No Outs, the bases were loaded.
Although the players of Seidou High School had anticipated this scene long ago, when it actually happened, their feelings were mixed.
They hadn't expected it to come to this.
After the second, third, and fourth batters, the offensive strength of Seidou High School had dropped by two levels.
At their current state, solving Morishita didn't seem that easy.
If it were easy, the game wouldn't have lasted this long.
Before, Seidou High School's players had already broken the Osaka Kiryu players.
Now, with no Outs and the bases loaded, it was Maezono's turn to bat.
He stood at the plate with a cold face, his expression unreadable.
It was difficult to tell what this young man was thinking.
"Maezono!!"
"It's Up To You!"
"Zono!!"
"Aim And Hit!!"
"Just Smash The Ball Out Cleanly!!"
"It's Time To Show Your Strength!"
Although Maezono's presence on Seidou High School's first team wasn't particularly strong, especially when compared to monsters like Sawamura and Miyuki, he did have his own unique traits.
In the second team, especially among the third-year players, Maezono's status was heavy.
Even though the once-dominant Seidou High School team had declined, they were still one of the top baseball teams in the country.
When recruiting players, they were always able to bring in some geniuses.
Compared to these geniuses, Maezono's talent was merely "Okay."
With this talent, becoming the core player of Seidou High School's elite team was no easy feat.
But Maezono managed to do it.
Now, he was the starting first baseman for Seidou High School's core lineup, the fifth batter.
Although people had always doubted him and his strength, if he were on any other team, that would be understandable.
But he wasn't on just any team—he was part of Seidou High School.
Compared to the other players, especially the core members, Maezono didn't stand out as much.
But even so, he was still one of the core players.
The fifth batter in the core lineup, the legendary cleanup hitter.
The Osaka Kiryu players were clearly familiar with Maezono's traits, making him an easy target.
In their previous encounters, Morishita, after walking Sawamura and Miyuki, had chosen to challenge Maezono.
In each case, Morishita had won the confrontation.
To achieve that, strength was essential.
But besides strength, there was something else that couldn't be ignored.
That was intelligence.
The players of Osaka Kiryu High School knew Maezono's weaknesses well.
'He was most proficient at hitting inside fastballs.'
On the contrary, outside breaking balls were his weakest pitch.
Even if Maezono anticipated they would throw that way, overcoming such a weakness wasn't easy.
Whoosh!
Morishita decisively threw the ball.
However, this time, things didn't go as smoothly.
One mistake, then two mistakes…
Maybe he wasn't as quick-witted as others, but even the slow-witted had their own ways.
Maezono had recorded all of his previous mistakes.
The same rock had tripped him twice before.
Would it trip him a third time?
'Stop Dreaming!!!!'
BUUUUUUUZZZZZZ!!!!!
The bat swung with great force, striking the ball like an explosion!
KABOOOOM!!!!!
The baseball flew high into the air.
Before the ball even made contact with the bat, the runners on the bases had already started to move.
They didn't believe that their teammate would be tripped by the same rock for a third time.
So, they had already started running before the ball was hit.
By the time the ball landed in the outfield, they had already covered five or six meters.
When the Osaka Kiryu players finally reacted and threw the ball back, the runners had already returned to home plate.
Three Runs!
Even though Maezono only hit a double, his hit earned Seidou High School three runs.
The score was now 5:0!
On the stands of Koshien, there was complete silence.
This doesn't mean the players on the field weren't performing well, or that their performance wasn't exciting.
Quite the opposite—based on the current scene, the players' performances could be said to be excellent, very exciting.
Most people probably can't imagine such a thrilling scene unfolding right in front of them.
The Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team, which implemented a walk strategy, managed to avoid a confrontation with Eijun Sawamura and Ichiro Miyuki.
They focused their target on Maezono.
At this point, there's no doubt that they had already viewed Maezono as a soft target, wanting to pin him down and rub his face in the dirt.
In previous encounters, they had indeed achieved this goal.
After Walking Sawamura and Miyuki, they had successfully dealt with the other hitters from Seidou.
The first one to be eliminated was Maezono!
The reputation of Seidou High School's baseball team is so loud that even players who aren't superstars are still widely known.
Just like Maezono! As the fifth batter for Seidou's team, his impression on people had never been particularly strong.
In everyone's mind, he was in no way comparable to the two batters ahead of him.
The strength of those two core batters was too overwhelming!
Perhaps because they were so dazzling, Maezono had never been able to break through the impression people had of him.
No matter how much he improved, people found it hard to shift their attention to him.
It was like watching the sky at night, where the moon is bright, and the stars are few.
The brighter the moon, the dimmer the surrounding stars—it's the same principle.
The brilliance of Sawamura and Miyuki was so intense that people naturally overlooked Maezono's presence.
