"It's finally here… Inashiro's cleanup hitter."
"Yeah…"
The Sakurazawa players watching from the stands immediately recalled the game from two days ago.
Back then, it had been Inashiro's cleanup batter who completely turned the tide of the match with a single swing.
"He absolutely won't miss an easy pitch."
On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi calmly prepared to throw.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya carefully studied the batter.
"So far, we've only used Two-Seamers and Cutters against the first three hitters…"
"That means Ushijima still has several cards left."
"Four-Seamer."
"Sinker."
"Shootball."
In the batter's box, Masatoshi Harada was also rapidly analyzing Ushijima's pitching pattern.
"If he attacks the outside corner, it'll probably be a Four-Seamer or Two-Seamer."
"If it starts inside and breaks away, then it's likely a Cutter, Sinker, or Shootball."
Harada tightened his grip on the bat.
He was fully prepared.
After observing the batter's stance, Miyuki quietly flashed the sign beneath his glove.
Ushijima gave no visible response.
He simply raised his leg—
And fired the first pitch.
"Strike!!"
The ball exploded out of his hand with astonishing speed.
Seeing the pitch heading toward the middle, Harada instantly reacted.
"A breaking fastball?!"
"Shootball? Sinker? Or Cutter?!"
Even while guessing, he instinctively swung.
But the moment the bat came through—
The baseball sharply sliced away toward the outside corner.
Because of the velocity and the unfamiliar movement, Harada's reaction was just slightly late.
Whoosh!
The ball slammed into Miyuki's glove.
"Nice pitch!"
Harada's expression changed immediately.
"What a sharp break…"
"So this is Ushijima's Cutter…"
Even he couldn't hide his surprise.
At the same time, the other Inashiro batters watching from the dugout grew serious.
"Even Harada-senpai reacted late?"
"How nasty is that pitch supposed to be?"
"So the Cutter is his main outside-corner weapon?"
Narumiya Mei narrowed his eyes.
"This guy's definitely going to challenge me directly later…"
"Then I'll just have to crush it before it moves."
Meanwhile, the audience buzzed with excitement.
"The first pitch was another Cutter!"
"Yeah, Ushijima's been throwing it a lot today."
"This is only the fourth batter, and we've already seen five or six Cutters!"
Even players from other schools had begun discussing Ushijima's pitch selection.
On Seido's side of the stands, Azuma Kiyokuni and the others were also watching carefully.
"That Cutter's movement is ridiculous…"
"A pitch like that should normally be reserved as a finishing pitch."
"And yet he's already using it this early?"
"How are the batters supposed to survive later innings?"
Hearing those comments, Azuma smirked slightly.
"Heh. The scary part hasn't even started yet."
He desperately wanted to reveal that Ushijima had mastered eight different pitch types—
But he restrained himself.
If they accidentally leaked that information loudly enough for Inashiro to hear, things would become troublesome.
Back on the field, Ushijima prepared for the second pitch.
He lifted his arm—
And unleashed another blazing fastball.
"Inside corner… Four-Seamer?!"
Harada reacted immediately and swung earlier than before.
But just as the bat was about to connect—
The baseball suddenly accelerated inward toward his chest while rising slightly.
The unexpected movement caused Harada's pupils to shrink.
THWACK!
The ball snapped into Miyuki's mitt.
"A Shootball?!"
Harada stared in disbelief.
"Strike!"
The umpire's voice echoed out.
Harada looked toward Miyuki's glove in shock.
"A Shootball that bends inward… while floating upward slightly?"
"This is the first time I've ever seen one like that."
Ushijima calmly accepted the return throw from Miyuki and looked back at Harada.
Meanwhile, Harada quickly reorganized his thoughts.
"Cutter followed by Shootball…"
"Against Carlos, he used only Two-Seamers."
"Against Shirakawa, it was Cutters and Two-Seamers."
"Against Yoshizawa, it was again a combination of Two-Seamers and Cutters."
"So far, every batter has been dealt with using only two pitch types…"
"But now he's mixing Cutter and Shootball."
"Then the third pitch should probably be one of those two."
However, Harada instantly rejected his own conclusion.
"No…"
"If it's this guy…"
"Then there's a high chance he'll strike me out using three completely different pitches."
After all, Ushijima Wakatoshi was exactly the kind of pitcher who enjoyed toying with hitters psychologically.
Harada knew that better than anyone after watching how Miyuki had been humiliated earlier.
"Here it comes."
Harada locked his eyes onto Ushijima.
The third pitch flew toward the inside corner.
"Shootball?!"
Harada had no choice but to swing.
But just before reaching the plate—
The ball subtly drifted away.
Two-Seam Fastball.
Harada's bat sliced through empty air.
"…Just as I thought."
"If it's him, he really would use three different pitches for one strikeout."
"Strike three!"
The umpire's call confirmed it.
Behind the plate, Miyuki couldn't help grinning smugly.
"Heh heh~"
He could practically read Harada's thoughts.
"You assumed we'd only use two pitch types because that's what we did against the first three batters, right?"
Harada could only glare resentfully.
Even if he correctly guessed Ushijima's strategy—
So what?
After excluding the Cutter and Shootball, Ushijima still had multiple pitch types remaining.
That meant Harada only had a tiny chance of correctly predicting the next ball.
And even if he guessed correctly—
That didn't guarantee he could hit it.
Different pitches required completely different timing and swing adjustments.
That was the terrifying advantage of a pitcher with an enormous arsenal.
It made every at-bat mentally exhausting.
"Three pitches!"
"Three different pitch types!"
"And a strikeout against Inashiro's cleanup hitter!"
The players from other schools were completely stunned.
"That's ridiculously extravagant…"
One student clicked his tongue.
"At this point, he's basically showing off."