WOOSH
DOONG
POFT
The moment Shun saw the sixth batter hit the ball hard onto the ground towards right field, he began making his way back to the dugout without even glancing at the ball's direction.
Meanwhile, the young samurai, Ren, dove towards the ball that had just bounced forcefully off the ground.
PAH
Right after catching it, he stood up while turning and quickly threw the ball towards first base.
PAH
"Out! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced as Ren's throw beat the sixth batter, ending the inning.
"Nice play, Ren!" - Kenta said excitedly after witnessing yet another great play by his samurai friend.
"Nice play, Ren Senpai!" - Jiro shouted from center field as he began making his way back to the dugout.
"Yeeeahh!"
"Nice play, Senpai!"
Kasuga's players returned to the field for the start of the sixth inning. After being put out due to Ren's good play, Imai was determined to close out this inning quickly without giving Shoto's batters any chances.
However, on Shoto Junior High's side, the third batter, Jiro, was also determined as he stepped into the batter's box, focused and staring down Imai on the mound. With the noise of Kasuga's fans cheering their ace on, Jiro could feel the almost palpable pressure filling the stadium, but he didn't back down.
On the first pitch of the inning, Imai sent a cutter that came into the inside corner and low in the strike zone. Jiro, thinking the pitch was outside the zone, held back his swing but was surprised by the pitch's movement that ended right at the edge of the zone. The umpire announced the first strike as Kasuga's crowd roared.
The second pitch of the battle was a four-seam fastball on the outer high corner of the strike zone. Seeing that the pitch was in the strike zone, Jiro decided to swing his bat, but although he made contact, it was only enough to send the ball foul, taking the count to two strikes and no balls.
Finally, Imai ended the duel with a high curveball dropping into the zone. Jiro swung his bat but failed to make contact with the ball, being forced to return to the dugout after striking out on just three pitches.
With one out and no runners on base, Shoto's captain, Kenta, stepped into the batter's box for the third time in the game. Unfortunately, although the boy was determined to do some damage with his bat, he ended up being out after just one pitch.
Being a lefty, Kenta had a natural advantage against the right-handed Imai. However, one of Kasuga's ace's pitches worked differently, and it was precisely that pitch that got Kenta out. Imai threw a high cutter on the inside part of the strike zone, breaking towards the batter's hands, forcing Kenta into a bad contact. Kenta swung the bat intending to send the ball far but ended up being out with a fly ball to center field.
Finally, with two outs, Shoto Junior High's fifth batter, Daigo, stepped into the batter's box. Despite lasting longer than his teammates, after 7 pitches, Daigo ended up being struck out by Imai's curveball.
"Yeeeahhh!" - Imai roared from the mound after striking out Shoto's cleanup batters in order. This fired up both the dugout and Kasuga's fans.
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
Even though the game remained 0-0, Kasuga's crowd shouted, their confidence growing stronger with their ace Imai on the mound.