"FOUL!!"
"FOUL!!"
"FOUL!!"
The pitcher on the mound had already been exhausted long before.
Now, he was gasping for fresh air, with sweat pouring down from his forehead like a small stream.
It was clear that he had reached his limit and was about to collapse.
Considering that his opponent was just a first-year rookie, the players from the Seidou High School baseball team couldn't bear to watch any longer.
The impression that Kominato Haruichi had left on everyone before was that of a well-behaved neighborhood boy.
He was very talented when it came to batting, but other than that, he didn't seem to have any particularly dangerous traits.
He was always very kind and easy to get along with, and he worked hard privately.
This was the impression that, at the very least, most of the players on Seidou's team had of him.
But now, they realized that their previous impression was perhaps too naïve.
Perhaps they had never really understood who Kominato Haruichi truly was?
Before, everyone felt that aside from his baseball talent, he had not much in common with Ryosuke.
But now it seemed that they had been shallow and ignorant.
The two were brothers, after all, and both had the blood of devils running through their veins.
Facing a poor freshman, they didn't expect him to be so ruthless.
Not through direct confrontation, but by Walking on four balls.
In the final moments of the game, Kominato Haruichi wasn't just trying to reach base.
He was also determined to crush his opponent completely in his own way.
Sawamura had the urge to cover his eyes with his right hand and peek through the gap between his fingers.
He had to admit, Dark Haruichi was truly scary.
Although Sawamura had known about this side of him, he had never seen him unleash such an evil aura before.
He hadn't expected…
The kid, when he finally made his move, did so in such an astonishing way.
With the opponent's defeat already sealed, he was determined to finish them off.
After this game, Kominato Haruichi would likely become famous, and in a big way.
In the Seidou High School baseball team's resting area, Kanemaru muttered to himself.
"That guy's never been the good, innocent type."
During the orientation match, before Sawamura could rally everyone's spirits, Kominato Haruichi had already given the other freshmen a solid lesson.
Because Sawamura hadn't played in that orientation match, the freshmen had already completely crumbled.
The teammates even considered giving up resistance.
It was in that situation that Haruichi stood up.
"Don't you get it? All the honors you earned in middle school mean nothing here. The only thing that works here is strength! If you've given up, then give your place to others."
He took the pinch-hit role, and that moment was when Coach Kataoka fully remembered this player who was about the same height as a little kid.
That moment also helped Haruichi stand out among all the new freshmen.
He became, after Sawamura and Furuya, the third freshman from their batch to be promoted to the first team.
In no time, he became a hotshot!
Kominato Haruichi was now basking in glory, but Kanemaru, at that time, had lost most of his haughtiness.
If he didn't want to continue wandering aimlessly, it was time to think about how to get a position.
Kanemaru wasn't the type to stay silent after being ignored.
The game continued.
Kominato Haruichi chose to keep up the pressure.
The Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had no choice but to accept Haruichi's shameless tactics.
At this point, the Seidou High School baseball team had already secured their victory.
There was no need to complicate things, and they preferred to keep the game moving quickly.
But they weren't doing that. Even though the victory was assured, they were still putting on a show, being this reckless.
The most frustrating part was that they had no way to stop him.
Wasn't that infuriating?
Kominato Haruichi, when Seidou High School had already secured victory, still chose to employ such evil tactics.
"He wanted to keep widening the lead!"
"It is truly maddening."
"Did he not understand the rules of baseball?"
However, Haruichi seemed completely unconcerned about this.
Paak!
"FOUL!!"
Paak!
"FOUL!!"
Paak!
"FOUL!!"
He continued doing his own thing, forcing four Ball Walk.
At catcher, Hakumatsu, was on the verge of tears.
With Seidou High School leading, they were still pushing the opponent to this point.
It made Hakumatsu, in the catcher's position, feel anguished.
Most importantly, he realized that the pitch strategy that had worked so well for Morishita was now losing its effectiveness.
