"Whoa! He actually threw it! Three consecutive inside Cutters!"
The Seido supporters erupted in excitement.
Everyone in the stadium could feel it—this was a direct showdown between the aces of the two teams.
The Inashiro players clenched their fists.
It wasn't because Narumiya had acted recklessly.
It was because Ushijima Wakatoshi's overwhelming confidence and strength had left them stunned.
"So strong... He struck out Narumiya with three straight Cutters."
The players from Ichidai Sankou felt chills run down their spines as they watched.
"Yeah..." Amahisa stuffed his hands into his pockets as cold sweat trickled down his temples.
"A Cutter over 150 km/h? Ushijima, you're really something."
For a long time now, Amahisa had considered Ushijima his greatest rival.
On the other side, Sensen's ace pitcher, Maki, watched the battle on the field with equal shock.
A fearless head-to-head duel.
Using absolute power to overwhelm the batter.
This was Seido's ultimate weapon—the monster on the mound.
"Phew..."
Ushijima let out a long breath.
"It's really hot today."
The summer heat was beginning to take its toll.
"One out! Nice one, Ushijima!"
Kuramochi clapped from behind the infield.
"One out! Take your time! Let them hit it!"
Haruichi encouraged him as well.
Ushijima glanced toward Harada, who remained cautiously anchored at first base.
The next batter was Inashiro's sixth hitter, Yamaoka Riku.
As Yamaoka stepped into the batter's box, Ushijima bent slightly at the waist and let his right arm hang loosely.
He waited for Miyuki's sign.
After carefully studying the batter, Miyuki gave the signal and set his target.
Without hesitation, Ushijima delivered the pitch.
"Whoosh!"
The pitch wasn't particularly fast, and Yamaoka immediately locked onto it.
Clang!
Though he made contact, the timing wasn't perfect.
"Foul!"
The ball sailed outside the third-base line.
The second pitch was a Sinker.
Yamaoka watched it all the way into the glove.
"Strike!"
The umpire's call echoed across the field.
Miyuki narrowed his eyes.
"So you've started getting used to Ushijima's Sinker, Shootball, Cutter, and Two-Seamer?"
With that in mind, he called for a Shootball.
Clang!
Yamaoka swung again, but he was slightly late.
The ball shot backward and out of play.
"Foul!"
For the fourth pitch, Miyuki called for another Shootball on the inside corner.
"Whoosh! Snap!"
"Ball!"
Yamaoka held back as the pitch missed the strike zone.
Two balls. Two strikes.
Harada remained on first base.
"Come on... isn't it about time for the Four-Seamer?"
Seeing the anticipation in Yamaoka's eyes, Miyuki roughly guessed what he was waiting for.
He lowered his glove to the inside corner.
Ushijima immediately understood.
Raising both hands, he fired a Four-Seam Fastball.
"Whoosh!"
The pitch came in at around 145 km/h, driving toward the inside corner.
"Four-Seamer!"
The moment he recognized the pitch, Harada broke for second.
"The runner's going!"
Yuki shouted from first base.
Bang!
Yamaoka's powerful swing connected cleanly.
After making contact, he tossed the bat aside and sprinted toward first.
"Damn it. I got under it."
"If that pitch had been a little higher, I could've driven it deep."
Miyuki immediately noticed Harada approaching second and shouted toward Kuramochi.
"Shortstop! First base!"
Kuramochi charged after the ball.
Unfortunately, it had already slipped through the infield and rolled into shallow center field.
Even though Kuramochi reached it quickly, the extra distance bought the runners valuable time.
"Go!"
Turning on his heels, Kuramochi fired the ball toward Yuki at first.
"Safe!"
The first-base umpire spread his arms.
The runner was safe.
Cheers erupted from the Inashiro side.
"Runner on second!"
"We have to capitalize on this chance!"