"Seidou's here!" All eyes from the surrounding spectators turned toward the Seidou team entering the field.
"Wait, isn't their ace supposed to be Tanba?"
"Who's that? I've never seen him before. A first-year?"
"A first-year wearing number 1?"
"He must be pretty amazing."
"Huh? You guys don't know? He was a famous pitcher in the junior leagues—I've been looking forward to seeing what he can do in high school."
From the dugout, Rinichi glanced over toward the school's cheer squad and marching band.
Man, prestigious schools really do it differently.
He'd never seen setups before.
Both teams lined up, exchanged greetings, and the game officially began.
Top of the first—Seidou on offense, Maimon West on defense.
However, Maimon West's starting pitcher wasn't their ace lefty, but the one wearing number 10.
Seeing the way this pitcher threw, Rinichi was slightly surprised—it was a submarine pitcher.
Rinichi carefully observed his pitching motion.
If he wanted to try that himself, it probably wasn't impossible.
"Number 10, pitcher, Minamidaira Mamoru, third year. He actually pitched a game back in his first year, but since then, he hasn't appeared on the mound in an official game."
Hearing Chris say that to Coach Kataoka, Rinichi couldn't help but pay more attention.
Could it be that he's been training this submarine pitching style for two years just for this summer?
"Kamishiro, head to the bullpen and start warming up," said Miyuki, already suited up in catching gear.
Rinichi snapped out of his thoughts. "Got it."
Even from the bullpen, he could see the field clearly.
From here, that pitcher's velocity looked painfully slow.
Yet Seidou's leadoff hitter, Kuramochi, hadn't swung at either of the first two pitches.
Rinichi broke down the submarine delivery in his head, glanced at the ball in his hand, then looked at Miyuki squatting down to catch.
A submarine pitch, huh...
You really have to lower your center of gravity for that.
Mimicking the pitcher's motion, Rinichi released the ball—it rose quickly before dropping sharply.
Miyuki was caught off guard—the ball bounced off the edge of his glove.
Wait… Kamishiro knows how to throw submarine pitches?!
Rinichi glanced at his left hand. This style really did feel awkward.
"When did you learn to pitch like that?" Miyuki asked.
Rinichi tilted his head. "Isn't it something you just pick up by watching once?"
This guy is seriously…
"Try throwing a few more like that."
A few pitches later, Miyuki frowned. "You should stop using that delivery for now. Your control's all over the place, and the velocity's way down compared to your usual throws."
He'd thought they were coming out pretty well.
Still, saying the speed was way down felt a bit harsh.
Tugging down the brim of his cap, he switched back to his regular motion.
Not long after, Isashiki Jun also got out.
No hits yet—Rinichi was a little surprised.
"Let's go. Time to take the mound," Miyuki stood up.
Glancing at Rinichi with a smirk, he said, "Let's make quick work of them, shall we?"
"Same plan—fastballs and splitters?" Rinichi asked.
"What, you want to show off something new already? These two are enough. Save the rest for later matches."
"Don't be mad. Just imagine the look on their faces when they're like, 'Wait, this guy can throw that too?!' Pretty satisfying, huh?"
Rinichi considered it. "You've got a point."
"But none of our senpai got on base. That pitcher must be tough to hit, right?"
The velocity looked slow, sure, but…
If even the upperclassmen couldn't hit him, then he had to be tricky.
Miyuki: "…" He's thinking about batting again.
The spectators were buzzing when Rinichi took the mound, surprised not only that he was pitching but that he wore the ace number.
"That pitcher's a first-year, right?"
"A first-year with number 1? What happened to Tanba?"
Some people still weren't convinced Rinichi was up to the task.
As soon as he stepped onto the mound, the upperclassmen's cheers echoed around him, telling him not to be nervous.
"Do I really look nervous?" Rinichi wondered.
He patted some rosin onto his left hand.
Still… standing on the mound wearing the number 1 jersey really did feel different.
He felt like he was in top form.
He got into his pitching stance, stepped forward with his right foot, and slowly rotated his upper body to the right.
Compared to before, his motion had a bit more power and range.
The batter flinched and swung instinctively.
That pitch… was way too fast!
"What kind of pitch was that?!"
Even the crowd couldn't help but erupt.
The batter gritted his teeth.
He couldn't see the ball at all.
"Strike three! Batter's out!"
A strikeout on three pitches.
The next two batters? No different—both struck out in three pitches each.
"Beautiful, Kamishiro!"
Rinichi grinned. "Thanks!"
Miyuki looked at him.
He didn't seem stressed at all about wearing number 1—on the contrary, he looked more locked in than ever.
Meanwhile, panic had started to spread among Maimon West.
"Who the hell is that guy?!"
The Maimon West coach's face was grim.
A first-year wearing the number 1 jersey—that alone meant he was better than their original ace, Tanba.
A pitcher stronger than Tanba…
He clenched his teeth.
Seidou really got lucky!
He banged the dugout rail with his megaphone. "What are you all doing?! Get back to your defensive positions, now!"
"How'd it feel seeing the look of shock on all their faces?" Miyuki asked with a grin as he took off his catcher's gear.
Sitting nearby, Rinichi replied flatly, "It was alright."
Just then, Yuuki stepped up to the plate, and the Seidou brass band switched to a different tune.
Rinichi looked a bit envious. "Man, I wish I had my own theme song someday."
Miyuki: "…" This guy's always thinking about useless stuff.
He chuckled, shouldering his bat. "Maybe when you're a second-year, you'll get one."
"What do you mean maybe?"
Rinichi silently watched as Miyuki walked past him: "…"
In the stands, the baseball club fans were shouting in perfect sync: "Hit it, Yuuki-senpai!"
Rinichi sat in the front row—he wanted a clear view of Yuuki-senpai's batting.
But something had changed in Maimon West's defense.
The shortstop had shifted closer to second base… their entire alignment skewed to the right.
Were they targeting Yuuki-senpai? Or just trying to avoid pitching to him?
Don't tell me… they're really going to walk him?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Yuuki swung at the second pitch and smashed it into the outfield.
The ball was too fast—no one could catch it.
Finally, their first hit.
"You don't need to swing for the fences," Coach Kataoka said. "A solid grounder can still break their defense."
That's the problem… he didn't know how to hit grounders. He only ever hit fly balls…
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.