If the opponent were to hit normally, Morishita's subtle changes in his pitches would be crucial.
But now, Haruichi didn't even care about getting a hit.
He simply wanted to hit Foul balls.
With his exquisite batting skills, doing this was not difficult for him at all.
In fact, it could be said that it was effortless.
In this situation, Morishita had no way to deal with Kominato Haruichi.
Eventually, Morishita had no choice but to throw four bad balls.
"BALL!!"
"Walk To Base!!"
Kominato Haruichi confidently stepped onto the base.
No Outs, and there was a runner on first.
At this moment, it was Sawamura's turn to bat.
The fans in the stands were incredibly excited.
In their previous two encounters, the Osaka Kiryu High School players had chosen to Walk both Sawamura and Miyuki.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would probably be their last showdown.
It was unclear what choice they would make this time.
Would they continue walking Sawamura and Miyuki, just like before?
If so, Seidou High School's bases would be full!
When entering the Batter's Box, Sawamura looked at Haruichi at first base and felt quite emotional.
On the pitcher's mound, Morishita looked like a wilted vegetable, completely deflated.
It must be said that when Haruichi took action, he was very tough.
He took the four Balls this time, but it severely impacted the momentum of the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team.
Originally, they had managed to keep the score gap within two points.
Although they were in a very passive situation, and it seemed like they might be completely overwhelmed by the Seidou High School baseball team at any moment, in the end, they held on.
It must be said that the players of the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team performed very well.
They felt quite good about themselves, and being able to hold their ground against the Seidou High School baseball team to this extent, still harboring hopes of winning or even overtaking the score, was impressive.
The players of Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team believed they had given it their all, showing 120% of their ability.
And the heavens were on their side.
It seemed that the goddess of victory hadn't completely abandoned them.
In this situation, they eagerly hoped that during the top of the eighth inning, no more setbacks would occur.
They could safely weather the storm and wait for the bottom of the eighth inning to settle the score with the Seidou High School baseball team.
But now, Kominato Haruichi had firmly reminded the Osaka Kiryu High School players with his bat!
He reminded them that the game was far from over.
The Seidou High School baseball team's offense hadn't stopped.
But for Osaka Kiryu, there was no more hope.
If it had been Sawamura or Miyuki who had done this, the effect wouldn't have been as impactful.
Only Kominato Haruichi, or perhaps any player other than those two, could have achieved this.
That would make the opponent take them seriously.
Just like right now.
The Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team, which had been hanging on for dear life, was now like a deflated ball.
It couldn't bounce back anymore!
The gap was too wide.
Although the score difference between the two teams didn't seem large.
It was like a modest covering cloth, preserving the last bit of dignity for the Osaka Kiryu High School team.
But in reality, was the gap between the two teams really that small?
No one knew better than the players of Osaka Kiryu High School how big the gap was.
In fact, so far, the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had hardly posed any major threat to Seidou High School.
Instead, Seidou had actually had opportunities to score earlier.
If they had been luckier, the current score difference would not have been just two points.
In the dugout.
Coach Matsumoto cursed in frustration, feeling that his players were truly disappointing.
If you talk about talent, the players here weren't bad at all.
Especially with the addition of Morishita and Hakumatsu, the overall strength of the team had improved significantly.
Even compared to the most powerful time in Osaka Kiryu High School's history, it didn't seem much worse.
Given this situation, their match against Seidou High School's baseball team shouldn't be going this badly.
But these guys just couldn't do it!
Their fighting spirit was too weak. Perhaps compared to ordinary underdog teams, their fighting spirit might still be considered strong.
But in a top-tier team, their level of fighting spirit was insignificant.
Look at the players of Seidou High School's baseball team.
They weren't immune to crises during the game, but what happened when they encountered them?
They defended proactively, looking for opportunities.
Once the opportunity appeared, they immediately counterattacked.
No matter what kind of situation the team faced, they always felt full of life.
They were always striving to find the opponent's weakness and aim for a kill shot.
That's the style of Seidou High School's elite baseball team.
