"A perfect inning. This is crazy, that's the second perfect inning of the game, first Shun, and now Imai... the pitching in this game is definitely beyond middle school level!" - Toji spoke, impressed after seeing Imai's perfect inning. He could hardly believe he was witnessing a game with such high-level pitching in a middle school tournament, after all, he hadn't even seen a game this competitive in the senior league.
"It's a shame that one of these two teams won't make it to the Kanto tournament..." - Satoshi said with a regretful tone. As a pitcher, the boy loved watching pitching battles, and in this game, with Shun dominating for six innings, Takumi holding Shoto's lineup twice, and now Imai pitching beyond his limits, any baseball fan would wish this game would never end.
"It really is a shame, but... The momentum is clearly in Kasuga's favor now. I wonder who Shoto is going to choose to put on the mound next..." - Akira muttered thoughtfully as he looked at Shoto's dugout. Given the current atmosphere in the stadium, it would be hard for any pitcher to take the mound at the bottom of the seventh, but for a pitcher entering the game now, facing Kasuga's top order under such pressure from the start would be no easy task.
---
Meanwhile, the Kasuga players returned to their dugout...
"Good job, Imai!" - Kasuga's coach praised the boy. Although he tried to maintain his composure, it was hard for the man to hide his emotions after seeing Imai's perfect inning. After all, it wasn't just a perfect inning, it came at the best possible moment.
"They're going to switch pitchers this inning. We don't know yet which of their second-year pitchers will come in, but you all know the stats of both! The momentum is on our side, no matter who steps on that mound, he will surely give in to the pressure! So take this opportunity and go score some runs for us!" - Kasuga's coach looked at all his players and spoke loudly as he motivated them.
During this game, he couldn't deny that he had been nervous, but thanks to Imai's pitching, he believed his players had everything they needed to defeat Shoto and advance to the Kanto tournament.
"Yes, Coach!" - All the Kasuga players shouted determinedly after hearing their coach's words. At that moment, there wasn't a single person in the dugout who didn't believe in their victory.
---
Seeing their seniors smiling in such a situation, the hesitation disappeared from the faces of Shoto's players, and one by one, they all followed Shun onto the field for the bottom of the seventh inning.
Daigo went first, running toward home plate. Jiro and Sora followed right after, running to their positions in the outfield. After them, Tomo, Hisashi, and Takeya also climbed the dugout steps, running to their respective positions.
[DING]
The moment Shun stepped onto the mound, he could feel the entire stadium's attention focused on him. He could feel the surprised looks from the stands, hear the cheers of Kasuga's crowd, and sense the intense heat filling the stadium... But at that moment, Shun's only concern was with the system notification that sounded in his mind.
[The requirements for activating the legendary skill "Clutch Player" have been met. The legendary skill "Clutch Player" has been activated!]
[Clutch Player (SS+)
Improves the user's performance in clutch situations.
Requirements for activation: The user's team must be tied or losing. The game must be in the seventh inning or later.
Performance boost: 3 grades to all of the user's stats.]
Shun smiled as he heard the system notifications and felt an unusual strength fill his body. The boy then looked toward Kasuga's dugout with a clear challenge in his eyes, he was ready!