Chapter 244: Sawamura's Crazy Presence

The top of the third inning ended quickly.

With Ushijima Wakatoshi overpowering Ugumori's lineup, the final three batters went down without putting up any resistance.

Seido came up to bat in the bottom of the third.

Asou led off but, although he made contact, it was a weak hit that turned into an easy out.

Next came Kuramochi.

Having already adjusted after his first at-bat, he once again found a way to get on base.

Once Kuramochi reached base, he became a nightmare for the opposing defense.

Just like his previous at-bat, he immediately created scoring opportunities.

Shirasu followed with a solid hit, allowing Kuramochi to advance to second.

Then Kominato stepped into the batter's box and lived up to expectations, lining a single to put runners on the corners.

Two outs.

Runners on first and third.

The cleanup hitter was up.

"So... you're really going to face me head-on?"

Ushijima Wakatoshi stepped into the batter's box with a wooden bat in hand, silently pressuring the pitcher.

Standing on the mound, Umemiya flashed his trademark delinquent grin.

"Of course."

"If we can't shut you down, we can't win."

"You're Seido's heart and soul. If you break through, the whole team follows."

"So if I stop you... I'll stop Seido."

"Come on, Ushijima!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Umemiya unleashed his trademark slow curveball.

Whoosh!

Ushijima watched the pitch all the way into the catcher's mitt without offering a swing.

Snap!

"Strike!"

The umpire's call echoed across the field.

Neither Kuramochi nor Kominato attempted to steal.

They trusted Ushijima.

If even he couldn't drive them in, taking another base wouldn't make much of a difference—especially with a runner already standing on third.

They simply waited for the showdown.

"Heh..."

Ushijima smiled.

Seeing that smile, Umemiya suddenly felt a little awkward.

He had challenged Ushijima to settle things with a fastball.

Yet he had opened with his curveball instead.

Wasn't that the very definition of a double standard?

Still, Ushijima hadn't thrown him a fastball earlier either.

Besides, the curveball—not the fastball—was his true weapon.

Whoosh!

The second pitch came in.

It was another curveball, this one thrown with noticeably more velocity.

Ushijima carefully tracked the ball's trajectory.

The moment it left Umemiya's hand, he read its rising path and predicted where it would drop.

He was no stranger to curveballs.

Although he rarely used one himself, he had studied countless breaking balls in order to hit them more effectively.

Combined with his Gold-level batting talent, reading this pitch wasn't difficult.

He tightened his grip.

Twisted his hips.

And swung.

A normal fastball swing stayed nearly level through the hitting zone.

But against a curveball with such a sharp downward break, the mechanics were completely different.

He lowered his shoulders, rotated his waist, leaned slightly toward the plate, and cut downward through the ball.

Crack!

The barrel met the ball just left of center.

Whoosh!

The baseball soared high into the air.

"What?!"

Even Umemiya's eyes widened.

His best pitch had been hit solidly.

Everyone looked toward the sky.

"Is it gone?"

"Can it make it over the fence?"

"He narrowly missed a home run in his previous at-bat. Will this one finally leave the park?"

The commentators couldn't hide their excitement.

The crowd collectively held its breath.

Ushijima, however, simply sighed inwardly.

He knew the contact wasn't perfect.

Ugumori's outfield had also shifted unusually deep.

Whether the ball would fall safely now depended entirely on fate.

The center fielder and left fielder sprinted toward the landing spot.

The center fielder launched himself into a full-extension dive, stretching his glove as far as he could.

There were already two outs.

If he caught it, the inning would be over, leaving Kuramochi stranded on third.

But...

He was just a little too late.

Thud!

"It drops!"

The commentator nearly shouted himself hoarse.

The instant the ball hit the grass, Kuramochi exploded toward home.

Kominato advanced safely to second.

Meanwhile, Ushijima reached first without any trouble.

He didn't attempt to stretch it into a double.

By the time the ball landed, the left fielder had already recovered it and fired it back to the infield.

Stopping Kuramochi from scoring was impossible.

Preventing Kominato from reaching third, however, was still manageable.

"Yahaha!"

Kuramochi crossed the plate for the second time today, grinning from ear to ear.

"Leopard! Leopard!"

Sawamura immediately began shouting from the dugout.

"Everyone, remember my big brother, Kuramochi Yoichi!"

"A gaming addict who's completely useless except for running fast!"

"Shut up!"

Kuramochi answered with a flying kick the moment he reached the dugout.

Unable to play, Sawamura had devoted all of his energy to stealing the spotlight from the bench.

With runners now on first and second, Miyuki Kazuya stepped up as Seido's fifth batter.

It was his job to capitalize on the opportunity.

Clang!

His first swing produced nothing but a foul ball.

Two strikes.

His previous at-bat had also ended with two outs and no runners aboard.

Now history seemed determined to repeat itself.

Only this time, there were runners on first and second.

Two pitches.

Two strikes.

The pressure mounted with every passing second.

As captain, Miyuki hadn't contributed much offensively today.

By contrast, Ushijima—the team's ace—had once again delivered when Seido needed him most.

"You're not using your hips!"

Sawamura suddenly shouted from the front of the dugout.

Miyuki blinked before turning toward the source of the noise.

"You're just trying to meet the ball!"

"That's why it has no power!"

"You've got to drive with your hips!"

"Like this! BAM!"

Sawamura enthusiastically demonstrated an exaggerated batting motion.

"See? Twist! Then BAM!"

"..."

Kanemaru watched the performance with his arms folded.

A guy whose greatest offensive weapon was a bunt...

Trying to coach Seido's cleanup-level hitter?

That was almost cute.

Standing on first base, Ushijima could practically feel Miyuki's helplessness.

Whoosh!

Umemiya delivered the third pitch.

Crack!

Miyuki managed to make contact.

But it wasn't solid.

The previous curveballs had completely disrupted his timing.

Now that the fastball arrived, the difference in speed caught him off guard.

Once again, Miyuki failed to square up the ball.