It's like when people talk about a baseball game.
They'll always say, Who hit a single? Who scored?
Who pulled off an unbelievable performance?
It's rare that anyone mentions who struck out.
Even if that person had a huge reputation before.
What people see is always the pitcher who got the strikeout.
Not the unfortunate batter who struck out.
The Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had planned everything beforehand.
They were even quite confident that their plan would succeed.
So, despite being in an unfavorable position against Seidou High School, the players' performance was still quite impressive.
Very proactive!
This time was no different—Kominato got on base.
With no outs and a batter on base, this wasn't good news for the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team.
Especially since behind Kominato stood Sawamura and Miyuki.
The threat posed by the two was like a thorn in their side.
The Osaka Kiryu team had no courage to confront those two cannons head-on.
So they decided to walk them.
The situation changed from having a runner on first to having the bases loaded.
In this scenario, the supporters of Seidou's team in the stands felt helpless.
It wasn't the first time other teams had used such tactics against Seidou.
Opponents had often Walked Sawamura and Miyuki when they felt unconfident.
But those were situations of desperation, when they had no choice but to make that decision.
However, now, the Osaka Kiryu team wasn't acting out of necessity.
They had clearly decided to push through with this shameless strategy.
They avoided a confrontation with Sawamura and Miyuki three times, targeting Maezono instead.
The Seidou team, including their supporters, found this both infuriating and laughable.
They never expected the Osaka Kiryu team to be so shameless.
Behind the anger was deep helplessness.
The Seidou players had to admit this fact.
They felt helpless in the face of this opponent.
Based on previous outcomes, they had come to a conclusion.
The Osaka Kiryu players had identified Maezono's weakness.
And their pitcher, Morishita, could throw the ball right to the place where Maezono was weakest.
And to the pitch that Maezono was worst at hitting.
When it came to dealing with Maezono, the Osaka Kiryu players took a quick and ruthless approach.
With the experience of the previous two rounds, the Seidou players and their supporters no longer had any hope for the outcome.
Although they shouted and cheered for Maezono, they knew deep down that it would be very difficult for him to hit the outside breaking ball.
Morishita of Osaka Kiryu.
Although he was just a first-year student, his strength was clearly above the usual first-year standard.
From the previous games against Seihou and now Seidou, everyone had a clear understanding—if anyone still treated him like a regular first-year student,
they'd probably not even realize how they lost.
Just when everyone had lost all hope.
The often overlooked Maezono, with his consistent batting form,
waited for the baseball to come perfectly into his strike zone.
Everyone watching was left stunned.
They were unable to comprehend how the situation had turned out like this!
When the ball landed in the outfield, the Seidou supporters, too shocked to react, forgot to cheer.
It wasn't until the runners—Kominato, Sawamura, and Miyuki—ran back to third base that they finally realized.
Maezono had just hit a three-run double.
"AMAZING!"
"ZONO!"
"SO COOL!"
"It's done! A clean and powerful super hit, taking Seidou's lead to five runs, making the total score 5:0…"
"SEIDOU!"
"SEIDOU!!"
"ZONO!"
With the announcer's passionate commentary, the Seidou supporters on the stands finally cheered!
Maezono really hit it out!
A three-run hit in one swing!
Although there were still two innings left, the result seemed obvious.
Even if the Osaka Kiryu players were incredibly skilled, it was now impossible for them to catch up with the score.
Did they really think the nickname "The Demon King" was just for show?
Did they really think the Seidou defense was a joke?
No way.
Even if you brought in a pro team or major league players,
The Seidou supporters—especially Sawamura's fans—didn't believe the other team could score more than five runs off Sawamura in the next two innings.
It was an impossible task.
"Beautiful!"
In the stands, Baseball Kingdom magazine's reporter, Owada Akiko, excitedly snapped photos.
This scene made her feel overjoyed.
Even though it wasn't her favorite player, Sawamura, hitting the ball, as long as it was a Seidou player, as long as Seidou won, she was happy.
"Save some space in the camera's memory," Fujio suddenly said.
Owada was taken aback. This scene was undoubtedly a turning point in the game.
Though not the most exciting part, it was definitely crucial.
Especially the rise of Maezono, which had a deeper meaning.
In such a moment, how could they not dig deeper? How could they save film?
"Anything else coming up?"
"I don't think Osaka Kiryu is going to give up just yet, but the result shouldn't change. Since Seidou's team has made it to the finals, don't you think we should do interviews after the game?"
Pre-final interviews!
Whether for both teams or the media, especially for national viewers,
It was a very important moment!
Even though Baseball Kingdom had been taking alternative approaches with its coverage, at such a critical time, they couldn't slack off.
They had to give their full attention to the interviews.
…