back in time.
As Ushijima passed third base, he glanced toward center field.
The throw posed no threat at all.
Not only that—
Masuko had already reached second base.
By the time the second baseman received the relay throw…
Ushijima had already crossed home plate.
"YEAHHHH!"
Seidou's cheering squad erupted in celebration.
Another run.
Harada Masatoshi muttered quietly,
"With his speed… if he hits a ball near the outfield wall, his chance of reaching third base is almost 100%."
Carlos was known for his speed too.
But even he wasn't confident he could do the same.
Unless the outfielder made a mistake or the ball landed perfectly…
reaching third base on a deep hit like that was nearly impossible.
"Eight runs now," Shirakawa said while looking at the scoreboard.
"The chance of Yakushi catching up is almost zero."
"…Unless Ushijima gets injured like in the previous match."
Unfortunately, Shirakawa's statement wasn't entirely wrong.
Now Miyuki Kazuya, the seventh batter, stepped into the batter's box.
Sanada, however, showed no signs of being shaken by the run.
His mental toughness was obvious.
"I'm not that easy to break," Sanada said calmly.
He threw the first pitch.
A sharp pitch diving toward the low inside corner.
Smack!
The baseball slammed into the catcher's glove.
Miyuki grimaced slightly.
"Haha~…"
"That's harder to hit than I expected."
"The speed… probably around 140 km/h, right?"
Miyuki felt extremely frustrated.
This inside pitch was difficult to handle.
So this is what it feels like…
being forced into the inside corner.
Just like Ushijima said…
If you walk by the river long enough, your shoes will eventually get wet.
In the past, we were always the ones forcing the ball into the inside corner.
Now that we're the ones being pressured like this…
Miyuki clenched his bat.
It's really annoying.
Seriously annoying.
Is this karma?
Sanada quickly prepared the second pitch.
Miyuki focused intently.
He carefully observed Sanada's pitching motion.
Sanada confidently released the ball.
Now—
whether Miyuki could hit it…
remained to be seen.