Soyogi Katsumi covered his leg in pain, his body trembling as he rolled on the ground.
In a baseball game, such accidents are difficult to completely avoid. Especially in a showdown between powerhouses like Seido and Inashiro, the intensity of the competition makes them even more likely.
Before the game, the coaches of both teams had arranged for their school doctors to be on hand. The school doctors of Inashiro Industrial and Seido High School both jogged out to examine Soyogi Katsumi. Everyone in the stadium watched with worry, and the game was paused.
After the examination, the school doctor regretfully gave the signal to stop.
The injury was to his calf. There was no fracture, and it wasn't serious. However, his entire calf was already swollen, making it impossible to continue.
"He must be iced. There are no facilities here, so send him to the hospital immediately."
Soyogi Katsumi, who had calmed down after the initial pain, breathed a huge sigh of relief when he heard there would be no lasting damage. The pain in his leg suddenly felt more bearable.
"I can still play!"
The words had no credibility coming from someone who had just been rolling on the ground in agony.
Coach Kunimoto looked at him seriously and shook his head. "Don't worry about the game. Go to the hospital with peace of mind. We will definitely win today."
It wasn't just Kunimoto. The other Inashiro Industrial players all nodded firmly.
They would win. They would definitely win.
Soyogi Katsumi pursed his lips and said nothing more. He was lifted onto a stretcher and accompanied by the Director of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Club to the hospital.
The game continued. Inashiro Industrial brought in a substitute to replace Soyogi Katsumi. Because Soyogi Katsumi had been hit by a pitch, he was awarded first base. The runners already on base each advanced one base accordingly.
Narumiya Mei, who had been on third, came home. Inashiro had scored their fifth run.
Less than ten minutes after Seido tied the score, Inashiro led by one run again. And that wasn't all. The bases were still loaded, and their batters, wearing grim expressions, looked ready to fight to the death.
Before, it might have just been bluster. Now, it probably wasn't.
They were truly prepared to give everything.
Even though the Inashiro players understood that this incident couldn't be entirely blamed on Kawakami, their teammate had still been taken off the field by a hit by pitch. They couldn't remain indifferent.
The Seido players stood like stunned geese, unsure of what to do.
As the saying goes, if you often walk by the river, how can your shoes not get wet? Injuries in sports are always unavoidable. But when they actually watched someone be carried off on a stretcher, they felt a discomfort in their hearts they couldn't shake.
They didn't even know what expression to wear. Worry was certainly there, but showing it openly would feel hollow. Fake, even.
Miyuki also felt the awkwardness, but more than Soyogi Katsumi's injury, he was worried about his own partner.
Kawakami's condition hadn't been good to begin with. He had been hit repeatedly by Inashiro. They had finally committed to the bases-loaded strategy to manage the damage. And now there was a hit by pitch on top of it all.
When pitching inside, even a slight deviation can cause this kind of accident. People are not machines, and even machines cannot guarantee perfect placement on every pitch. Deviations are unavoidable, and so are accidents like this one.
Kawakami couldn't be said to bear no responsibility for that pitch. But placing all of it on him would be unfair.
That was the logical conclusion. Whether Kawakami, as the one who threw it, could think clearly enough to reach it was another matter entirely.
His pitch had sent a batter to the hospital. The school doctor had said it wasn't serious, but the examination hadn't been completed yet. How severe was the injury? That could only be determined once the X-ray results came in.
Under those circumstances, could the pitcher still pitch with a clear head?
Miyuki used the pause to talk at length with Kawakami on the mound. He kept telling him that what happened was not entirely his fault, and that in this moment especially, he needed to pitch with momentum.
"If my control is fine from here on, will everyone think that last pitch was intentional?"
Kawakami stared at Miyuki with a worried expression.
Miyuki paused.
"So, was it intentional?"
"Of course not!"
"Then there's no problem. Pitch the way you normally would."
Miyuki's words had some effect. The anxiety on Kawakami's face eased slightly.
The game resumed. After a stretch of silence, the cheering from both teams' supporters grew even louder.
"Seido! Seido!!"
"Hit it out! It's all up to you."
"Avenge Soyogi Katsumi!"
Some hot-headed individuals in the stands had gone as far as shouting the word "revenge."
Kawakami heard it.
He was already carrying guilt, and his expression shifted immediately. As he prepared to pitch, his mind kept replaying the moment the ball struck Soyogi Katsumi and he was helped off the field.
"Thwack!"
"Ball…"
The pitch missed outside the strike zone.
The ninth batter of Inashiro Industrial raised his eyebrows. He understood immediately, then stepped forward and pressed himself to the very edge of the strike zone.
Kawakami, standing on the mound, felt for the first time that the strike zone was impossibly small.
In the catcher's position, Miyuki felt his heart sink.
Was the opponent trying to completely shut down Kawakami's inside pitching?
If Kawakami couldn't pitch inside, his slider and sinker would be essentially useless. His effectiveness would drop by seventy to eighty percent. That was unacceptable.
He had to pitch inside. No need for a breaking ball; a fastball would do. Miyuki wanted to help Kawakami find his rhythm first, even though this was the worst possible moment to be finding it.
But there was no choice. Giving up inside pitches was unacceptable. And with the batter crowding the plate like that, outside pitches became hittable too.
They couldn't accept that either. So they had to push through.
The result caught Miyuki off guard.
"Ball!"
"Thwack!"
"Ball!"
"Thwack!"
"Ball!!"
"Four balls, walk!!!"
Seido had tied the score less than ten minutes ago. Now they had given up two consecutive runs. The score was 6:4.
Seido was trailing by two runs, with one out and the bases still loaded.
"Seido High School Baseball Team, requesting a player change."
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