Just as Manaka Kaname delivered the pitch and Shida Shota showed a bunt, Yoshikawa Junpei immediately took off for second.
"Steal!!!"
The Third Baseman noticed the movement and quickly shouted a warning.
"What!!!"
The catcher was stunned. Shida Shota's sudden bunt had already caught him off guard, and now this unexpected steal made his nerves tighten even further.
Bang!
Shida Shota executed a perfect bunt, the ball rolling softly toward the shortstop's side. Dropping his bat, Shida Shota sprinted toward First Base.
By the time the shortstop charged in to field the ball, Yoshikawa Junpei slid safely into second.
"First Base!" the catcher shouted, but it was too late. The bunt was simply too good, and Shida's speed secured him a safe run to First.
"Safe!" the home plate umpire declared.
"Hahaha!"
Shida Shota grinned and high-fived Yoshikawa Junpei from a distance.
Ichidai Third High's catcher looked helplessly at Manaka Kaname. They exchanged glances—another crisis. But with two outs, they only needed one more. Whether it came from the batter or one of the runners, it didn't matter.
Kominato Ryosuke stepped into the batter's box. Two outs, runners on First and Koshien. He absolutely couldn't afford to get out—he needed to move the runners forward somehow.
Whoosh!
Manaka Kaname accelerated his rhythm. A straight fastball zipped in. Kominato Ryosuke swung and missed.
"Strike!"
The second pitch followed quickly—another Strike. Just as Ichidai Third High's supporters felt relieved, confident that they could deal with Kominato and end the inning, Manaka Kaname unleashed a high-speed curveball.
Kominato connected.
The ball bounced sharply toward First Base.
Everyone sighed. It was over.
Ichidai Third High's First Baseman cleanly fielded the ball, ending the inning.
Sigh~
Kominato Ryosuke shook his head in frustration at Shida Shota and Yoshikawa Junpei, but both simply smiled. They didn't blame him at all.
In the bottom of the second inning, Kanzaki Ryou once again took the mound—and once again, he put away Ichidai Third High's three batters with ease.
Top of the third inning, facing Seido's cleanup hitters, Manaka Kaname stood his ground. Yuki Tetsuya was out. Azuma Kiyokuni was out. Kanzaki Ryou managed to connect with a straight ball, but still couldn't reach base.
The game advanced to the top of the fourth inning. Tanaka Wataru got on base, followed by a powerful long hit from Isashiki Jun to right field—sending Tanaka sliding into Third Base.
No outs, runners on First and Third. Seido's eighth batter, Araki Keita, had a chance to turn the game around.
Manaka Kaname didn't expect to stumble against the lower batting order after surviving the cleanup hitters.
Ichidai Third High's catcher glanced sharply at Tanaka Wataru before signaling to Manaka.
It was time to play their trump card.
Earlier than planned—but necessary.
If they gave up runs now, coming back would only get harder.
Manaka Kaname nodded and delivered an inside straight ball to Yoshikawa Junpei. Yoshikawa hit it toward the left side, but Ichidai Third's shortstop dove and snagged it beautifully. He threw to Second for the force-out on Isashiki Jun.
The Second Baseman checked Tanaka Wataru—already back on Third—then immediately fired to First Base.
Pop!
Yoshikawa Junpei was also out.
Double play!
Ichidai Third High's fans shot up from their seats, roaring with excitement. A major crisis had been neutralized in one swift sequence.
Though Tanaka was still on Third, the next batter was Shida Shota. Solid hitter, yes—but their Ace wouldn't allow anything reckless. As long as they got Shida out, this inning would pass safely.
On Third Base, Tanaka Wataru scanned the situation. No chance to steal. If he hadn't reacted quickly earlier, the Second Baseman could've thrown directly to home to tag him out.
A scoring chance was right there. But he couldn't be reckless. He could only rely on Shida Shota to deliver.
Ichidai Third's catcher shot another signal—this time, the pitch they intended for Yoshikawa earlier.
"Shida! Do it!"
"Hit it out!"
"Manaka! Strike him out!!!"
Fans on both sides erupted.
Manaka released a long breath, focused, then threw.
Whoosh!
Shida Shota swung.
What—
Shock flashed across his eyes.
Bang!
He barely grazed the ball. The white sphere rolled toward First Base and slipped between First and Second.
A high-speed slider!
Ichidai Third High's right fielder charged in, scooped the ball, and fired it to First.
Pop!
Shida Shota was out.
Tanaka Wataru was just one step away from home.
A pity—Seido's fans collectively sighed.
Who would've thought Manaka Kaname had a high-speed slider ready for this moment?
"This guy… you can't underestimate him."
"We never underestimated him."
"I think it's Azuma's jinx."
"I think so too."
The Seido dugout turned toward Azuma Kiyokuni, who was pressing down on Kanzaki Ryou's head.
"You jinx!"
"My bad, my bad!" Kanzaki immediately raised his hands in surrender, drawing laughter.
The moment of levity faded quickly. Everyone understood—now that Manaka Kaname possessed both a high-speed curveball and a high-speed slider, he had become a far more dangerous pitcher.
"Let's go, everyone."
Kanzaki Ryou adjusted his glove and stepped forward.
His teammates smiled and followed him onto the field.
Top of the fourth inning.
Once more, Kanzaki Ryou stood tall on the mound. Having already struck out nine consecutive batters, he now faced Ichidai Third's leadoff hitter.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Three innings in, and Ichidai Third's lineup still had no way to deal with him. Kanzaki's dominance was absolute.
The second batter came up. Relying on his ultra-high-speed fastball and vicious cutter-slider, Kanzaki induced weak contact—an easy pop-out.
Next was the third batter.
With overwhelming presence, Kanzaki threw a four-seam fastball on the outside corner.
The batter swung with everything he had.
Bang!
A clean, powerful hit.
The ball rocketed toward the mound.
"Danger!!!"
Someone screamed.
Kanzaki Ryou had barely stabilized himself after the pitch—no time to dodge.
The baseball smashed straight into his left waist.
"Kanzaki!!!"