With one out and no runners on base, Takeya, Shoto's ninth batter, stepped into the batter's box as Kasuga's crowd continued cheering loudly. Knowing that the top of the order would bat after Takeya, Imai was determined not to let Shoto's ninth batter reach base.
And that's exactly what he did. Imai started the duel with a low and outside four-seam fastball in the zone. Takeya misread the pitch and let it pass, starting the count with a strike.
For the second pitch, Imai threw his curveball at the top of the zone, inducing a swing and miss from Takeya, taking the count to two strikes and no balls. Cornered in the count, Takeya found himself forced to swing at anything close to the zone, and that's what he did.
WOOSH
DING
PAH
"Out!" - Takeya made weak contact with Imai's cutter, sending the ball straight into the first baseman's glove. With two outs and no one on base, Shun stepped into the batter's box for the third time in the game.
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
The noise from Kasuga's crowd grew even louder as Shun stepped into the batter's box. It was evident to everyone in the stadium that the boy was having the best performance for Shoto, both defensively and offensively, and Kasuga's fans would do everything they could to unnerve Shun.
Shun gave a slight smile as he listened to the crowd shouting even louder. He then calmly looked at Imai on the mound. Even with two outs, he had no intention of giving up the offense this inning, especially since he had full confidence that he could put himself in scoring position with his hit.
Over the past few days, Shun had spent a lot of time in the arena's review mode, and most of that time he had analyzed the pitches of Kasuga's ace, Shota Imai. Shun had memorized the trajectory, break, habits, and mechanics of Imai's pitches. He knew the curveball's drop, the cutter's movement, and the path of the four-seam. Thanks to this, on the first pitch of the duel, Shun swung his bat without hesitation.
WOOSH
DONG
DING
"Foul!"
WOOSH
DING
"Foul!"
But like a true samurai, Ren didn't give up so easily. Even cornered in the count, he stayed alive, fouling off both a four-seam fastball and a cutter in the zone. On the sixth pitch of the duel, Kasuga's catcher signaled for another curveball, this time inside the strike zone.
"HA!" - Imai shouted as he threw the ball with everything he had.
"Damn, it's in the zone, I have to swing!" - Ren made his decision in an instant, planting his foot firmly as he swung his bat, aiming to send the ball flying.
WOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced as Ren failed to make contact with the curveball.
"Yeeeahh!" - Imai roared on the mound as he started his way back to the dugout.
"Yeeeeaahhh!!" - Even louder than Imai, Kasuga's players and crowd roared in excitement at the end of the top of the fifth inning.
"Fuck!" - Ren muttered in frustration as he returned to the dugout, disappointed with himself.