Osaka Kiryuu won the rock paper scissors and chose to bat first.
The Seido High School Baseball Team players stood in formation, ready and waiting.
Although both teams had held back much of their strength during practice games, everyone had a clear understanding of each other's basic offensive and defensive patterns. Sometimes, even observing games that had already been given up on and played only with substitute players could still provide valuable insight.
While they did not know the specific characteristics of each main player, they could generally identify clues from defensive formations and offensive methods. In other words, they could figure out their opponent's patterns and routines.
Mastering those two aspects provided a significant advantage during a game.
For Seido and Osaka Kiryuu, they were extremely familiar with each other's patterns and styles. After all, they had played two or three games every year for many years. It would have been strange if they were not familiar by now.
No matter which players were swapped in, the overall style did not change much.
Based on that, the offensive and defensive patterns they formulated were also well understood by both sides.
As soon as the game began, both teams went straight for the kill.
There was no probing phase. They immediately used their decisive strategies.
"Ping!"
Osaka Kiryuu's first batter, a player who had not appeared before among the Seido High School teammates' observations, made solid contact.
By the time he hit the ball, the Seido players had only just realized what was happening.
Any Director would envy Osaka Kiryuu's Director. He was simply too fortunate.
Other teams had to rack their brains and search everywhere to find a talented prospect. Even if they found one, they could not guarantee recruiting him successfully. They also had to constantly guard against poaching.
Zhang Han had originally only been slightly famous, and not many people truly paid attention to him. Ichidai San had paid a high price to recruit him. It seemed like they were about to succeed, but in the end, he was still brought to Seido by Takashima Rei.
In typical powerhouse teams, such incidents were common.
But at Osaka Kiryuu, such situations rarely happened. Even if they did, it was usually Osaka Kiryuu recruiting players from other schools. Being able to form a star team composed of specially admitted students every year was no small matter.
That was Osaka Kiryuu's foundation.
Now, a strong player suddenly appeared, someone who had not shown himself before. In other teams, that might be difficult to understand. At Osaka Kiryuu, however, it was considered normal.
They simply had too many excellent players. A minor adjustment would not significantly affect their overall strength.
On the contrary, it could catch opponents off guard.
Just like now.
Seido High School had never expected to be disrupted by a newly introduced player.
They felt indignant and wanted to teach their opponent a lesson.
But before they could react, they were struck again.
"Ping!"
Osaka Kiryuu's second batter stepped into the box and took a bunt stance.
This so called Cosmic Team had cheered loudly while chanting slogans earlier. When they glared at Seido before the game, they carried themselves with the arrogance and presence of a powerhouse.
Zhang Han had originally thought they were simply proud.
He did not expect that once the game began, they would act differently.
The batter, who appeared ready to bunt and advance the runner on first base, suddenly pulled the bat back and swung instead.
It was a fake bunt.
The Seido High School players felt completely unsettled.
That tactic had always been one of their specialties. Somehow, Osaka Kiryuu had learned it as well.
Just thinking about it made them furious.
Whether they liked it or not, the result was clear. With that hit, the situation on the field changed immediately.
No outs. Runners on first and third.
Since Hidezawa's pitching had improved significantly, Seido had not faced such a crisis in a long time.
"Hidezawa's pitching seems off."
The Seido players quickly sensed the seriousness of the situation.
They had experienced the consequences of a pitcher struggling before. They understood it very well.
"It's not Hidezawa's problem. The opponent we are facing today is simply too strong."
Every player in Osaka Kiryuu's lineup had the strength of a star.
Although many of Seido's batters were also star players, even more than half of the lineup, they could not achieve what Osaka Kiryuu had accomplished, which was fielding an entire team of star level players.
Even for Hidezawa, suppressing such a lineup would not be easy.
Coach Kataoka and the Seido players did not want to give up runs first.
Even with runners on first and third and no outs, they refused to surrender.
Especially Hidezawa.
He would not compromise.
No outs, runners on first and third.
So what?
He still would not allow them to score.
Hidezawa gripped the baseball tightly and delivered the pitch.
At catcher, Miyuki felt deeply shaken.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he sensed that Hidezawa was not as composed today as he had been in the previous two games.
He seemed too eager to perform well.
If that mindset was controlled properly, it could lead to success. If not, it could become dangerous.
There was a real possibility that Hidezawa could lose his composure.
In today's game, Seido already held a disadvantage.
To reverse that situation, two conditions had to be met.
First, Hidezawa needed to display the same form he had shown previously. If their ace pitcher collapsed, everything would fall apart.
Second, their batting lineup had to unleash even greater strength than before.
Only if both conditions were satisfied would they have a chance to turn the game around and win.
Before the game, the Seido players had thought this through carefully. They were confident that raising their batting performance would not be a problem.
Therefore, the most important factor was ensuring that Hidezawa did not collapse.
They had prepared mentally.
But reality proved harsh.
What they feared most happened immediately.
As soon as the game started, Osaka Kiryuu attacked fiercely while Hidezawa was still finding his rhythm and had not fully settled in.
Seido's response was not slow. They reacted quickly and tried to stabilize the situation.
However, they were still caught off guard by Osaka Kiryuu's batters.
Two runs were conceded at the very beginning.
The score became two to zero.
Seido trailed by two runs.
There were several contributing factors.
But the most important one was Osaka Kiryuu's strength.
Over the past month, Seido had faced many strong teams.
Yet none of them compared to the one standing before them now.
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