'I hope that cheering doesn't affect them too much during the game...' - Coach Yamada thought to himself as he looked at his players. He knew well how a loud crowd could impact a game, especially by boosting the team they supported and putting immense pressure on their opponents.
Meanwhile, Shun had just put on all his batting gear. He finished by placing his helmet on, then picked up his bat and climbed the dugout steps in silence. It seemed that even Kasuga's loud cheering couldn't disrupt his focus.
---
In the stands directly above Shoto Junior High's dugout...
"Broooooo!" - Little Yumi shouted excitedly when she saw Shun leaving the dugout and walking toward the batter's box. But unlike other times she'd come to watch her brother, Shun didn't turn around or wave, he just kept walking as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Oh..." - Yumi felt a bit sad, thinking her brother had ignored her.
"Don't be sad, Yumi. I'm sure your brother's just focused and didn't hear you. But I have no doubt he'll be really happy to know you were cheering for him!" - Hana noticed the girl's disappointment and quickly spoke up, trying to cheer her up.
"You're right, Hana!" - Yumi replied with a determined look after hearing the words of the beautiful green-eyed girl.
"Go, Brooooooo!" - Little Yumi turned back to the field, and even though her brother didn't respond, she started shouting as loud as she could, trying to drown out the noise of Kasuga's cheering section.
---
Shun stepped into the batter's box, focusing intently on the pitcher on the mound. Kasuga's starting pitcher was the left-handed second-year, Takumi Ueda, who threw a sinker, a slider, and a circle changeup.
'They're starting with Takumi, huh? Looks like they'll have their ace close the game...' - Shun thought as he looked at the young pitcher on the mound. Since watching the fifth-round game, Shun had recognized this boy's talent.
'Well, let's see how long you can hold out!' - Shun thought determinedly. Though he respected Takumi's skills, he understood that Kasuga's ace was still the biggest threat, and if they wanted to win, they needed to bring him to the mound as early as possible.
Kasuga's catcher watched Shun, trying to analyze him. Although he'd watched Shoto's fifth-round game, he wasn't like Shun, who could review the game multiple times, so he only had a general idea of Shoto's hitters.
'Since he's a lefty, let's start with a slider...' - Kasuga's catcher thought as he placed his glove on the outside of the strike zone. Takumi was a unique pitcher, as a left-hander, he naturally had an advantage against left-handed hitters since his pitches tended to move away from them.
However, for Takumi, things weren't quite that simple. Both his sinker, and especially his circle changeup, moved toward his glove side, breaking in on a left-handed batter. This made these pitches more effective against right-handers. The only pitch of Takumi's that truly had a big advantage against left-handers was the slider, which the catcher called for.
But such a straightforward pitch couldn't fool Shun. Without a second thought, Shun stepped deeper into the box, extending his bat to reach the outer part of the zone. Having seen Takumi's sliders hundreds of times in review mode, he knew exactly how the pitch would break.
POFT Chapter Discover:
"Ball!" - The umpire called as Takumi's slider dropped low into the dirt.
"Damn it!" - Kasuga's catcher cursed as he saw Shun darting from second base toward third. He quickly grabbed the ball and fired it to the third baseman's glove.
"Safe!" - The third-base umpire declared, seeing that Shun had easily reached third with a slide, completing the first stolen base of the day.
"Tch!" - Takumi glared at Shun, annoyed. Now that Shun was on third with only one out, any ground ball or sacrifice fly could easily turn into a run.
Kasuga's catcher didn't take long to call for the next pitch. With the count at one ball and one strike, a runner on third, and only one out, he didn't want to give Jiro the chance to drive Shun home.
The third pitch of the duel came.
WOOSH
DING
"Foul!" - Jiro managed a weak contact with the sinker on the low outside corner of the strike zone.
Now with the batter backed into a corner, Kasuga's catcher called for a circle changeup for the first time in the game, positioning his glove in the same low and outside corner of the zone.
Takumi gave a slight smile at the signal, and without hesitation, pitched as requested.
Jiro watched the pitch leave Takumi's hand, thinking it was the same sinker in the same spot, and swung his bat without hesitation.
WOOSH
Jiro completed his swing, but he simply couldn't find the ball.
PAH
"Strikeout!" - The umpire called, leaving Jiro to look back in shock.