"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire's call rang out as Maki went down swinging.
On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi held his finishing pose for a moment, then glanced sideways at Maki—with a faint smile.
The crowd erupted.
"Another inside pitch, right?!"
"Yeah! That was three straight inside attacks!"
"He's completely dominating them!"
"Fifteen straight inside pitches—five batters down! That's insane!"
"I've never seen a pitcher this aggressive. The more you challenge him inside, the harder he attacks!"
In the stands, scouts were already making calls.
Some took notes rapidly.
Others recorded footage.
In modern baseball, information was everything.
Even at the high school level, teams studied opponents closely—collecting data, analyzing tendencies, and preparing targeted strategies.
And right now—
Ushijima Wakatoshi had become the center of attention.
"Strike three!"
Another batter went down.
Six batters.
Six strikeouts.
All crushed by relentless pressure on the inside.
The feeling was suffocating.
No matter how they adjusted—
Ushijima forced his way in.
Again.
And again.
From the dugout, Tanba frowned slightly.
"Coach… isn't he pushing it a bit too far?"
Kataoka didn't even hesitate.
"No."
Chris adjusted his glasses and calmly explained:
"If this were all he could do, then yes—it would be reckless."
"But it's not."
He continued:
"If Ushijima loses control or gets carried away, he'll naturally start using everything—his curveball, his slider."
"But he hasn't."
Kawakami blinked.
"…That's true."
"He's holding back," Chris said.
"He's choosing to dominate with just part of his arsenal."
"That means he's still in control."
Kataoka nodded slightly.
"He knows exactly what he's doing."
That calm confidence—
That restraint—
Was what made Ushijima truly dangerous.
Back in the dugout, Ushijima was immediately surrounded.
"Let's crush three more next inning!"
"Completely shut down their lineup!"
Ushijima shook his head.
"No."
Everyone paused.
"Continuing to force the inside in the second round is too risky."
"In the first round, they weren't used to my timing."
"But once they adjust, they'll start catching up."
He looked toward the field.
"If we keep forcing it, we'll give up runs."
"It's the semifinals," he added calmly.
"There's no need to take unnecessary risks."
Miyuki smirked.
Chris nodded.
A pitcher with both skill—
And intelligence.
That was the most troublesome kind.
Top of the third inning.
Seido on offense.
Shirasu was retired.
Furuya struck out.
Kuramochi managed to make contact—but was still thrown out at first.
"Damn… that angle is hard to deal with," Kuramochi muttered as he returned.
"That's normal," Ushijima replied calmly.
"They're a semifinal team for a reason."
He picked up his glove.
Time to defend again.
Bottom of the third.
Ushijima remained dominant.
Sensen's 7th, 8th, and 9th batters—
All shut down.
Nine pitches.
Three outs.
But this time, it wasn't just pure inside fastballs.
He mixed it up—
Four-seam.
Two-seam.
Cutter.
Sinker.
Right-handed.
Left-handed.
Didn't matter.
Every batter was overwhelmed.
By the end of three innings—
The score remained tight.
Seido: 1
Sensen: 0
Both pitchers were shining.
Maki, in particular, was getting sharper.
With each inning—
More focused.
More precise.
Ushijima watched him carefully.
"…He's improving."
Miyuki patted his shoulder.
"If we want to end this early, we'll need more runs."
"…That might be tough."
Then he smirked.
"Fifth batter—you're leading off next inning."
Ushijima shot him a look.
"…Captain, maybe check the scoreboard?"
"That one run?"
"I scored it—with Masuko."
"…You guys can't even get on base, and you're teasing me?"
Silence.
"…Damn it!" Isashiki snapped.
"I'll get on base next time!"
"You said that last time too."
"Shut up!!!"
"Hahaha!"
The dugout filled with laughter once again.
Even in a tense pitcher's duel—
Seido's rhythm remained unshaken.