That's the way a true powerhouse should behave.
"Idiots! Don't get lost, stick to the strategy we've been using. If someone gets on base, they get on base…"
Coach Matsumoto gritted his teeth in the dugout.
After hearing their Coach's words, the players broke into a cold sweat.
They didn't expect to be so severely shaken by Kominato Haruichi.
Truthfully, all he did was walk on four balls.
They hadn't lost yet, and the team wasn't at a dead end.
They still had a chance, a chance to compete with the opponent for the win.
After all, the score on the field was 2-0.
In baseball, this score wasn't safe.
As long as the Osaka Kiryu High School players seized an opportunity, they could quickly close the gap.
The Osaka Kiryu High School players regrouped.
Their momentum began to recover.
Sawamura, who had originally been prepared for a Walk, was momentarily stunned when he saw what the Osaka Kiryu High School players were doing.
Could it be that there was still an unexpected surprise?
To be honest, this was quite unexpected for him.
He had originally thought that even if the game continued, the players of Osaka Kiryu High School wouldn't easily give him an opportunity to get a hit.
Morishita had been performing decently, but he could only fool others.
Once it came to Sawamura's turn, it would probably be a different story.
'Very good!'
The Osaka Kiryu High School players had assumed a desperate stance.
And Sawamura, as their opponent, saw this and wasn't angry. Instead, he was quite pleased.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he had felt this way.
If the players of Osaka Kiryu High School really had the courage to take him on now, Sawamura decided he would give it his all and teach these guys a lesson.
He would make them clearly realize that some things were simply beyond their reach.
But unfortunately, Sawamura's intention was destined to be futile.
The players of Osaka Kiryu High School never had the intention of directly confronting Sawamura.
"BALL!"
"BALL!!"
"BALL!!"
"BALL FOUR!!!"
"WALK TO BASE!!"
They easily let Sawamura Walk.
They chose to intentionally Walk him!
At this point, the players of Osaka Kiryu High School didn't even bother to use an offensive four-ball Walk.
Their choice wasn't all that surprising.
First of all, using an offensive four-ball Walk against Sawamura was not safe.
The "Demon King" had a body as flexible as noodles.
Even if the pitch wasn't in the strike zone, as long as it wasn't too far off, Sawamura had a chance to hit it.
Even if he didn't hit a home run, a single was certainly possible.
In such a situation, how could the Osaka Kiryu High School players dare to challenge Sawamura directly?
Secondly, an offensive four-Ball Walk placed high demands on the pitcher's strength and control.
Morishita's stamina was already a significant issue.
So, they intentionally Walked Sawamura.
With no Outs, runners were on first and second base.
Now it was Miyuki's turn to bat.
The players of Osaka Kiryu High School didn't make any foolish mistakes.
Although Miyuki's reputation wasn't as loud as Sawamura's, if they underestimated him now, they'd regret it when it was too late.
As the affiliated school of Seidou High School, the players of Osaka Kiryu High School knew full well the traits of Miyuki.
When there were no runners on base, although Miyuki was strong, his strength had its limits.
Overall, he was within an acceptable range.
But once there were runners on base, things changed.
As long as there was a runner on second base, Miyuki's batting seemed to be on another level.
His overall batting average and on-base percentage were still lower than Sawamura's, but when there was a runner on second, the two were almost on par.
In fact, Miyuki's success rate was slightly higher.
In such a case, his batting ability even surpassed that of the "Demon King" Sawamura.
Now, with no Outs, runners on first and second.
The Osaka Kiryu High School players were not foolish enough to challenge Miyuki head-on in this situation.
"BALL!"
"BALL!!"
"BALL!!"
"BALL FOUR!!!"
"WALK TO BASE!!"
They Walked him too!
With a four-ball Walk, Miyuki was walked to first base.
With that, Haruichi, who had been on second base, was moved to third base.
Sawamura went to second, and Miyuki went to first.
No Outs, the bases were loaded.
…