"Second batter, second baseman—Kominato Ryousuke."
He hit the ball toward second base, but it was caught by Inashiro's shortstop and thrown to first.
Thus, Seidou finished the top of the third inning with a three-up, three-down.
Although Narumiya didn't seem to be in top form yet, all the balls that were hit were handled well by the defense.
Rinichi stepped onto the mound. With a powerful stride, he swept through the air and fired a pitch straight into the glove.
The seventh batter flinched as the ball whizzed past him.
His gaze landed on Rinichi on the mound—and he froze for a moment.
Those eyes were unnervingly calm—clear and cold. It was as if he was looking far into the distance, and to him, the batter in front of him was nothing more than a small, insignificant obstacle by his feet—easily brushed aside with a casual kick.
The seventh batter gritted his teeth and swung again.
"Strike! Batter out!"
And the next two batters were both retired by very strange pitches.
Compared to Narumiya, Rinichi's pitch count was much lower.
"What's the pitch count now?" Coach Kataoka asked.
Chris glanced down at his notes. "19 pitches."
He smiled gently. "Being able to finish innings with such few pitches is thanks to that strange pitch of his."
"But… that pitch won't be as effective in later innings."
Compared to Inashiro's tense dugout, Seidou's atmosphere was a bit more relaxed.
With a two-run lead and Rinichi's dominating presence on the mound, the pressure on the team was lightened somewhat.
"Fourth batter, first baseman—Yuuki."
First up in the fourth inning.
Yuuki Tetsuya's cheer song began to play.
Then the fifth batter, Masuko Tooru, made contact—but was also put out.
Rinichi rested his chin on his hand, watching the game.
Feels like… Narumiya's finally getting into rhythm…
No—more likely he just got serious against Yuuki-senpai.
"Even with Seidou's two-run lead and the pressure from Rinichi's pitching, Inashiro is still composed… I guess that's what you'd expect from a powerhouse team that's been to Koshien..." Shinomiya mused.
"That pitcher's probably only using about 70% of his strength. He only went all out against Seidou's cleanup hitter..."
"Rinichi wants to push that pitcher to either break down or be forced to go all out the entire time… Hmm… doesn't look like it'll work yet… two runs just isn't enough pressure."
Takashima Rei listened in silence.
This was probably the nth foul ball Miyuki had hit.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Rinichi put his cap back on and picked up his glove.
Two straight innings without allowing Inashiro to score—he was starting to get irritated.
Rinichi did look forward to facing strong teams, but what he wanted was to overwhelm them completely.
—This is seriously pissing me off.
"First batter, center fielder Carlos-kun."
It was Carlos, the one with blazing speed.
Rinichi furrowed his brows slightly, and a trace of irritation appeared on his face.
I don't care how fast you are—your run ends here at the plate.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Rinichi let out a breath.
From his pitching, Miyuki could feel his irritation.
His throws had a bit more force than before.
Carlos adjusted his helmet.
That pitcher… didn't care at all whether the batter showed bunt or not. It just didn't affect him.
The image of Rinichi's pitching lingered in his mind.
What terrifying focus...
"Second batter, shortstop—Shirakawa."
Faced with Rinichi's first pitch, Shirakawa immediately showed bunt.
However, it was an inside pitch, and Shirakawa instinctively pulled back to avoid it.
Miyuki glanced up at the batter.
Second pitch—Shirakawa barely made contact with a bunt, but the ball rolled to a poor spot.
Rinichi fielded it cleanly and threw to first.
"Third batter, third baseman—Yoshizawa."
It was Inashiro's heart of the lineup now.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Damn! I can't catch up with that pitch speed…
That has to be over 150 km/h, right?
Narumiya stood up with a bit of irritation.
That was barely a break!
"Rin's pitching pace is really fast. I imagine Inashiro is feeling a lot of mental pressure," said Shinomiya.
After the inning ended, Coach Kataoka gathered the entire lineup again.
"Narumiya… how's his pitching?" Coach asked.
First to respond was Isashiki Jun: "His fastball has a strong tail to it. But it's not unhittable."
Masuko added, "His breaking balls are dangerous if you get to two strikes. Better to swing early."
Yuuki Tetsuya didn't speak—but the aura around him flared up, and that alone gave Kataoka his answer.
"Though I don't want to admit it… he's been holding back since the first inning. He only went all out against Yuuki."
The upperclassmen looked grim.
"Frustrated, huh…? I feel the same."
"Even if we strike out, swing the bat. Even if you're out, make contact. Put pressure on the opponent with every swing. That's the kind of player I want you to be! No matter how strong they are, you can do it!"
"We may be up by two runs, but don't get complacent!"
Top of the fifth inning.
"Seventh batter, pitcher—Kamishiro-kun."
Rinichi stepped up to bat.
Narumiya's gaze was clearly different now—edgy and unpleasant as he looked at Rinichi out of the corner of his eye.
Harada looked up at Rinichi.
He made no move to swing at all—completely different from last time, when he swung at the first pitch.
There's something weird about him...
Second pitch—Rinichi gripped the bat tightly and swung with all his might. The ball sliced between left and center field.
If only the pitch had been a little easier to hit, he thought as he dropped the bat and started running.
Harada frowned, watching Rinichi run the bases.
Rinichi… it's like he already knew exactly what pitch Narumiya would throw… and what kind of pitch sequence Harada would call...
He's terrifying—he doesn't feel like a freshman at all—
"Eighth batter, left fielder..."
Rinichi crept a little closer to third base.
Narumiya saw it and was annoyed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He looked away and exhaled.
Don't you dare score, he kept chanting in his head.
Just as Narumiya released the pitch, Rinichi dashed for third base.
The left fielder chose to bunt.
"Narumiya! First base!" Harada shouted.
One out, runner on third.
"Ninth batter, right fielder—Shirasu."
The third pitch was hit, but it went between second and third—too risky for Rinichi to make a move.
Runner still on third, now two outs.
"Leadoff, shortstop—Kuramochi."
First pitch was a changeup. Kuramochi barely made contact and hit it out.
The moment Narumiya moved, Rinichi charged toward home.
Harada's eyes narrowed. "Home!"
Rinichi gritted his teeth.
Still not fast enough!
The ball was thrown back to the plate—
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.