Listening to his players' self-deprecating complaints and watching them sigh in despair, Toyosaki High School's coach suddenly clapped his hands loudly.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Cheer up!"
The players looked toward him.
"We all know Seido is strong. Drawing them in the first round is unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do about it." His voice gradually rose. "But no matter how strong they are, they're still just high school students like you!"
"In competitive sports, losing isn't frightening. What's truly embarrassing is not even having the courage to fight!"
The coach pointed toward Seido's dugout.
"No matter who the opponent is, show your fighting spirit! How can you surrender before the game has even started?"
The gloomy atmosphere eased slightly.
"And besides," the coach continued, "this Seido isn't the same team that won Koshien anymore. Their starting pitcher today isn't even the Ace — he's just a first-year!"
His eyes lit up with determination.
"Who says we don't have a chance?!"
"Score at least one run! We absolutely have to score!"
"As long as we can prevent Seido from ending the game in five innings, we can already consider that a victory worth celebrating!"
"And if we can somehow drag the game into the seventh… or even the ninth inning…"
The coach clenched his fist dramatically.
"Then this match will be our victory!"
"Everyone! Go show those Seido guys your baseball!"
After finishing his passionate speech, the coach looked at the burning determination in his players' eyes and almost admired himself.
Meanwhile, on the first-base side, in front of Seido's dugout—
"Sawamura."
Miyuki adjusted his catcher's gear and spoke seriously before heading onto the field.
"Today's opponent isn't particularly strong, but that doesn't mean you can relax. Pitch seriously. Don't do anything weird out there."
"Yes, I know."
"Good."
Miyuki nodded.
"When you pitch later, loosen up a little and trust yourself more. I'm going to call some difficult pitches today. Try to throw them confidently."
He smirked.
"If you can consistently land those pitches, you'll become a great pitcher."
"Really?!"
Sawamura's eyes immediately sparkled.
"If I can do that… can I become the Ace?"
"Hey, hey."
Kanzaki Ryou walked over while putting on his glove and immediately rubbed Sawamura's head aggressively.
"Who said you're allowed to target my Ace number already?"
He grinned arrogantly.
"You're still twenty thousand years too early to steal it from me."
Tokyo Metropolitan Autumn Tournament — Regional Qualifiers.
Seido High School vs. Toyosaki High School.
The game officially began.
Top of the first inning.
Toyosaki High School batting first.
Sawamura's appearance as the starting pitcher disappointed some spectators who had specifically come to watch Kanzaki Ryou pitch.
However, plenty of fans still liked Sawamura.
This loud, energetic first-year, who was always optimistic on the field, had already become surprisingly popular. Even if he could sometimes be clumsy, he was still dependable when it mattered.
As for another group of fans—
The fact that Kanzaki Ryou was standing in left field, much closer to the stands than usual, made them even more excited.
"Play ball!"
The moment the umpire's voice rang out, Sawamura immediately launched the first pitch.
Whoosh!
THWACK!
"Strike!"
It was a high inside pitch that nearly jammed the batter in the chest.
Whoosh!
Swish!
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Sawamura opened the game with a strikeout, instantly drawing applause from the stands.
"Nice pitch, Sawamura!"
"His form looks really good today."
"Yeah, he can even throw pitches like that now."
"And Miyuki's calls are bold as ever."
"Haha, that's the style of a championship catcher!"
After striking out the leadoff batter, Sawamura's momentum only grew stronger.
The second batter — out.
The third batter — out.
Three up, three down.
The fighting spirit Toyosaki's coach had painstakingly reignited before the game was rapidly extinguished again.
In his very first Autumn Tournament appearance, Sawamura used his pitching to prove Seido's overwhelming strength and pressure.
Then came the bottom of the first inning.
BANG!
With two runners already on base, Miyuki lined a clean single into the outfield, allowing Kuramochi to score while Kominato Haruichi advanced to third.
Runners on first and third.
Cleanup hitter at the plate.
At that moment, the entire stadium began chanting in unison.
"Kanzaki!"
"Kanzaki!"
"Kanzaki!"
BOOM!!
Like a cannon firing, Kanzaki Ryou's swing exploded through the zone.
The baseball became a streak of white light tearing across the blue sky before crashing deep into the stands.
"HOME RUN!!"
"Captain!!"
"Kanzaki, nice hit!"
"So cool!"
"A three-run shot!!"
The crowd instantly erupted.
With a single swing, Kanzaki Ryou extended the score to 4–0.
Afterward, Arima Kazusa reached base, bringing Maezono Kenta to the plate.
Perhaps because it was his first official appearance, Maezono looked noticeably tense.
He swung through the first pitch.
The second became a foul ball.
Standing on first base, Arima Kazusa frowned slightly.
He could tell Maezono's timing was completely off.
So—
Arima decided to force the issue himself.
He stole second base.
"Safe!!"
The bold steal immediately earned loud applause from the crowd.
Then, unfortunately, Maezono still failed to make solid contact on the third pitch and grounded out.
One out.
Runner on second.
Next, Shirasu Kenjiro lined a clean single into right field, allowing Arima to advance smoothly to third base.
One out.
Runners on first and third.
At that moment, Tojo Hideaki stepped into the batter's box.
This was his first official game.
His first official at-bat.
And immediately, he was facing a scoring opportunity.
Honestly—
He was nervous.
"Come on, Tojo!" Arima shouted encouragement from third base.
Tojo took a deep breath and focused on the mound.
Meanwhile, Shirasu edged away from first base, deliberately putting pressure on the pitcher.
Whoosh!
Tojo swung.
Missed.
"Don't rush!"
"Watch the ball carefully!"
"You can do it!"
Hearing his teammates' encouragement, Tojo steadied himself for the next pitch.
When the second ball came, he calmly shortened his swing and pushed the ball lightly toward right field.
What he didn't notice was—
The moment his bat made contact, Arima had already sprinted home from third base.
Hit-and-run!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Arima raced across home plate safely.
Although Shirasu was thrown out at second, Tojo successfully reached first base and recorded an RBI.
After that, Sawamura entered the batter's box full of spirit—
And promptly struck out swinging.
The first inning ended with Seido leading 5–0.
"Tsk," Kanzaki Ryou muttered unhappily. "That inning was kind of lacking. Only five runs."
Miyuki looked at him speechlessly.
"Can you stop being so greedy? The opponent's probably already crying."
He shook his head helplessly.
The current lineup might not be as overwhelming as the one led by the third-years, but it was still extremely dangerous.
Nine batters.
Seven runners on base.
And this guy still wasn't satisfied?
"What do you know?" Kanzaki Ryou replied proudly. "As captain, my standards for you are very high."
Then he pointed at Miyuki.
"I'm talking about you specifically, Miyuki Kazuya. Do you know why your hit earlier fell just short of being a home run?"
Miyuki frowned instinctively.
"Why?"
Kanzaki grinned wickedly.
"Because you're bad~"
"…Do you want to die?!"
The Ace and catcher bickered while casually putting on their gloves.
The game moved rapidly into the next inning.
And before anyone realized it—
The score had already become 9–0.
Toyosaki High School's dream of "surviving five innings without a mercy-rule loss" was now hanging by a thread.
One more run.
That was all Seido needed to completely shatter it.