"SWOOSH!"
The white baseball shot toward the plate at incredible speed.
Miyuki Kazuya had only swung his bat about a third of the way when he suddenly noticed something strange.
As the ball approached the plate, it began drifting toward the outside corner.
"Cutter!"
Smack!
Before Miyuki could adjust his swing, the ball had already slammed into the catcher's glove on the outside corner.
Sanada grinned from the mound as he watched Miyuki freeze mid-swing.
"You thought it was going to be a Shootball, didn't you?"
Two strikes already.
Miyuki felt extremely frustrated.
Now he had been completely cornered.
Everyone in the dugout was watching the duel between the two players.
"How's his Shootball?" Yuki asked while glancing at his younger teammate.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had just faced it earlier.
Although he had managed to reach base, he hadn't hit the ball the way he wanted.
Even Yuki Tetsuya had made solid contact earlier, but he had been unlucky and was caught.
So far, only the two of them had truly faced Sanada's Shootball.
"Sanada's Shootball is around 137 to 139 km/h," Ushijima said calmly.
"It hasn't quite reached 140 km/h yet."
Leaning against the railing, he continued observing the battle on the field.
"I guessed he would throw a Shootball earlier and he did."
"But instead of coming toward my chest, the ball dropped low into the inside corner."
"That's why my swing didn't connect properly."
"His control with that pitch is excellent."
"But the speed is still a bit lacking."
"If that pitch were over 140 km/h, it would be extremely difficult to deal with."
While they were discussing it, Miyuki and Sanada continued their intense duel at the plate.
In the end—
Sanada's Shootball won the battle.
"Out! One out!"
"Hahaha! One out, Sanada-senpai!"
The ever-excited Raichi Todoroki shouted enthusiastically.
Masuko was still on base, waiting for his teammates to bring him home.
After striking out, Miyuki returned to the dugout and commented:
"Breaking balls really depend on the pitcher's personal style."
"Even if they're technically the same type of pitch, differences in height, finger length, strength, arm angle, and pitching habits all create subtle variations."
"In the end, every pitch develops its own unique characteristics."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Next up was Shirasu, the eighth batter.
Unfortunately, he was quickly retired as well.
Then it was Furuya's turn.
But his result wasn't much better.
After only two pitches, he was sent back to the dugout.
In the end, Masuko-senpai was still stranded on base.
This only proved one thing—
Sanada's ability as a pitcher was truly impressive.
End of the third inning
Yakushi High School: 0 - 0 - 0
Seidou High School: 7 - 0 - 1
Score: 8–0
Top of the fourth inning.
Yakushi High School's turn to attack.
"Raichi… get on base."
Coach Todoroki wanted to say more.
But he stopped himself.
He didn't want to put too much pressure on his son.
Still—
If Raichi couldn't get on base…
then the game was practically over.
They were already down eight runs.
If they couldn't start catching up now, the game might end early.
If Seidou scored two more runs in the fourth inning…
a ten-run mercy rule could end the match in the fifth inning.
In the first inning, their lineup had been completely crushed.
All nine batters had failed to reach base.
Coach Todoroki couldn't help but regret it.
He had underestimated this international student.
And because of that…
Yakushi had fallen into this desperate situation.
He had also overestimated Sanada's pitching—
and underestimated Ushijima Wakatoshi's strength.
"Haha!"
"This is the first time I've faced such an amazing pitcher!"
"This time, I'm going to smash him!"
Raichi Todoroki grinned wildly as he carried his bat toward the batter's box.
Meanwhile, in Seidou's dugout, the players began putting on their defensive gear.
"Hey, Ushijima," Miyuki said.
"This inning starts with Raichi again."
"This time, I'm going to call for different pitches."
"Last time you struck him out with just three four-seam fastballs."
"He still hasn't seen your Cutter, Shootball, Two-Seam, or Sinker."
"There's a good chance we can shut him down again."
Ushijima nodded calmly.
Even without Miyuki saying it, he already understood.
Raichi Todoroki getting on base right now would depend purely on luck.
"Let's go. Time to defend."
"Ohhh!"
Led by their captain, the Seidou players took the field.
Ushijima stepped onto the pitcher's mound and bent down to pick up the rosin bag.
He squeezed it lightly, then looked toward the batter's box.
Raichi Todoroki was slowly stepping up to the plate.
"Haha!"
Raichi's strange laughter echoed through the stadium.
Ushijima frowned slightly.
He really hated that laugh.
Laugh while you can.
You won't be laughing for long.
Miyuki crouched behind the plate, carefully observing Raichi's expression.
Finally, he set his target.
"Let's start by leaving a strong impression."
Ushijima nodded slightly.
Then he lifted his arm and delivered the first pitch.
SWOOSH!
The white baseball shot toward the outside corner.
The speed was impressive.
But compared to the three pitches Raichi had faced in his first at-bat—
it felt slower.
"Too slow!!!"
Raichi immediately swung with full force.
Boom!
But the moment he swung—
he realized something was wrong.
The fastball suddenly drifted sideways as it approached the plate.
Crack!
The slight lateral movement caused the very tip of Raichi's bat to barely graze the ball.
The ball flew high toward the netting beyond third base.
"Foul!"
The umpire quickly waved his hand.
"Out of bounds!"
Raichi still laughed.
"Haha!"
But this time—
cold sweat was already forming on his temples.
Damn…
That Two-Seam is nasty.
The speed is even faster than Sanada-senpai Fastball.
And the movement is sharp.
The sideways drift happens instantly.
And the ball feels heavy.
I didn't realize this guy's pitches were this hard to hit.
In his first at-bat, he had struck out without touching the ball.
So he hadn't realized how heavy Ushijima's pitches really were.
"This is bad… Raichi is being suppressed," Coach Todoroki muttered.
"Even though his raw Fastball speed isn't the highest…"
"Seidou's international student throws extremely fast variations of other pitches."
"A pitch faster than Sanada's Fastball and it still moves at the end."
"Even Raichi is struggling against that?"
Then he shook his head.
"No."
"This is just the first time Raichi has seen the Two-Seam."
"He hasn't found the timing yet."
"If he watches a few more pitches…"
"He'll definitely adjust."
Coach Todoroki was extremely confident in his son.
After all—
Raichi Todoroki was his greatest weapon.