Chapter 324: The Battle on the Bases
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
"Ah! Right at the shortstop!"
Miyuki walked off the field with a blank look on his face.
"You really lived up to expectations—out on the first pitch!" Sendo laughed.
"Shut up!"
"Two outs!"
"Two outs!"
Thanks to Miyuki's contribution, Yokohama Kouhoku finally got some breathing room.
The situation turned into two outs with no runners on.
After that, Ban'i only managed to last three pitches, hitting a fly ball to third base.
Yokohama Kouhoku was a lineup with good overall balance—you couldn't look down on them just because it was the bottom of the order.
In the third inning, Furuya issued his first four-pitch walk of the day.
After that, the eighth batter, catcher Shiraha, laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner.
The ninth batter, Ino, was struck out.
Furuya picked up his sixth strikeout in Seidou's first Koshien game.
The inning ended with two outs and a runner left on second.
And now, the lineup was turning over.
"How many pitches?" Coach Kataoka asked.
"Thirty-two pitches over three innings!"
"Let Furuya finish this inning. Kominato, go call Sawamura—he'll pitch next inning."
"Yes!"
Changing pitchers here?
Kominato ran toward the bullpen with mixed feelings.
"Movement in the Seidou dugout? Looks like they want to conserve Furuya's stamina—the schedule ahead is brutal." Miyuki noticed as well, and understood it immediately.
"Then I won't hold back—come on!"
"Pff!"
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
"Strike!"
"First pitch—fast forkball! The batter swings and misses!!!"
"Boom!"
"Strike!"
"Second pitch—another fast forkball!"
"Piu!"
"BOOM!!!"
"Strike!"
"Batter out! Change sides!"
"A high fastball—the batter couldn't find the timing at all, a swinging strikeout!!! Only a runner stranded on second!"
"Keep it up! We'll definitely get hits—just lock this inning down!"
The buck-toothed coach encouraged his players.
"Yes!!!"
...
"Bottom of the third inning! Seidou High's offense!
Ninth batter—pitcher, Furuya!"
"Hit it! Monster Prince!"
The crowd erupted when Furuya came up—not because they expected a hit, but purely in support of the power pitcher.
"Furuya! Just take three swings and come back!"
"You're not qualified to say that!"
Miyauchi in the bullpen and Kuramochi in the on-deck circle shot back at Sawamura simultaneously.
"Ping!"
"Furuya connects on the first fastball! A deep drive to right field—he easily reaches first base! That's Seidou's third hit! Now the top of the order comes up for the second time!"
"No way—he can hit too?!"
"Is he really a first-year?! A monster!"
"Alright… let's keep pitching."
Sawamura got instantly slapped by reality and turned a little red.
...
No one had time to pay attention to him anyway.
"Leadoff! Shortstop—Kuramochi!"
"First baseman! Third baseman! Watch for a safety bunt!"
Shiraha stood up and shouted.
They'd already seen Kuramochi's speed in his last at-bat.
Now even a simple sacrifice bunt to move Furuya to second had to be treated seriously.
"If that's the case, no need for small tricks. Let's go head-on. We're the ones in the lead."
Coach Kataoka flashed a sign.
Damn it… there are way too many troublesome batters in this lineup.
Watching Kominato in the on-deck circle and the calm, composed core batters in the dugout, Shiraha felt miserable.
After steadying himself, he gave the signs again.
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
First pitch—inside fastball!
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
Second pitch—outside curve!
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Third pitch—outside fastball.
Because of the previous curveball, Kuramochi hesitated the moment he saw the ball go outside—
that split second cost him his swing.
"This is bad!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
"Slider!" Kuramochi grit his teeth.
He could only drop the bat and run.
"Pop!"
A grounder back to the pitcher.
Ino fielded it cleanly and threw behind him—
the shortstop was already waiting.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ku! Ku! Ku!"
"Pop!"
"Safe!"
Kuramochi barely avoided the double play with his speed.
At least that was a relief.
It wasn't a bad trade—Seidou essentially used one out to swap the runner from Furuya to Kuramochi.
With Kuramochi on base, the pressure on the pitcher increased dramatically.
Even without stealing, just forcing constant pickoffs and making the pitcher use the set position—with weaker velocity—was already an advantage.
Yokohama Kouhoku couldn't just let Kuramochi stroll to second either.
With dangerous hitters behind him, putting him into scoring position was far too risky.
Stopping Sendo was impossible—but Kuramochi was still someone they could try to contain.
"Second batter! Second baseman—Kominato Ryousuke!"
"Onii-san!!!"
Sawamura waved his left arm wildly.
Sawamura was unusually hyped today—especially after learning he'd be pitching next inning.
"Sigh…"
Miyauchi let out a quiet sigh. He was seriously
considering giving up on this kid.
"They're watching closely."
Onii-san observed the defense—Kuramochi was
being guarded tightly.
The pitcher kept glancing toward first, and Yokohama Kouhoku's defense was solid.
The pitcher's pickoff move was good—even Kuramochi couldn't act recklessly.
But Seidou's middle infield combo was just as strong.
If one person wasn't enough, then two would do.
Kuramochi took a bold lead.
Even though he couldn't stray too far, just distracting the pitcher was enough for Onii-san to find his chance.
"Pff!"
"STEAL!"
Kuramochi broke at the moment of release.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
Kuramochi immediately scrambled back to first.
Shiraha stared at Kuramochi dancing off the bag and the technician at the plate—his head was pounding.
But Ino shot him a firm look.
"Trust me."
"Hmph."
Seeing that look, Shiraha smiled slightly and confidently called for the second pitch.
Kuramochi again showed signs of taking off—
but inside, he was panicking.
If he misjudged a pitch versus a pickoff and ran recklessly, he'd be caught.
He didn't have Sendo's absurd dynamic vision.
Then—he saw Ino's shoulder twitch.
Pure instinct kicked in, and he bolted for second.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
But the expected pickoff never came.
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