Batting seventh, Kanemaru capitalized on the opportunity and drove Miyuki home.
Against a powerhouse like Teito, a team with Koshien experience, every run mattered.
With runners on first and third, failing to score would have been a wasted opportunity.
By the end of the top of the second inning, Seido had pushed across two runs.
Only two...
But against a team of Teito's calibre, those two runs were precious.
After settling down, Mukai Taiyo prevented Seido from extending the inning any further.
Still, the two-run cushion allowed Furuya to take the mound with a little more confidence.
Unfortunately...
The weather had other plans.
As soon as Seido took the field on defence, the rain intensified.
Within moments, it was pouring.
The soaked baseball slipped constantly in Furuya's hand, making it difficult for him to command his pitches.
Truthfully, it wasn't entirely his fault.
Even Ushijima Wakatoshi would have struggled under these conditions.
With only Silver-level Control, even he wouldn't have been able to locate his pitches much better in this rain.
"This rain is the worst!"
Even Sawamura couldn't help complaining from the dugout.
"I thought you said you were a sunshine guy," one of his teammates teased.
Ignoring the joke, Sawamura stared at the field, itching to take the mound himself.
Crack!
The sharp sound of the bat echoed across the stadium.
"Whoa!"
"A long drive to right-center!"
"Can it leave the park?"
"It won't go out—but there's a huge gap between right field and center field!"
"It's dropping!"
The crowd erupted.
Even Miyuki Kazuya rose instinctively from behind the plate.
"Ushijima!"
Shirasu, sprinting over from right field, knew he couldn't reach it in time.
Only Ushijima had a chance.
The ball was slicing into the open space between center and right field.
Both outfielders charged toward it.
"Da! Da! Da!"
Ushijima never took his eyes off the descending baseball as he sprinted across the wet grass.
From the Teito dugout came desperate shouts.
"Drop!"
"Drop!"
After judging the trajectory, Ushijima immediately understood.
If he kept running normally...
He wouldn't make it.
Without hesitation, he accelerated for two more steps before dropping into a perfectly timed feet-first slide.
His body glided across the soaked turf.
His glove stretched forward.
Slap!
The baseball disappeared into the webbing.
"He caught it!"
The stadium exploded.
"What a catch in center field!"
"His speed is unbelievable!"
"Being an elite pitcher wasn't enough."
"Being the best hitter wasn't enough."
"Now he's covering half the outfield by himself!"
"That's just unfair!"
Another spectator laughed.
"You probably don't know this, but when Ushijima first entered Seido, he was actually supposed to be the shortstop."
"Later they discovered his pitching talent and converted him into a pitcher."
"Originally, he only wanted to become the team's strongest batter while playing shortstop."
"With his speed and stamina, that made perfect sense."
"And now he can play pitcher, shortstop, and center field."
"He can handle the entire spine of the defense."
The explanation surprised the two middle school students sitting nearby.
"Seriously?"
Seto blinked.
"He was supposed to be a shortstop?"
Okumura nodded thoughtfully.
"With that speed, he'd definitely excel there."
"But when you combine that speed with his pitching velocity and long throwing distance..."
"If he plays center field, the defensive range becomes enormous."
"He can cover almost everything in the gaps."
"And with that throwing arm..."
"No baserunner would dare challenge him."
"Seido's coaching staff really planned this well."
What Okumura didn't know...
Was that playing center field had been Ushijima's own decision.
The spectacular catch left Teito's dugout visibly frustrated.
As he tossed the ball back toward the infield, Ushijima called out,
"Relax."
"Just throw your pitches."
"I'm behind you."
"Don't hold back."
Boom!
Standing on the mound, Furuya's competitive spirit flared.
Damn it.
He's playing the outfield and still stealing all the attention.
No...
He's only getting the spotlight because I let the batter put the ball in play.
If nobody hits the ball...
Then he can't outshine me.
That's it!
Having reached that conclusion, Furuya threw even harder.
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Walk!"
"..."
"..."
"Nice one."
From center field, Ushijima couldn't help applauding.
Shirasu burst into laughter after hearing him.
Unfortunately...
It didn't end there.
Furuya issued another walk.
"Hey."
"You're pitching way too tense."
Miyuki immediately called for time and walked to the mound.
"If you're going to play baseball all by yourself..."
"Then the rest of us might as well go home."
"You've got a reliable defense behind you."
"So why are you always trying to overpower everyone with pure velocity?"
Miyuki's patience was beginning to wear thin.
After the brief lecture, Furuya finally calmed down.
Returning to his usual rhythm, he retired the next two batters without allowing any damage, though not without a few anxious moments.
"Phew..."
As they headed back to the dugout, Miyuki let out a long sigh.
"It feels like we've been playing forever..."
Kuramochi smirked.
"Tired already, Captain?"
"Of course."
"That idiot always tries to solve everything with brute force."
"I've spent too much time catching for that other monster."
"I'm spoiled."
"When I'm calling games for these two idiots..."
"My heart's constantly riding a roller coaster."
Miyuki openly complained about both Furuya and Sawamura.
"Hey!"
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I haven't even pitched yet!"
Sawamura protested indignantly.
"If you were pitching," Miyuki shot back, "I'd still be worrying."
The dugout burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Ushijima quietly looked toward the sky.
The rain was becoming even heavier.
If this keeps up...
It could actually work in our favour.
"Our turn to bat is next."
"With the rain like this, it'll be—"
Before he could finish speaking, the umpires gathered near home plate for a discussion.
A moment later, the stadium announcer's voice echoed through the speakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to the worsening weather conditions, play has been suspended. Please remain calm and remain in your seats."
The announcement immediately halted Seido's momentum.
They had finally begun putting pressure on Mukai...
Only for the game to stop.
The suspension also gave Mukai valuable time to regroup after surrendering two runs.
When play resumed, breaking through him again would be far more difficult.
Still...
No one could complain.
The rain had become far too heavy.
Continuing under those conditions wouldn't have been fair to either team.