"Top of the first inning. Akikawa Academy at bat. First batter, center fielder, Ninomiya."
As the announcer's voice rang out, both teams prepared themselves.
From Akikawa Academy's dugout, their teammates immediately began cheering for the batter stepping into the box.
"Keep your eyes on the ball, Ninomiya!"
"No matter what, it can't be faster than the pitching machine!"
Standing on the mound, Furuya Satoru naturally heard them and frowned in confusion.
"A pitching machine?"
Coach Ogata, meanwhile, wore an as expected expression.
"So it really is that first-year pitcher, Furuya, starting for them. Even in the fourth round, Seido still isn't using their ace from the beginning. They really do have a deep pitching staff."
Shunshin, calm as ever, gave his own assessment.
"Personally, I don't think that freshman pitcher is completely reliable. In the previous two games he started, he was pulled before the fifth inning ended and hasn't pitched a complete game yet. There must be a reason Seido is hesitant to leave him on the mound for too long."
Coach Ogata nodded. "I see. That makes sense."
Shunshin continued, his voice level and unhurried.
"If that's the case, then we can exploit that weakness. Force him off the mound early, seize control of the game, and make Seido play at our pace."
"Play ball!"
Miyuki Kazuya crouched behind the plate, calmly studying the batter in front of him.
He isn't choking up on the bat. They must have already studied Furuya's pitching from the last game. Fine, let's first see how he reacts to the opening pitch. Go with your favorite high heater—right here.
Miyuki set his mitt at the target.
After the sign was exchanged, Furuya began his motion.
Whoosh!
Boom!
The baseball tore into Miyuki's glove like a beam of light.
The explosive sound echoed across the stadium like thunder.
"Ball!"
Ninomiya froze for an instant, his thoughts racing.
What was that? That's totally different from a pitching machine. The ball feels alive—it rushes straight at you. It's intimidating…
Then he steadied himself.
Still, it's not enough to make me panic. Yesterday's special practice worked. I'm getting used to this. As long as I stay calm, overcome the fear, and don't swing recklessly, I can handle this.
The crowd buzzed with excitement. Many of them had come specifically to watch Furuya pitch.
"That pitch is insane!"
"The sound when it hit the mitt—terrifying!"
"That pitcher's really just a first-year?"
Miyuki tossed the ball back to Furuya, but the uneasy feeling rising in his chest only grew stronger.
Even after that pitch, he's still holding the bat long. He's not being pressured at all…
Furuya delivered the next pitch.
Snap!
"Ball!"
Another pitch.
Snap!
"Ball!"
One more.
Snap!
"Ball!"
"Ball four! Take your base!"
Just as Miyuki had feared, Ninomiya walked to first without taking a single swing.
The moment he reached base, cheers erupted from Akikawa's dugout.
"Nice eye, Ninomiya!"
"Well done!"
In Seido's dugout, several people had already realized what Akikawa was trying to do, including Coach Kataoka and Chris.
"Second batter, third baseman, Hashimoto."
Hashimoto stepped into the box with complete confidence.
The moment Miyuki saw how he gripped the bat low at the handle, his heart sank.
This grip too… so that's it. They're not planning to swing at all. The runner isn't even preparing to steal. They're going to let every borderline pitch go, force Furuya deeper into the count, wear down his stamina, and wait for him to self-destruct.
Even Owada Akiko, watching from the stands, could tell that Furuya was already in trouble.
Snap!
"Ball!"
"Furuya's in serious trouble right from the start," she said. "Before, batters would get baited into chasing his high pitches. But now it feels like Akikawa has completely seen through him."
Mine Fujio shook his head.
"No, they haven't figured out Furuya's pitches themselves. Akikawa's strategy is simply not to swing at all—whether the pitch is a strike or a ball."
Another pitch.
Snap!
"Ball!"
It was a straightforward strategy, but an extremely effective one.
By refusing to swing, Akikawa was gambling that Furuya's shaky control would beat him before his stuff could overwhelm them. Their goal was clear: exhaust him, disrupt him, and force Seido to replace him as early as possible.
Unless Furuya could consistently throw strikes, there was no direct answer to it.
Another pitch.
Snap!
"Ball!"
The Seido supporters in the stands held their breath.
"That's three straight balls!"
"Furuya, what's wrong?!"
"Make him chase like before!"
"This is bad… really bad for Seido."
Compared to Seido's tense silence, Akikawa's dugout was full of energy.
"Nice!"
"Great patience!"
"He can't find the zone at all!"
Shunshin watched quietly.
As expected. A pitcher without stable control can't dominate a game. Bringing him down is only a matter of time.
On the mound, Furuya's irritation began to show. Between the scorching heat and the string of missed pitches, his breathing was growing heavier.
Behind the plate, Miyuki was also making his own calculation.
I knew this day would come sooner or later. If he can't overcome a situation like this, then he'll never truly earn the right to stay on the mound.
With that thought, Miyuki made up his mind and flashed the next sign.
A forkball.
Furuya blinked in surprise.
A forkball? At a time like this?
He didn't understand the call. But because it was Miyuki, he trusted it without hesitation and threw.
Snap!
"Ball four! Take your base!"
The ball hit the dirt before it even reached the plate, then bounced into Miyuki's mitt.
The entire stadium was baffled.
When the batter clearly wasn't going to swing, why call for a breaking pitch that had even less chance of landing in the zone?
In Akikawa's dugout, the players couldn't help reacting.
"That battery is getting more and more unstable."
"If this keeps up, they'll fall apart on their own."
Only Shunshin seemed to sense that something was off.
No… something about that pitch was strange.
But even he couldn't immediately pinpoint why.
At that moment, the situation had already turned extremely unfavorable for Seido High.
No outs.
Runners on first and second.
And Furuya had issued back-to-back walks without a single batter offering at the ball.