The game was still in full swing.
Top of the Sixth Inning
Seidou's offense started with Masuko at the plate.
After several failed attempts, Masuko finally managed to connect with Narumiya Mei's Slider. Unfortunately, Carlos showcased his incredible speed in center field, chasing down the deep fly ball before it could do any damage.
Out!
Masuko was retired, bringing Miyuki Kazuya to the batter's box.
Perhaps because of his earlier exchange with Narumiya, Miyuki finally showed some determination. He fought through the at-bat and lined a clean single to first base.
Next up was the eighth batter, Kominato Haruichi.
In his previous at-bat, Haruichi had managed to get a hit off Narumiya. However, that success had come while Narumiya's emotions were unstable, and with the support of his older brother's earlier performance.
This time was different.
Narumiya had completely regained his composure.
Unable to correctly read the pitch's trajectory, Haruichi swung through strike three.
Strikeout.
Furuya, batting ninth, also failed to reach base, and Miyuki was stranded on first.
Seidou's attack came to an end.
Narumiya successfully shut down the inning without allowing a run.
Bottom of the Sixth Inning
Ushijima Wakatoshi continued his dominant performance.
After seeing his Four-Seam Fastball targeted during the previous inning, he completely abandoned it for now.
Even so, Inashiro's batters were gradually adapting to his pitching arsenal.
The inning's leadoff batter, Van, managed to put a Four-Seam into play. However, the ball was fielded cleanly by Kominato, who recorded the out at first.
Fujikawa, batting ninth, then caught a favorable pitch and slapped a single into the field.
For the third time through the lineup, Carlos stepped into the batter's box.
Carlos connected with Ushijima's Cutter. The contact wasn't particularly solid, but thanks to his elite speed, he beat out the throw and safely reached base.
This was a clear demonstration of Inashiro's offensive strength.
It was obvious they had done extensive research on both Seidou and Ushijima.
Knowing that Ushijima relied heavily on his Cutter and Two-Seam Fastball, Inashiro had prepared specifically for those pitches.
Although the velocity of Ushijima's Cutter and Two-Seam had increased significantly in this game, his command wasn't perfect yet. Good pitches and bad pitches were becoming easier to distinguish.
Any weapon loses some of its mystery once opponents see it enough times.
Two outs.
Runners on first and second.
Inashiro's cleanup hitter and shortstop, Shirakawa, stepped up to the plate.
Without hesitation, he executed a perfect sacrifice bunt.
The play advanced Fujikawa all the way to third base.
For the first time in the game, an Inashiro runner stood on third.
Two outs.
Runners on second and third.
The pressure was mounting.
Yet Ushijima remained completely calm on the mound.
"A runner on third means nothing if he can't score."
His eyes never wavered.
The next batter was Yoshizawa, one of the core hitters in Inashiro's lineup.
Facing a dangerous opponent, Ushijima finally unleashed something different.
Whoosh!
The baseball exploded from his fingertips.
Yoshizawa's eyes widened.
"So fast!"
The pitch was noticeably faster than any Sinker Ushijima had thrown before.
Was it a Four-Seam?
A Two-Seam?
A Cutter?
There was no time to think.
Yoshizawa committed to the swing.
But just as his bat entered the zone, the ball suddenly dove downward toward the inside corner.
Thwack!
The baseball disappeared beneath the barrel and crashed into Miyuki's mitt.
Everyone froze.
"W-What?"
"How is that possible?"
"A Sinker at 150 kilometers per hour?!"
The entire Inashiro bench was stunned.
Even Seidou's players looked shocked.
Little by little, Inashiro was forcing Ushijima to reveal the strength he had kept hidden.
Before today, his Two-Seam, Cutter, and Sinker had never exceeded 145 km/h.
Now all three pitches were breaking the 150 km/h barrier.
"Strike Three! Batter Out!"
The umpire's voice rang through the stadium.
"YOSHAAA!"
Ushijima clenched his fist and roared.
Kuramochi immediately rushed over and kicked him playfully.
"You brat! You've been hiding your real strength all this time!"
"Over 150 km/h on a Sinker..." Haruichi muttered in disbelief. "No wonder he rarely uses his other pitches."
Miyuki grinned.
"If that's the case, then your Shootball should be ready too, right?"
"...Yeah."
Ushijima casually stretched his neck.
Coach Kataoka nodded approvingly.
"Good work. Keep it up. Three innings left."
Meanwhile, the Inashiro players could only clench their fists.
That 150 km/h Sinker had completely shattered their expectations.
Yoshizawa lowered his head in frustration.
With runners on second and third, he had failed to deliver.
End of the Sixth Inning
Seidou: 2 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0 ... 4
Inashiro: 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 ... 0
Top of the Seventh Inning
Leading off for Seidou was Ushijima Wakatoshi.
This would be his fourth at-bat against Narumiya Mei.
By now, he had seen every pitch in Narumiya's arsenal:
Four-Seam Fastball.
Slider.
Forkball.
Changeup.
And Cutter.
Narumiya chose not to back down.
He challenged Ushijima head-on.
The two engaged in a fierce nine-pitch battle.
"Huff... Huff..."
Narumiya's breathing became noticeably heavier.
"Get out!"
With a roar in his heart, he fired his deciding pitch.
The instant the ball left his hand, Ushijima began his swing.
But it wasn't a fastball.
It was a sharply dropping Forkball.
Whoosh!
Ushijima adjusted and made contact, but the timing wasn't perfect.
The ball rolled weakly toward shortstop.
Shirakawa charged forward, fielded it cleanly, and threw to first.
Out!
After hearing the call, Ushijima glanced toward Narumiya on the mound.
In four at-bats, he had reached base twice and been retired twice.
Next came Kuramochi.
Taking advantage of Narumiya's brief relaxation after retiring Ushijima, Kuramochi slapped an infield single and safely reached first.
However, Isashiki was unable to capitalize.
Narumiya jammed him with a Cutter, producing a routine ground ball for the second out.
Then came Seidou's cleanup hitter, Yuki Tetsuya.
Kuramochi advanced into scoring position at second base.
Yuki had recorded a hit in his previous at-bat, but the inning had ended before it could produce any runs.
This time, Narumiya's Cutter once again proved troublesome.
Unable to identify the pitch correctly, Yuki made weak contact and was retired.
Three Outs.
Narumiya had successfully shut down the heart of Seidou's lineup.
Kuramochi was left stranded at second.
Bottom of the Seventh Inning
Inashiro's cleanup hitter, Harada, stepped up to bat.
Even during their third encounter of the game, Ushijima showed no signs of weakness.
Strike Three!
"Out!"
Harada clenched his fist.
"Damn it..."
"A 150 km/h Sinker is impossible."
"They all look like fastballs. Even if I think the pitch might miss the zone, I can't risk taking it."
"I have no choice but to swing."
For the first time, Harada felt a sense of helplessness.
Next came Narumiya Mei.
But Ushijima was even more ruthless.
He gave Narumiya absolutely no opportunity to fight back.