After the rain delay, play finally resumed.
However, the interruption disrupted Furuya's rhythm.
By the fourth inning, his condition had noticeably declined.
In the bottom of the fourth, Teito finally broke through and scored their first run.
It could have been much worse.
With the bases loaded, Teito's cleanup hitter crushed a deep drive to center field.
Fortunately, Ushijima Wakatoshi was patrolling center.
Racing back at full speed, he made a spectacular catch just before the ball reached the wall.
The moment he landed, he fired a laser to home plate.
Even so, Teito managed to push one runner across before the throw arrived.
Seeing Furuya beginning to lose command, Coach Kataoka didn't hesitate.
He brought Sawamura onto the mound in the fifth inning.
After five innings, Seido held a 3-1 lead.
The third run had come through teamwork between Ushijima and Toujou.
Ushijima beat out an infield hit to reach first.
Batting fifth, Miyuki laid down a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt, allowing Ushijima to advance aggressively. He then stole third base.
Moments later, Toujou lined a single into the outfield to bring him home.
Seido led by three.
Teito desperately tried to close the gap.
Unfortunately for them, Seido's pitching relay completely shut them down.
Furuya handled the first four innings.
Sawamura took over for the next three.
Finally, Kawakami closed out the last two.
The constant change of pitching styles left Teito unable to adjust.
Final Score
Teito: 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 — 2
Seido: 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 — 7
Seido claimed a convincing 7-2 victory...
Without Ushijima Wakatoshi ever stepping onto the mound.
Once again, Ushijima was named the game's MVP.
In five plate appearances, he recorded:
One home run
Two extra-base hits
One infield single
One outstanding defensive putout
Four runs scored
Of course, aside from his home run, the remaining three runs came because his teammates drove him in.
Baseball was, after all, a team sport.
After the game, Kan Kengo walked beside Mukai Taiyo.
"We'll have a long break before we meet them again."
Mukai simply lowered his head and clenched his fists.
Not once today...
Not a single time...
Had he managed to truly beat Ushijima.
Only one of Ushijima's hits had been turned into an out by the defense.
As Seido prepared to leave, Mukai suddenly raised his head.
"Hey!"
"Let's settle this again next year!"
He looked directly at Ushijima with undisguised determination.
Ushijima smiled calmly.
"That depends."
"If Teito is good enough to reach Koshien again."
"Or..."
"If we're unlucky enough to end up in the same bracket during the Spring or Autumn Tournament."
The two aces exchanged a final wave before returning to their respective teams.
After changing into dry clothes, Ushijima slipped on his headphones and started walking toward the exit.
Just then, two boys approached him.
He didn't recognize either of them.
"U-Um..."
The bespectacled boy nervously called out.
"Senpai."
Hearing someone address him, Ushijima removed one earbud.
"Hello."
"Can I help you?"
Since they had greeted him politely, he naturally returned the courtesy.
He had never been the type to put on airs.
Besides, judging from their appearance, they were clearly middle school students.
"Senpai..."
"We're players from a junior high school baseball team."
"We came to watch your game today..."
"But you never pitched."
"We were a little disappointed."
"So..."
Seto scratched his head awkwardly.
"We wanted to ask..."
"Are you injured?"
"Or... can you not pitch anymore?"
Hearing the question, Ushijima smiled.
"No."
"I'm perfectly healthy."
"It just wasn't my turn today."
"That's great!"
Seto immediately turned toward his friend.
"Koushuu!"
"See? Senpai isn't injured!"
Only then did Ushijima take a closer look at the quiet boy standing beside Seto.
Oh...
The little wolf cub.
Looking directly at him, Ushijima suddenly asked,
"You're a catcher, aren't you?"
Okumura froze.
"How... did you know?"
Ushijima chuckled.
"The way you're looking at me."
"It's the same way I look at a beautiful woman."
"Curious."
"Excited."
"Interested."
"..."
Okumura's face instantly turned bright red.
He stood there completely speechless.
"Hahaha!"
The Seido players burst into laughter.
"Hey, don't laugh so hard."
"He's still just a kid."
"You're going to make him misunderstand."
Ushijima said helplessly.
Miyuki laughed even harder.
"We're not laughing at him."
"We're laughing at you."
Ushijima simply shrugged before turning back to Okumura.
"So..."
"Interested in me?"
"Want to become my catcher?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Okumura answered honestly.
"I've never actually seen you pitch."
"That's easy."
"If you have time, come visit Seido."
"Find me."
"I'll throw a bullpen session, and you can catch for me."
"Then you'll have your answer."
Okumura blinked.
"...I can really visit?"
His usually calm voice trembled ever so slightly.
"Of course."
"When the weather's nice, people come to watch our practices all the time."
"There's no problem with you coming."
After a brief hesitation, Okumura asked,
"Then... how do I contact you?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Ushijima took out his phone.
"Let's exchange numbers."
Okumura immediately entered his contact information before calling his own phone to confirm the number.
After handing the phone back, he bowed politely.
"Thank you very much."
Ushijima smiled.
"Just don't give my number to random people."
"I don't want a bunch of prank calls."
Turning around, he began walking away.
Without looking back, he raised a hand and added,
"If you call me..."
"Try between eight and nine at night."
"During the day, I'm usually training or studying."
"And don't call after nine-thirty."
"I'll probably already be asleep."
Watching Ushijima disappear into the distance, Okumura remained standing silently.
He hadn't expected everything to go so smoothly.
Beside him, Seto was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Hey!"
"Koushuu!"
"You actually got the Beast Pitcher's phone number!"
"The Beast Pitcher?"
Okumura looked puzzled.
Seto scratched his cheek.
"That's what a lot of players call him."
"They say Ushijima-senpai's four-seam fastball is as ferocious as a wild beast."
Okumura nodded thoughtfully.
"...I see."
"Then..."
"I'll find time to visit Seido."
With that, the two middle school boys left the stadium together.
Meanwhile, the Seido players boarded their team bus for the trip back to school.
Everyone looked exhausted.
After playing through the heavy rain, they were soaked from head to toe.
The spare uniforms they had brought were already used up.
The biggest problem wasn't their jerseys...
It was their completely soaked underwear.
That, more than anything else, made the ride home thoroughly uncomfortable.