In the bottom of the first inning, it was Seidou High School's turn to attack.
In the stands, Seidou's supporters were filled with excitement and tension. Their opponent was the so-called strongest dark horse, and although they shouted confidently, to say they weren't nervous would be a lie.
No matter what anyone said, everyone knew the truth—any team that could reach Koshien, especially one capable of consecutive wins, couldn't be underestimated.
But because of Zhou Hao's presence, Seidou's supporters felt deep down that this Ikeda High School team posed little threat to them.
"You think you can score off Zhou Hao? Keep dreaming!"
"Train for another eight hundred years first!"
In that fired-up atmosphere, Seidou's leadoff batter stepped into the box. The supporters' expectations were sky-high.
"Go all out!"
"Don't give them a chance!"
"Knock it out of the park!"
Listening to the cheers, Matsumoto tightened his grip on the bat and focused on his opponent.
Zhou Hao's dominant pitching earlier hadn't just strengthened the faith of Seidou's fans—it had also deeply shaken Ikeda's morale.
"There's only one chance. I absolutely can't miss it!"
Matsumoto's aura was powerful; he looked like he could crush the ball with a single swing.
On the mound stood Akahoshi, Ikeda's ace. He was well-built, though not particularly explosive in appearance. Yet such a player was the ace of this dark horse team.
Akahoshi readied his stance. From his motion alone, it was impossible to see anything special about his pitch. Matsumoto couldn't sense it either.
"Whoosh!"
The white baseball whistled toward the plate. Out of caution, Matsumoto didn't swing, letting it pass.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
One strike, no balls.
In the stands, Ikeda's supporters erupted.
"It's not just Seidou that has a strong ace—our ace isn't inferior either!"
They puffed out their chests like proud roosters. Zhou Hao's earlier dominance had clearly rattled them, so now even the smallest advantage was something to boast about.
Matsumoto, still in the batter's box, carefully analyzed that first pitch.
The ace of Ikeda High School clearly had skill. Judging from the pitch's landing point and speed, Akahoshi was by no means weak.
"Pitch speed—138 kilometers per hour. Inside corner, less than five centimeters from the strike zone."
That pitch speed and precision alone were impressive—and combined, they produced a stronger effect than expected.
"As expected of the strongest dark horse… his pitching really is sharp."
Even so, Matsumoto's face showed no tension. Those who knew him could even see a spark of eagerness in his eyes.
The pitch was tricky, but still within his hitting range.
Compared to their previous games—facing Kuroda of Osaka Kiryu and Uekusa in the last round—Akahoshi's pitching seemed much easier to deal with.
"I can hit it!"
During the West Tokyo tournament, Matsumoto, as Seidou's leadoff batter, often served as the team's spark plug. He had sharp hitting instincts and excellent speed.
Once he got on base, Seidou's offense would ignite.
But since reaching Koshien, things had changed.
It wasn't that Matsumoto's skills had declined—it was just that their opponents were getting stronger.
And he wasn't alone. Except for Seidou's core three batters, most of the lineup had found it hard to perform at their usual level.
But today, Matsumoto's confidence had returned.
"Whoosh!"
As Akahoshi threw his second pitch, Matsumoto raised his bat and swung with full force.
"My time to shine has come!"
"Ping!"
The ball connected perfectly with the bat—Matsumoto was sure he'd hit it clean.
But just as the ball soared, his expression froze.
The baseball climbed high, then dropped sharply.
"Pop!"
Ikeda's second baseman caught it cleanly.
"Out!"
"One out, nobody on base."
Matsumoto stood still, stunned. He couldn't understand what had just happened.
In the stands, a young man watching with his younger brother smirked.
"You think Akahoshi is throwing an ordinary straight ball? If Seidou's batters all think that, they won't even understand how they lost today."
In Seidou's dugout, the expressions of the players turned serious.
When reviewing Ikeda's match footage earlier, they had all debated Akahoshi's pitching.
If it were an ordinary fastball, his strike efficiency was far too high.
If it wasn't, the video quality had been too low to tell the difference.
Now, everything was clear.
"This definitely isn't a normal straight ball."
"It's probably a cut ball."
"No wonder they're called the strongest dark horse—they've got something up their sleeve."
The game continued. Seidou's second batter stepped up.
"Second batter, number twenty—pitcher, Zhou Hao."
As Zhou Hao entered the batter's box, the disappointment in the stands turned to excitement.
"Hit it out of here!"
"Show them what Seidou's made of!"
"Zhou-senpai!"
"Let's go, Zhou Hao!"
Zhou Hao nodded slightly in acknowledgment before focusing intently on Akahoshi.
This guy is definitely more troublesome than Uekusa… maybe even more than Kuroda.