Chapter 321: Preparing to Take the Field
The top of the first inning ended amid this frenzy.
If it were just the pitch speed alone, that would be one thing—but the pitcher throwing it was a first-year, not a third-year ace.
160 km/h.
A number that had never appeared at Koshien before.
Today, people saw hope.
This kind of earth-shaking roar could only exist at Koshien.
Even the spectacle Sendo once caused at Jingu Stadium paled in comparison.
A power pitcher.
A super slugger.
This was the most blood-pumping scene in baseball—especially when the power pitcher was a cool, stone-faced pretty boy.
"Nice ball, Furuya!"
"Haha! Nice!" Kuramochi gave him a kick on the backside.
Chris also praised him from the bench, making Sawamura burn with jealousy.
"Now it's our turn! Keep attacking nonstop! Don't forget the attacking mindset until the very end!"
"Yes!!!"
"Bottom of the first inning! Seidou High's offense!
Leadoff! Shortstop—Kuramochi!"
"Run with everything you've got… don't stop your feet… Run with everything you've got… don't stop your feet… Put it in play, Kuramochi!"
"Kuramochi! Kuramochi!"
Sawamura waved his arms with the same demon face as Isashiki.
"My first at-bat at Koshien… damn, this feels incredible!"
Kuramochi stepped into the left batter's box.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"First pitch—inside fastball. A sharp course at 138 km/h freezes the batter."
"Pop!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"A fastball scraping the low outside corner!
The batter is being pressured!"
Hard to believe, but aside from the backup outfielder, among the starters, Kuramochi—the leadoff—was actually the weakest hitter…
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"The third pitch is an inside curveball!"
"Ping!"
"The final pitch—low outside fastball! The batter's posture is completely broken! Fast—but… out! One out!"
The commentator rattled all of that off in about four seconds.
"Damn it…" Kuramochi muttered as he dove back to the bag.
"Kuramochi-senpai! Great dive! But next time, please get on base— you usually can!" Sawamura yelled from the bullpen.
Kuramochi wanted to kill him.
"Second batter! Second baseman—Kominato Ryousuke!"
"Onii-san!!!"
The one who always stole the spotlight—Sawamura Eijun.
"This guy is extremely troublesome. Aside from lacking power due to his build, his contact and technique are flawless. Use power and nasty courses against him."
Catcher Shiraha thought as he glanced at Onii-san.
Onii-san looked back—his smile extremely kind.
He'd obviously guessed what the catcher was thinking.
And height was a forbidden topic.
So yes—very kind.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"Foul!"
…
Onii-san battled him for nearly ten pitches.
"Damn it! This guy is way too annoying! What a disgusting batter!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Whoosh!"
"Fastball!"
"Pop!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
"The finishing pitch was a forkball! As expected, Ino's forkball is still deadly!"
"Indeed."
"But this is only the first pass through the lineup,
and the second batter already saw over ten pitches.
Seidou's at-bats are truly aggressive."
"Absolutely."
The commentators chatted again.
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
"Out! Three outs—change sides!"
Isashiki hit a powerful fly to third base…
"The first inning is complete! The score remains 0–0!
Both powerhouse teams showed their strengths, but it's incredible—Furuya is still a first-year!"
"Yes! Usually pitchers with this kind of velocity are third-years. This really is rare."
"Next, the second inning—both teams start with their cleanup hitters! Honestly, I'm even more excited for Seidou's bottom half! A first-year cleanup from a powerhouse like Seidou—what kind of batter is he?!
I hope the production team gets his data quickly."
"Top of the second inning! Yokohama Kouhoku Academy's offense! Cleanup! First baseman—Furano!"
"Yokohama Kouhoku's cleanup has entered the box!
Let's see how Furano handles this power pitcher!"
"Pff!"
"Boom!!!"
"Strike!"
"That power—he couldn't help swinging!"
"146!"
A cold number flashed on the big screen.
"First pitch—a high fastball! The batter swings and misses! Now the second pitch!"
"Pff!"
"Piu!"
"Boom!"
"Strike!"
"Second pitch—inside fastball! The batter can't pull the trigger!"
"Piu!"
"Fastball!"
"Boom!!!"
"Strike!"
"Batter out!"
"That was—! A fast forkball!"
Furano walked off helplessly.
"140!"
"The final pitch—140 km/h fast forkball! That's four consecutive strikeouts to start the game! Yokohama Kouhoku's batters can't find the timing at all!"
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!!!"
"Boom!!!"
"Boom!!!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
"Strikeout number five! Full throttle—Furuya Satoru!!!"
…
"Ping!"
"Out! Change sides!"
The sixth batter, Komura, popped up a powerless infield fly.
Completely mistimed and overwhelmed by velocity.
"End of the top of the second inning! Yokohama Kouhoku still hasn't gotten a hit! Now it's Seidou High's turn to attack!!! Let's finally witness the Super Diamond Generation's heavy artillery! Why do we say that? Because I've just received Sendo-kun's data!"
"Career high-school home runs: 22! Batting average: .910! In just six summer qualifier games, he hit seven home runs! Two of those came in the final—
off Narumiya Mei, the undefeated ace and Kanto's top left-hander! Terrifying numbers! Yes, the average is helped by fewer games and unfamiliar opponents,
but there's no denying it—Sendo is a monster hitter!"
(Career totals include practice games with certified umpires; otherwise pitchers would intentionally avoid monsters this much.)
"Absolutely! I was shocked too!"
"Now then—let's eagerly await Sendo-kun's first Koshien at-bat!"
"Bottom of the second inning! Seidou High's offense! Cleanup! Center fielder—Sendo!"
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