Whoosh!
Mukai's second pitch came screaming toward Kuramochi's face.
"Whoa!"
Kuramochi reacted instantly, twisting his body and ducking just in time to avoid the baseball.
Thwack!
The catcher caught it cleanly.
"Ball!"
The umpire made the call without hesitation.
There was no doubt about it—that pitch was well inside.
Startled, Kuramochi glared at the pitcher on the mound.
"That was dangerous, you bastard!"
Feeling the glare, Mukai Taiyo simply smirked.
"My apologies~"
Kuramochi clicked his tongue and forced himself to calm down.
The third pitch came immediately.
Thwack!
"Strike!"
Kuramochi frowned.
"Not a single easy pitch to hit... damn it."
He tightened his grip on the bat.
From Seido's dugout, Ushijima watched quietly.
"First, a low inside pitch."
"Then one up and in."
"And now a low pitch on the outside corner."
His eyes remained fixed on Mukai.
"His release point is already deceptive, and every pitch is painted on the corners."
He laughed to himself.
"Honestly... if I had that kind of control, I'd skip high school and go straight to the pros."
His half-joking comment made Miyuki grin.
Coach Kataoka silently agreed.
If Ushijima possessed Mukai's pinpoint control on top of everything else...
He would be completely unstoppable at the high school level.
At that point, continuing to play high school baseball would simply be unfair.
Unfortunately...
Control wasn't something that could be wished into existence.
Miyuki nodded.
"When a pitcher consistently paints the corners, the batter starts feeling like the strike zone is much bigger than it actually is."
As a catcher, he admired pitchers with elite command more than anyone.
Kuramochi had already fallen behind with two strikes.
Now...
He could no longer wait for the perfect pitch.
Mukai wasted no time.
Whoosh!
The fourth pitch left his hand.
Outside corner...
Kuramochi recognised it immediately and swung at the low outside pitch.
But just before reaching the plate...
The baseball suddenly broke farther away.
Instead of clipping the corner, it darted completely outside the strike zone.
Kuramochi's bat sliced through empty air.
"Screwball!"
Thwack!
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire's call echoed through the stadium.
Kuramochi silently picked up his bat and walked back to the dugout.
Shirasu became Seido's second batter.
Unfortunately...
He fared no better.
Mukai's low release point and deceptive movement completely disrupted his timing.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
Just five pitches later, Shirasu was heading back to the bench.
Kuramochi had lasted four pitches.
Shirasu lasted five.
"The ball stays even lower than it looked on video."
After removing his batting gloves, Shirasu shared his observations with his teammates.
Ushijima and Miyuki exchanged a glance before both looking toward the batter's box.
Kominato Haruichi was stepping in.
"Let's go, Haruichi!"
Sawamura shouted enthusiastically.
Haruichi gripped his bat tightly as he watched Mukai prepare his delivery.
Thwack!
Swinging at the very first pitch, Haruichi made solid contact.
"Foul!"
The ball drifted just outside the line.
Mukai looked at him in surprise.
Haruichi calmly reset his stance.
He had already figured out that Mukai's pitches travelled on an unusually low plane.
He simply needed to find the right timing.
Whoosh!
The second pitch arrived.
This time, Haruichi held back.
Judging from the trajectory...
It looked like it would miss outside.
But just before reaching home plate...
The ball tailed back.
It barely grazed the edge of the strike zone.
"Strike!"
The umpire raised his hand immediately.
Haruichi stared at Mukai.
"Not only does he work the corners..."
"He even uses the full depth of the strike zone."
"His command is incredible."
The third pitch came.
Crack!
Haruichi put a good swing on it.
Unfortunately, the ball was hit straight at a defender.
The opportunity disappeared.
"Three outs!"
"Side retired!"
The first inning came to an end.
The crowd immediately began discussing the game.
"Both teams went down in order."
Seto looked at his companion.
"Koushuu, looks like neither side could get anything going."
Okumura Koushuu nodded slightly.
"The second inning will probably decide the momentum."
"The top of Teito's lineup is over."
"Now it's their cleanup hitter."
"Do you think he'll get a hit?"
Okumura simply continued watching the field without answering.
Inside Seido's dugout, Haruichi removed his helmet.
"The movement is even nastier than it looked on film."
"Yeah..."
Ushijima picked up his glove as he prepared to take the field.
"This is going to be a tough game."
Before heading out, Miyuki turned to Furuya.
"The cleanup hitter is leading off this inning."
"This is the heart of their lineup."
"Don't tense up."
Furuya simply nodded and jogged toward the mound.
As Seido took the field...
The weather suddenly changed again.
The rain, which had eased while Seido was batting, intensified once more.
Sheets of rain poured across the stadium.
The timing couldn't have been worse.
Heavy rain was every pitcher's nightmare.
Even so...
Furuya remained composed.
Facing Teito's cleanup hitter, his first pitch missed the zone.
"Ball!"
The second pitch, however, found the strike zone.
The cleanup hitter attacked immediately.
Crack!
The ball soared into the air.
But it was only a routine fly ball.
Furuya's fastball had completely overpowered the bat.
Toujou took two quick steps forward from left field, settled underneath it, and made the catch with ease.
"Out!"
As Teito's cleanup hitter returned to the dugout, Mukai asked,
"Well?"
Kan Kengo flexed his tingling hands.
"...It's unbelievably heavy."
"It felt like I hit a shot put instead of a baseball."
His expression was filled with disbelief.
"I've never felt that kind of pressure from a pitch before."
"The moment I made contact..."
"It was like getting struck by lightning."
Boom!
As if on cue, a deafening clap of thunder exploded across the sky.
Mukai couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Does thunder always appear whenever our captain says something dramatic?
Meanwhile, Furuya stayed locked in.
He retired the next batter as well.
Against Teito's sixth hitter, the ball was sharply driven toward the infield.
Kominato fielded it cleanly at second base.
Without hesitation, he fired across the diamond.
Thwack!
"Out!"
Three batters.
Three outs.
For the second consecutive inning...
Seido retired Teito in order.