Double play.
Zhang Han completed the double play and helped the team hold the line in the ninth inning.
Inside the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout, the players finally let out the breath they had been holding. The situation just moments ago had been extremely dangerous. Although they had given up one run, judging from Osaka Kiryuu's momentum, they could easily have surrendered more.
Even conceding a single run had pushed them to the brink.
14:11.
The difference between the two teams was once again three runs.
As for Seido High School, whether they still had a chance was difficult to determine. At this stage, it was not only a matter of strength. It was also a matter of luck.
In such a fierce showdown, luck sometimes carried more weight than pure ability.
Meanwhile, in the Osaka Kiryuu High School Baseball Team dugout, the players roared repeatedly. The closer the game drew to its conclusion, the more animated they became. Their excitement bordered on frenzy. If baseball allowed physical confrontations like a street fight, they might have already stormed the field.
"This kind of experience is something Seido High School Baseball Team does not possess."
They might have encountered similar pressure in regional tournaments or practice games. They might even have prepared countermeasures. But Koshien was different. Plans that worked in regional competitions often failed under the glare of the national stage.
Fujio and several other media reporters were not optimistic about Seido's chances of a comeback. Although Seido's offense in the eighth inning had been stunning, clawing back three runs in a single surge, that brilliance did not convince them.
They were not optimistic. Not at all.
The current situation was not completely decided, but Seido's opportunities were extremely limited. First, at least one of the first three batters in the ninth inning needed to get on base. Only then could the batting order cycle back to the three core hitters.
Even if that condition were met, a second test remained. With outs accumulating and failure possible at any moment, how much of their true strength could the players actually unleash under such crushing pressure?
For Seido High School Baseball Team to turn the game around, numerous preconditions had to align perfectly. If even one of them failed, defeat would be inevitable.
This was not a casual game.
No one could guarantee flawless execution in such circumstances.
It tested not only technical skill but also mental resilience.
From a probabilistic standpoint, Seido's chance of failure was at least ninety percent.
Unless a miracle occurred, a comeback would be extraordinarily difficult.
Under this suffocating atmosphere, the game entered the bottom of the ninth inning.
Seido High School Baseball Team came to bat.
Osaka Kiryuu, as their opponent, showed no signs of complacency. Their momentum remained overwhelming.
"Leave it to us. We will stop them."
"Let him hit it."
"Go for it."
As soon as Tachi Hiromi stepped onto the mound, his teammates' voices followed him.
Their encouragement acted like fuel, instantly elevating his condition to another level.
"Hehe."
A standard ghost-like smile spread across his face.
Tachi Hiromi's mindset was not fully mature. That was both a weakness and a strength. If the situation tilted slightly against him, he might crumble. But if he received encouragement or gained confidence from a strong pitch, he could revive immediately.
Right now, he was fully revived.
The devilish smile on his face matched his extraordinary state.
"Whoosh!"
On the mound, Tachi Hiromi appeared to channel all the strength in his body into the fingertips that gripped the ball.
He delivered his most powerful and satisfying pitch of the game.
The white ball cut through the air and appeared before Tanaka in the blink of an eye.
As the captain of Seido High School Baseball Team and one of its leaders, Tanaka understood the weight pressing on his shoulders. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do.
Swing decisively.
Strike cleanly.
Set the tone.
But knowing and executing were two very different things.
He was strong, but he was not one of the three monsters at the heart of Seido's lineup. He could not simply swing at will and expect results. He needed time to observe. He needed to assess the pitch. He needed to calculate.
So he did not swing at the first pitch.
The ball streaked past him and slammed into Shibata's glove.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
The pitch was nearly perfect, deviating less than five centimeters from the center of the strike zone.
He had let such a pitch go.
Regret flashed across Tanaka's face before he could suppress it.
In Osaka Kiryuu's dugout, the shrewd Matsumoto narrowed his eyes.
"The first out is within reach."
The more critical the game, the more each action represented life or death for the team.
At such moments, a player's desire to win surged to unprecedented heights. Their sensitivity sharpened. Even simple emotions intensified under the pressure.
Koshien was often described as a magical place that could transform players in a short time.
But it had another magic.
It could also leave a player with lifelong regret.
Tanaka did not even realize how anxious he had become. When he finally swung, he did so a fraction of a second too early.
A difference measured in hundredths of a second was enough.
"Ping!"
The ball soared high toward left field.
Osaka Kiryuu's left fielder seemed to anticipate it. He had already positioned himself beneath the descending ball and caught it calmly.
"Thwack!"
"Out!"
Osaka Kiryuu High School Baseball Team was now only two outs away from victory.
The Seido players felt their nerves tighten further. Their breathing grew uneven.
Two outs left.
The situation had reached its most critical point.
Worse still, the next batter did not inspire much confidence.
"Second batter, pitcher, Tanba!"
Tanba's pitching was not particularly reassuring in this game. His batting was even less so. In Seido's lineup, his turn at bat was largely symbolic.
No one expected him to deliver a decisive hit.
Coach Kataoka certainly understood that.
He stepped forward and signaled for a substitution.
"Seido High School Baseball Team requests a pinch hitter."
A tall figure who had already finished warming up strode toward the batter's box.
Sanada.
A third-year and the strongest hitter among Seido's first-string substitutes.
"Sanada, it's up to you!"
"Drive it out!"
"Show them Seido's spirit!"
Cheers erupted from the dugout.
Yet under these circumstances, those cheers did not sound inspiring.
Instead, they carried a hint of desperation.
It was as if Seido High School Baseball Team had already reached the edge of a cliff, clinging to their final hope.
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