Watching the opposing team’s figures celebrating after scoring, Sanzaki’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.
After pitching a great game, he ruined everything at the last moment—it’s impossible not to feel regretful. After all, they were just a hair’s breadth away, just a little bit away from making history by eliminating West Tokyo’s prestigious team.
But the game wasn’t over yet—it’s just a tie right now.
"As long as we hold onto this score, we can keep playing." Rubbing his arm, which felt too heavy to lift, Sanzaki gathered his regretful feelings and prepared to keep pitching.
Just then, Practical Academy’s coach walked out of the dugout and made an unexpected gesture to the umpire:
On the pitcher’s mound, Sanzaki was in disbelief at this action—as the team’s only effective pitcher, he never thought there’d be a day he’d be substituted.
Even though the order to switch pitchers had been given, Sanzaki still stood on the mound, refusing to move: he didn’t want to be taken off, didn’t want to flee like a coward after losing the chance to win, and didn’t want to end his three-year Takayama career as a loser.
Seeing Sanzaki still standing there, the Practical Academy coach quickly walked up to him, gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and said in as gentle a voice as possible:
"Yuuki, you can’t pitch anymore, promise me, step down, okay?"
Sanzaki didn’t speak, just shook his head.
Seeing his reluctance, the Practical Academy coach raised his voice:
"Look at your arm, can you still lift it? Do you really have to push yourself to an injury to prove your so-called determination?"
"Let me tell you, Sanzaki, the reason I’m choosing to switch pitchers is precisely because it’s the only way we have a chance to win—can you still throw a threatening pitch in your current state?"
"I’m the coach, this is my decision, now, immediately, you must step down!"
"If my decision causes us to lose the game, I’ll bear all the responsibility!"
Then, his tone softened as he gently reassured Sanzaki:
"Yuuki, your future baseball career is still very long, high school is not everything in your life—you can still go to college, you can still join a social team, you can even play professional baseball to fulfill many dreams."
"So please, step down, okay? Don’t sacrifice your future for today."
"Also, trust your teammates, okay? We’ve held on for eight innings, we can definitely hold this half-inning."
Practical Academy’s catcher stepped forward, giving Sanzaki a thumbs up: "The coach is right! Yuuki, go and have a good rest—all the upcoming batters are ours to deal with!"
"I promise you as a catcher, we won’t give up any more runs this inning."
"Oss!" Behind Sanzaki, the other fielders also echoed their agreement.
Silence, a deathly silence.
After a moment, Sanzaki Yuuki unwillingly squeezed out an "Okay" from his throat, then took off his glove and, accompanied by the coach, walked back to the dugout.
The entire Hachioji City Stadium erupted in thunderous applause—from both the Practical Academy and Waseda Industries support stands, every spectator expressed their admiration for Sanzaki with applause; his performance today deserved every attendee’s respect.
Returning to the dugout, Sanzaki took the towel handed by a teammate, wiping the sweat off his forehead and then burying his whole face in it—he was somewhat unwilling to look anymore.
Standing on the mound, Miyazaki Tomohiro felt every cell in his body trembling, with his mind blank.
As a rookie who just entered high school this year, although he had appeared in the previous two games, those were situations where the team was leading by a large margin—in other words, Miyazaki was just a perennial substitute who played during garbage time to relieve the starting pitcher.
Although he often dreamt of replacing Sanzaki-senpai at a critical moment to save the team, now that it was actually happening, nervousness and fear overwhelmed him—
After all, the current situation in the game was one out, a runner on second base, and the next up to bat was the opponent’s cleanup hitter, Onoda Shunsuke, who had been selected for the "Takayama Selection Tournament Notable Players" list and was strong in hitting, batting patience, and base-running.
Under the influence of these complex emotions, Miyazaki shakily threw his first pitch of the game—a fastball lacking angle and power, flying toward the batter’s favorite hitting sweet spot.
With polished batting skills and sharp batting eyes, Onoda Shunsuke naturally would not miss this opportunity, decisively swinging at the incoming pitch, the bat tracing a beautiful arc in the air before colliding with the baseball—everything, from the timing of the swing to the angle, was perfect, and the baseball soared upwards, flying toward right field.
Practical Academy’s right fielder sprinted, trying to catch the ball in his glove—but he ultimately stopped at the outfield fence—the high-flying baseball passed over the infield, over the outfield, and finally disappeared into the trees surrounding the stadium, completely losing its trace.
As Kenshu Yasuda and Onoda Shunsuke ran back to home plate, they were greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of the Waseda Industries supporters and the crazy shouts of their teammates—
"Shunsuke, a home run—a home run, so strong!"
"Amazing, amazing, finally taking the lead, 5 to 3, hahahahahahaha!"
Among the cheering crowd, Lin Guanglai was particularly excited; he even literally jumped onto Onoda’s back, constantly praising his performance out loud:
"Amazing, Senpai, amazing—please leave the rest of the game to me!"
Compared to the celebration on Waseda’s side, Practical Academy’s side was engulfed in complete silence.
Silence, utter silence.
Leading the entire game, the only ace pitcher down due to fatigue, the first pitch of the newly substituted rookie was hit for a homerun—this kind of script, it felt like the goddess of fate lightly tilted her scales, leaving one powerless.
Sanzaki Yuuki raised his head only to lower it again, feeling even more upset—he didn’t blame the coach because he knew the coach was considering his future; he was just upset with himself, upset for not being strong enough, for exhausting too many pitches in previous games; upset that now he could only sit on the sidelines unable to contribute on the field.
But he knew he couldn’t remain upset—being the captain, even off the field, he needed to let his teammates feel he was still standing behind them.
Practical Academy called a timeout.
A devastated Miyazaki Tomohiro saw Sanzaki-senpai walking toward him and, with a choked voice, apologized to him: "Senpai...I’m sorry...I let down your efforts...and disappointed everyone’s expectations..."
"Tomohiro, don’t show that expression so easily!" Sanzaki interrupted Miyazaki’s apology, placing his hands on his shoulders: "Now you’re the pitcher, the core of the entire team’s defense—if you show that expression, it will affect your teammates."
"You usually pitch well, right? Just do as you normally do, pitch how you usually pitch, got it?"
"We’re only 2 runs behind now—we still have the bottom of the ninth inning!"
"This team, from now on, is in your hands! Tomohiro!"
With that, Sanzaki Yuuki patted Miyazaki’s shoulder and turned back toward the dugout—before leaving, he exchanged a glance with his catcher partner beside him, who nodded, indicating understanding.
Then, Practical Academy’s catcher shouted to everyone on the field: "Everyone, focus—let’s not give away a single run from here on out!"
"Yeah—" Responding was a strong and powerful shout.
With both hands on Miyazaki Tomohiro’s shoulders as well, the catcher earnestly locked eyes with him, saying:
"Just relax and pitch, Tomohiro! It doesn’t matter how you pitch, we—myself and the others—won’t let any balls get past!"