In the match between Seido and Akikawa, Akikawa took the first attack.
"They really want to score first," reporter Owada Akiko said while watching the field.
She turned toward her senior colleague, Fujio, from Baseball Kingdom Monthly.
Fujio slowly fanned himself.
"If you score first, you can control the rhythm of the game," he said.
Owada nodded.
"That's true."
"But even so," Fujio continued, "it's still very difficult."
"Seido clearly has the advantage."
"And their ace pitcher…"
"Ushijima Wakatoshi."
"Just like Akikawa's ace You Shunshin, he's also an international student from China."
"But judging from current performance…"
"Ushijima's pitching ability is stronger."
Owada agreed.
"In other words, Akikawa scoring first will depend on whether Ushijima makes mistakes."
"Especially in the later innings, after his stamina drops."
"Exactly," Fujio said. "Otherwise it will be extremely difficult to score against him directly."
Owada thought for a moment.
"Which means the key to this match…"
"…is whether You Shunshin can suppress Seido's powerful batting lineup."
Fujio chuckled.
"But Ushijima probably won't let that happen so easily."
Top of the First Inning
Akikawa's first batter and center fielder, Ninomiya, stepped into the batter's box.
He stared at the pitcher on the mound.
Ushijima Wakatoshi.
"The strongest rookie pitcher in this tournament," Ninomiya thought.
"He's known for textbook pitching mechanics."
"His arsenal includes:"
Four-seam fastball
Two-seam fastball
Cutter
Sinker
Shooto
"A typical fastball-type pitcher… but his pitches move both left and right."
Ninomiya tightened his grip on the bat.
"The showdown finally begins."
On the mound, Ushijima casually tossed aside the small bag of rosin powder.
His expression remained calm.
"Bring it."
Behind the plate, Miyuki slammed his fist lightly into his glove.
He set the target.
Ushijima immediately understood.
He gripped the baseball.
His hands rose together.
Left leg lifted high.
Step forward.
His body twisted—
And his arm whipped forward like a long lash.
The baseball exploded from his fingertips.
The pitch tore through the air with a sharp sound.
"So fast!"
Ninomiya reacted instantly and swung.
But—
Whoosh!
The bat cut through empty air.
"SMACK!"
The ball slammed into Miyuki's glove.
"Strike!"
Ninomiya froze.
"Outside… low corner?"
He frowned.
"Isn't Ushijima supposed to be an aggressive pitcher?"
"In the previous games, he always started with his fastest four-seam or an inside strike."
"But today…"
"The first pitch was a low outside fastball?"
Ninomiya suddenly felt uneasy.
He glanced toward the Akikawa dugout.
Their coach made a subtle signal.
Choose carefully.
Swing only if you're confident.
Don't panic.
Ninomiya nodded slightly.
Back on the mound, Ushijima caught the return throw from Miyuki.
In center field, Isashiki crossed his arms.
"Tch."
"Why did Coach put that bastard Ushijima on the mound?"
"It's boring."
"He doesn't even give the outfield a chance to shine."
"If those two wild guys—Furuya or Sawamura—were pitching…"
"We'd at least have some action out here."
He clicked his tongue.
"Still…"
He sighed.
"…having him there does make things feel safe."
"With him pitching, winning isn't really a problem."
On the mound, Ushijima showed no emotion.
He glanced briefly at Miyuki's sign.
Then he threw again.
The second pitch screamed toward the plate.
"So fast… but—"
"Outside low again?"
Ninomiya prepared to swing—
But suddenly his eyes widened.
The ball was heading straight toward his face.
Instinctively, he jerked backward.
"SMACK!"
The ball slammed into Miyuki's glove.
"Strike!"
Even the umpire looked surprised.
Ninomiya stared in shock.
"First pitch: low outside."
"Second pitch: high inside?"
"This pitcher… isn't supposed to pitch like this!"
"According to our data, he usually throws multiple pitches along the same trajectory to overwhelm batters."
"But now…"
"The pattern is completely different."
He clenched his teeth.
"This isn't the pitcher we studied."
Then realization struck him.
"It's the catcher."
"The catcher is calling a completely different strategy."
The pressure instantly doubled.
Two strikes already.
No way back.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya glanced at him and smirked.
"One more."
He gave the sign.
Ushijima nodded.
He gripped the ball again.
The third pitch left his hand—
Even faster than before.
Ninomiya's eyes widened.
He forgot to swing.
The ball tore through the strike zone like lightning.
"SMACK!"
"STRIKE THREE!"
"Batter out!"
The umpire's voice rang loudly.
The crowd erupted.
"Wow!"
"That last pitch was a blazing four-seam!"
"It must've been close to 150 km/h!"
"Yeah, it barely clipped the corner of the strike zone!"
Some Seido fans gasped in admiration.
"That was almost a ball."
"If the umpire had called it outside, it wouldn't be strange."
"But it just sliced into the zone."
Kuramochi grinned from the infield.
"Nice pitch!"
"Strikeout right away!"
Kominato Ryosuke adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"Even if the control drifts a little, it's fine."
"With speed like that, hitters can't react anyway."
Masuko simply shouted loudly.
"OOOOGA!"
At first base, Yuki Tetsuya watched his cousin calmly walk back to the mound.
He wanted to clap.
But instead, he simply nodded.
"Good pitch."
"Keep it up."