Although Yakushi High School gave up a run at the very start, Sanada Shunpei quickly adjusted his pitching approach and successfully shut down Hakuryu High School's third and fourth batters, preventing the score gap from widening any further.
"Bottom of the first inning!"
"Yakushi High School's leadoff batter—left fielder, Akiba-kun!"
For this game, Todoroki Raizo had adjusted the batting order once again, moving Akiba Kazuma into the leadoff spot while placing Mishima Yuta second.
Compared to Mishima, Akiba possessed a higher contact rate and better speed, making him more suitable as the table-setter.
Hakuryu High School's starting pitcher was not their ace, but second-year pitcher Shintaro Ono.
Standing on the mound, the tall and handsome pitcher maintained an icy, emotionless expression.
Akiba Kazuma narrowed his eyes while recalling the scouting report in his mind.
"Fastball around 140 km/h."
"Excellent control."
"Uses a Cutter and a low-breaking Slider."
"You guys gave us a nice surprise earlier…"
"Now it's our turn to return the favor."
Whether intentionally or not, most of Hakuryu's players shared the same cold and unreadable demeanor.
That made things especially troublesome for Akiba, whose batting relied heavily on reading opponents and predicting pitch patterns.
And judging from their preparation—
Hakuryu clearly had already studied Yakushi thoroughly.
Behind the plate, catcher Itō calmly observed Akiba.
"Akiba Kazuma…"
"Complete hitter."
"Good contact ability and enough power to hit one out."
"He's troublesome."
He gave the sign calmly.
"We already have the lead."
"Attack confidently."
"First pitch—here."
Shintaro Ono gave a silent nod before delivering the ball.
"Strike!"
The instant the ball left Ono's fingertips, Akiba's brain immediately began processing information.
"About 135 km/h…"
"Low outside corner…"
"What pitch is this?"
At that moment, three possibilities flashed through Akiba's mind.
A low outside fastball.
A Slider breaking from outside toward the inside.
Or a Cutter that would suddenly dart away at the last moment.
The terrifying part was—
All three pitches shared nearly identical trajectories early on.
And Akiba only had one chance to guess correctly.
It was like solving a riddle in an instant.
Unable to distinguish the pitch immediately, Akiba committed to one option and swung decisively.
"Smack!"
"Strike!"
He guessed wrong.
Akiba had targeted the fastball—
But Ono threw a Slider.
The ball slipped perfectly past the bat and settled neatly into Itō's mitt.
Ono calmly caught the return throw.
His face remained expressionless, as if striking out Akiba was nothing worth celebrating.
Soon, the second pitch came.
"Strike!"
Almost identical to the first.
This time, Akiba targeted the Slider.
But once again—
He guessed wrong.
The ball sharply broke away instead of inward.
"Strike two!"
Akiba swung through empty air again.
Now he was cornered.
The third pitch arrived quickly.
"Ball!"
Low and outside once more.
But this time, the baseball drifted completely out of the strike zone.
"Is it a fastball trying to bait me into chasing…"
"Or another breaking ball turning from strike to ball?"
Without realizing it, Akiba had already been completely dragged into Hakuryu's rhythm.
"The previous two were breaking balls…"
"So this one should be the fastball!"
Making his decision, Akiba swung aggressively.
"Strike three!"
Another miss.
This time, Ono used a Cutter.
All three pitches had been breaking balls.
Not a single fastball.
Akiba Kazuma struck out looking completely outmaneuvered.
Mishima Yuta fared no better.
After fouling off two pitches aggressively, he was finished off by a Slider that broke out of the strike zone at the last second.
Another strikeout.
Two batters.
Two strikeouts.
Hakuryu's starting pitcher had opened the game in dominant fashion.
Yet Shintaro Ono's face remained as cold and emotionless as ever.
His eyes simply shifted toward the next batter stepping into the box—
Todoroki Raichi.
"Hahahaha!"
A terrifying aura practically exploded from Raichi's body.
His eyes gleamed with wild excitement and ferocious hunger, like a beast staring directly at its prey.
Compared to Yakushi's previous batters—
Raichi felt completely different.
Even Ono's expressionless face seemed slightly heavier now.
Behind the plate, Itō's gaze sharpened immediately.
"This batter is on another level."
"Be careful."
"Stick to the plan."
"He'll swing even at bad pitches."
"First pitch—here."
Ono nodded calmly and threw the ball.
"Ball!"
140 km/h.
Low and completely outside the strike zone.
Exactly as expected—
Raichi swung immediately.
"WHOOSH!"
The bat tore violently through the air.
"CLANG!"
The baseball rocketed high down the third-base line like a cannon shell before slicing just foul.
"Foul ball!"
The entire stadium erupted with regret.
"So close!"
"That almost left the stadium!"
"What a terrifying swing!"
Even Itō felt his heartbeat accelerate slightly.
"As expected…"
"Kitamura Kou and Todoroki Raichi are monsters completely different from everyone else."
"So far, almost all of Yakushi's scoring in Koshien has revolved around those two."
"We absolutely cannot let our guard down."
His expression remained calm as he gave the next sign.
"Next pitch—here."
Shintaro Ono obeyed immediately.
"Ball!"
Still low and outside.
But even farther from the strike zone than before.
This time, Raichi didn't swing immediately.
Instead, he waited until the baseball nearly reached the plate—
Then unleashed his swing with explosive speed.
"WHOOSH!"
The terrifying sound of the bat slicing through the air echoed throughout the stadium.
"CLANG!"